This Sunday, we begin a new series entitled "Marks of Christian Maturity." As First Covenant Church, we are Biblical, Devotional, Connectional, and Missional. As Jesus- followers, we are invited to grow in maturity in these values and others. But what does a spiritually mature person look like? In reference to maturing in ways associated with our core values, Scripture points to at least 10 marks of Christian maturity. Over the next two weeks, we will be looking at maturity in regard to Biblical attitude and action.
To begin, a mature Christian committed to living Biblically recognizes the difference between right and wrong and does what is right. Theology is more than just having thoughts about God, it is the manner in which we live BECAUSE of our knowledge of God. Mature believers understand the connection between faith and works (James 2:14-26) and are able to digest the hard teachings of Scripture, absorbing them into their lives as evidenced by their attitudes and actions expressed in faithful obedience (Hebrews 5:11-14).
The New Testament consistently commands Jesus' followers to mature in their faith. This command is for all of us. Jesus instructs His chosen disciples to mature as disciples who go and make more disciples. How would you describe your spiritual maturity? Are you a new Christian - an infant or toddler - learning and experiencing life in Christ for the first time? Are you an adolescent believer, cherry-picking the teachings of Jesus that you like but fighting against the life transformation that calls for sacrifice? Maybe you are a spiritual adult who lives in righteousness, having disciplined yourself to walk in humble obedience with the Holy Spirit. Or perhaps, you see yourself as a spiritual parent who is actively committed to raising new Disciples of Jesus who in turn make more Disciples of Jesus. There is always room to grow and mature, our real danger comes when we choose to stop.
In preparation for this Sunday, read Hebrews 5:11-14 and James chapters 1-2.
Biblical - Week 1
August 28, 2022 • Pastor Chris Pappenfus • Hebrews 5:11–14, James 1, James 2
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.