7.22.2009

Notes from DCF Talk: Love God, Love People

I just wanted to post my notes from last nights talk. FYI my notes are just that, notes. I don't manuscript my sermons so I apologize in advance for my Random thought process.

Chad

Love God, Love People

Text: Matthew 22:34-40 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" 37And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38This is the great and first commandment. 39And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."

Love God

- Illustration: Who or What is it in your life that you would default to…What is the one topic that you could always talk with passion about…What or who do you think most about…

- Text: V. 37 And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

- Translation: Jesus is referencing Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

o With all your heart: Passion and desires

§ This means that we point our passions at God, or that we relinquish our passions to Him. We desire what He desires and are burdened by what burdens Him. Ultimately he becomes our passion and the desire of our Heart.

o With all your soul: Very essence of who you are

§ We acknowledge that everything we have and everything we are is from Him and we give our all to Him, not to pay Him back, but because he loved us first. We long for our essence to line up with Him, so that we are defined not by who we were, but by who He is.

o With all your mind: Thoughts and wisdom

§ We think long and deep about our God and we pursue Him with our intellect. We read and meditate and ask questions, and seek the mind of God until we think about people like He thinks about them and we think about our sin the way He thinks about our sin.

- Application: The point here is that we are to love God in such a way as to leave no room in us for anything else. We are to Love Him with everything that we are.

Loving God is Paramount

- Illustration: I need to like the parents if I am ever going to like the kids in a family…If I don’t like the parents there is no way to like the kids…How can we love anything in creation without loving the Creator?

- Text: V. 38 This is the great and first commandment.

- Translation: Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was and He ups the bet by calling this the first as well.

- In other words Loving God is foundational. If we don’t start with loving God we have no basis for loving others, b/c God is Love (1 John 4:7-8)

- Application: We know Love b/c of God and therefore knowing and loving God is foundational.

Love People

- Text: V. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

- Translation: Jesus continues to up the bet by continuing His answer.

- The second is like it, so loving people is like loving God.

- It is like the first in that both take the proverbial hoe to the root of sin, namely “pride” in order for us to accomplish them.

- Supporting Text: Matthew 7:12 "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

- Translation: When we love others we are fleshing out the law and the prophets.

- Supporting Text: Romans 13: 8-10 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 10Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

- Translation: We fulfill the law when we love others.

- Application: How we love others is the visible expression of how we love God.

- It is literally the fleshing out of the Law.

- Supporting Text: Romans 8:3-4 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

- Illustration: My truck broke down…God is teaching me to view others as more important than myself…

- We must remember that this is only possible with the help of the Spirit. Jesus already fulfilled the law to perfection.

Everything depends on these

- Illustration: High pressure situation…1 second on the clock down by 1 you have two free throws, you need them both to win…if you miss all the other shoots in the game were made in vain…

- Text: V. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."

- Translation: Everything hangs on these two commandments.

- Everything written in the entire Old Testament hangs on these two chains. Without these everything else falls apart.

- Is it possible to be religious without loving God and People? Yes, we see it all the time, religious people who love the law and pridefully think they uphold it. They neither love God nor people.

7.09.2009

Vision & Values

Journey The Way
Vision:
Love God . Love People . Turn the World Up-side Down

Love God (Matthew 22:35-40)
It is vital for disciples to have regular encounters with God in which they worship Him, hear from Him, and respond to Him in obedience. Bible reading, prayer, private and corporate worship, baptism and communion are all part of what it means to Love God.

Love People (Matthew 22:35-40)
As we interact with God, it is vital that we not approach glorifying God on our own, but that we intentionally interact with others who Love God. These “connections” will bring about transformation in us as we authentically encourage, instruct and support one another. Jesus’ love of people was radical and unconditional and so we need to Love People with no strings attached.

Turn the World upside-down (Matthew 28:18-20)
True Disciples will use their gifts, talents, vocations, and time not only to touch our church, but also to touch the communities they live in, and the world. Jesus came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life. When we live as Jesus lived we will be a movement of servants that have the potential to turn the world upside-down, by bring the Gospel in word and deed as we go.


Core Values: To be leaders of a movement through which God can produce changed lives, we must embrace and live out these values:


Truth We live by truth, Jesus is truth


Humility We live life without taking ourselves too seriously


Community We live our lives with/for others who know the real us


Worship We live a lifestyle of worship to our God


Missional We live our life as we go, intentionally on mission


Image-bearers We live as those who resemble Jesus

7.08.2009

Update on Planting

Friends, I wanted to take a moment and share an update on the progress of Journey the Way. God's timing is always better than ours and it has been really cool to see God open up opportunities, and create traction. We have a couple of churches that have jumped on to partner with us financially, there are at least two other churches praying about this possibility as well. We have four "official" core team members so far and about 15 people praying about the idea of coming on our core team. It seems like I meet people everyday who are interested in the church, it is almost as if God is bringing them our way (please note the sarcasm, b/c of course that is exactly what is happening).

We had a group of people over to our house on Monday and had a sweet time of prayer and continued to answer questions and clarify what we are all about. It looks like we will begin to officially meet as a core team starting the end of August. I would like to see us reach 20 core team members by that time so please pray to that end. Please also pray for discernment, and wisdom. We can't do any of this without God, pray that we would model dependence on Him.

Chad