Grace Baptist Santa Clarita: Service Podcast

Today we begin our Summer Wisdom series using the Old Testament book of Proverbs. This ancient text can be baffling in that it appears to be a collection of seemingly unconnected, random sayings. But don’t let that fool you! What we have is a carefully collected set of instructions meant to teach what would have been known as the “way of wisdom.” And though these instructions were sourced in antiquity, they are as relevant and insightful today as when they were first written.

Today we finish our WeCHURCH series with a final challenge to love the church, the bride of Christ. Paul wrote a classic passage on marriage to the Ephesian church, using our human relationship as an illustration of Christ’s love for His bride, the church. Today we look at what it means to be the bride of Christ, what it looks like to be submitted to the Groom, as well as what it means for us as Christ-followers to truly love and respect the church.

When Jesus prayed that His followers would be progressively set apart for purposes of holiness and Kingdom benefit (John 17:17), He also declared that the primary means of spiritual growth was the Word in the hands of the indwelling Spirit. But just how does the Word of God in the hands of the Spirit of God do the work of God in the people of God?

As we come to the final section of our WeCHURCH series we will be spending two weeks looking specifically at the place the Bible is to have in the life of the church. In the past the question of the Bible’s place would have been moot. It was understood that God’s Word was to have a primary place in the life and ministry of the church. But times are changing, and the cultural pressure to be “relevant” has caused many to move away from teaching and preaching the Bible. And those who do continue to use the Bible often employ it as a springboard to their own, more practical moral advice. At Grace our conviction is that the Bible is God’s Word, and it is what God the Spirit uses to do God’s work in and through the lives of God’s people. That doesn’t mean we don’t have to work hard to bring the truth of God’s word to bear on lives in a meaningful and impactful way. What it does mean is that we must work hard at reading, understanding, and obeying biblical principles in a way that the original author would appla

As we continue in our series that looks seriously at what the Word of God calls us to be as we function together as this living organism called the church, it comes with no surprise that our behavior, our choices and actions, will be an integral part of what reflect the heartbeat of Christ. Last week, with Hebrews as our text, the priority and delight of gathering together regularly as Christ-followers was the focus. Today we look at two roles of those of us who gather together that hit very close to home, our time and our money. If you have been around church any length of time, these are not strangers to you. However, you might find the text unusual today as it relates to this topic. Paul’s letter to his dear friends at the church of Philippi is full of many familiar and dear verses to us. In the context of what it means to be and live like Christ, Paul reveals a secret. This secret regarding the ever elusive pursuit of contentment has a direct correlation to the motive behind how we live out our lives toge

The writer of Hebrews had some very important things to tell his readers. Their worship of God, so long made up of sacrifice and ritual, was now centered in the finished work of Jesus Christ. His death and resurrection had changed everything! Apparently some were taking improper advantage of the changes and no longer seeing any necessity to attend the assembly of believers. Essentially they considered that their vertical relationship with God through Jesus Christ was all that mattered. But they were greatly mistaken! To disregard the fact that union with Christ also meant union with all those who are Christ’s was unacceptable. In fact, the author calls it sin, and reminds his readers of the grave consequences of continuing to sin willfully after learning the truth. This text still speaks truth today, and reminds us that those who are truly children of God will more and more delight in the gathering of His family. While not being the only means of spiritual growth, the local weekly gathering of Christ-foll

As the church, we are organized under Christ to accomplish the mission of Christ. This means that our Lord has placed certain expectations on us. These include holiness and doctrinal faithfulness, as we have seen. But the writer of Hebrews throws in one that we may never have considered: Our mutual responsibility to encourage spiritual growth and maturity in one another. Too often the church has become a supermarket where we go to get what we think we need. And while the church is certainly a place where spiritual renewal and knowledge of God ought to abound, we also need to realize that being part of the church means investing in the lives and spiritual growth of those around us in the body of Christ. We are called upon to be God’s tool in the lives of others, and it is a high calling best fulfilled through consistent and focused prayer.

For fifty years, Grace Baptist Church has had a single purpose: To bring the message of God in Christ to a world in need through people who care. Over those fifty years, we have seen great change. People have come and gone. We have built buildings and changed locations, added services, and changed our programs to best suit our times. But one thing has never changed: Our purpose. Today we celebrate the past and ask God to direct our future. We pray that our best times are ahead and that our desire to make and multiply Christ-followers who magnify the glory of God will be fulfilled through the power of God’s Spirit and Word. We believe this mission is the most exciting thing we can do with our lives. “Let the glory of Your name be the passion of the church. Let the righteousness of God be the holy flame that burns. Let the saving love of Christ be the measure of our lives. We believe You’re all to us!”

If we remember that the church is not a building but a group of people organized under the Lordship of Christ and dedicated to the mission of Christ, we are ready to ask an important question: What does our Lord expect of us as His church, His bride? The writer of Hebrews gives us a good place to start in finding the answer. In our text he exhorts his readers in three areas: 1) Confidence before God based on the cleansing work of Jesus 2) Tenacity in holding to the essential doctrines of God’s Word 3) Intentionality in being used of God in the lives of others to bring them to greater likeness to Christ. Today we look at the 2nd great expectation Jesus has of us, His Church: Doctrinal Faithfulness

The book of Hebrews gives us a powerful look at the sufficiency and supremacy of Jesus Christ and how those truths play out in the life of the Church. Primarily written to believers who were Jewish converts to Christianity and who were being tempted to revert back to Judaism or find substitutes for Jesus’ work, Hebrews has important implications for what’s expected of us as the Church today. Six foundational verses from Chapter 10 give us some key anchors for believers, both individually and corporately.

Jesus Himself said that being His disciple would mean enduring the suffering He Himself endured. It would demand that we deny ourselves and take up His cross. So, why would anyone do it? Why do something hard? Why give up living life on your own to follow Jesus as Master of your life? A missionary named Jim Elliot was martyred trying to bring the message of Jesus Christ to the jungles of Ecuador. Here was his answer to the question: He is no fool to give what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose. I love being a Christ-follower because in Christ I have found fundamental truths that make sense of this world and infuse me with meaning, purpose, and satisfaction in this life, and a guarantee of eternal joy in the next.

As we have seen, unity in the church is God’s doing. We do not create unity but we are called upon to preserve it. Paul’s call to be “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” places the obligation on all who follow Christ. Last week we saw how error in the church is the starting place of division. God’s provision of men who teach and model God’s Word is a primary way in which He provides for the ongoing unity of the church. But each individual also bears responsibility to live in such a way that the unity of the church is strengthened. This weekend we look at the part holiness and humility play in the preserving and strengthening of church unity.

How should the church be defined? What characteristics should the church display? What are the distinguishing traits of the church Jesus is building? In the New Testament writings of the Apostles we find the answers. Today we will look at Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church. Throughout his letter, Paul stresses the fact that, in Christ, Jew and Non-Jew have been brought together to form “one new man.” This unity is nothing short of amazing given the enmity that has existed between these two groups. Yet in Christ they have a new identity best demonstrated in their unity in the church. But how is this unity defined? What is its basis, and how will it be maintained? Lastly, whose job is it to preserve the unity of the church? What we will find is that unity is built on truth, maintained by love, and strengthened through what each of us contributes.

When Jesus met His disciples on that hill in Galilee, they wondered just what was going to happen next. Hadn’t Rome demonstrated its hatred of what Jesus was and stood for? Now that He was resurrected, what was going to happen? Jesus stills their ignorance with a direct charge to engage in the mission of Christ through the church to the world. Their charge is our charge as well. The church that Jesus is building (Matthew16:18, 19) will go out in the authority of Christ to all the nations of the world, teaching the truth of Christ in the power of Christ who will be with them even to the end of the age. Central to this mission is the truth of God as revealed in Jesus and the Bible. The church that Jesus is building will know, proclaim, obey, and defend this truth. If the church were to turn aside from the truth of God it would cease to be of any value, either to heaven or earth.

In some of His last words before leaving His disciples, Jesus gave clear marching orders, defining the mission of His church in no uncertain terms. Those final words probably led the disciples to revisit some of His first words, which shed helpful light on that mission. The two passages combine to call us to be a gospel-centered people, living out and speaking out the most important message in human history.

The mission of the church has already been set by Jesus Christ Himself. When He charged His disciples to “make disciples,” He meant that the primary and consistent mission of the church He is building is to see more and more people come to own an allegiance to Christ as His followers, His disciples. Discipleship is not new, but it is often misunderstood. What or who is a disciple? What is this thing called discipleship? Who should be involved? And what does involvement look like and accomplish anyway? If Jesus intended that the mission of His church would center on making disciples then it must be pretty important. And if it was important to Him then it must be important to us. The fact is that every Christ-follower is really a disciple. The question is just this: as a Christ-follower, how well are you following?

When Jesus said “I will build My church,” He determined that the church would be: a group of people who are following Christ, organized under the lordship of Christ, and dedicated to fulfilling the mission of Christ. Today we begin a 3 week study asking just what this mission is that Jesus has given to His church. From the start we must confess that this mission is not ours to determine. It has already been explained for us by Jesus himself. The mission of the church is actually quite simple to state: To make disciples of all peoples. We might even define it this way: Our mission is to make more Christ-followers who will make more Christ-followers. Here at Grace we have stated it this way: We exist to make and multiply Christ-followers who magnify the glory of God. Today we will find out why this is our mission, and not only ours, but the mission of every church that Jesus Christ is building!

When we try to determine just what the “church” is, we really aren’t free to decide on the answer for ourselves. Jesus has already given us the starting point, and the Apostles wrote down the basics in the New Testament. Very simply put … The Church is … A group of people who are following Christ Organized under the lordship of Christ Dedicated to fulfilling the mission of Christ Today we look more carefully at what it means for the church to be “organized under the lordship of Christ.” We’ll look at what the Bible has to say about how the risen and ascended Christ continues to lead, feed, and care for His church through godly men called and affirmed to be leaders. And we’ll also consider the fact that the whole purpose of Christ’s ministry to the church is for the accomplishing of His mission through the church.

The story of God’s redemptive mission, fleshed out in the person and work of Jesus Christ, is not a story that can be dismissed once it has been heard. This story – the Gospel! – brings with it the power of God to change everything. Through the Gospel, God brings repentance and faith, forgiveness of sins, and transformed, holy living. Through the Gospel His rescue mission reaches out to a world in desperate need. Through the Gospel the magnificence and glory of God is displayed. And here’s the deal: This Gospel has been entrusted to the Church for the purpose of bringing it to our neighbors, our city, our world. We’ve learned about Jesus and the redeeming story of the Gospel through the writings of Mark. But now the question remains: What is our part in the rescue mission Jesus has inaugurated through His life, death, and resurrection? The answer is simple: We are the church. We are His Church. We are His delivery system. Before Jesus left this earth, He declared that He would build His Church, and woul