This past Sunday, 10/19, I preached a sermon titled “Measuring Up” at The Blue Point Bible Church. I offered insights and had us ponder, “How does the Church find a way to measure up “to the stature of the fullness of Christ?”.
A resource I have been utilizing and teaching through is Dr. Gene Getz’ series, The Measure of Spiritual Maturity. In the session on “Church Renewal”, Dr. Gene Getz and Bruce Wilkinson bring us in on what they refer to as the “The Dymanic Jerusalem Model”. This model is offered up as the proper way to find renewal in our lives and in the church. Bruce Wilkinson even goes on to say, “You can count’s on God’s blessing when you do it His way”. This brings us to Acts 2:42. I encouraged us to make a list and begin asking ourselves individually and consider collectively how we practice these things regularly.
- Apostles teaching
- Fellowship
- Breaking of Bread
- Prayer
I mentioned of oft-mentioned idea that the Book of Ephesians is a “church manual”. We read through large portions of Ephesians such as chapters 2:13-22; 3:8 – 19, and Ephesians 4:11 – 16. We also considered that there is liberty in different expressions of church – Bible teaching focused, fellowship focused, and evangelism focused (and all the inbetween’s). Either way, as is clear in the text, we have to be in fellowship, “healthily engaged” with the Church.
In conclusion, I had us consider and ‘renew our minds’ (regarding our individual lives and our collective church life) with two quotes;
“Just like a beggar who has chanced upon a treasure of great price, reflect upon your freedom and advantages (opportunitiues)”
- Tibetan scholar Longchenpa
- what are our freedoms? What freedom are we proclaiming?
- What advantages/opportunities do we have?
“There are 3 central values in life – the experiential, or that which happens to us; the creative, or that which we bring into existence, and the attitudal, or our response to difficultt circumstances. The highest of these is attitudal. In other words, what matters most is how we respond to what we experience in life. – Daily Relfections For Highkly Effective People
- what are you/we experincing that demonstrates the presence and purpose of God in the Church?
- what are you/we creating that demonstrates the presence and purpose of God in the Church?
- what is your/our attitude regarding God’s presence and purpose in and through His Church, even this church?
Are you, Inhibiting or Contributing to “Church Renewal” here at The Blue Point Bible Church?