Colossians 1:26-29
(Click.)
The church's purpose is to...
1. Proclaim Christ
2. Present every person mature in Christ
No parent wants their kid to stay at age 2... And they aren't intended to do so. If they do, something is wrong. God doesn't want us to, either. He wants us to become fully mature. In verse 28 it says that the goal is to present "everyone perfect in Christ". And in verse 29 Paul says that he expends all his energies towards this end, and the energy of the Holy Spirit. He has a passion for it.
Isn't that crazy? How can we change our mindsets to be driven to bringing everyone to spiritual maturity? I think somethings we get too caught up in our own relationships with God; while they are important, I think it's beneficial to realize hey... That person needs prayer. Or ministry. Or Biblical advice.
We should live our life according to this...
L.oving God (with your heart, soul, and mind)
I.nvesting in others (with a Savior focus)
F.ollowing His Word (you can't mature apart from it)
E.ngaging our world (share the love and message of Christ)
"Christ centered movement in your heart"
^in reference to serving in the church. I like the fact that it's a spiritual step forward to realize "Hm, I want to serve my church." The church has poured into you for the years you've gone there and grown up there, (or came to college and you've been there a few weeks) and now you have the desire to give back to it and help it in its mission in any way you can; because you believe in its mission.
^that was how I felt about Pine Cove. Turns out it wasn't how I was supposed to serve the kingdom of God. That doesn't mean I'm not supposed to serve in other ways.
God's Word shapes our...
Comprehension
Convictions
Conduct
It determines our morals, our convictions on who we are and where we came from, what we believe. By extension it shapes our behavior; it will change us in ways we never thought possible.
Questions to ask to enrich your study of the Bible:
1. What is this passage teaching?
2. Why is it here?
3. Lord, how should I respond?
The messengers of Christ embody the message. We are ambassadors for Christ. How did you end up in church anyway? Because somebody probably engaged you.
Well, hey, that's true. I had no idea where I wanted to go to church when I came to Baylor. A friend invited me to Acts the second week of school... Little did I know that I would come to consider it my church home. (But really- visiting churches with my mom to help her find a new church has been fun, but I miss my church!)
If that simple engagement of "hey, wanna go to church with me next week?" can have that much of an impact, just think what would happen if we all did that! If we all went to those strangers, to those people we see that we feel we should talk to, and simply invited them to church, or asked if we could pray for them. I hope I have the boldness to do that.
(Baby Ruth definition of bold: willing to offend.)
The four stages of Christ centered development.
1. Starting
2. Growing
3. Investing
4. Discipling
"A country cultivates what it honors." --Plato
Whoa man. If a country cultivates what it honors, America might be in trouble. (So many cat videos.)
^cat videos aside, a recent topic of conversation I've had is the concept of instant gratification in our country. Because it's just so prevalent. Microwaves, Snapchats, fast food, online shopping. We can literally have anything we want just like that.
But I digress.
Mission:
Glorifying God by living out the life we have in Christ.
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