8 Overarching Principles for Spiritual Vitality

 

This week, as we thank God and celebrate the 3rd anniversary of PoC's launch, let's review what He has called us to do...

PoC's 8 Overarching Principles for Spiritual Vitality

1:
GET PEOPLE MOVING.
"So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ." Colossians 1:28

2:
EMBED THE BIBLE IN EVERYTHING. READ MORE OF THE BIBLE THIS WEEK THAN LAST WEEK.
"All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right." 2 Timothy 3:16

3:
CREATE OWNERSHIP OF THE MISSION. START LOCALLY, THINK GLOBALLY."Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ." Ephesians 4:11-13

4:
PASTOR THE LOCAL COMMUNITY. EVERY MEMBER IS A MINISTER.
"You are the light of the world--like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden...in the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." Matthew 5:14,16

5:
LEAD FROM A CHRIST-CENTERED HEART.
"Love the Lord your God will all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength." Mark 12:30


6:
NOTHING WITHOUT PRAYER. THE PRAYER SERVICE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SERVICE OF THE WEEK.
"Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

7:
FUN IS RELEVANT. IF THE JOURNEY ISN'T FUN, NOBODY WILL WANT TO GO.
"I am the door. If anyone enters by me, they will find pasture (refreshment). The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. But I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:9-22
"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up."
1 Thessalonians 5:11

"The joy of the Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." Psalm 28:7-8

8:
EMPHASIS ON DAILY PRESENCE WITH GOD AND HEALTHY PRESENCE WITH OTHERS.Key study and focus on:
- Luke 15:1-32 (The Prodigal Son)
- John 15:1-11 (I am the Vine)
- John 15:-12-27 (Loving Others)
- Matthew 18:15-20 (Conflict Resolution)
- Matthew 18:1-14, 21-35 (Forgiveness)

PREPARE FOR IT! - "Bye Bye Nasty: Get Gone" AND "Jesus Move: Dance Til U Just Can't" - Matthew 14, Romans 7

During our 2-sermon-series-in-1, we will be studying Matthew 14 and Romans 7.

Matthew 14

John the Baptist Beheaded

14 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, 2 and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.

6 On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much 7 that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted 10 and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. 12 John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Water

22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

29 “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

34 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him 36 and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.



Romans 7

Released From the Law, Bound to Christ

7 Do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives? 2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him. 3 So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.

4 So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

The Law and Sin

7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. 9 Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.

13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death,so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging waragainst the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Living on Mission – Moving When God Moves

Living on Mission – Moving When God Moves

“Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children!” (Matthew 14:19-21 NLT)

Don’t you just love the miracles documented in the Bible?  In this instance, Jesus miraculously fed more than 5000 people and it wasn’t to show off or entertain the crowd, but because they needed to be fed. He showed the abundant and lavish nature of God by providing way more than was needed. They all ate as much as they wanted and still had leftovers. What a good God!

Note what the disciples were doing – or maybe what they were NOT doing. They were not standing around with their mouths hanging open just being amazed. THEY distributed the bread and THEY picked up leftovers. THEY touched/served/made contact with a whole bunch of people. They got to participate in the miraculous. They were active and on the move because God was on the move. They were moving with Him.

Moving with God is what disciples do. It’s what missionaries do. It’s what we do!!

Let’s practice Living on Mission and move with Him. When we do this we get to see His love in action and even participate in the miraculous things He does in the lives of people around us.

Pastor Angela

PRAY IT! Bye Bye Nasty - Romans 7:21-25

I had a rough day on Tuesday.  The "cherry on top" that brought the day to a close was the rather "poetic" moment of breathing in a bug while walking (who does that?!) and then it started raining on me.  There is a children's poem/song/book that came to mind.  It pertains to how there was an old lady that swallowed a fly.  It says,

"I don't know why she swallowed a fly, perhaps she'll die." 

As we continue on in our Romans 7 (check it out in the NLT version: here) passage portion of our dual sermon series (Bye Bye Nasty/Jesus Move), Paul continues to talk about what he has been talking about throughout the entire chapter:  The struggle of sin.  Doing what we do not want to do.  Not doing the good we want to do.  Why do we do that? 
Ahhh, Romans 7...

I don't know why I [insert sin here], perhaps I'll die. 

We know sin yields death and destruction.  It's not cute.  It's not without consequence.  It's ugly.  It's nasty.  It can snowball to bigger and bigger sins and problems and pretty soon we're swallowing spiders and cows and goats... and more ick followed by more.  Sometimes, just like Paul laments throughout Romans 7, we don't even know why we do it.  But we do.  And it's icky.

Our hope is in Jesus.  (See, not much changed from last week - told ya!)

Hope in Jesus 101:

Romans 6:6-8

We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. ⁷ For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. ⁸ And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him.

As we "pray it" this week in preparation for Sunday, let us emphasize praise.  Sometimes, it's difficult.  But it can also be powerful.  You see, because of Jesus, sin can lose its power and we can be set free.  A-W-E-S-O-M-E! 

What if we prayed this week, with very specific, powerful praise, thanking Jesus for setting us free from [whatever fly we swallowed]...?

What if we prayed with bold belief?

A fellow pastor posted a link to an article this week that talked about how a secret prayer life can help prevent a secret sin life.  According to the author, "Prayer makes the heart ready to see sin by making it hate it." (Raymond)

Let us all get with God, in our own private prayer time, and earnestly thank him, both for the freedom and victory we have already experienced, and the freedom and victory we have yet to fully seize hold of.  Need help?  Ask!  It IS the Almighty Maker of the Universe you are talking to, after all.

Then, let us get together in prayer - join us at PoC|Coverage tonight at 6pm! 

Pastor Celia

EXPLORE IT - Romans 7:21-25

Romans 7:21-25   So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.  ²² For in my inner being I delight in God's law;  ²³ but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.  ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?  ²⁵ Thanks be to God-- through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Through the years, I have heard people say they are too much of a mess to come to church, that they need to get their lives cleaned up before coming to God, or they struggle to much with sin to be of any use to God.  If you can relate to these ideas, you will be able to relate to this week’s passage in Romans.

In our passage this week, Romans 7:21-25, Paul cries out, “What a wretched man I am!” (v24).  Wretched is not a word we use very often these days, but to be wretched is contrary of being blessed.  A wretch is someone who is miserable and is in mental or emotional distress…someone who is far from God.  When we are far from God, we are slaves to the sin in our lives and try as we might, we are not able to do anything about it.  We cannot rescue ourselves from sin.  Paul asks, “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (v24b) and then continues with the good news, “(but) thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!”  The NIV translation leaves out the “but” that is in the original Greek text which connects our problem with God’s solution.

Our hope comes from Jesus Christ!  We don’t have to be “wretched,” we can be “blessed!”  We are not too messed up to come to church or a lost cause for God.  He meets us where we are, just as we are.  Even if you’ve sinned and taken a few steps away from Jesus, He’s waiting with open arms for you to come back to Him.  So maybe it’s the first time or maybe it’s the one hundred and first time, turn to Jesus for He is the one who will rescue you from death!

Blessings,
Pastor Amy