Back to Church Sunday 2019: Part 4 “Servant Leaders & God’s Mission”

Back to Church Sunday 2019: Part 4 “Servant Leaders & God’s Mission”

Pastor Rollan Fisher with Guest Speaker Pastor Reggie Roberson

Growing up it seemed like the lead pastor of the church was supposed to be everything and everywhere?  The pastor was supposed to be at the hospital when every church member or their kid was sick. The pastor was supposed to be at every graduation from graduate school all the way down to kindergarten. The pastor was supposed to be at every birthday party.  The pastor was supposed to do every funeral and wedding even if they were happening at the same time.  The pastor was supposed to remember every person's name and take every phone call.  The pastor should be the best greeter, children's minister, youth minister, outreach guy, teacher, consultant, and adviser.  The pastor is supposed to do all of this while somehow giving his own family love, attention, and leadership as well as living off of a meager amount of money. 

I have two questions for you:  

How many of you would sign up to be a pastor like I just described?  

How many of you think that it is pretty unreasonable to ask one person or even two to do all of this?  

What’s interesting is that God also thinks this is unreasonable to ask of one person to do all of this.  In fact, God is grieved at anyone approaching church in this way because it hinders us in fulfilling God’s mission.   

• This approach to church deprives the pastor of having a balanced life that can serve God and others well without burning out.  

• This approach also deprives followers of Christ of using their God-given gifts, strengths, and opportunities to serve each other and the world.   

What we are going to see in our passage today, Acts 6:1-7 is God’s approach to fulfilling his mission through the church through servant leaders.  

1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word. 5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Big Idea:  We fulfill God’s mission by accepting His calling, appointing, and anointing.   

The first thing we read in this chapter is that there is a dispute between Christian widows who are Jewish (Hebraic) and greek (Hellenistic).  

1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.

This is significant because it is the first time there was a dispute within the body of Christ or the church.  

You see, in Acts 5 the church has disputer but it was the religious leaders who had crucified Jesus earlier, who were not members of the church.  Peter and John had been thrown in prison and then freed by an angel to go preach the gospel again.  

Now this a dispute among widows threatened to undermine, disrupt, and stifle God’s mission to see the world come to know him.  Think of how the church would have been branded by people if they did not deal with this dispute well: 

• They don’t really practice what they preach.

• They are no better than the world, at least the world (jews) tried to do something for us.

• This Christianity is really a religion for one type of ethnicity; in this case the Jews.  

So what did God do in response to this issue that was going to hinder His mission to see more people know him and possibly rip the church apart?

We see God doing three things: 

Calling people to His mission

God uses this circumstance to wake up the church to His voice.  They become the woke church. 

You can hear God saying through this bible passage, “Look, I am calling you through a particular need to step up and help.  Why? I don’t want my mission to be hindered. I want my mission fulfilled and it’s going to require all of us to serve in some way.  The apostles accepted the call to delegate and not try to do everything so they can fulfill God’s glorious mission. While the church accepts God’s call by being problem solvers and actually serving and not being complainers.  

As the church, we are called to be participators and not spectators.  Spectators would look at the problem and just complain, fault-find, or say somebody else will deal with that issue but not me.  

We are called to be a part of the solution and not perpetuate the problem. 

Story Lilly Ferrick -serving the shut-in isolated/widow and wants to do systematic studies through the bible vs. pastor we should have this or be doing this.  

Can you hear God’s voice calling you to serve in a particular area?  

What problems or potential issues is God highlighting with you to solve in the church?  

What gaps do you see?

This is a moment for us to see what God may ask us to do in order to fulfill his mission as servant leaders.  

The next thing we see is God...

Appointing people for His mission

In this story, we find that the apostles and people have a very important moment of clarification from God about this issue of appointment.  

First, the church leaders realize they can not do everything.  They can do something and they prioritize two things. Verse 2 and 4 tells us.  2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 

4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

• Prayer private yes but more so with the community of Christ-followers.  

• The second is the ministry or service of equipping people to be able to understand and share God’s word.  

Without them doing this God’s mission will be stifled.  

It becomes clear to them that in order for God’s mission to continue they must share the stewardship of God’s mission with the church; it can not just be them.  God was appointing not just the apostle but everyone to help steward God's mission and promote it.  

So then they appointed some people within the church to serve the widows using their God-given strengths and abilities. 

This shows us two important truths:  

Every task is important. (Waiting on tables was not a menial task but was a way of caring for people God cares about. 

““Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.”

-‭‭Exodus‬ ‭22:22-24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Parking lot team and greeters seems pretty unimportant right?  

Wrong here’s a survey feedback from a guest this past week. 

Answer the questions: What did you notice first?  

“The special attention to making guests feel welcomed. The yellow designations in the parking lot, guest tent & gift bag, guest greeter. Made us feel very welcomed and at ease.”

Every task is important

Every person is valuable. 

Every person has some type of ability or strength that God has given them to help fulfill God’s mission in the church and in the world.  It talks about the seven but the people had a role in appointing the seven.

My friend Justin Thomas was trained in being a health coach. He has a passion for young professionals, especially one’s coming out of college.  He decided in the church to lead our young professional’s ministry.  

Picture of CL Thomas fellowship 

Outside of the church, he founded an organization called CL Thomas Fellowship named after is dad in which he takes young men through a 9-month program where through books and discussions they are learning to be providers.  Providers bless and protect.  

What are you passionate about?  What ability and strengths has God given you?  Are you willing to use them to steward God’s mission for second city church? 

Anointing people in His mission

These seven guys are considered by scholars to be the first deacons to be appointed in the church.  The word for deacon in its original language is “helper”. Deacons are leaders in service as servant leaders.  The passage tells us that they were chosen and presented to the apostles by the congregation and the apostles laid their hands on them and prayed for them.  The apostles through this act of laying their hands on them became conduits for God’s power to be activated in the lives of the deacons for God’s mission. The power is what we call the anointing.  

Why were they anointed and not others at the time?  What was the basis of their anointing?  

5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 

• They were known by the people and did not have a private faith.  They attended church regularly, they went to community groups, and they were faithful. FAITH.

• They were seen as being men full of faith. They were not perfect but they had noticeable confidence in God.  They lived in such a way that their confidence in God was expressed through what they said what they did.

• The were full of the Holy Spirit.  This meant that the presence of the Holy Spirit, the fruit or love of the Holy Spirit, and they power of the Holy Spirit was present in their lives.  

What would people say about you when they observe your life?  

Do you stand out enough for others to recognize you as a man or woman of God? A follower of Christ?  

Does your speech and actions show you are confident in Christ?

If you are a Believer in Christ, the good news today is that you have been given a measure of faith and the Holy Spirit lives in you!  You can be like any of these men, fulfilling God’s purpose and mission for you life as servant leaders. 

Lastly, the reason God anoints us is so we can fulfill this great mission known as the great commission in and through the church to Make disciples of Jesus Christ and all of the groups according to Matthew 28:18-20.

7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

When everyone did their part the church flourished and grew and lives were changed forever.  All of this is so that the mission that God had in Christ would be fulfilled. 

God became man in Christ and died on the cross for us to pay the punishment for our sins and provide forgiveness of sins, to bring us into an everlasting relationship as sons and daughters with the Heavenly Father that starts now, and to give us eternal inheritance now and in the new heaven and new earth.  Righteousness or right standing with God, peace, joy, and fulfilling our purpose are all a part of this inheritance.

We fulfill God’s mission by accepting His calling, appointing, and anointing.   

Second City Church - Back to Church Sunday 2019 - Guest Speaker Pastor Reggie Roberson 2019

Back to Church Sunday 2019: Part 3 "Unity with Diversity"

Back to Church Sunday 2019: Part 3 "Unity with Diversity"

Pastor Rollan Fisher

• The Unity God Desires

• Utopic Ideals

• Unmitigated Forgiveness

People who were committed to the gatherings of the people God (despite their differences with those gathered with them):

David - Heart differences with other Israelites

Jesus - Nature and Holiness

Paul - Gentiles

Luke 1 and 4 - the first places Jesus ministered were at the Temple as a boy and in the Synagogue after returning in the power of the Spirit

Unity God Desires

Jesus builds his church with a people of diverse ethnic, socio-economic, cultural and experiential backgrounds. We must celebrate this and learn to share life together as we are being conformed into the image of Christ.

A Song of Ascents Of David:

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.

-Psalm 133:1-3

Who is spurring you on to greater faith, love and good deeds In Christ?

-Hebrews 10:19-25

“Children will play with everyone until someone tells them not to.”

Utopic Ideals

Biases and offense are the killers of unity in the Church. We must resist both in the love of Christ.

How to Pick (be planted by the Lord in) a Local Church.

Once you have prayed and discovered that it is a Bible Preaching, Jesus loving church on mission, build life together with the church community.

Spending Time with people is the only way to overcome suspicions, misunderstandings and cultural stereotypes. You begin to see that people have the same hopes, the same dreams, the same aspirations, needs from God and fears. You all breathe the same air.

Intentionally develop friendships and have people in your home (a good read - Rosario Butterfield‘s - The Gospel Comes With a House Key).

“Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.”

-Verna Myers, VP of Inclusion Strategy at Netflix, TED Talk Contributor, Founder of the Verna Myers Company

Don’t be afraid to ask questions to get to know another person’s experience, perspective and pain. You unite Biblically around the cross and gospel of Christ.

-(Racism and Champ Bailey’s Hall of Fame speech - listen to those experiencing something different from you.)

Immigration and how to treat the foreigner

Humility is necessary on both the side of the listener and the one who shares. Dealing with things as a porcupine. The city brings out biases and accentuates issues.

-Unknown author.

v. 47 indicates they are in exile. A community lament. Crisis after persistent unfaithfulness.

Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise. They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the Lord. Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them that he would make them fall in the wilderness, and would make their offspring fall among the nations, scattering them among the lands.

-Psalm 106:24-27

“The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community, but the person who loves those around them will create community.”

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Life Together

Don’t allow offenses with brothers and sisters to hamstring the work of God.

23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

-Matthew 5:23-26

“Those who love their dream of a Christian community more than they love the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian community even though their personal intentions may be ever so honest, earnest and sacrificial. God hates this wishful dreaming because it makes the dreamer proud and pretentious. Those who dream of this idolized community demand that it be fulfilled by God, by others and by themselves. They enter the community of Christians with their demands set up by their own law, and judge one another and God accordingly. It is not we who build. Christ builds the church. Whoever is mindful to build the church is surely well on the way to destroying it, for he will build a temple to idols without wishing or knowing it.“

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Life Together

Unmitigated Forgiveness

We preserve unity in diversity by continually offering the forgiveness that we were first offered at the cross of Jesus Christ.

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

-Matthew 18:21-35

Jesus makes a way for men and women to be born again. This is the cure for the deep seeded ills such as the racism and the bigotries of this world. We need to repent of our self-centered, ethnocentric and culturally biased living (which tells us we deserve our best life now and we should have Eden on this side of redemption - an impossibility in a fallen world marred by sin). We need to put our full trust in Jesus, the crucified and risen Son of God to supernaturally be given a new heart and new spirit to empower us to live in the life of Christ.

Second City Church - Back to Church Sunday 2019 - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2019

Back to Church Sunday 2019: Part 2 "Building the House"

Back to Church Sunday 2019: Part 2 "Building the House"

Pastor Rollan Fisher

• Battle

• Become Active

• Build

Battle

God places you in his church to fight battles both external and internal.

To the Choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.

God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate him shall flee before him! As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away; as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God! But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy! Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the Lord; exult before him! Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land. O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, Selah the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel. Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad; you restored your inheritance as it languished; your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

Psalm 68:1-10

King David knew battles both external and internal. He needed to be continually connected God and his people to overcome in the midst of these battles.

Externally (After defeating Goliath, David needed the army of Israel to defeat the Philistines. On the run from Saul at work, he needed Jonathan to survive).

Internally (After becoming a successful, victorious king, David needed the prophet Nathan to help him overcome his battles with lust, adultery, deception and murder as seen in the case with Bathsheba. He needed the wise woman of Tekoa to deal with family issues when, because of the discipline of God, his family looked like it was falling apart (reference II Samuel 11-19 for David’s failed response with Amnon and Tamar; the following judgment and being on the run from his son Absalom).

“Whether we like having alone time or not, we all need community. In fact, engaging positively with people in our social support network correlates with a number of desirable outcomes. Community involvement can be associated with mental health and cognitive resilience, reduction of chronic pain, lower blood pressure, and improved cardiovascular health. Isolation, on the other hand, can negatively affect our well being.”

-Dr. Caroline Leaf, Think Learn, Succeed: Understanding and Using Your Mind to Thrive at School, the Workplace and Life

With the proliferation and ubiquitous nature of social media, we feel like we’re connecting, but we’re still alone. The ministry of presence with God and his church is important. God sets the solitary, the lonely, in a home, in a family. Don’t voluntarily live in a parched land.

Become Active

God places you in his church to get active to remain spiritually, mentally and emotionally healthy.

One of the reasons David fell into sin is that he became inactive. Pride began to creep into his heart telling him he now deserved things that God had proclaimed forbidden.

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”

2 Samuel 11:1-3

Build

God places you in his church to become a disciple who will work his field and build for the glory of his eternal Kingdom.

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”

Matthew 20:1-16

No matter where you began or when you were called, God’s same saving grace is available for you today. Repent of solitary, selfish living. Be healed in reconciliation with God. Come to the cross to receive God’s forgiveness through Christ’s sacrificial death for your sins, burial and resurrection to eternal life. Be baptized and deployed with God’s people to fight your battles, become active as a disciple and build God’s Kingdom.

Second City Church - Back to Church Sunday 2019 - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2019

Back to Church Sunday 2019: Part 1 "The Church and the City"

Back to Church Sunday 2019: Part 1 "The Church and the City"

Pastor Rollan Fisher

• The City of God

• The Church in the City

• Coming to the Wellspring of Christ

The City of God

The church is where you find the grace of God in the city.

A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song.

On the holy mount stands the city he founded; the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. Selah Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush — “This one was born there,” they say. And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; for the Most High himself will establish her. The Lord records as he registers the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.”

-Psalm 87:1-7

The Basis of Faith

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

-Ephesians 2:8-10

“Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjacks' wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the Church's inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing. Since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of using and spending it are infinite. What would grace be if it were not cheap?... Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession…Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Disciplship

The Church in the City

The church is God’s vehicle through which He dispense grace to the city.

• The mInistry of presence

• Psalms 139 vs. temple

“Christianity revitalized life in Greco-Roman cities by providing new norms and new kinds of social relationships able to cope with many urgent urban problems. To cities filled with the homeless and the impoverished, Christianity offered charity as well as hope. To cities filled with newcomers and strangers, Christianity offered an immediate basis for attachments. To cities filled with orphans and widows, Christianity provided a new and expanded sense of family. To cities torn by violent ethnic strife, Christianity offered a new basis for social solidarity. And to cities faced with epidemics, fires, and earthquakes, Christianity offered effective nursing services.”

-Rodney Stark

Article to Freshmen (and newcomers to a city, new season of life - applies to any time of transition).

“To quit attending church in college would be like Noah jumping out of the ark, forsaking the chief means God was using to preserve him.

"You need the church because you need to hear God’s Word. You need the church because you need wise and godly mentors. You need the church because you need accountability for your profession of faith. You need the church because you need reminders that your identity rests in Christ crucified. By his death he purchased for you all the power, energy, and motivation you need to invest your life in a local church.”

-From the article: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/college-freshman-commit-church/

Coming to the Wellspring of Christ

The church is full of grace because it is built on the wellspring of Christ.

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

-John 6:35-40

“Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.

Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.

Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: “ye were bought at a price,” and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.”

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

Repent of sin today. Come to the cross of Christ where he, being sinless, paid the price for your forgiveness. He was crucified, but resurrected from the dead not only to give you the opportunity for new/eternal life, but has given you his church so that you might have the encouragement to stand in that new life. Be planted in Christ and his church/body today.

Second City Church - Back to Church Sunday 2019 - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2019

Back to Church Sunday - Back to What?

Christ

God's church is the pillar and foundation of the truth. It helps you see God and His plan for the world clearly through the preaching of His eternal word.

1 Timothy 3:14-16
I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

Matthew 16:13-20
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. 

Community

God's church is a family. We share life together during the ups and the downs, during the trials and successes as we pursue Christ and His Kingdom.

Matthew 12:46, 48-50
While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” 

"Christian brotherhood is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate." 
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (1939) 

Comfort

God's church is a refuge. It is a place to find healing and wholeness in God in the midst of life's struggles.

Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

Change

God's church is your vehicle for change. It's people help you and society get there.

2 Timothy 2:19
But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” 

Renaming the city:  The church should be on the front lines of addressing issues such as:

Systemic Poverty
Racism

Matthew 16:21-28
From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

"If God gives you a few more years, remember, it is not yours.  Your time must honor God, your home must honor God, your activity must honor God, and everything you do must honor God." 
- A.W. Tozer

Second City Church: Back To Church Sunday Sermon 2016