unBELIEVABLE Transformation

So good to see all of you and to be here. I hope you have been made to feel welcome today. This church is about walking out this life together in the RADICAL GRACE of JESUS CHRIST.

It’s our heart that here a Concord, that you are made to feel “Know, Loved, and that you Belong.” Scripture tells us:‌

Romans 5:8 ESV

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

That means you don’t have to get it all figured out before you come.

You don’t have to put on a mask to be accepted here.

You come and we figure it out together…no matter where you are in your spiritual journey.

Whatever season you are in, we know the struggle of this sinful world…but we also know that our God is bigger than our circumstances.

covenant connection:

With that said, I hope you received a program this morning you’ll notice in that program there’s more info about who we are and what we offer as a church.

Now if you will grab the insert inside your program and take it out, it is promoting some awesome things coming up like: this Wednesday nights—Concord U. This is a Wednesday night our lead pastor, Joe Brantley, is leading a class called “Messy Spirituality.”

If you are looking for a way to get more plugged in, to grow and to meet new people—we offer 2 additional weekly opportunities outside of our Sunday morning worship

One of those opportunities:

Concord Kids and Concord Students meet at the same time, so know you kids and students will be having a blast as well. So know childcare is provided.

Also if you are not connected to a Group, we have a variety of Groups that meet here on Sunday mornings prior to our worship service.

GROUPS

If you are a Covenant Member we hope you are plugged in to a GROUP.

Our GROUPS all multi-generational so feel free to try any GROUP next Sunday. Our Groups meet at 9am on Sundays before worship.

We value GROUP life here at Concord and it is a great way to stay connected, encouraged, and to be personally ministered too. That goes for our guests too.

Try one, Try them all…, until you find the right fit…that’s why we have so many. Smiply connect with one of our Greeters ( they are stationed at all of our entrances) when you arrive next Sunday at 9am and they can suggest a GROUP for you to try. It’s no pressure. The second opportunity we offer is:

That goes for our guests too. Try one, Try them all until you find the right fit…that’s why we have so many.

The second opportunity we offer is:

Concord U (Summer Series)

We value GROUP life at Concord and it is a great way to stay connected, encouraged, and to be personally ministered too. That goes for our guests too.

Concord u meets on Wednesday nights at 6:30pm and provides a intimate and fun way to study and apply God’s Word. Right now we have one open adult class meeting. It’s call Messy Spirituality and is lead by our lead pastor, Joe Brantley.

Have you ever felt like you were a “bad” Christian? Or have you ever wondered why all the Christians you meet are so messy, you don’t see any need to trust the God they trust? Then this class is for you! Come as you are and see the hope in why God loves messy people.

Families, know that Concord Kids and Concord Students meet at the same time, so your kids and students will be having a blast as well. And for the little ones childcare is provided.

In case you missed our family vision casting meeting last Sunday night…we are now asking our covenant members who are serving in leadership to commit to a D-Group

D-GROUPS

In case you missed our family vision casting meeting last Sunday night…we are now asking ALL of our covenant members who are serving in leadership to commit to a D-Group

Now listen up—D-Groups do not replace our Group times.

As a matter of fact they are not even a program of the church

D-Groups happen away from the Church in homes, restaurants, coffee shops, parks, etc.

If you want to get involved or find our more info about D-Groups contact our:

lead pastor || Joe Brantley

at joe@concordchurch.tv

D-Groups are designed for you to gather with 4 other people of the same gender and go through the bible learning and applying the Scripture together on a much deeper level. It’s walking with other people in struggles and successes.

It’s not about how much you know; it’s about how you will grow.

guest connection:

Go back to upbeat

— Also, for our Guests we want to connect with you!

You’ll notice inside the program, along with the insert, there is a connect envelope.

Later on in our service we will worship through a time of offering together; both guest and member.

During offering we will give all of you a moment to fill out the connect envelopes; they also serve as a place you can give any money or financial gift that you would offer to the Lord.

During that time you will have an opportunity to connect with us and be obedient and pray over your gift to the Lord as well. Simply place the Lord’s gift in the envelope; fill out the connect info and during we will give you instructions and time to fill that out and have time to pray. Then simply place the connect envelope in the offering plate as it passes.

And please, if you have been visiting with us for a while and are curious what Covenant Membership looks like for you or your family.

Simply check the last box on the connect envelope and we will connect with you this week.

Regardless, we desire to connect with you and help you get plugged in.

quickly

What’s Happening...

SHIPWRECKED

Concord KIDS VBS kicks off tomorrow afternoon with a FUN Kick off and Registration

lead pastor || Joe Brantley

directGIVE

at joe@concordchurch.tv

directGive is the best option for our covenant members because it’s so easy and allows us to be faithful with our financial resources and how we steward God’s blessing.

We are called by God to give generously to Him. This is accomplished through the giving of our tithes (10% of our earnings; ) and offerings (gifts above our tithe; Jesus taught about generosity through his ministry; ) to the local church. Even if you can't give a full tithe now, it is important to start somewhere, being consistent and working through God's power towards obedience. The Bible teaches that we cannot "out give" God. He will pour blessings on us too great to hold! ()

Just go to our website at concordchurch.tv to learn how.

A CALL TO WORSHIP

I’m so grateful to be here with all of you to worship our great God! I love how God reveals Himself to us, especially through the promises of His Word. Like in the psalmist praises God by proclaiming the reality of His truth.

Psalm 119:130 ESV

130 The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.

lead directly in to a time of Silent Confession--explain:

CONFESSION of SINS

So, because we know God reveals himself and because the Bible teaches us that He forgives our sins by His grace through faith recieved in our belief in Jesus Christ, we know we can take anything to God in prayer.

We confess here that “It’s ok to not be ok, but it’s not ok to stay that way.” So one of the ways that we flesh that out is by taking a moment to turn our sins over to Christ.

Because we believe the truth of Scripture that promises us, “If we confess our sins, He [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness” ().

It’s within this promise we take our sins to Jesus. So I want you to read this Scripture to yourself, as I speak it over us as a reminder to bring us to a place of reflection and confession.

Then after a moment of solitude (where we seek the face of Jesus and confess) I will lead us in a prayer where we I pray over us as a group in a of Confession of Sin.

Psalm 32:5–7 ESV

5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah 6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. 7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah

Ps 32:5-7

Greg: Read the Scripture leading them into a moment of silent communion with God through confessing one’s sin

After a 30sec to 1 min pause begin to pray a prayer of confession of sin on all our behalf's to God

Amen. Exit the stage.

FORGIVEN || worship leader: Cole Pevey || before music begins

Call to Worship through reading of Scripture and through Song:

The Assurance of Pardon

Cole says (with ENERGY): As believers, we have been forgiven through Christ’s finished work on the cross. Because of that we can worship and BE ASSURED WE HAVE BEEN PARDONED from all of our sin by God by His grace through faith in Jesus. Isn’t that good news

As believers, we have been forgiven through Christ’s finished work on the cross. Because of that we can worship and BE ASSURED WE HAVE BEEN PARDONED from all of our sin by God by His grace through faith in Jesus. Isn’t that good news

*Cole you should be able to read the Scripture from the back wall so you don’t have to put down your guitar (or we need to get you a little table if you prefer to set your Bible on). Either way the idea is for you to read with out putting down your guitar to grab your Bible and the song can begin as you are proclaim this truth over us…it will help with flow and energy.

**Cole you should be able to read the Scripture from the back wall so you don’t have to put down your guitar (or we need to get you a little table if you prefer to set your

Hannah (or Slide Team): Make sure Scriptures are ready to cue up as Cole says, “The Word assures us...” not before to far after…please be alert. The Scripture shouldn’t be up before it’s being read because it’s distracting from how Cole or any speaker is leading. And all slide must be changed when the reader moves to the next verse (no delay). Total focus. We don’t want the congregation distracted or reading the screen premature to the verse nor waiting on the right verse to show up. Encourage your team to pursue this will excellence. Soli Deo Gloria. To the Glory of God Alone!

Cole say: The Word assures us in this

2 Chronicles 30:9 ESV

9 For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.”

2 Chronicles 30:9

Song of Pardon (1-with chorus tag):

Band remains on stage

Cole prays: Thanking God for His presence through His Holy Spirit and how He reveals Himself through the person on Jesus who is “the Word.” Ask Him to anoint the service as we continue to worship through His Holy Spirit inspired Scripture and song.

Band remains on stage to play at the end of Scripture.

As Cole prays Covenant Member (Johnnie Parker) will make his way to the stage.

Scripture Reader takes the Stage during Cole’s Prayer (uses White labelled Mic) and then reads the Script

_______________________________________________________

Scripture Reading || ESV

by Covenant Member || Erin Mahan

Erin says:

Good morning church, and guests.

Welcome to Concord. My name is Erin Mahan, I am privileged to serve Concord as a part of our Prayer Team, in Concord KIDS, and where ever I am asked. Me and my awesome, Bass playing BEAST (say it playfully, have fun), of a husband Phillip (who serves on our worship team—*ask Phillip to wave :)), have been covenant members here _____ years now. We have three beautiful girls *name them if you like*(who adore our KIDS pastor, Brandon, all of our KIDS services, and the faithful team of volunteers that leads them).

Because of that, I can boldly say that we are passionate about the good news of Jesus and how our vision and mission, as a church, make Him known.

This is our Mission as a Church: We exist to connect people through loving community as we introduce them to Jesus and help them follow Him.

This morning we have the privilege of sharing God’s holy inspired Word with you. Would you please turn in your Bibles or on your device, to the New Testament book of the 2 Corinithians (the second letter written by the Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth). We will be reading from chapter 11, starting in verse 29.

Only mention the first verse so people won’t read ahead

Hannah: Put up first slide. Page number is already attached.

If you are joining us this morning and you do not have a Bible, you should see a White Paperback one lying around under your seats, feel free to use that one. And if you don’t own a Bible, consider that our free gift to you.

We will even provide you with the page number on the screen to help you find our texts throughout our worship.

2 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 6 can be found on page number 564.

As I read this over you, please read along with me (to yourself), and take in the Words of the Apostle Paul...

take a moment and a nice slow breath — count to 3 in your head — then READ: Book, Chapter, Verse, then Scriptures.

2 Corinthians 11:29–32 ESV

29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? 30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me,

Say: THIS IS THE WORD OF THE LORD. Give the mic to Carolyn and then exit the stage.

Concord Worship begins to play

Song of Praise and Strength in the Lord

____________________________________________________________________________

Sermon || lead pastor || Joe Brantley

Introduction

We will be camping out in Acts chapter 9 again today. So go ahead and get there it’s in the NT and you can find it in the (wpbb pg.535).

Last week we met a student of the Apostles teaching, a member of the local church, who Jesus spoke to, and told him to go and pray over a man who he fears tremendously. He told him this man who he was to pray over, a man who hated and assaulted the people of Jesus’ church was going to be His [Jesus’] chosen instrument to make Himself know to the Gentiles, and to the kings and children of Israel. And that he would show Saul how much he must suffer for the name of Jesus.

We’ve been talking about Saul of Tarsus for some weeks now and he was a high ranking Pharisee, who knew the law of Moses well, loved God, but hated Jesus and all those that followed Him.

Saul had great intentions in following the past traditions of the Jewish fathers that came before him, but when God made a sharp right (a turn that He for-warned was coming through the prophets), he [Saul] missed the turn.

Instead of following God, he chose to follow tradition and found himself in violent opposition against the very God he loved. Thinking he was serving God by murdering, jailing, and persecuting the followers of Jesus he was wrongly pursuing a path where he had left God and wandered into a place of pride and religion that lead to a blind wandering of rage, against God, all the while, claiming this brutality in the name of God. Unknowingly, He was hurting the very God he loved. Saul, spiritually speaking, had no vision.

He was persecuting and rejecting God by rejecting His Son, Jesus, and Jesus’, bride the local church. And we learned if you are not serving the church you are hurting the church, just as Saul was.

Then he had and encounter with Jesus. This. Changed. Everything. His error had been made known to him. And now, he became as physically blind as he was spiritually. Jesus awakened a new vision in his heart.

It’s through Saul’s suffering and through Annanias (the student of the Apostle’s teachings; a member of the church at Damascus—the church Saul was on his way to tear a part) it through these two individuals and God’s grace through active faith in Jesus, in last week’s teaching that we see how God calls you to suffer now so He can restore your future.

Saul past mistakes made the followers of Jesus skeptical of his transformation in Christ. That’s something that each of us can relate to on some level.

So as we enter into today’s teaching be encouraged no matter if you are a believer struggling with sin or if you are a skeptic who pushes away from this idea of forgiveness, because of the cruel world you live in.

Because the good news that we learn today is this...

People will judge you for your past mistakes, but God rescues your future for His glory!

Let’s jump in…

Exposition

We pick up where Annanias had been obedient to what the Lord called him to do where he prayed over Saul and in verse 18 (the verse before our kick of point today) we read that once he did...

Acts 9:18 ESV

18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized;

so let’s pick it up

Acts 9:19-

Acts 9:19–20 ESV

19 and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

Notice here the paradox that exists within these two verses. What I mean is that there are two statements that we can miss, or believe to be contradicting and confusing, yet are both profoundly true.

In v.19, it says, that Saul stayed with the disciple “for some time” in Damascus. So this give the impression of an extended time, a process of learning, and gaining trust as we will see in a moment.

Yet in v.20, it says that Saul “immediately…proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, [Jesus] is the Son of God.”

Which is it? Because if he was being discipled (learning; pupil) by the Apostles, learning about what Jesus taught from the very men He did life with, “for some time,” how could he immediately proclaim something he was learning about?

You see it was both. Look if you will at as Saul now known as Paul, talks to one of the kings Jesus said he would, and understand this after he had spent his time in Damascus...

Acts 26:19–23 ESV

19 “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. 21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: 23 that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”

We are to be students of Apostles’ teachings of Jesus as we are proclaiming the truth and the reality of Jesus.

Even when the people who you are spending time with are concerned about your past and how it might catch you and revert you back to your old ways. You must do both. Learn how be like Christ while you are a mess, yet tell people how Christ is working in you through His message.

You must understand...People will judge you for your past mistakes, but God rescues your future for His glory!

Acts 9:21 ESV

21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?”

But it takes time, it’s a process. But even in the mess of that process as you press in learning and walking with Jesus and the people of His local church you still proclaim Him and tell people how He has transformed you. How He meet you in your mess and He’s hasn’t left you there. He’s still working on you. That’s good news for those looking for hope. That God would meet them in there mess; He will meet you in your mess, but you have to lean in to HIM!

People will judge you for your past mistakes, but God rescues your future for His glory!

But praise God he knows your past, he knows your present and he knows your future. And He loves you anyway, because you have responded to His call. And by His grace and the faith in Him you’ve recieved you have been saved. are being saved. and will be saved. To His eternal Kingdom and for His glory.

Acts 9:22 ESV

22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

Conclusion

Even though People will judge you for your past mistakes, you must realize God rescues your future for His glory!

Be encouraged whether you consider yourself a faithful Christian or a unbelieving skeptic, God wants to reach you, speak life in you either to awaken to truth or to keep pressing on despite those who doubt you.

The good news of Jesus is that even in our mess as we press into who He is, and the two most important things He’s given us to reveal Himself to us: the Word and His Church (His bride; His people).

He has given us the Bible to help us grow deeper in relationship with Him, in community with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He has given us His bride, the church, to grow deeper in relationship with Him and His messy, jacked up, “once blind-now I see” people. We experience deep community as we dig deeper into the Scriptures and as we walk further into our struggles and successes with others.

We can’t just know more about Jesus and then once we have it figured out, then tell people about Jesus. What’s the difference in that and having to get your life cleaned up before coming to church? Isn’t that the Pharisaical and “Country Club” model of church? That’s not the church of the Bible.

Romans 5:8 ESV

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

You see we must seek both simultaneously. Telling people about the Jesus we’ve encountered even before we truly understand all that we could possibly know this side of heaven.

And we fuel our evangelism (sharing Jesus; telling people about Him) with our learning (discipleship), our growing to understand Him (theology). So as you are telling people about this marvelous Savior, you are in process of learning more…that process never stops. Because Disciples are to make more disciples (students, learners, pupils) of Jesus.

But we mess it up as a church. We make it completely focused on one or the other when it requires both!

Check out this quote from author/pastor/professor/and theologian, John Kossler as he quotes other people who he has learned from…this is cool it’s a literary and theological “INCEPTION,” a quote inside of a quote, being quoted by me. How awesome is that!

Kossler refers to something…,

Kossler quote

Another way the church has separated kerygma and didache is by detaching the application of our Christian faith from the gospel. It is easy to understand why some might want to relegate the gospel to the beginning of the Christian life. Coming to faith is one thing. Living out the reality of that faith is something else. Our listeners’ disappointment when they hear a sermon that is “only the gospel” usually springs from the false assumption that the gospel has a single application. It unites us to Christ but has nothing to say about how we live for Christ. If, as Torrance says, it is damaging to the faith of the church to separate kerygma and didache evangelism, it is equally damaging to the preaching of the church for sermon applications to be detached from the theology of the cross.

The vital connection between the cross and Christian practice is expressed by Paul in : “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Paul understood the Christian’s daily life to be a cruciformed life, one in which the reality of our union with Christ in his death is reflected in ordinary practice. The Christian’s daily life is also a resurrected life. This too is implicit in the message of the cross: “If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection” ().

The message of the cross is incomplete without a corresponding proclamation of resurrection that spells out its implications for Christian practice. This is the apostolic pattern according to Richard Lischer: “The proclamation of Christ’s death and resurrection is always followed by an authoritative ‘Therefore’ (as in ), which connects the salvation event with the stories of our lives.”

Folly, Grace, and Power: The Mysterious Act of Preaching The Marginal Gospel

Thomas F. Torrance notes, “In the language of the New Testament, preaching Christ involves kerygma and didache—it is both a kerygmatic and a didactic activity. It is both evangelical and theological.”15 The church’s mistake, according to Torrance, has been to separate these two. One way this has been done is by separating the Christ of theology from the Christ of history. Torrance labels the Christ of history shorn of theological truth “an abstraction invented by pseudo-scientific method” and warns, “The historical Jesus and the theological Christ cannot be separated from one another without grave misunderstanding of the gospel and serious detriment to the faith of the church.”16 Separating the theological Christ from the Christ of history severs the church’s theology from its mooring in the incarnation and removes any hope of knowing God as he intended us to know him. There is, as Torrance puts it, “no unknown God behind the back of Jesus for us to fear; to see the Lord Jesus is to see the very face of God.”17

The vital connection between the cross and Christian practice is expressed by Paul in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Paul understood the Christian’s daily life to be a cruciformed life, one in which the reality of our union with Christ in his death is reflected in ordinary practice. The Christian’s daily life is also a resurrected life. This too is implicit in the message of the cross: “If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection” (Rom. 6:5). The message of the cross is incomplete without a corresponding proclamation of resurrection that spells out its implications for Christian practice. This is the apostolic pattern according to Richard Lischer: “The proclamation of Christ’s death and resurrection is always followed by an authoritative ‘Therefore’ (as in Romans 5:1), which connects the salvation event with the stories of our lives.”18

This means that the gospel is for the believer as much as it is for the unbeliever. To marginalize the gospel by relegating it to the entry point of our faith and to ignore its application to the believer’s daily experience is spiritually deadly. Torrance marvels that evangelicals often link the substitution of Christ with his death but not with his incarnate person and life. He believes that this undermines the radical nature of Christ’s substitutionary work: “Substitution understood in this radical way means that Christ takes our place in all our human life and activity before God even in our believing, praying, and worshipping of God, for he has yoked himself to us in such a profound way that he stands in for us and upholds us at every point in our human relations before God.”19

The gospel offers hope for the present life as well as for the future. It is about living as much as it is about dying. It is true that the gospel promises a kingdom in the future, a time when those who know Christ “will also reign with him” (2 Tim. 2:12). Like Christ’s apostles, we too are waiting for the day to come when Jesus will “restore the kingdom to Israel” (Acts 1:6). But we do not have to wait to be placed under new authority. We do not yet see everything subject to Jesus, but we do see the one who has “tasted death” on our behalf (Heb. 2:9). Through Christ’s death and resurrection, the Father “has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves” (Col. 1:13). As a result, the old dominion that sin once exercised over us has been shattered. Sin is our lord no longer (Rom. 6:14). The hope of the gospel is the hope of forgiveness, but it is also the expectation of “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might” (Col. 1:11). Living the Christian life is more than a matter of willpower and information. The Christian life is Spirit driven and grace enabled. It is a life that is lived not only in response to the gospel but through the power of the gospel.

Look right at me…you want to know what makes people doubt the power of our God?

The gospel offers hope for the present life as well as for the future. It is about living as much as it is about dying. It is true that the gospel promises a kingdom in the future, a time when those who know Christ “will also reign with him” (). Like Christ’s apostles, we too are waiting for the day to come when Jesus will “restore the kingdom to Israel” (). But we do not have to wait to be placed under new authority. We do not yet see everything subject to Jesus, but we do see the one who has “tasted death” on our behalf (). Through Christ’s death and resurrection, the Father “has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves” (). As a result, the old dominion that sin once exercised over us has been shattered. Sin is our lord no longer (). The hope of the gospel is the hope of forgiveness, but it is also the expectation of “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might” (). Living the Christian life is more than a matter of willpower and information. The Christian life is Spirit driven and grace enabled. It is a life that is lived not only in response to the gospel but through the power of the gospel.Look right at me…you want to know what makes people doubt the power of our God?

Look right at me…you want to know what makes people doubt the power of our God?

The very people who He has called to use to make Him known. Let me help the Christian and the skeptic here. WE ARE ALL MESSED UP!

People will judge you for your past mistakes, you must realize God rescues your future for His glory!

The only difference between the mess of someone who has awoken to the saving grace of Christ and responded by faith; no matter how weak, tired, or non-existent in can appear, and the skeptic whose mess and struggle looks just the same…is that the Christians mess has been paid for, I’m talking debt free!

The only difference between the mess of someone who has awoken to the saving grace of Christ and responded by faith, no matter how weak, tired, or non-existent in can appear, and the skeptic whose mess and struggle looks just the same…is that the Christians mess has been paid for, I’m talking debt free! Bought a price through the precious blood of Jesus on a cruel cross at Calvary 2000 years ago. And the skeptic well you’re just still wallowing in your debt. All the while the gospel of Jesus Christ is good news to the saved and to the sinner.

Bought a price through the precious blood of Jesus on a cruel cross at Calvary 2000 years ago.

And the skeptic well you’re just still wallowing in your debt. All the while the gospel of Jesus Christ is good news to the saved and to the sinner.

Listen to what Kossler says as we go into “INCEPTION” mode again...

Kossler quote

Like Christ’s apostles, we too are waiting for the day to come when Jesus will “restore the kingdom to Israel” ().

But we do not have to wait to be placed under new authority. We do not yet see everything subject to Jesus, but we do see the one who has “tasted death” on our behalf ().

Through Christ’s death and resurrection, the Father “has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves” ().

As a result, the old dominion that sin once exercised over us has been shattered.

Sin is our lord no longer (). The hope of the gospel is the hope of forgiveness, but it is also the expectation of “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might” ().

Living the Christian life is more than a matter of willpower and information. The Christian life is Spirit driven and grace enabled. It is a life that is lived not only in response to the gospel but through the power of the gospel.

The difference between preaching the gospel to those who do not believe and to those who do is the difference between announcement and implication. Both involve obedience, but of a different sort. Martin Luther warned, “The chief article and foundation of the gospel is that before you take Christ as an example, you accept and recognize him as a gift, as a present that God has given you and that is your own.”20 When we announce the gospel to those who do not believe, we invite them to receive Christ as a gift. This is a call to the obedience of faith (). When we proclaim the gospel to the saints, we call them to take Christ as their example. But in doing so, we do not lose sight of the gift.

Folly, Grace, and Power: The Mysterious Act of Preaching How Should We Preach?

The difference between preaching the gospel to those who do not believe and to those who do is the difference between announcement and implication. Both involve obedience, but of a different sort. Martin Luther warned, “The chief article and foundation of the gospel is that before you take Christ as an example, you accept and recognize him as a gift, as a present that God has given you and that is your own.”20 When we announce the gospel to those who do not believe, we invite them to receive Christ as a gift. This is a call to the obedience of faith (Rom. 1:5). When we proclaim the gospel to the saints, we call them to take Christ as their example. But in doing so, we do not lose sight of the gift.

When we preach to saints, we focus on the “therefore” that proceeds from the gift. This too is the obedience of faith. It is the obedience which “comes from faith.” When the gospel is preached to those who do not believe, it is faith itself which is the primary response which is called for. This faith is a response to God’s gift and is itself a gift (). When we preach to those who have believed, we are calling for an obedience that springs from faith. We proclaim Christ as an example, but without losing sight of the fact that Christ and his righteousness have already been received as gifts. The gospel does not recede into the distance when preaching to the saints. It must remain in the forefront, or our call to take Christ as an example will prove toxic to those who hear. They will become like the Galatians, who after beginning with the Spirit, tried to attain their goal by human effort ().

Being a Christian, Stanley Hauerwas, “involves more than just making certain decisions; it is a way of attending to the world. It is learning ‘to see’ the world under the mode of the divine.”

Folly, Grace, and Power: The Mysterious Act of Preaching How Should We Preach?

Being a Christian, he notes, “involves more than just making certain decisions; it is a way of attending to the world. It is learning ‘to see’ the world under the mode of the divine.”22

Hauerwas, “involves more than just making certain decisions; it is a way of attending to the world. It is learning ‘to see’ the world under the mode of the divine.”

In making this observation, Hauerwas provides us with the primary rationale for preaching the gospel to the church. Yes, we are offering the hope of the gospel to any who may be among us who have not yet believed. But we are also providing those who believe with a view of the reality that will shape their response to our sermon. “A Christian does not simply ‘believe’ certain propositions about God; he learns to attend to reality through them,” Hauerwas explains. “This learning requires training our attention by constantly juxtaposing our experience with our vision.”

Often both groups—the redeemed and those who are not yet believers—are part of the same audience. The same gospel applies to both. When we preach the gospel to those who are lost, we hold out the hope of Christ to them and call them to the obedience of faith. When we preach the gospel to those who already believe, we hold before them the Bible’s vision of reality and call them to act accordingly.

What I want you to hear is this...People will judge you for your past mistakes, you must realize God rescues your future for His glory!

If you are a skeptic you must take hold of that hope in Christ. You must surrender and be obedient to a truth that seems foreign and unbelievable. You are blinded by this world.

If you are a believer, you must catch the vision and the reality of what the Word of God has called us to. You must be both a walking talking mess, but a mess that is proclaiming the message of saving grace, that knocked you off your feet, allowed the scales to fall from your eyes, brought you to a family of people who doubted because they knew who you were, or even more so they know who they are.

People will judge you for your past mistakes, you must realize God rescues your future for His glory!

This story of Saul, is the rescuing and transforming story of each of us. But more important than the story of our rescue is the story of the Rescuer.

Our hope. Our only hope, is to respond to, to believe in; trust, walk, learn, seek, teach, and love like Jesus.

It doesn’t matter what people know about your past, it matters that they know the One who rescued you from it.

Surrender to Jesus.

Share Jesus.

Seek Jesus.

His Father is the only judge that matters.

Let’s pray.

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