Our Mission - Sermon

Last week in his sermon, Joel asked the question “Now what?” --

what do we do now that Jesus has shown up and Christmas is over?

what is our response to the reality of Christ on earth?

the CD of that sermon is available for sale at the back of the room –

     Joel will even pay you to buy one!

I want to follow up Joel’s question with another:  Why?

why are we here in the first place?

why are we involved in this Jesus-life – this church stuff – at all?

this is the question of purpose – of mission

     it’s a great question to address at the beginning of a new year –

          an identity refresher

it’s also a great question to address since a bunch of us recently ordered these Celebration T-shirts –

     and these shirts have this church’s mission statement on the back

 A.  What is our mission? --

why does this church exist?

1.  To SEEK to make BELIEVERS,

     we’re here to reach people who do not yet enjoy a genuine relationship

          with Jesus Christ

          that’s our top priority –

                   it’s part of the DNA of this church

     Celebration Church was created to be a “church for the unchurched” –

          for people who had never really encountered Jesus in a life-giving

                   way or who had been turned off to Him by traditional forms of

                   church

          that’s what attracted me to be part of the team that shaped the

                   planting of this church

                   and it’s what attracted me to come on board as one of its pastors

     the design and desire is to meet people where they are and move them

          to belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior

     that’s the first step –

          leading folks to accept Jesus’ offer of real Life

     now I talked about belief and its power on Christmas Eve in conjunction

          with the Polar Express movie

          but a bunch of believers in and of itself is not enough for a healthy,

                   thriving congregation

                   there is another vital step…

2.  To TEACH them to be DISCIPLES,

we need to keep on developing as Christians

faith is dynamic and on-going, not static and one-time

we want Celebration participants to keep moving on the journey,

to deepen their relationship with Jesus,

to grow in their understanding and actual living of the Christian life –

          reading, studying, and applying God’s Word in the Bible,

          revising the ways they interact with others as they become more

                   comfortable and confident in Christ-likeness,

          discovering and using their God-given gifts

          the word “disciple” means “learner”

                   Celebration Church exists to teach people how to drive this vehicle

                             called faith –

                             so they’re not just sitting in park thinking that’s the ride

          and there’s a destination to that ride…

3.  To SEND them out as APOSTLES

          the church was never meant to be a cozy club for the insiders

                   Celebration Church doesn’t simply exist for itself

          we aren’t about being spectators, but players

here, ministry is everybody’s business, not just that of “professional” clergy

one of the greatest thrills of being a Christian is to make an impact beyond oneself by engaging in acts of outreach and service in Jesus’ name

B.  Our model and motivator for all this:  JESUS

          Jesus embodied and lived out this mission

1.  Speaking of himself, Jesus said: 

“The Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10 New Revised Standard Version)

     if His mission was to engage people who weren’t living life well or whom

          life seemed to have passed by and offer the life that is real Life in

          Him, don’t you think that ought to be a primary concern of those who

          claim to be His followers?

     Jesus didn’t seek out the “religious” folks –

          he went after those who had rejected or had been rejected by  

                   religion –

                   the sick, the poor, the hurting, the dead, the sinner, the outsider

                   the misguided, mistreated, miserable, or just plain missed

2.  In his final words before going back home to heaven, Jesus told his

          followers:

“Go therefore and make disciples… teaching them to obey everything

that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20 NRSV)

     last words are pretty important

          Jesus wants us to be teaching others about him

     he spent a huge chunk of his time on earth teaching people –

          about who God really is

          about how much God really loves them

          about where to find what really matters in life

     as his present representatives on earth, we’re to do the same

3.  “And Jesus appointed… apostles, to be with him and to be sent out to proclaim the message.” (Mark 3:14 NRSV)

     “apostle” is a biblical word meaning “one who is sent”

     Jesus trained, empowered, and then cut loose his followers to do what

          he did –

          to go out into the world and make a difference in people’s lives

C.  The mission happens…

sequentially (in stages) –

          you first become a believer, then you move on to discipleship,

                   and then you move out to serve

          there’s a progression –

                   but not always

sometimes it happens simultaneously (all at once)

but it doesn’t stop –

          the mission also happens circularly (back around again) –

                   as you engage in outreach with others, you come to new

                             depths of belief and you desire deeper understandings of

                             the Christian life in order to get back out there in fresh and

                             faithful ways of service in Jesus’ name

let me give you a scriptural example of all three:

One day as Jesus was walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother, Andrew, fishing with a net, for they were commercial fishermen.  Jesus called out [SOUGHT] to them, “Come, be my disciples [TAUGHT], and I will show you how to fish for people [SHOT]!”  And they left their nets at once and went with him. (Mark 1:16-18 New Living Translation)

D.  The mission is both congregational and PERSONAL

     here’s where this all hits home for you –

          three questions to ask yourself and to act on

1.  Whom are you seeking to introduce to Jesus?

you don’t have to be a biblical scholar, but it does help to be acquainted with him

and it doesn’t have to be complicated at all –

     and certainly not pushy

     look at what Philip does:  

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, be my disciple.”  Philip went off to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.” (John 1:43, 45 NLT)

Philip just sought out his friend and told him what he had experienced

this meets our fundamental human need to LOVE

     each of us has certain basic needs beyond physical survival

          one of those is to love and to be loved

     introducing someone to Jesus is the highest expression of love you can

          ever show that person

          it’s not about racking up converts or raking in new members

                   it’s about caring for people

and I know you care

     for our “Bring-a-Friend” Sunday in November, I asked you to fill out an

          “Impact Card” with names of people whose lives really needed God’s

          touch

     you responded in a big way

          you know who in your life – family, friend, co-worker, classmate,

                   neighbor, acquaintance – is missing out on a life-giving

                   relationship with Jesus

          you pray for them

          take the next step of telling them how God has helped you

                   get one person in mind right now whom you will approach this

                             week

and don’t give up

2.  Whom and what are you teaching (intentionally or accidentally) about the Christian life?

one way or another you’re already showing people about the importance –or unimportance – of Jesus in your life

     what are your kids picking up from you?

     what do the people you interact with on a daily basis understand about

          Christianity from the way you conduct yourself?

“Be careful in your life and in your teaching. If you continue to live and teach rightly, you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.” (1

Timothy 4:16 New Century Version)

we all have a fundamental human need to LEARN –

     to grow, develop, adapt, progress, understand

     teaching is one of the best ways of learning

3.  Whom are you sending out to multiply the Good News?

it’s not fair to keep it all for yourself

     there’s a whole world out there that needs to experience Good News,

          and you can’t do it all by yourself

the first churches in the Bible recognized this – like Antioch:

…the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”  Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. (Acts 13:2-3 NRSV)

the “success” of a church is measured not by its seating capacity, but by its

          sending capacity

this meets our fundamental human need to LEAVE A LEGACY –

          to have a lasting impact,

          to make a difference that matters,

          to contribute to the well-being of those who will come after us

there is a fourth – and final – question

          we started with “why?” and that’s where we’ll end:

why does this matter?…

because it’s about the present JOY and eternal DESTINY of yourself and those in your life

there is nothing more important

     there is no mission that is more life-giving

              there is nothing like Good News, indeed…  Amen.