Part 2. Our mission is to…Connect people to God.
As we look at a long section of Scripture today, we will see how that God is methodically moving Peter to see that the gospel is for everyone—not just the Jewish elite. In His sovereignty, God moves Peter from one situation to the next, opening his heart to ‘the Nations’ and releasing a lifetime of bigotry and prejudice. It is sometimes hard for us to imagine the Apostle Peter as bigoted or prejudiced, but we must consider who he is within his cultural context and the Jewish people looked down upon the Gentiles. In this passage, God uses a series of events to open Peter’s eyes to the simple truth that the gospel “is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile” (Romans 1:16b). So it is time for us to ask, “When will we get beyond our prejudice, our misconceptions and our elitism and be willing to seek after all people with the gospel?”
A church cannot survive long-term where members are focused on their own preferences, including:
-My style of music.
-My style of teaching/learning.
-My desired length….
When we become more inwardly focused, we resemble the picture of this church surrounded by razor wire and guarded by a sentry. People don’t want to get in!
Don’t let nostalgia of the ‘good-old-days’ keep us from changing to effectively reach our community for Christ.
God created you, so he could love you, and save you, and make you holy.
Grace Hills was started by Brandon and Angie Cox in the summer of 2011 with a handful of people meeting in a rented office in Bentonville. Our grand opening to the public was January 12, 2012 at the Rogers Malco Town Cinema and in January of 2015, we moved to the…
Sermon – Growing the Church through the Spirit
Living According to Christ’s Standard, Serving According to Giftedness, Growing the Individual to Grow the Church
What excuses are you making for not living your life ‘all-in’ for Jesus Christ?
Sermon Video, Audio, Text included at http://www.templerogers.org/sermons/growing-the-ch…pirit-sermon-7
When a church faces a serious problem, this presents the leaders and the members with a number of opportunities. Problems are opportunities!