Sunday was the final sermon in this series on our Church mission statement. The two texts we learned from spoke clearly about the most effective means of communication we have for making Christ known; namely, our communal life on display for the world to see.
We looked again at the Acts 2 passage that provides a concise snapshot of the life of the first body of believers in the gospel message. Weeks ago we mentioned that the four disciplines this early church was devoted to were scripture study, fellowship, worship, and prayer- our four keys to knowing Christ. What we looked at on Sunday was what those disciplines resulted in.
“They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” The result was the transformation of the world around them as people were being redeemed from lives of sin into life in Christ. Their witness was their life together.
And why was this the case? We discovered that in the passage we read from John 17. Jesus prays, “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message… may they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me… may they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
Christ’s prayer was that the unity of those who would believe through the message of the apostles would bear witness to the world of God’s love for them in Jesus. The church does a disservice to the cause of Christ when we are divided over the trite and inconsequential. How we serve and sacrifice and honor one another within the body is the validity of our testimony; it’s the picture of our profession; it’s what makes our faith ring true for the lost around us.
In closing this sermon I drew attention to a prayer card that we printed. This business card on one side said, “________________ is committed to prayer for First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs.”
We looked again at the Acts 2 passage that provides a concise snapshot of the life of the first body of believers in the gospel message. Weeks ago we mentioned that the four disciplines this early church was devoted to were scripture study, fellowship, worship, and prayer- our four keys to knowing Christ. What we looked at on Sunday was what those disciplines resulted in.
“They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” The result was the transformation of the world around them as people were being redeemed from lives of sin into life in Christ. Their witness was their life together.
And why was this the case? We discovered that in the passage we read from John 17. Jesus prays, “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message… may they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me… may they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
Christ’s prayer was that the unity of those who would believe through the message of the apostles would bear witness to the world of God’s love for them in Jesus. The church does a disservice to the cause of Christ when we are divided over the trite and inconsequential. How we serve and sacrifice and honor one another within the body is the validity of our testimony; it’s the picture of our profession; it’s what makes our faith ring true for the lost around us.
In closing this sermon I drew attention to a prayer card that we printed. This business card on one side said, “________________ is committed to prayer for First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs.”
And on the reverse side it had a prayer based on the mission statement we have been studying which reads, “Great God of love, give us a vision for your church. Show us how it is that we are to know you more fully. Reveal to us what it would mean for us to make Christ known both near and far. Through your Spirit we pray that you would do more in us and through us than we could ask or imagine for the sake of your kingdom and glory. In the name of Jesus we pray these things. Amen.”
Those cards were handed out to the congregation after both services. Lord, hear our prayer.
Pastor Scott
Those cards were handed out to the congregation after both services. Lord, hear our prayer.
Pastor Scott
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