May I give you a few little details about the church you serve?
1. Your Church Isn't Perfect (Romans 3:23)
Your church isn't perfect! And why? Because people aren't perfect. In fact, your church is full of sinners!
We forget at times that we are...
sinners by nature
we were born with a sinful nature
born with a pull & draw toward sin
born with a desire to sin
born with the tendency toward sin & rebellion
And by the way, if you are one of those folks that like to take the 'holier than thou' road, thinking that you aren't quite as bad a sinner as others...I've got news for you – you are as bad a sinner as everyone else around you (you just haven't got caught yet!). I mean, I understand that you might not be a person that kidnaps people, cuts them into little pieces, and hides them in your deep freeze. But you're a sinner just the same. Sorry to break this news to you...
I'm glad to announce today...that sinners will fit in really well at my church!
2. Your Church Can HONOR the Lord (1 Samuel 2:30; 1 Corinthians 10:31)
But WILL your church choose to honor the Lord?
We can actually honor the Lord in everything we do, big or small...
we can truly love sinners...evangelize our area
we can accept people just like they are...and not expect them to look
just like we do
we can put God 1st...give God total control
we can walk totally in faith
There are some churches that can't or don't honor the Lord in anything they do. I mean nothing! They're more worried about what people and the world around them thinks! That's not going to work in the Lord's book!
Will you help your church honor your Lord?
3. Your Church Has A Reputation (Matthew 16:18)
The question is...what kind of reputation does your church have? Well, many churches have reputations that are good and some that are bad.
Every church becomes known as a certain kind of church...
a family run church a loving church a fighting church
a warm church an evangelistic church a growing church
a cold church a preaching/teaching
Your church is known for something...
known for its victories known for certain families & individuals
known for its problems known for its past more than its present
What will you do to help your churches reputation?
4. Your Church Can Die (Acts 20:28-31)
If you let your church die, that is. If you're not careful...you church will die!
What could cause our church to die?
we love OURSELVES more than we love the lost around us
we love our MONEY more than we love our Lord
we love our TRADITIONS more than desire God' s moving
we love the WORLD'S way more than God's way
(and we could go on and on)
Churches do not have to die. Small churches, large churches, country churches, or city churches...a church does not have to die. The only reason a church dies is because the people of that church allow it to die.
5. You're Not the Most Important Person in Your Church (Romans 12:3)
And neither am I! You can't demand your own way or demand that your church do certain things or not do certain things. Your church isn't built around you. Our churches are built around US! Every person in your church is important. Every opinion is truly important.
Here's a sobering & humbling truth...if you or I were suddenly removed from our church for some reason, the odds are it would survive. It would move forward without you.
Our churches aren't about you or me.
Our churches are about Jesus Christ and His will for our lives and our church.
6. The Church Budget Isn't Worth Dying For
The flower beds around your church aren't worth dying for. The pews, chandeliers, and hymnals didn't die on the cross for your sins. Your worship bulletins and monthly newsletters aren't what will sustain you in the trials, tribulations, and temptations of life.
Jesus Christ is your hope for living in this dark, dark world.
Jesus is worth living for and dying for each and every day. The rest is often just details.
Put HIM first and we'll watch our churches flourish and grow and touch lives for eternity.
Blessings,
Bro.Eric
1. Your Church Isn't Perfect (Romans 3:23)
Your church isn't perfect! And why? Because people aren't perfect. In fact, your church is full of sinners!
We forget at times that we are...
sinners by nature
we were born with a sinful nature
born with a pull & draw toward sin
born with a desire to sin
born with the tendency toward sin & rebellion
And by the way, if you are one of those folks that like to take the 'holier than thou' road, thinking that you aren't quite as bad a sinner as others...I've got news for you – you are as bad a sinner as everyone else around you (you just haven't got caught yet!). I mean, I understand that you might not be a person that kidnaps people, cuts them into little pieces, and hides them in your deep freeze. But you're a sinner just the same. Sorry to break this news to you...
I'm glad to announce today...that sinners will fit in really well at my church!
2. Your Church Can HONOR the Lord (1 Samuel 2:30; 1 Corinthians 10:31)
But WILL your church choose to honor the Lord?
We can actually honor the Lord in everything we do, big or small...
we can truly love sinners...evangelize our area
we can accept people just like they are...and not expect them to look
just like we do
we can put God 1st...give God total control
we can walk totally in faith
There are some churches that can't or don't honor the Lord in anything they do. I mean nothing! They're more worried about what people and the world around them thinks! That's not going to work in the Lord's book!
Will you help your church honor your Lord?
3. Your Church Has A Reputation (Matthew 16:18)
The question is...what kind of reputation does your church have? Well, many churches have reputations that are good and some that are bad.
Every church becomes known as a certain kind of church...
a family run church a loving church a fighting church
a warm church an evangelistic church a growing church
a cold church a preaching/teaching
Your church is known for something...
known for its victories known for certain families & individuals
known for its problems known for its past more than its present
What will you do to help your churches reputation?
4. Your Church Can Die (Acts 20:28-31)
If you let your church die, that is. If you're not careful...you church will die!
What could cause our church to die?
we love OURSELVES more than we love the lost around us
we love our MONEY more than we love our Lord
we love our TRADITIONS more than desire God' s moving
we love the WORLD'S way more than God's way
(and we could go on and on)
Churches do not have to die. Small churches, large churches, country churches, or city churches...a church does not have to die. The only reason a church dies is because the people of that church allow it to die.
5. You're Not the Most Important Person in Your Church (Romans 12:3)
And neither am I! You can't demand your own way or demand that your church do certain things or not do certain things. Your church isn't built around you. Our churches are built around US! Every person in your church is important. Every opinion is truly important.
Here's a sobering & humbling truth...if you or I were suddenly removed from our church for some reason, the odds are it would survive. It would move forward without you.
Our churches aren't about you or me.
Our churches are about Jesus Christ and His will for our lives and our church.
6. The Church Budget Isn't Worth Dying For
The flower beds around your church aren't worth dying for. The pews, chandeliers, and hymnals didn't die on the cross for your sins. Your worship bulletins and monthly newsletters aren't what will sustain you in the trials, tribulations, and temptations of life.
Jesus Christ is your hope for living in this dark, dark world.
Jesus is worth living for and dying for each and every day. The rest is often just details.
Put HIM first and we'll watch our churches flourish and grow and touch lives for eternity.
Blessings,
Bro.Eric
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