TESTIFY! - Evangelism shares your story as a part of God's story

Click Below to Hear the Sermon for Sunday, June 29, 2014 by Pastor Nathan Smith.



Scripture Reference: Acts 22:1-23:11

CULTURE! - Evangelism is about discipleship in God's kingdom, not just about individual salvation (we must change our culture)

Click Below to Hear the Sermon for Sunday, June 22, 2014 by Bernie Rivera Jr.



Scripture Reference: Acts 19:8-10

REASON! - Evangelism appeals to intellect & reason, not just faith

Click Below to Hear the Sermon for Sunday, June 15, 2014 by Pastor Rodger Loar.



Scripture Reference: Acts 17:1-15 & 16-34

INFLUENCE! - Evangelism reaches those with influence over others

Click Below to Hear the Sermon for Sunday, June 8, 2014 by Pastor Nathan Smith.



Scripture Reference: Acts 16:11-15

OPPORTUNITY! - Evangelism often happens in chance encounters

Click Below to Hear the Sermon for Sunday, June 1, 2014 by Pastor Rodger Loar.



Scripture Reference: Acts 4:32-37

RICHES! - Evangelism means sacrificial generosity

Click Below to Hear the Sermon for Sunday, May 25, 2014 by Pastor Rodger Loar.



Scripture Reference: Acts 4:32-37

MIRACLE! - Evangelism includes the Supernatural

Click Below to Hear the Sermon for Sunday, May 18, 2014 by Pastor Nathan Smith



Scripture Reference: Acts 3&4

A Loving Family

Click Below to Hear the Sermon for Sunday, May 11, 2014 by Pastor Nathan Smith

 

 
“The greatest proof of Christianity for others is not how far a man can logically analyze his reasons for believing, but how far in practice he is willing to stake his life on his belief.” (T. S. Eliot)

Scripture Reference: Acts 2:42-47

Some people go through life feeling as though they cannot fit in anywhere.  They might have a quirky sense of humor that no one really gets, or struggle to find the right words at the right time and end up making conversations awkward.  There are people whose parents abandoned them at a young age, or died suddenly, leaving them to be whirled through a dehumanizing cycle of foster and group homes.  In less dramatic instances, some people have just grown weary of having a rolodex full of people with whom they share weak ties, mere acquaintances at best.  They are missing an important piece to their lives and they know it, they feel it.  They are missing a family.

The love and interdependence that comes from being part of a nurturing family is not just important for human beings, it is necessary for our healthy survival.  Psychologist Harry Harlow conducted a series of experiments involving rhesus monkeys in the 1950s and 60s which scientifically undergirded the need for nurturing.  His experiments were controversial, cruel even, but nevertheless hugely insightful.  Baby monkeys were removed from their natural mothers within a few hours of birth and taken to be “raised” by two surrogate mothers.   One surrogate was made of soft terrycloth but supplied no food, and the other was composed of wire with a bottle for the baby monkey to feed from.   The results were enlightening.  The baby monkeys spent considerably more time with their cloth mothers than with the wire mothers who were able feed them.  They curled up to their cloth mothers for comfort, and when placed in a room to explore they would only do so if the surrogate mother was present.  Harlow concluded:

"These data make it obvious that contact comfort is a variable of overwhelming importance in the development of affectional response, whereas lactation is a variable of negligible importance."

The impact of Harlow’s research can still be felt today, as it helped influence key changes in the way orphanages, adoption agencies, social services groups and child care providers approached the care of children.  Loving relationships are necessary for thriving.  This is every bit as true for humans as it is for monkeys.

In Acts 2:42-47 we are given a glimpse into the interior life of the earliest communities of Jesus-followers.  And the striking feature of their communal life was they lived as though they were a family because that is precisely what they believed themselves to be.  The Christian community is described in idealistic terms, with Luke summarizing their communal life as being "devoted to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship."  This devotion took concrete form in the people's:

• eating together daily
• praying together
• worshiping together daily in the Temple
• sharing their resources with those among them in need
• and performing signs and wonders.

This unity was attractive to people outside of the early church, as Luke concludes the section saying,  “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved (v. 47).”

Perhaps the greatest catalyst of the early church attracting Jewish non-believers into its ranks was the fact that they were visible.  They did not hide from the danger of certain persecution which would immediately spring up from the Jewish leaders.  They did not gather in holy huddles away from the world, but broke out of the homes in which they shared their meals and attended the Jewish temple together daily, praising God with glad and generous hearts.  The Christian community was conspicuous, out in the open for all to see.  Some loved them, others hated them.  But everyone saw them.

The church must be a place where broken people can find loving, nurturing relationships.  This means we must clean-up the infighting within our congregations, and work to bridge the gap between “our church” and other churches.  We must be willing to share our goods with those who are in need among us and be available for people during their darkest moments.  We should be eating together regularly, praying together, and worshiping together.  And we should be doing this publicly, so that the world may see that God has given us glad and generous hearts and made us part of a loving family, his family.
I pray that people observe our family, recognize in it something bigger than themselves - bigger than all of us - and that the Lord will add to our number those who are being saved.  The true reward comes when a person says in all heartfelt honesty, “I finally feel like I am a part of a family that loves me.”

Nathan Smith

You Are Here!

Click Here to Hear the Sermon for Sunday, February 5, 2012 by Pastor Rodger S. Loar

Scripture Reference:  Acts 9:1-6 & Acts 17:26-27

You Are Here!

The Bible is God’s story.  It is the History of God and His people.  It is the account of humankind’s rebellion against God and His work to reconcile us back to Him.

What you may not realize as you read your Bible, but there is a space between Jude and Revelation.  If you have your Bible near you now, open it up to the end of Jude, right before the beginning of Revelation.  Put your hand there and think about this.  Genesis through Jude is history of God’s story.  Revelation is the future of God’s story.  What’s in between here? 

God’s story doesn’t stop and wait till Jesus Christ comes back.  God’s story has continued for the last 65-70 generations, almost 2000 years.  Men and Women have been fighting in this battle between good and evil for all this time.  Some for God, some against Him.  Many who formerly were against God, turned, they changed sides and fought for God. Many died for Him.  All are part of history.  All are part of His story.

You, too, are part of history, of His story.  With your hand laying on the Bible between Jude and Revelation, take a moment and say to yourself, “I am here,”  Like those signs in parks and malls, that say, “You are here.”  This is where you fall in God’s story, somewhere between Jude and Revelation, about 2000 years after Christ’s resurrection.  You are here.

The question for you, as you recognize that you too, are part of His story, is this, “What part do I play in this?”

There is a story from the historical account of the Alamo.  Surrounded by the enemy and outnumbered as much as 50 to 1, and with no hope of relief, Colonel William Travis stepped forward and spoke to his men.  He offered them a chance to leave and live to see another day, but he challenged them to stay and fight to make a difference, knowing that none of those who stayed would make it out alive.  He drew his cavalry saber and scratched a line in the dirt.  Those who wished to sacrifice all they had for something bigger than themselves were to cross the line.  Those who wished to live could stay on the other side.  History tells us that one man, Lewis Moses Rose, did not cross the line.  He left the Alamo and escaped with his life.  All of the others died in less than 13 days when the Mexican Army overran the fort.

In God’s story, the battle between good and evil, we all are given a choice.  None of us are making it out of here alive.  Will you fight for the side of good, conforming your life towards God, serving Him by doing His work in this world, providing for widows and orphans, feeding the needy and the poor, sharing the Gospel with those who don’t know Jesus, giving of your time and money to make ministry happen, and standing up for what is right against those who would do evil?  Or will you choose the way that seems easier, making as much money as you can for yourself, spending your life entertaining yourself, and closing your eyes to the very real evil that is occurring around you?

You are here, now.

The line is drawn in the sand.

Will you stand up and fight?

Will you matter in this world?

When God’s story is told in the future, will you’re part of the story be told with respect and awe as someone who fought the good fight, who sacrificed for something bigger than themselves, or will you be just a footnote as another selfish person who cared only about themselves and never made a difference?

Pastor Rodger