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Cell Notes
I attach my notes from Sunday's preach. It would be really good this week to practice praying for anyone who is sick and to consider together some helpful guidelines for this in preparation for Sunday's Healing Meeting. It would be doubly good to commit together as a cell group to be at church by 10.30am this Sunday to help welcome guests tot he meeting.
What does it mean to be a member of New River Church?
Q. what did church mean for you when you first started getting interested in Christianity?
Q. What does it mean now?
Q. What does it mean to be a member of a church?
Q. What does the Bible say about church membership?
Recap, what is church?
3 aims:
The People of God - including anticipating now what is going to be in the future!
Called to be and make radical disciples (worshipping community)
The Life of God preserved in Suitable Containers
[Membership that reflects that rather than other things often associated with membership]
Start with the Word and then state some specifics re: NRC
Acts 2:42-47
[The Message]
41-42That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers. 43-45Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person's need was met. 46-47They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.
Open air - visible to all!
Not a lengthy membership card with approval of doctrine and a letter of recommendation from previous church (no previous church)
However, not anything goes!
Church as worship, community and mission
Increasingly, a definition of what they are about and the option for people to opt in or out!
Recent evangelistic desire of esp. evangelical and new church in this country
Membership is not therefore first and foremost about attendance, tithing and roles but about the willingness to participate and grow in worship, community and mission
[not clear cut, in some senses a sign of success when there’s some fuzziness in the demarkations]
Development of these ideas elsewhere in NT church:
Rom. 12:1 ¶ Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship.
Rom. 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Rom. 12:3 ¶ For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
Rom. 12:4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,
Rom. 12:5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Rom. 12:6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
Rom. 12:7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;
Rom. 12:8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Rom. 12:9 ¶ Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
Rom. 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Rom. 12:11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
Rom. 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Rom. 12:13 Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Rom. 12:14 ¶ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
Rom. 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
Rom. 12:16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Rom. 12:17 ¶ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
Rom. 12:18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Rom. 12:19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.
Rom. 12:20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Rom. 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
3 definitions of church, two weeks ago:
1. The New Community of the King
Romans
Main theme = renewal of humankind and church living as renewed humankind and therefore the new Israel
(1-4 Creation and Israel - fulfilled in Jesus
4-8 assurance those who believe in the gospel are new Israel
8-12 theological understanding of the mission of the church, Jew first also to Greek)
ch.12 now to learn about fully, integrated humanness
idolatry and immorality = characteristics of pagan world; true worship and true living = characteristics of Christians
Rom. 12:9 ¶ Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
living out the tension of a heavenly way of earth whilst living in the world
Christian ethics = anticipation in the present of God’s rule in the future
Vision of the future:
Rev. 7:9 ¶ After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
Rev. 7:10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
Rev. 7:11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
Rev. 7:12 saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”
In the future: worship - totally, community - totally, mission achieved - nations
Membership reflects our desire to learn to live in a heavenly way now!
Membership is expressed in our willingness to embrace heaven now in worship
(giving worth to God by choosing to love Him with our thoughts, attitudes, words and actions), community life (diverse community of peace) and mission (calling the nations to Jesus)
Microwave onion effect
Hot core, others warming up to that!
2. Being and making radical disciples
community of worshipers
Following as going somewhere! - CGC lunch story!
Involves communicating and hearing the good news about Jesus
A change of heart
A change of behaviour
Rom. 12:1 ¶ Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies (whole persons - internal and external) as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God (Jesus’ example) — this is your spiritual act of worship.
Rom. 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,
v2 Williams transl. ‘do not let the world squeeze you into its mould’
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Rom. 12:3 ¶ For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
Emphasis on change of heart and change of behaviour
At NRC, so that our intention to be radical disciples is reflected in our activity we describe seven ‘I’s that we expect to be expressed in the various levels of our church life:
Intimacy - deep relationships with God and with each other
Integrity - walking the talk - the cultivation of godly character
Imitation - following Jesus - learning to do what He asks us to do
Instruction - Bible teaching and study
Inspiration - moving in the breath of God through living a life of worship
Intercession - standing in the gap in prayer
Impact - making a difference through showing God’s mercy to others
[CONTAINERS for LIFE
Teaching - Alpha + Discipleship material - what does it mean to be a disciple? Beatitudes
Heart - Accountability groups - change of heart
Living - Cell Groups - what does it mean to behave like a disciple? - accountable to each other, reviewing how we are growing as disciples of Jesus
Clusters, Church-wide, Inter-church & the borough, The World]
Membership is for those who want to follow Jesus and recognize that they need the help of others to do this
Membership of NRC is expressed through active membership of a cell group
Cell group as part of a wider scheme of discipleship
(membership of cell group dependent on the desire to grow in following Jesus)
3. the life of God preserved in suitable containers
(people!)
‘maintaining your spiritual fervour’ v11
this will involve undertaking practices to make room for more of God’s life and to preserve His life in us
v11 keep your spiritual fervour through serving the Lord!
increasingly full of the life of God
Me and the food yesterday story
Membership of NRC comes out of the desire to be full of the life of God and to share that life with others
Membership is expressed through willingness to recognize the gifts of others and to use your own gifts to serve
God’s life in us can have an impact on the lives of others
Grace gifts contributing to the release of God’s life in the wider body v4-8
inc. giving financially, serving one another...
v6-8 be the people God wants us to be for the total health of the whole body
Key obstacles we face in being God’s people, a worshiping community?
Busyness
Many relationships, no time for deep relationships
Wackyness in relation to the gifts of the Holy Spirit
People used to relating to those similar to them, but church is diverse!
People coming from a culture that is alien to much of the gospel message
People not knowing the fundamentals of the Bible
Concl:
At NRC we believe that Jesus brings life!
Me, my role - Leader’s function - help people into the life of Jesus
He brings life because He is the one who died and rose again – death couldn't keep its hold on Him.
Life because Jesus died, thankfully inc. dying
Radical - we aim not to push people ahead of when they are ready - assist
All human beings reflect the image of their maker. Because God made you, you bear His hallmarks and He has put tremendous gifts into your life. As you set out to follow Him, these gifts can begin to contribute to His life in others, in the church and in the world.
Are you ready for life? How can we help you? How can you help us?
Response - review:
1. Membership reflects our desire to learn to live in a heavenly way now!
Membership is expressed in our willingness to embrace heaven now in worship
(giving worth to God by choosing to love Him with our thoughts, attitudes, words and actions), community life (diverse community of peace) and mission (calling the nations to Jesus)
2. Membership is for those who want to follow Jesus and recognize that they need the help of others to do this
Membership of NRC is expressed through active membership of a cell group
3. Membership of NRC comes out of the desire to be full of the life of God and to share that life with others
Membership is expressed through willingness to recognize the gifts of others and to use your own gifts to serve
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Robin Plummer, 04/11/2008 |
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