Sermon Cloud

In the world’s eyes, those who make up the body of Christ are crazy. Our hearts and minds have been transformed and we now live not for ourselves but for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That is the only way that Paul’s words from Philippians 1:12 make sense, For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. From the moment that Jesus pulled me out of my sin and spiritual death by His grace through faith in Him my life is not about myself, but about Christ. Everything from that point on is about emulating, imitating, and following Him. Our hearts desire is to be with Him, that is why Paul can say that to die is gain, because for those who die believing in Jesus for salvation they enter immediately into His presence. Paul is not advocating speeding up the process, in the context of this verse lays out that His purpose for remaining on earth is to bring glory to Jesus by benefiting others by helping them progress in their journey of faith. Life after you trust in Christ is meant to be a servant’s journey. That is why we are pursuing our goal for this next year, 2009-2010 Church-Wide Goal: That every member advances in their journey as a Biblical servant leader by realizing and fulfilling God’s calling in their life in the church and community. We desire to advance together on this journey. We desire to become Biblical servant leaders. We desire to be what God has called us to be in our church and community. That is exactly what Jesus did during His life and ministry. He is our leader in this journey together. As we have seen from the last two weeks, He has provided us with others who can walk along side us to lead, feed, care for, and protect called Elders. They have the privilege of serving as under shepherds to the great Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Because the work is so large and demanding, He has designated that servants of servants, called Deacons, come alongside the Elders to help them accomplish the work of the ministry. Ultimately, the ministry happens in our church and community as we lock arms together as members of the church to accomplish the mission and vision that have been given to us by Jesus. We are to make disciples of all nations and to love God and love our neighbors. But some of you may be wondering, what does it mean to be a member of the church? Or, what is the difference between a member and a regular attendee? Why do I need to make the commitment to be a member?

We find great encouragement and instruction from Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. Join me as we look deeper in to chapter 1 of this letter beginning in verse 1.