I Am A Partner Series

I Am a Partner?Philippians 1:1-11?

Five Dimensions of Rush Creek Partnership:

1. We are partners in the gospel vv.3-5

Gospel is the restoration of the image of God in the soul of humans.

? Partnering in the Gospel means: ?

* Praying for those God has placed in your life who may be far from Him.?

* Learning how to share your testimony, your story with people in your life.?

* Inviting people God has placed in your life to be a part of Rush Creek?

* Giving generously so that we can push back the darkness in our world?

* Going on mission trips to broaden your vision and sense more clearly God’s heart for a lost world. ?

* Keeping a prayer list of RC mission partners and praying for them weekly

2. Partners in good works v.6

Partnering in good works means: (build)?

*Being a faithful servant in one of our ministries?

*Participating in special events like Rush Week, Shreek, Operation Joy, Nehemiah project, etc?

*Creating ways to be the eyes, smile, hands, & arms of Jesus

3. Partners in grace. v.7

Partnering in grace means:?

* Being in a small group that cares for the needs and hurts of each other?

* Stepping in and helping people in the body who are distressed and hurting?

* Being a part of our prayer team that prays weekly for the needs of the body

4. Partners in growth vv.9-10 ?

Partnering in growth means:?

* Developing a rich, vibrant daily devotional time

* Being in church unless ill or out of town?

* Listening for the voice of God on Sunday mornings and doing what He says?

* Being a faithful, participating part of a small group

5. Partners in glory v.11

I am a partner!

Illustration (need a video of people pushing flaming car over to get man trapped)

Philippians 1:1-11

Continue our series this morning entitled I AM blank. It’s a series that examines what it means to belong to the Body of Christ here at Rush Creek. Many of you formalized your relationship with us by attending Elements.(logo) But Elements is no more. We buried it this Summer. Instead, beginning January 1, we are going to launch what we call the First Step Experience (logo). If you want to wait til January to join us, it’s going to be an awesome experience. But if you want to join this fall, then during the month of September, during this I AM series, you can join right here on the spot at the end of the service today.? Last week we covered the basic fundamental characteristic of what it means to be a part of the Body of Christ here at Rush Creek, and that is to be a follower of Jesus. A follower of Jesus is someone who has: (build)? 1. Acknowledged their personal sin and personal affront to God.? 2. Repented, that is, turned from a path of their own choosing, and turned toward a path that follows Jesus.? 3. Believe that Jesus died for and paid for their personal sin.? 4. Followed Jesus’ example and command by being immersed in water as a testimony of what Jesus did in their hearts.

So last week we completed the blank: I am a Christ-follower!

Now this morning we drill down on the second characteristic of the person who wants to be a part of the Body of Christ here at Rush Creek, and that means becoming a partner in the mission and vision of the church. ? We’re shunning the term member and adopting the term partner. Membership smacks of countryclubitis: come when you want, pay your dues, enjoy the benefits, but not really get involved that much.? Partners are completely different. If you are a partner in a business, you act completely different than if you’re an employee, right? Partners own what is at stake. Partners do what it takes to accomplish the mission and vision of the enterprise.? Story of situation where employees ran out of fire, owner ran in… or….? What’s killing the 21st American church is that membership has degraded into the notion that a person can come, sit, soak, sour, throw a little in the plate, enjoy the benefits, but not be fully vested in the mission and vision of the church. ? Turn in ur Bibles to Philippians 1:1-11 as we gain a biblical perspective on partnership

Paul writes this letter to the church at Philippi from a Roman prison in Ephesus. He had been in Philippi, which is in modern day Greece, and met you’ll recall a business woman by the name of Lydia. He shared the gospel with her and she opened her heart to Jesus. Later Paul was thrown into the local jail because he was preaching Jesus and the local Jews didn’t want him to. You’ll recall that at midnight Paul and Silas were singing praises to Jesus and an earthquake opened their jail cell. The jailkeeper started to kill himself because he knew he would be tortured and killed for losing such a prize prisoner, but Paul and Silas cried out to him—“Hey—wait a minute, we’re not going anywhere.” So the Philippian Jailer & his family became Christ-followers that very night. So this fledgling church began with a business woman & prison guard.? The fellowship among them and their commitment to each other and the gospel created a soft spot in Paul’s heart for these Philippian believers. So a few years later when he’s back in another prison in Ephesus, where we’ll be this next May on our Journeys of Paul trip, Paul writes a letter to his dear Philippian brothers and sisters.