United In
Christ · Growing In Grace · Reaching Out In Love
Sunday Morning Sermon Summary
Note to the visitor:
These are Pastor Paul’s sermon notes from
Sunday Morning. They probably
won’t make much sense if you weren’t in the service. Feel
free to contact
Pastor Paul
if you’d like more detailed information. For past sermons, please visit the
Sermon Archive.
ANY MURDERERS IN HERE?
1 John 3:15
Sunday, September 13,
2009
ME: Direction determines
destination! (I can’t get where I want to go on the wrong path)
UN
ITED IN CHRIST GROWING IN GRACE REACHING OUT IN LOVE
OUR MOTTO GROWS OUT
OF JESUS’ 3 MAIN INSTRUCTIONS
“COME,
follow me” “Love each other” “Go,
make disciples”
WE: What do the words mean, have we taken
them seriously, do they guide anything we do?
United
because we’re all following Christ (have a common vision and set of
values)
Growing
in grace that comes through loving relationships with each other
Reaching
out with love because we’re God’s Plan A
GOD: 1 John 3:11-15
-This is the message you heard
from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain,
who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he
murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were
righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.
We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love
our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
Anyone who hates
his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal
life in him.
SUMMARY:
We SHOULD love one another
Don’t be like Cain (actions
evil, Abel righteous)
Don’t be surprise when hated
by the world
Evidence of faith: love of
the brothers (natural outcome of real faith)
SENTENCE #2: “The wise see danger and
take refuge; the simple keep going and suffer for it
John
takes us one step further…
SENTENCE #3:
“Broken relationships are life-threatening.”
HATE (Nelson’s): Strong dislike, disregard,
or even indifference toward someone or something.
Strong dislike – No relationship,
assumes no credibility, nothing to contribute
Disregard – Relationship
without respect
Indifference – Relationship
with respect without acceptance
1 Corinthians 12:21-26 The eye cannot say to the hand,
"I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I
don't need you!" 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that
seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think
are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are
unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable
parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of
the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25
so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts
should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every
part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with
it.
God
has combined the parts, given greater honor to the weaker parts, the
parts that lack?
How
does the Body function best? What’s the principle behind a strong
church (Body)?
The
principle is SYNERGY: the whole is GREATER than the sum of its parts.
NO ONE IS AS SMART
AS ALL OF US
“HATRED” is a matter of the will,
it lives in the emotions, emotional decisions are seldom good decisions,
the Bible (John) says if you strongly dislike, disregard or are indifferent
to your brother, he might as well be dead and you killed him (!)…he
has no value to you.
YOU (So What?): Who do you strongly
dislike? Disregard? Are indifferent to?
“Broken relationships
are life-threatening.”
“Love your enemies, do good to those
who despitefully use you
“Blessed (increased in effectiveness)
are you when men persecute you and say all manner of evil against you
falsely GREAT is your reward
“Beware when all men speak well of
you.”
WE (Now what?): Are you
“on the team” “in the Body” (weak or strong?)
The game is won
or lost on the field – not in the stands!
OUR VALUES: Interdependence,
Common values and vision, nurture and accountability, shared experiences
over time
Legend:
Green:
Mission and Vision Blue: Illustrations and quotes
Red: Scripture
Note to the visitor:
These are Pastor Paul’s sermon notes from
Sunday Morning. They probably
won’t make much sense if you weren’t in the service. Feel
free to contact
Pastor Paul
if you’d like more detailed information. For past sermons, please visit the
Sermon Archive.
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"I am not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ, because it is the power of God for the salvation
of everyone who believes..." Romans 1:16 (New International Version)
