SERIES OVERVIEW
Pastor Greg continues his eight-part series this week called “RESET.” As we journey into this New Year it is a chance for all of us to hit the RESET button and symbolically lay down everything in our lives and only pick up the things God tells us to pick back up. It is a chance for a blank slate and a fresh start in our personal, physical, relational, business and spiritual lives as well as in the life of our church. This week, Pastor G talks to about resetting our life with repentance for all our sins.
This is Week Six: MISSIONS and SERVICE
MESSAGE NOTES
FIVE BIBLICAL PURPOSES OF EVERY LOCAL CHURCH
(Based on the Great Commandment and the Great Commission)
Fellowship, Evangelism, Service, Discipleship and Worship.
THE PURPOSE OF OUR LOCAL CHURCH (FROM THE WCC BYLAWS)
a) To bring the Gospel according to Jesus Christ to the community of Waikoloa.
b) To provide a place for worship, service and growth for those who are already Christians.
c) To provide a place of comfort and fellowship for those seeking Christian love.
d) To participate in the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20.
RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES OF MEMBERS (FROM THE WCC BYLAWS)
Members in good standing should lead exemplary Christian lives in the community, meet regularly for fellowship and worship, and actively participate in church ministries and outreach.
Follow me as I follow Christ ~ 1 Corinthians 11:1
If you have no love for others, no desire to serve others, and you’re only concerned about your needs, you should question whether Christ is really in your life. A saved heart is one that wants to serve. ~ Rick Warren
So when Jesus had washed their feet and put His outer clothing back on, He took His place at the table again and said to them, “Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and do so correctly, for that is what I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you too ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example—you should do just as I have done for you. I tell you the solemn truth, the slave is not greater than his master, nor is the one who is sent as a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand these things, you will be blessed if you do them. ~ John 13:12-17
For He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in His sight in love. ~ Ephesians 1:4
For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are His workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them. ~ Ephesians 2:8-10
So as you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight, you yourselves, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood and to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ… But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of His own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. ~ 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9
To the one who loves us and has set us free from our sins at the cost of His own blood and has appointed us as a kingdom, as priests serving his God and Father—to Him be the glory and the power forever and ever! Amen. ~ Revelation 1:5b-6
… this word priest should become as common as the word Christian because all Christians are priests. ~ Martin Luther
He is the one who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not based on our works but on His own purpose and grace, granted to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but now made visible through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus. He has broken the power of death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel! For this gospel I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher. ~ 2 Timothy 1:9-11
For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another. And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. ~ Romans 12:4-6a
The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why. ~ John Maxwell (and others)
I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. ~ 2 Timothy 4:1-5
It was He who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God—a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ’s full stature. ~ Ephesians 4:11-13
We were put on this earth to make a contribution!
GO DEEPER
ALOHA GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
READ: John 13:12-17
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) Do you think this command only applies to us literally washing each other’s feet? Some denominations include footwashing as a sacrament, practiced alongside of communion and baptism. Do you think we should? Why or why not?
2) Was Jesus, perhaps, illustrating a larger principle here with this example and command? If so, what is it?
3) What is the point of Jesus telling the original disciples, and by association us, “the slave is not greater than his master” – what does He mean? In what way will we be blessed by doing the things He is commanding us to do here in this passage?
READ: Ephesians 1:4 and Ephesians 2:8-10
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) How does it make you feel to realize you were chosen even before the foundation of the world and crafted as God’s workmanship to be used to accomplish specific good works God had in mind for just you to do?
2) If you think of each of us as a specific tool in God’s work shed and we refuse to be picked up and put to use on His project how do you think that makes God feel? If He has to use a different tool to accomplish His goal what effect does that have on the quality of the project? (For example, using a hammer instead of a saw to cut a beam of wood?)
3) What happens when other Christians have to step in and serve in an area they are not called to or gifted in because the one who was refused to serve? How do you think God feels about that refusal to serve?
READ: 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9 and Revelation 1:5b-6
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) Both Peter and John call us members of a holy priesthood. How do you feel about that? What do you think your rights and responsibilities are as a priest of Jesus Christ? How might your actions have an impact on people who are considering whether or not to become Christians?
2) How often do you conduct your life with the character, purpose, actions and calling of a priest? Is there anything you feel you should be doing differently, more of, less of, etc. as you reflect on your role as a priest? If so, what and why?
READ: 2 Timothy 1:9
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) Paul says it is God’s calling and grace that determines what our purpose in life is and that Jesus saved us FOR THE PURPOSE OF this holy calling? Did you ever think about the fact that God had a purpose in saving you beyond your own eternal life benefit? How should you respond to this knowledge?
2) Paul knows what his purpose is. He says he was saved and called to be a preacher, an apostle and a teacher. How do you think he came to realize that? How did he know that was his answer? Do you think he was right? Why or why not?
READ: Romans 12:4-6a
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) What are three big ideas you can glean from these verses and what should you do as a result of understanding them? Why?
2) Do you agree that the two greatest days of anyone’s life are the day they are born and the day they learn why? Why or why not?
READ: 2 Timothy 4:1-5
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) Pastor G called this his “life verse.” He said God used this to call Greg into ministry. Greg said like Paul, he understands his purpose, the answer to “What on earth am I here for?” Based on your experience with Greg do you think he is correct in his understanding of his calling? Are there any parts of this calling that seem like they may be difficult or hard to bear at times? Where should Greg turn for renewed strength and encouragement with that calling is difficult?
2) Do you know what your purpose is the way Paul knew, the way Greg knows? Do you have a “life verse” that speaks a deep desire of your heart or speaks to your calling in life? If so, please share it with the group.
3) Do you know the answer to the question: “What on earth am I here for?” If you do, share it with the group. If you don’t know, how can you find out what it is? What will you do with that information once you have it?
4) If you know your purpose already, is there any part of your calling that you sometimes feel is very difficult or hard to bear? Which part(s)? What should you do to counteract those difficulties?