Our 2012-2013 Vision is that we’d reflect Beautiful Unity through Christ-Centered Community. But what if we are unified on some purpose or mission contrary to Christ’s mission for the Church? What if we’re not going in the direction God wants His church to go? Thus, it seems important that we turn our sights for the next several weeks on making sure we are a Christ-centered community engaged on Christ’s mission.
To accomplish this, we move to the New Testament book of Acts. Some call this book the “Acts of the Apostles.” Others have learned that it is really the “Acts of the Holy Spirit in the Lives of the Apostles.” In this book we see Christ’s mission on display. In this book we watch the seedbed of Christ’s church grow and develop. We learn the founding principles of Christ’s church in the 1st century that give shape to how the 21st church should continue to be engage in Christ’s mission.
Over the next few months we are going to tackle this key book in 4 parts…
Part 1: “What Dr. Luke Doesn’t Want Us to Miss” In March, we are going to take a wide-angled look at some major truths Dr. Luke wants us to understand. Many of you know Dr. Luke was a physician and early missionary of the early church. Dr. Luke wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. We are going to look at 3 major themes found in both Luke and Acts that we need to understand for our lives today: 1) Jesus is Lord (March 10); 2) Jesus is Savior (March 24); 3) Jesus is Alive (Easter Sunday sermon, March 31).
Part 2: “The Church is Born” (Acts 1-2) In April, we will look at the earliest days of Christ’s church. We’ll see how the church was and is founded, empowered, and mightily blessed.
Part 3: “Hitting the Church Jackpot” (Acts 2:42-47) What does it mean to hit the church jackpot? Is it more butts in seats, bucks in the bank, or buildings on display? Is it a fancy preacher or a sweet children’s ministry? What if the principles of a New Testament church run contrary to what most Westerners think is hitting the church jackpot? We’ll take 5 weeks starting in May to unpack what the church is really to be about.
Part 4: “The Church on the Move” (Acts 3-8) Then in June-August we’ll walk through the early chapters of the book of Acts. Maybe the things learned about when the early church was on the move will help us to make sure we are moving along with Christ’s mission as well.
What does it look like to be Christ’s Community on Christ’s Mission? Well,I hope we can all answer that question a little better in the months ahead.
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