Bulletins - Cornerstone Church

- - Bible Trivia
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- - Matthew 28:19NASB95
I Worship You, Almighty God
Jesus, Name Above All Names
Doxology
Joy Unspeakable
Jesus Keep Me Near The Cross (Near The Cross)
Victory In Jesus
ILLUST: Skill, tradition passed down generation to generation, maybe a business
INTRO to 1 Thessalonians (SHOW MAP SLIDES)
THE MAP - IMAGE - (Israel in way lower right)
A letter to a church, an ekklesia, a gathering together.
A group of believers, gathered together, by God’s design
To be the church
Having a concern for the church’s mission
Prioritizing that mission
TO MAKE DISCIPLES - That drove this church
And Paul, Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy address them
Written maybe around A.D. 50 or 51 - First epistle written
PERSECUTION - Roman persecution is extreme, and just getting started
And…they have been told by false teachers that Jesus already returned and they missed it
Doomed…. Where is the hope?
This book, reminder after reminder, of HOPE - Confident Expectation
READ 1 Thess 1: 1-7
The Importance of Discipleship
First, what would you need from an apostle like Paul?
Grace, Peace
We live in this world by God’s grace
And Jesus alone brings the peace we long for
The opening - this church is openly…
Distinct from other gatherings of people in the area
Assembled in God the Father
Recognizing Jesus/Christ as Messiah
And Paul reminds them who they are
You, in all times, remember who you are - You are a child of the King!
And our church, gathered in His name, is His church… Given to us to make disciples
1) The Example of Others
Paul, for starters
God merely used him
Paul did not come to them, the GOSPEL came to them
Carried by Paul
Myself - I enjoy knowing that God did not bring me to Noble
He brought the truth, the Gospel, the Word here
Carried by me
Paul expresses thankfulness to co-workers in that church, that ministry
I, likewise, am thankful to those who are co-workers here, who make ministry work
Multitude of ministers - that is the church
Thess. church shows its faith expressively outwardly:
Work of faith
Labor of love
Steadfastness of hope
The spiritual leads the physical/temporal
Faith - demonstrated by works
Love/selflessness - leads to labor, working to serve
Hope - is what drives steadfastness - they KNOW they are on the right mission with the church
2) How Discipleship Works
“For we know…” Paul has experience
Now willing to share
Paul understood the power of the Gospel - way beyond the initial saving faith
Paul got saved, on way to Damascus
Then spent three years in Galatia, receiving the Word from Jesus
During THIS missionary trip
See Acts 17
In Thessalonica - chased away by the Jews
To Berea - continued preaching
Followed by enemies from Thess.
Then to Athens
Paul set out to make disciples, everywhere
In Thess.
Spoken Word along with work of the Holy Spirit
And co-ministers who were fully convicted and convinced of their mission
Lesson for us:
How convinced are you of our mission here?
Do you know what our mission is here?
Paul’s disciples (of Jesus, actually) fully respond to the Holy Spirit
NT background:
Gospels - lay out who Jesus, the Messiah is - “repent and obey the Gospel”
Synoptics - Oh….Jesus is the Messiah, got it, trust Him
John - Jesus is God!
Epistles, the letters
Romans 1-11 - get saved
Romans 12 ff - now live like it
Each letter, instruction on how to yield to the Spirit and live the surrendered life
How? Learn, grow, BE DISCIPLED - take advantage of opportunities to be discipled
It would make no sense to Paul - get saved, and change nothing in life; get saved, and not grow, not learn
Get saved, and teach nobody - NO!
Paul got saved, and went - “As you are going…”
Paul learned, wanted to grow, led by the Spirit
Paul taught, and people learned
Here, in 1 Thess., those people are now leading, teaching, discipling
Still, they need encouragement, strong as they are, the world around them is not kind to them
3) You, the Example
God chose you for this…
The picture is often so much clearer when you see what God has brought you through
Where you have followed Him, when maybe you didn’t even know why
I praise God for the Tenaglia family, who invited us to church
Where I heard the Gospel, got saved
Where there were people there willing to disciple me
One family, inviting one family
God knew that we needed to meet you all!
I made demands, where we would go and would not go.
God said, “That’s cute, how about you trust Me?”
You are here, you are where you are, in order to grow closer to God
I praise Him that I get to play a role in that
I’m still growing, too - learning, following, wondering how it all comes together
You, who are believers, God did not save you for your good looks
He saved you to be a disciple
He saved you to make disciples
Truth is…YOU ARE AN EXAMPLE
What kind, that’s up to you
You are an example
To kids
To family
To friends
To co-workers
At school
To others at church
To others on social media
To others at the ball games
The church at Thessalonica - distinct from the world around them
Under pressure from the world
They are seen as openly defiant of the god-emperor
That world will persecute them
And that church grew, the result of that chaos
I love 1 Cor 1:18
1 Corinthians 1:18 NASB95
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
How foolish it was to the world to worship someone who died on a cross
So, to show Christians, the Romans would dip them in oil, impale them, and light them on fire along the streets.
And the church grew.
Our culture, yes, even this local small town culture, might not say they hate us, but they think we are foolish
Let them!
Show them the hope you have in you
YOU ARE THE EXAMPLE TO THEM
Your example shapes what they feel toward this church, and toward Jesus
If you are complacent, or not surrendered, guess what, they will likely follow that
If you are eager to be discipled, and learn and grow, they will see that, and prayerfully follow that example
Your kids are making decisions about Jesus based on how important He is to you, and to those who they spend their time with
Everyone is an example, everyone is a witness
CLOSE:
Paul writes to a church where people are KNOWN to be believers
How about you be that person that others KNOW is a believer?
And not because of what you post and share online..
The testimony of that church impacted people
What is the impact of this church?
What we say matters
The example we live validates that, otherwise it’s just blah, blah, blah
Are you open to growth?
Can you take compliments and criticism
Paul hoped so, for that church
I hope so, for this church
Paul begged people to imitate him and Silvanus and Timothy, and especially the Lord
And they did
They became living testimonies to the surrounding areas
I try to be a good example, not sure I’m bold enough to ask you to imitate me
(I can give you a couple good qualities…maybe…)
But I know people will imitate me - that is challenging for me
If people imitate you, regarding your walk with Christ…
What kind of disciple should be expected? Yeah, that’s a lot ofd pressure
When you love, and share, and forgive, and give, and serve, and pray, and worship, and read the Word,
People around you are impacted
I pray for us, together, to impact Noble, this area
For the cause of Christ, and the spread of the Gospel and the growth of the Kingdom
God has chosen us for this
He called you by name to follow Him
And to make disciples
To make disciples, you must be one
I love you all, because God loves you all
Beloved, brothers, sisters
I thank God for all of you, every day
If God can use me, I know He can use you
Let’s be discipled, and go make some disciples
That’s why we are here!
- - 1 Corinthians 1:18NASB95
Sanctuary
I'll Fly Away

Matthew 28:19NASB95

The Importance of Discipleship

1) The Example of Others

2) How Discipleship Works

3) You, the Example

1 Corinthians 1:18NASB95