Devotional: Live with an eternal perspective

First Covenant Church of Willmar

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Devotional: Live with an eternal perspective

Week 5

September 25, 2022 • Pastor Chris Pappenfus • Philippians 3

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A devoted follower of Jesus Christ desires to be ever increasingly transformed into the likeness of Christ Jesus. This was the unwavering claim of the early church. One of our fellow FCC members helped clarify our devotional value. “To live devotionally is to strive to make our time a constant prayer, or a life of worship unto the LORD.” I think this articulates our commitment well. How does this look in practical ways? How do I know if I’m maturing in my devotion to Christ? Is this value even something we all can grow in or is it only for a select few?
Two weeks ago Pastor Chris suggested that one mark of a devotionally mature follower of Jesus is that they don’t feel they are missing out on something by not sinning. The allure of sin and self-gratification of the flesh is diminished and replaced by the joy of living in a right relationship to our Heavenly Father because of the gift of salvation in Christ Jesus. Last week, Steve Eng pointed out that devotionally mature Christians reflect God’s character to the world. Love for others is the outpouring of our love for God and the evidence of our devotion. This love extends even to our enemies! This Sunday, we will be looking to Philippians 3 for our third mark of devotional maturity: A devotionally mature Christian lives every day with an eternal perspective. Persecution and hardships are put into perspective when as devoted followers of Jesus we view every moment through the lens of eternity. This world is not our forever home. In preparation for Sunday reflect on Philippians 3.

Sunday Service with Guest Speaker, Kara Stromberg

November 6, 2022 • Superintendent Kara Stromberg

Missional: Find it more natural to do God's will than to ignore it.

October 30, 2022 • Pastor Chris Pappenfus • Luke 19:10, Matthew 11:29–30

This Sunday we discuss our tenth mark of Christian Maturity associated with or Core Values. Over the past ten weeks we have discussed what maturity looks like in regard to being Biblical, Devotional, Connectional, and now Missional. Last week we explored the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20 realizing that Missionally mature disciples of Jesus are committed to making disciples who make disciples. Jesus’ instruction to the Church is to multiply. The second mark of missional maturity is that Jesus followers find it more natural to do God’s will than to avoid it. So often we live our lives so preoccupied with the worries and demands of the world that we forget that we are called to do God’s will. Even when we realize this is what we are called to do, we have no shortage of excuses for finding ways to avoid doing God’s will. Additionally, it seems that the confidence of knowing God’s will has become increasingly difficult to discern. However, there is a consistent and noticeable quality among mature disciples of Jesus; they find it more natural to do God’s will then to not do it. They have surrendered to cooperating with the Holy Spirit in ways that seem almost effortless - easy. In fact, they feel burdened when they fall into temptation and sin, not by righteousness. Jesus explains this plainly in Matthew 11:29-30, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Have you ever looked at a fellow sister or brother and thought, “They make following Jesus look easy.” Their secret is not that they are more “religious” than most, it’s because they have a deep and abiding “RELATIONSHIP” with a loving God. This relationship is open to all who would put their faith in Jesus Christ and experience what it means to love the LORD with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength; enabling them to love their neighbor out of the overflow of God’s love in their own life. As we conclude our Marks of Maturity series, read Matthew 11:25-30.

Missional: Committed to making disciples who make disciples.

October 23, 2022 • Pastor Chris Pappenfus • Matthew 28:19–20

This week we move into exploring Christian Maturity in our final core vale; we are Missional. On the surface this may seem obvious. Afterall, we have a Mission Commission, which oversees our missions budget. We financially support local and international missionaries and read about their mission work in our newsletter. Of course we are Missional! But what if maturing in our missional value is more personal and intrusive than that? What does it look like to be missionally mature? One mark of maturity is that missionally mature followers of Jesus are committed to making disciples who make disciples. This is the mission Jesus himself gave the Church in Matthew 28:19-20. Disciples are commanded by Jesus to make more disciples. Thus a missionally mature Christian is committed to making more disciples among more people groups in a more caring and just world. This includes the world right outside your front door. Join us this Sunday as we explore the Great Commission found in Matthew 28.