November 26th, 2006

What is a healthy church? Worship
2 Kings 10 and 21

Intro…Why even bother going to church?  This is Thanksgiving weekend after all...
Current sermon series

Text: 2 Kings 10:30

Reading through the books of 1st and 2nd Kings is a sobering account of Kings who most often did not worship God and keep him first.
Solomon starts to turn from God 1 Kings 11:1-13
After the death of Solomon along comes Jeraboam (1 Kings 12: 31, 13:33-34)
Abijahs heart was not fully devoted to God, Asa did right in the eyes of God,
Nadab did evil in the eyes of God, Baasha did evil, Zimri died because of his sins,
Omri did evil, Ahab (son of Omri) did more evil than any of those before him…
Jehoshaphat did what was right in God’s eyes, Ahaziah did evil...
Joash did right in God’s eyes...however he didn’t remove all the idol temples
Jehoahaz did evil in the eyes of the Lord...so the Lord’s anger burned against Israel
Jehoash did evil in the eyes of the Lord
Amaziah did right in the eyes of God...however he didn’t remove all the idol temples
Pekahiah did evil in the eyes of God, followed the sins of Jeraboam
Jotham did right in the eyes of God...yet didn’t remove the idol temples
Ahaz did evil in the eyes of God, sacrificed his son in the fire
Hoshea “ “
Then look at 2 Kings 17:7-12

We know that God is a jealous God.
Exodus 34:14 “Do not worship any other god for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”
Hebrew word is “ga-naw” “as punishing those who hate Him, demanding exclusive service.”

2 Kings 10 reminds us of that. It’s the story of Jehu and his zeal for God.
He’s dealing with 70 wicked sons from the house of Ahab (really bad king).
He has them killed, their heads brought in baskets and stacked in two piles at the gates of the city.
From there he killed everyone associated with the house of Ahab (as foretold by the prophet Elijah, 1 Kings 19:17)
Cleaning house for God, Jehu then lures all the prophets of Baal (Ahab has served the god Baal) into a secret meeting to honor Baal (making them feel important).



He has all the prophets, ministers and priest of Baal killed, 10:25-27.
Was this drastic action really necessary? YES! God demands our full allegiance, our total worship.
Could God do this today? You bet…!

Yet even Jehu wasn’t fully committed to God (so human, so like us) 10:28, 31. Kinda puts our opening verse (10:30) into perspective. God demands our total worship.

I’ve got to admit, that one of my goals this morning was to put the fear of God into our hearts. That’s a good thing.
2 Kings 21 tells the story of a really wicked king, Manasseh. 21:1-6, 9.
Look at God’s response, 21:10-15

If you can leave your church on Sunday morning with no feeling of discomfort, of conviction, of brokenness, of challenge, then for you the hour of worship has not been as dangerous as it should have been. The ease with which we go on being Christian sentimentalists is one of our worst faults.
Paul Stromberg Rees

Worshipping God is obviously not limited to Sunday mornings. And if it is for you, you’d better re-think your devotion to him.
God needs to rule, have first place in every area of our lives. Then everything becomes an act of worship. Driving to work, being a good worker, how you treat you spouse, kids, neighbors, what you keep, what you give away, what you are thankful for etc. etc.

What comes from the Lord because it is impossible for humans to manufacture it? Wisdom. What comes from humans because it is impossible for the Lord to experience it? Worry. And what is it that brings wisdom and dispels worry? Worship. Charles R. Swindoll

The Psalms are packed for of praise and thanksgiving to God. They can help us keep our worship of God in the right perspective.
Listen to Psalm 118...(from The Message)
Psalm 136: 1-4, 26.

TAKE TIME FOR THANKSGIVING
Thanksgiving is upon us. For most of us it's just another holiday...
Kids get off from school.
Some businesses give four-day weekends.
Football stadiums are packed.
Children visit their parents.
Retired folks visit their grandchildren.
Families gather around sumptuous meals of turkey, ham, dressing, gravy, salads and all the trimmings.
It's a fun and festive time.

Thanksgiving Day is also an opportunity for much more.
Thanksgiving Day is a time to pause from the hustle and bustle of daily life and thank God for the blessings of life, happiness, family, food, work, and shelter.

Thanksgiving Day is a day to recognize God as the great Provider. He is the One who gives life.
He is the One who provides food.
He is the One who enables us to work.
He is the One who gives us homes and families.
He is the One placing us in the midst of freedom and opportunity.
He gave us the ingenuity, strength of mind, courage, and fortitude to carve out a life in a sometimes-hostile world.

All these things are manifestations of His love.


Conclusion:
The one essential condition of human existence is that man should always be able to bow down before something infinitely great. The Infinite and the Eternal are as essential for man as the little planet on which he dwells.
Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevski

November 12th, 2006

“What is a healthy church: connecting.”
Ephesians 2:19-22

Intro...Ted Haggard quote...Let’s pray for him…
the importance of being involved in an accountability group, not only in case you mess up, but to share in the good things of life. MOPS...and other groups...
We were created for relationship. We usually get in the most trouble when we’re alone.
Often homeless people get further away from reality the more alone they become.

Text: Ephesians 2:19-22 Our current sermon series
“Consequently”... Back up in chapter 2, we are saved by grace (4-5) GOSPEL and united in one body (12-13).
That leads into vs. 19…”consequently” you’ve come to understand the importance of a life based on a relationship with Jesus…
That’s the first step, in getting connected to Christ, becoming a Christian. But it’s not a solo act from there.
Imagine joining 24 hour fitness and every time you went, you were the only one there. It would kinda work, but not really, right?
Instead, you go there happy to see other people working out, build friendships, maybe get some personal training, talk with others about fitness and diet etc.
Going to the gym is about connecting with others who are of the same mindset...hmm, not a bad idea with church life too.
However, if all you are doing is coming on Sunday mornings and sort-of connecting, you’ll never receive the full benefits of the Christian life and church life.

Let’s see what these verses have to say in particular about the benefits of being well connected to the local church, a body of fellow believers.
We are no longer foreigners and aliens ...instead fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.
Couldn’t have said it better myself...Is this how you feel about this church? Are you members of this place that is God’s household? How does a true member act? “Members” are involved in all the right ways.

Getting connected is about so much more than just good friends.
Otherwise it’s just like going to the gym, coffee shop, beach etc. It’s usually all surfacy, small talk.
As the church we gather on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. Why is that critical?

BTW, Jesus was a busy man, had tons of people fighting for his attention. Who did he pour his life into and pass on his ministry? 12 guys.
He also spent most of his time with these 12 men.

Recognizing that the church is the people (and not a building), there is still a building analogy that can be used.
The apostles and prophets are the foundation (1 Cor. 3:11)
Christ is the chief cornerstone.
Each Christian is a stone in the building (1 Pet. 2:4-8)

"The Church rests on the total unique Event of which Christ is the center but in which the apostles and prophets, filled and guided by the Spirit, and doing their work in unique closeness to Christ, had an indispensable and untransmissible part" (Allan)

V. 21-22 When we can all work from the common foundation of Christ, then we are joined together for his cause and not ours. And that is key!
A well connected church is a holy temple to the Lord (and it has nothing to do with the building you meet in).
Remember, for three hundred years Christians had no buildings of their own. The true temple is the whole church.
I often complain about the size of this auditorium and Darren always reminds me that it’s not just about the size of this room….
When someone visits our church, my prayer is that they sense the temple of the Lord in our people, in our presence. The church should become God's residence.
Formerly, God's earthly home was thought to be on Mount Zion and in the Jerusalem temple. Now he makes his home in the church, in our hearts.
A well connected church is a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. We are united with the saints of past.

Ways we’re trying to help you get connected at our church.
Let’s look at it in a circle’s illustration, starting from the outside rings and moving into the middle.
Notice a church on the beach or in the Christmas parade/block party etc.
Compete in the surf contest
Attend one of our beach services
Attend our church here at PB Middle...more than once a month.
Help out on one of our service teams (Welcome and Set-up please!)
Get involved in the women’s ministry
Attend the men’s prayer breakfast
Go to a Monday night football game
Attend one of the home fellowships
Get involved in leadership
Serve as a trustee! or elder
Preach on Sunday morning, become the next pastor
Marry one of the pastors kids

Communion intro...a great way to get connected to Christ and koinania...pray with each other, ask for forgiveness….

Conclusion:
Neighbors late night party
I meet with JK & the elders pretty much weekly, other men too...who are those people in your life and can this church be that for you? How can you get better connected?

November 5th, 2006

What is a healthy church: Missions & Tithing
Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 13-21.

Intro…The sales guy in my office...cheesy prize. Same thing with junk mail/spam etc. I didn’t like the canned approach. However, they don’t have much choice. We do. Not that a “canned” approach has to be bad…
“Missions” is about living your life in the way of Jesus...like this picture...
Yet you still need to know your stuff thought and be able to accurately communicate the truths of God, so there is a balance.
Text: Matthew 28:18-20


What do you think of when you hear the word “missions” or “missionary”?
Being a “missionary” isn’t really a choice. It’s not like Matt. 28 is only speaking to a select few Christians or just the eleven disciples standing around Jesus.

This passage is known as? The great commission.
Commission defined: An authorization or command to act in a prescribed manner or to perform prescribed acts: charge. Authority to act for, in behalf of, or in place of another. A task or matter entrusted to one as an agent for another
Three key elements to this commission: Go, baptize, teach.

Go, let’s not assume people are going to come to us.
The “green zone”
Let’s build relationships with people outside of church so that when we invite them, they feel safe in coming.
I really want to encourage all of us today to feel “commissioned”. And remember “witnessing” doesn’t have to be a daunting task…
Share your life, share Christ, share some cookies, help someone out at work, help the “stranger in need”, help your neighbor fix the fence...

Baptize
Why is this so critical?
It shows a persons true public commitment to Christ. Shows they are serious.
This is also a first and important step in someone becoming a disciple, a key part of the great commission that should naturally follow after someone has been baptized.

"To disciple a person to Christ is to bring him into the relation of pupil to teacher, `taking his yoke' of authoritative instruction, accepting what he says as true because he says it, and submitting to his requirements as right because he makes them. Disciples are those who hear, understand, and obey Jesus' teaching.”

Teach
Important so that they don’t remain babies in the faith.
Rooted and grounded in what they believe. Knowing the scriptures Genesis to Revelation. 1 Peter 3:15-16
Learning about God’s character…


This call, the great commission is a call to local and foreign missions. God will call some of us to both.
Missionaries we sponsor at Coastlands. Joel, Mission One Million, Christian Surfers. Southern Baptist world-wide efforts. Katrina etc.
Let God tell you where you need to go. For most of us, if we were just effective in the place we live, we’d see more people coming to Christ.

Let’s look at some examples from the book of Acts and Paul’s missionary journeys. (Really some of the first missionary journeys of the new Christians)
13:2-4 An official commissioning. Let me commission you all…
16:6-10 We always need to be lead by the Holy Spirit…
16:13-15 What a natural way for someone to come to Christ…
Conversation around a common interest (river, talking shop).
The Lord opens the heart, baptism naturally follows
Invited into her home.

17:2-4 “Preaching” is important too.
17:11 What a great example from the Bereans…
17:12 Lots of people coming to Christ…
17:22-24 Identifying with the culture, we can easily do that today also. There is all kinds of references to God, theology in movies, music, art etc.
20:24 A great thing to always remember.

V. 20b “The Gospel of Matthew ends not with command, but with the promise of Jesus' comforting presence, which, if not made explicitly conditional on the disciples' obedience to the Great Commission, is at least closely tied to it.”

Not only has God asked us to share our faith with others, he has also asked us to share our wealth.
Compared to a large portion of the world, we have SO much. In order to maintain a healthy perspective on what we have, it’s good to consistently give a percentage of it away.
There is mention of money in the bible at least 36 times…
Haggai 2:6-9 Everything we have belongs to God anyways…
Anthony Campolo, sociology professor at Eastern Baptist College and popular speaker, told of his experience one year at a Women's Conference where he was making a major address. At the point in the program when the women were being challenged with a several thousand dollar goal for their mission projects, the chairperson for the day turned to Dr. Campolo and asked him if he would pray for God's blessing upon the women as they considered what they might do to achieve the goal. To her utter surprise, Dr. Campolo came to the podium and graciously declined her invitation. "You already have the resources necessary to complete this mission project right here within this room," he continued. "It would be inappropriate to ask for God's blessing, when God has already blessed you with abundance and the means to achieve this goal. The necessary gifts are in your hands. As soon as we take the offering and underwrite this mission project, we will thank God for freeing us to be the generous, responsible and accountable stewards that we are called to be as Christian disciples." When the offering was taken, the mission challenge was oversubscribed, and Dr. Campolo led a joyous prayer of thanksgiving for God's abundant blessings and for the faithful stewardship of God's people.

Matthew 6:19-24 The Message
"Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. [20] Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. [21] It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.
[24] "You can't worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you'll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can't worship God and Money both.

2 Cor. 9:6-8
Tithing, we give money to Coastlands as well as missions…
A healthy church shares the wealth. The wealth of Jesus, and the “wealth” that we all have. God wants to bless us, if we can just work with him.

Conclusion:
There is a legend that recounts the return of Jesus to glory after His time on earth. Even in heaven He bore the marks of His earthly pilgrimage with its cruel cross and shameful death. The angel Gabriel approached Him and said, "Master, you must have suffered terribly for men down there." He replied that he did. Gabriel continued: "And do they know and appreciate how much you loved them and what you did for them?" Jesus replied, "Oh, no! Not yet. Right now only a handful of people in Palestine know." But Gabriel was perplexed. He asked, "Then what have you done to let everyone know about your love for them?" Jesus said, "I've asked Peter, James, John, and a few more friends to tell others about me. Those who are told will tell others, in turn, about me. And my story will be spread to the farthest reaches of the globe. Ultimately, all of mankind will have heard about my life and what I have done."
Gabriel frowned and looked rather skeptical. He well knew what poor stuff men were made of. He said, "Yes, but what if Peter and James and John grow weary? What if the people who come after them forget? What if way down in the twentieth-century people just don't tell others about you? Haven't you made any other plans?" And Jesus answered, "I haven't made any other plans. I'm counting on them." Twenty centuries later, He still has no other plan. He's counting on you and me. High on God's "To Do" list is the evangelization of the world. His early disciples adopted His priorities and devoted themselves to reaching the world. Christ counted on them, and they delivered. Have we done as well?