Called
Call To Community
August 16, 2020
“Now you are no longer strangers to God and foreigners to heaven, but you are members of God’s very own family, citizens of God’s country, and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian.” —Ephesians 2:19 “The truth is, we all have quirks and annoying traits. But community has nothing to do with compatibility. The basis for our fellowship is our relationship to God: We’re family.” —Rick Warren Two Ways to Respond to God’s Call to Community: 1. Worship Together “They worshiped together regularly at the Temple each day… —Acts 2:46a In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? —Romans 12:4-5 Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer. —Hebrews 10:25 “When I first became a Christian, about fourteen years ago, I thought that I could do it on my own, by retiring to my rooms and reading theology, and I wouldn’t go to the churches and Gospel Halls….I disliked very much their hymns, which I considered to be fifth-rate poems set to sixth-rate music. But as I went on I saw the great merit in it. I came up against different people of quite different outlooks and different education, and then gradually my conceit just began peeling off. I realized that the hymns (which were just sixth-rate music) were, nevertheless, being sung with devotion and benefit by an old saint in elastic-side boots in the opposite pew, and then you realize that you aren’t fit to clean those boots. It gets you out of your solitary conceit.” —C.S. Lewis 2. Small Groups “They worshiped together regularly at the Temple each day, met in small groups in homes for communion, and shared their meals with great joy and thankfulness,” —Acts 2:46 “My dream is that someday we can have a kind of community life.”
Called To Character
August 9, 2020
Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more. 2 For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. God’s will is for you to be holy… —1 Thessalonians 4:1-3a Three Ways God Calls us to Character: 1.) Morally God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. —1 Thessalonians 4:3 Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor—5 not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. —1 Thessalonians 4:4-5 Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. 7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. 8 Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. —1 Thessalonians 4:6-8 2.) Relationally But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another. 10 Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more. —1 Thessalonians 4:9-10 3.) Vocationally Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. —1 Thessalonians 4:11 For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. 8 We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you.9 We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. 10 Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.” 11 Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. 12 We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. 13 As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good. —2 Thessalonians 3:7-13 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” —Colossians 3:23
Called To Christ
August 2, 2020
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called youout of the darkness into his wonderful light. 10 “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy. —1 Peter 2:9-10 What does it mean to be “Called to Christ”? 1.) Called out of Darkness But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness… —1 Peter 2:9 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness… —Colossians 1:13a 2.) Called into Light …for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 10 “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” —1 Peter 2:9b-10 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! —2 Corinthians 5:17 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. —Colossians 1:13-14 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. —2 Corinthians 5:21 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. —Luke 9:23