January 5, 2003
Title: Vision 2003: Christ First
Text: 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Introduction
On a flight to Chicago, the pilot announced that the takeoff had been
postponed due to mechanical failure.
Later, the flight attendant announced that everyone who was heading for Chicago was to remain on the
plane.
Forgetting that the intercom was still on, the pilot was overheard in the background...he said "Whoops!"
A minute later, the pilot headed down the aisle toward the rear exit ramp,
with his hat in one hand
and his briefcase in the other.
One of the passengers saw the pilot and asked him, "Where are you going?"
The pilot told him in a low voice, "Denver."
The passenger replied, "This plane’s not going to Denver. It’s going to Chicago!"
The pilot, with his face turning red, said, "I know, I’m on the wrong plane!"
(got this illustration from an email from www.stantoler.com)
Well, Happy New Year!!
2003 is here!
Did you ever wonder if you were going to make it?
At the beginning of a new year...
many people will engage in a process of setting goals for the new year....
new years resolutions....
promises made to themselves so that throughout the year,
they will grow
and improve
and become a better person.
This process isn’t limited to people....
businesses will look at their goals
and try to position their business so that it will have a successful year.
And I think there is value for us as a church to look at ourselves and make sure our focus is where it should be.
Here at the start of 2003
We want to make sure we are headed in the right direction....
we don’t want to be on the wrong plane-so to speak...
If that happens in the real world....
it simply means that we have wasted time and money in going the wrong way....
but in the spiritual sense....
If we don’t know what we are doing
If we don’t know what our mission is....
If we don’t have a vision for accomplishing that mission....
and we spend our time and energy going nowhere...
or even worse...
headed in the wrong direction
it has great spiritual ramifications.
If a business doesn’t understand its mission....
it won’t be very successful in business....
and it will impact their bottom line.
But if we as the church don’t understand our mission...
we won’t be very successful in our endeavors...
and that impacts where people will spend eternity!!
Our mission at Belleview Church of the Nazarene is...
Loving God...Reaching Families...Making Friends
Year by year, that won’t change much.
It relates back to:
The Great Commission to: "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Matt 28:19-20 (NIV)
and the Great Commandment to: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ and ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:30-31 (NIV)
All churches should have some kind of mission that relates to the Great Commission and Great Commandment.
Here at the beginning of a new year....
I want to cast a vision for us for 2003...
a vision that will help us achieve our mission of Loving God...Reaching Families...Making Friends.
a vision that I have prayed about...
a vision that the Lord has led me to as your pastor.
And as your pastor....I encourage you to embrace this vision for Belleview Church of the Nazarene for 2003.
Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish"
We as a church have to have a vision, or people will be lost
And the vision is contained in the words of our text...let’s stand together as we read from God’s Word.
Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Let’s Pray
I want to especially focus on that 3rd & 4th verses, "what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" 1 Cor 15:3-4 (NIV)
To put it simply....Christ First!
On the front of your bulletin, you will see the logo and summary of the vision.
As a part of the vision,
each month we will kick off a new emphasis....
a theme for each month....
and we will kick of the theme by "launching the shuttle"
No, we won’t really be launching a shuttle....
(unless one of you can figure out a way for us to do that...)
but around here....shuttle launches are pretty exciting.
Back in November, there was a night launch of space shuttle Endeavor.
There was quite a little group of people who had gathered to watch the launch.
Some of them were watching from the yard in front of the church...
others had stopped their cars along the road and were watching.
Me and my family watched...
along with some of our church family who came to watch.
As I began to pray and seek God about our vision for the past several months...
I began to get this picture of a different theme each month....
and using the space shuttle to launch our theme.
In the same way that the real shuttle launches provide excitement....
I’m hoping our shuttle launch of the different themes each month will build excitement.
And in the same way that the real shuttle launch has a way of reaching people....
and bringing people to our church property to watch the launch...
I’m hoping that our shuttle launch will have a way of reaching out to people.
Body
So today, we are launching the shuttle of Vision....and our vision is Christ First.
Each letter in the word Christ, will stand for something.
Over the course of the year...we may find other words that fit in with our vision.
1. The "C" stands for Communion...
Or it can also stand for Christ.
With a focus on putting Christ 1st...
it seems only natural to focus more attention on the Lord’s Supper.
We will be sharing the Lord’s Supper more frequently...
But communion means more than just celebrating the Lord’s Supper.
Communion according to the dictionary, means more that just a sacrament.
It also means an "intimate association, sympathy and confidence;
an interchange of thoughts, purposes,
agreement;
fellowship"
We want all of these things to be a part of our relationship with the Lord...
and we want these things to be a part of our relationships with each other.
During 2003
as we put Christ 1st....
let’s develop the spirit of communion that we have with each other
and with the Lord.
2. The "H" Stands for Holiness
Holiness refers to Jesus Christ.
Romans 1:4 says, about Jesus "who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord"
But holiness also refers to God’s will for His people.
2 Corinthians 7:1 says, "dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God"
During 2003,
as we put Christ 1st....
let’s focus on the holiness of the Lord....
and purifying ourselves....
We will touch on holiness throughout the year....
but during the month of October, we will be giving it special attention.
3. The "R" stands for "Reaching Others"
This relates back to our mission and the Great Commission.
As a church,
we should be reaching others....
our world is still full of lost people....
people who need what we have found....
Jesus Christ.
In 2003,
as we put Christ 1st,
let’s commit ourselves to reaching others....
The "R" also stands for Revival.
Revival is the theme for February.
Next month, we will be having a series of meetings that we call a "revival".
But just because we schedule revival "services"...
doesn’t mean that we will experience revival.
In 2003,
as we put Christ 1st...
let’s focus on revival....
the revival of our own spirit....
and the revival of our church....
This is a huge need in our church and in the church globally....
begin praying for revival....
begin to prepare yourself....
submitting to the Holy Spirit....
so that revival will come!
4. This naturally brings us to the "I"...Intercession
Prayer is a huge need in the church....
and it is often one of the most neglected things in our lives...
We will be focusing on prayer throughout the year....
but we will also be setting aside the month of May to focus on prayer.
In 2003,
as we put Christ 1st....
Let’s recommit ourselves to being people of prayer.
Let’s dedicate ourselves to prayer individually....
but let’s also make prayer an even bigger part of our church.
5. The "S" stands for Stewardship....
When we put Christ 1st....
it will naturally affect our stewardship....
how we give to the Lord with our money...
how we give to the Lord with our time....
and how we give to the Lord using our talents to serve Him.
In March, we will be launching the Shuttle of Stewardship....
we will be having a Faith Promise Campaign with Susan day....
In 2003,
as we put Christ 1st....
Let’s each one of us look at what we are doing in the area of Stewardship.
The "S" can also stand for "Scripture"
Throughout the year...we will be focusing on God’s Word.
We, as Christians, need to be people of the Word.
we need to use the Bible as our guide....
we need to allow God to speak to us through His Word....
and let it shape our lives.
6. The "T" stands for Togetherness.
When we individuals and as a Church put Christ 1st....
there will be a warmth...
there will be sweet fellowship....
there will be a closeness....
there will be the growth of close friendships...
And these things are the thing that people are looking for.
When we exhibit a spirit of togetherness....
it will draw others (which goes back to "reaching others")
Did you realize that when we have fellowship times....
that we are doing more than just eating....
we are developing our relationships with one another....
we are "reaching families"
we are "making friends"
In 2003
as we put Christ 1st....
let’s strive for a greater spirit of togetherness...
a greater sense of family....
a greater sense of friendship.
Conclusion
Well, that’s the vision in a nutshell....
Let’s focus on putting Christ First this year.
As we launch our shuttle each month....
I trust that it will be a tool to build excitement....
and draw others into our fellowship....
Did you know that Cape Canaveral is about 80-90 miles away...as the crow flies....
and yet, when the Space Shuttle takes off,
you can actually see it....
especially at night....
the blast off lights up the sky...
and you can see this ball of fire hurtling toward the heavens....
My vision for us as we put Christ 1st is that
people from all around will begin to notice....
they will actually see that something special is going on at Belleview Church of the Nazarene....
And as the community around our church is living in darkness....
that they will be drawn to the light....
as we launch the Shuttle
Christ First.
Let me offer a paraphrase of our text,
"what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living" 1 Cor 15:3-8 (NIV)
And after that, thousands of years later, as the people of Belleview Church of the Nazarene focused on putting Christ First in 2003...
through commuion,
holiness,
reaching others/revival
intercession/prayer
stewardship
and togetherness
that Jesus Christ Himself appeared unto the people at Belleview Church of the Nazarene.
We as a church, and as individuals
we need to know where we are going....
let’s not waste time and effort just spinning our wheels,
let’s not wast time and effort heading in the wrong direction....
let’s put Christ 1st.
