Video Church & the Race Track
SLIDE #1
Welcome… / Holy Grounds / Benevolence
Prayer
Tomorrow night at exactly 12:00 midnight the world will host in the New Year…2013.
And as I sat in my office this past week and processed that very thought… It became very clear to me that another year has once again quickly passed by.
What a rollercoaster 2012 has been. As a country we have had some great moments… ones we never want to forget.
And unfortunately as a country…we have also had those moments…that if we could we would quickly wipe them away from our past.
So I thought it would be appropriate to take a few moments and look back at several of the major events that shocked the world and our great country during 2012.
In January at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas the Kodak Corporation… shared that the company is on the verge of bankruptcy and struggling to survive.
(The beginning of many more to come)
During the Summer Olympic Games in London…5 teenage girls did the impossible… by winning the gold medal in Gymnastics leaving both the world and China in complete shock.
During October… Just outside of Roswell New Mexico…Austrian… Felix Baumgartner becomes the first skydiver to break the speed of sound by free falling from 24 miles up in space reaching a speed of 833.9mph
In November…Hostess Brands Twinkies Company liquidates its funds…closing its doors due to striking workers.
Hurricane Sandy hits the northeastern United States… the storm became the largest Atlantic hurricane on record.
Sandy’s…damage to homes and business was estimated at $65.6 billion dollars which would make it the second-costliest hurricane…behind only Hurricane Katrina.
And finally I believe worst of all…America once again witnessed its 2nd worst school shooting ever recorded in the town of Newtown Connecticut…killing 26 total… of which 20 were helpless kindergarten aged children.
Slide #2
Thinking about both the good and the bad events from 2012 that changed us all as a nation…
I began to think about the World Church as a whole …Was the church effective in how it reached out to those who were in need?
And immediately my thoughts shifted to those of us here today who call VP our current church home… Are we being effective in how we minister?
Have we done our part in reaching out to our community…by sharing God’s life changing message?
Have each of us done our part in reaching out to a world that has no hope of tomorrow let alone an eternity?
The truth of the matter is…for each one of us here today …we can’t pass the blame any longer…we are the only one’s responsible for our actions that we have taken.
I want each of you to personally… (Think about the Cross…Jesus…Sacrifice…Your Service towards Him)
If you had to put a % number on your commitment level to Christ during the year
2012…what would it be?
We all have to put some number down????
I think if each of us were to be honest with ourselves this past year…we can truthfully admit …that we have not given God the % # He deserves?
It’s far too easy to allow selfish motives to creep into our lives…denying Christ the time He rightfully deserves.
Which brings me to the point of my message today…
In 2013…What is our Mission as a church going to be?
How many of you noticed what our new banners said on the sign out front as you pulled in today?
Slide#3 The Journey starts here with us!
We cannot allow the momentum to stop!
2012 for us as a church has been good… (28 salvations on record…20 + baptisms)
So what do we need to do during 2013 to keep the momentum moving forward?
Just like the race track video we watched at the beginning of the service…
Remember the thrust that the racetrack gave the car when it is running out of gas…
In 2013 VP church must remain a…Refueling Station
Slide#4
We are the workers in the re-fueling station…Lives are depending on us.
Matthew 7:15-20
15“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits.
Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.
18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
Our culture is filled with people…and ministries that are filling people up with false doctrine.
This is why Jesus warns us of this in Matt. 7:15.
This is why God has chosen 2013 to be the year that VP church…You being the message of Christ are properly prepared to reach the lost in your community…
Remember earlier when I shared with you that…each one of us here today are the only one’s responsible for our actions that we have taken.
How many of you here today had the blessing of leading someone to Christ in 2012?
Matt. 7:19…clearly explains that IT’S Your duty as a Christian is to produce fruit…19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”
Good fruit comes from a good tree…but bad fruit comes from a bad tree.
Do not try and fool yourself ……….. (Accept your duty)…the tree that produces rotten fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
Here’s the Challenge…………..
How many of you are willing to make the commitment…in 2013…to do whatever it takes to better prepare yourselves to share Jesus with people?
How excited would you be if I told you that I could offer each one of you a fool proof plan for doing just that next year?
Grab your bulletins and on the inside of it underneath the sermon notes section I want you to write these words and numbers down.
Slide # 5
January 2nd @ 6:30…January 6th @ 9:30
-Revelation study (January 2nd @ 6:30)
-Apologetics class (January 6th @9:30)
Until you make the commitment to defend your God…your tree will more than likely remain fruitless.
We offer many opportunities….
-FBI (Tuesday January 29th)
This year we will also continue with our…
-Women’s ministry (30 ladies…Roswell)
And we will be kicking off our long overdue……………
-Men’s ministry
I’m also excited to share with you that God has recently brought an exciting couple on board to take our…Children’s ministry…to the next level.
You will see the excitement Chuck and Jodi Pierce bring to this ministry Sunday Morning January 20th as our kids and alias (Chuckles) take over the morning worship service.
Exciting Churches know that Children make them grow !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Church must not only be a Re-Fueling Station…but it also must remain an Instrument of Hope
Slide#6 The church must remain to be instrument of Hope
There has never been more of a need for the church’s existence and the ministries it offers than now.
The hope that the church offers to the people in our community… who are dealing with personal issues and addictions can be life changing.
Why is the existence of the church so important????
The world in which we live in today is consistently changing…
30 years ago when I was a junior in High School the only concern I had was finding a girlfriend.
Whereas today the statistics prove that our Kids and Adults are dealing with much more dangerous conditions.
For those of you who have Teens or grandchildren…
The drug issues…In 2012, 7 percent of 8th graders…17 percent of 10th graders… and 23 percent of 12th graders used marijuana in the past month…
The alcohol issues…4 percent of 8th graders…15 percent of 10th graders…and 28 percent of 12th graders reported getting drunk in the past month.
So much for just worrying about girls?????
Being a parent myself…after reading about this…I believe every teen in this church should be plugged into our youth group on Wednesday nights.
Parents we have a responsibility to make sure our kids here.
What about the Adults…
It’s not just affecting our kids
Over 2.1 million Adults who visited the emergency rooms during 2012 visited due to drug abuse.
(27 percent) of adults are addicted to pharmaceutical drugs.
(21%) use (illegal…marijuana, crack- cocaine…crystal-meth)
Alcohol dependence is the number one drug problem in America.
25-40% of all beds in hospitals in the U.S. are used to treat conditions related to excessive drinking.
It will affect an estimated 19 percent of men and 14 percent of women at some point in their lives.
Have I mentioned…There has never been more of a need for the church’s existence and the ministries it offers than now.
This is exactly why God started…
-Cherish the Hope (recovery Group)
This group was established by Biblical principles and God following members...
II Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Cherish the Hope meets here at the church every Friday night @ 7:00 p.m.
How many of us know a family member or our newest friend we just meet… who needs to attend this group?
Hobbs population is around 45,000. This means that by the national average…approximately 12,000 people from our community deal with Alcoholism or Drug Addiction.
You have got to be sharing this ministry with these people
They need to hear that there is still hope in this world….
Not only is there hope for people who are dealing with addictions…but there is hope here for you.
The only way to get total fulfillment in life is found by living for Jesus and serving others…
This is why God is helping to prepare each of us for our own mission in 2013…
Slide#7 Each person has their own Mission
In Philippians 3:12-16 Paul shares with us how each of us can reach our destination…
“12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.
13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
15 Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. 1
6 But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.”
To be effective in reaching our community for Christ…we must be willing to take Jesus outside of these walls.
This is why….
-2 Sundays this next year…
1 in the spring…and 1 in the fall we are going into our community to serve people.
(Some of you here might be saying we can’t do that?) Says who you? Or God?
-This Spring…we are going to be debt free as a church…and we need to get ready for the growth that God is going to shower us with.
-Green Pasture
-Pavilion
Mark your Calendars….
-Friday night May 31st…Saturday morning June 1st and Sunday Morning at 10:45 VBS
Ladies and Gentlemen…if we want VP church to be a church that is known for how they minister to people… you have got to be the lighthouse in your community.
God wants each one of us to be prepared.
2 Timothy 4:2 says…
“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction.”
Stand…
Slide #8
