Rethink Church - It Takes a Church
Rethink Church • Sermon • Submitted
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It Takes a Church
It Takes a Church
What is the church? - People
“One hundred religious persons knit into a unity by careful organization do not constitute a church any more than eleven dead men make a football team. The first requisite is life, always.“- A. W. Tozer
For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body—so also is Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all given one Spirit to drink.
More People more problems
Acts 6:1
Two threats to the early church
Disorganization
Distraction
The question is what do we do?
There is work needed to be done
We have only seen the apostles at work up to now
This is un-maintainable
The Church: Response
When issues and needs arise
See every crisis as an opportunity to get better
In those days, as the disciples were increasing in number, there arose a complaint by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution.
Remember Pentecost - people from all over
The Church: Response
Understands how critical each role is
The Twelve summoned the whole company of the disciples and said, “It would not be right for us to give up preaching the word of God to wait on tables.
What’s your role?
According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith; if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching; if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.
The Church: Response
Chooses the right people to tackle the problem
Brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty.
Notice the qualifications - good reputation, full of the Spirit (believers) and wisdom
2 questions
What is you part? What can you be doing to further the mission of the church?
Are you positioning yourself in a way to be used?
Don’t wait for an invitation
The Church: Response
Trust the team to come up with the solution.
Brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
I am going to ask you to trust me and our leadership.
Trust we have been called and are being led
Trust God’s Spirit in us
Trust me to do what God has gifted and called me to do and I will do the same
When we are all doing what God called us too amazing things happen
The Result
The church stayed on mission
So the word of God spread, the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly in number, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.
It Takes a Church
It Takes a Church
Everyone has a job
No one person can reach our community and meet the needs
It takes all of us
From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.
Men are God's method. The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men.
- E.M. Bounds
What’s your part?