General
Introduction
At
the beginning of 2008 we were 21 years old as a church. Although we
had been much blessed over the years, we felt we needed to look again
at what it means to be ‘church' and to refocus our thinking. Using some
of the headings from Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Church we
have looked again at who we are and what our calling is.
While
we were thinking about doing this, the Lord specifically said, “Don't
forget what I have called YOU to be.” We were aware that this was all
about grace, and so as we looked at the headings within this book, we
asked how it may be presented in a ‘grace manner' (which will become
obvious in the messages that follow.) We are aware that there are many
churches that have been very blessed by the ‘purpose driven' approach
yet we felt that OUR calling is to emphasise grace. We do not in any
way wish to detract from the very successful approach that Rick had
brought to the body of Christ, but simply feel we have been called to
motivate by vision and encouragement which was what was behind the messages
that follow on these pages.
We
have struggled with this ‘grace issue' as we have sought to use it through
which to view the otherwise excellent approach by Rick. The purpose
of the notes on these pages is simply to provide a reminder for our
congregation (and hopefully a help for anyone else who is interested)
and comprises notes of the messages preached in the early months of
2008 in RCC.
I
have to confess as we have prepared and delivered these messages, I
have become convinced that most churches (us included) only partially
understand or experience these things. I have thus also become convinced
that they are key issues for us to grapple with and learn to apply.
As we do that, I am sure we will see our churches transformed.
I
want to take this opportunity to thank the various guys who have shared
the preaching-teaching task with me in bringing this teaching as a means
of refocusing on who we are called to me as ‘church'. Because we limited
ourselves to half-hour messages, as I have reviewed each of these sets
of notes, I have added a 'Final Comment' to each one, highlighting the
key issues. I hope you find the notes useful.
At
the moment, there are two mini-series' covered here:
•
The Great Commandment & the Great
Commission
•
reflecting on the instructions given
by Jesus in these.
Sunday Services
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