What Made the First Church
So Compelling?
1. They committed to authentic community. – We are
designed to be in relationship.
The church is where you can experience relationships
the way they were meant to be. They “devoted” themselves.. The church is where you can be loved &
accepted.
2. They gave God wholehearted worship. – Do we show our
appreciation for athletes more than we do God?
Romans 12:1-2 (proper worship is being a living sacrifice) Therefore, I urge
you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a
living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper
worship.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be
able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect
will.
The
church is where God gets the glory He deserves.
3. They took
their spiritual growth seriously. –This is the most important purpose, because
the others hinge on this one.
The church is where you can become the best
you - you can be.
Can you get
better? Where do you start?
You
must Show Up in order to Grow Up in the Lord.
4. They invested in positive priorities. –What do you do with your time, talent,
treasure?
Some sing, “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go!” -What do you owe God?
The church is where our time, talents, and treasure
get invested for eternity. Where are you
storing up your treasure?
5. They invited others to join them. – If you loved church you’d invite others!
The church is where people get adopted into God’s family.
We are all called to be in the ministry
of reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5:18 -19 – All
this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the
ministry of reconciliation: that
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins
against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Are you ready to “Be the Church”?