*no sermon audio
Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:41-47
The pastoral priority of the Church is to make disciples of those who are being born again.
Jesus' commission calls every local church/pastoral team to thoughtfully and intentionally answer at least three questions and then to thoughtfully, diligently, and consistently execute on their answers.
I. WHO do we seek to make into disciples?
Those whom the Lord adds to our church. These are brothers and sisters who are:
- Authentically reborn
- Publicly identified
- Locally aligned
II. WHAT do we want to make them into?
“Doers” of all that Jesus commanded. What we mean by this, is people whose gospel-informed faith is so infused with gospel-defined hope that their lives are characterized by gospel-inspired love. We call these people “gospel fluent,” because the gospel comes to inform and drive more and more of what they do every day.
We strive to be a community of believers who:
Find beauty in the ordinary,
Fight to show up, and
Faithfully engage in meaningful conversation
III. HOW are we going to do this?
By creating spaces and routines that promote biblical literacy and gospel fluency.
What can you do to make this happen?
The answer is found in our sermon text: And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Simply put, those people who had received the word, who were baptized, and who were added to the number adjusted their lives and routines so as to become active participants in this new thing God was doing in their lives and in their midst. Becoming a disciple of Jesus was the only thing that made sense to them and they were all in.
