ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY: IT IS GOING TO BE A FIGHT
EXODUS 17: 1-17
FEBRUARY 20, 2005
INTRODUCTION: BEYOND REDEMPTION?
There are about 600 inmates who await execution in the state of California. A dozen of these are women. All of them have committed heinous crimes. But that doesn’t stop Ann Baker, a grandmother from San Diego, from treating the inmates like she believes Jesus would treat them.
Baker heads a letter writing campaign designed to love the men and women on Death Row. The people who write do not write to condemn or condone. They write out of conviction and compassion. They write because they believe even the worst criminal is a child of God.
The letters are sometimes mundane. Baker writes to her prison pen pal about the dog, going to church and seeing the hot-air balloon festival in Albuquerque. Her male pen pal tells Baker about exercising in the prison yard and of the screaming and cursing that goes on around him at night. "On a bad night, it’s hard to hold onto his sanity," she says.
They trade trivia questions. "We’re constantly trying to stump each other," says Baker.
One LA County attorney who prosecuted a woman convicted of killing her five children is not a fan of the outreach program. She says "as a society we’ve decided these people are beyond redemption.”
Beyond Redemption?
This group believes otherwise.
SOURCE: SermonCentral staff. Citation: "Crime & ministry" by Sandi Dolbee, San Diego Union Tribune, March 15, 2002.
Contributed by: SermonCentral PRO
Church Priorities for 2005 Vary Considerably Georga Barna: BarnaResearch.org
February 14, 2005
(Ventura, CA) - Church analysts have noted that most congregations operate independently of the ideas and efforts of other churches. That absence of consensus emerged in the data from a new study conducted by The Barna Group (Ventura, California) regarding the ministry priorities of Protestant churches. When a nationally representative sample of 614 Senior Pastors was asked to identify the top three ministry priorities for their church in the coming year, not a single ministry emphasis was listed by even half of the church leaders.
Three-Stage Ranking
Overall, twelve different ministry emphases were listed by at least 3% of the pastors, aligned in three distinct levels of priority.
The most frequently mentioned priorities were discipleship and spiritual development (47%); evangelism and outreach (46%); and preaching (35%).
The second level of priorities included congregational care efforts, such as visitation and counseling (24%); worship (19%); ministry to teenagers and young adults (17%); missions (15%); community service (15%); ministry to children (13%); and congregational fellowship (11%).
The lowest priorities among the dozen ministries described by pastors were ministry to families (4%) and prayer (3%).
TRANSITION THOUGHT: Who is redeemable and what should be the focal point of our priorities? These are two questions we should wrestle with on a regular basis. Last week I started us on the Journey of Lent. One of the most important things we can ever learn to do is pray and fast. Not only will we see great victories in our own lives, but everyone around us will be blessed, their lives changed and God glorified. Today, I want us to move out a little. I want us to think about ENGAGING OUR COMMUNITY as the true battle that it is. The battle is fought on many fronts. First and foremost, the battle begins with us deciding that we should be in this fight in the first place. The next big issue is the question of How: how do we go about reaching our community?
As you heard Tony read this text and hopefully had noticed the sermon title, you may be asking, how are you going to make this leap? This text doesn’t exactly sound like a warm fuzzy, “let’s lead people to Jesus” text. So I guess I have my work cut out for me today. What I do believe this text is teaching is God has a job for us and it is time to move out and take the promise land. The analogy, I believe, works for us reaching the harvest, the promised land of God!
THESIS SENTENCE: Our God has called us to engage the community around us and it will be a fight!
I. THE FIGHT IS ABOUT WILLING WARRIORS VV. 8-10
A. WILLING WARRIORS ACCEPT OWNERSHIP: “Choose some of OUR men…”
B. WILLING WARRIORS RECEIVE THE COMMAND: “And go out to fight…”
C. WILLING WARRIORS FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT: “So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered…”
KEY THOUGHT: FOR THE LORD TO ACCOMPLISH HIS WILL IN OUR WORLD, HE NEEDS THOSE WHO WILL OBEY/RESPOND TO HIS CALL!
TRUTH: A WILLING WARRIOR WILLING TAKES ON THE ENEMY!
QUESTION: ARE WE AFRAID OF THE ENEMY? ARE WE WILLING TO GO TO WAR FOR OUR LORD?
II. THE FIGHT IS ABOUT AN ENABLED LEADER
A. AN ENABLED LEADER LISTENS TO GOD: IS ENABLED BY GOD! The Lord leads leaders! VV. 1-7
B. AN ENABLED LEADER ENLISTS THE TROOPS: IS ENABLED BY FOLLOWERS! Joshua and “OUR” men will fight! VV. 8-10
C. AN ENABLED LEADER IS PROPED UP: IS ENABLED BY STAFF! Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill: a rock on bottom and arms on top (VERSE 12)!
D. AN ENABLED LEADER CHANGES/ SWINGS THE TIDE: ENABLES VICTORY! VV. 12-13
KEY THOUGHT: WHEN WE SUPPORT OUR LEADERSHIP, OUR LORD WILL ENABLE US TO ENGAGE OUR COMMUNITY FOR THIS IS HIS CALLING!
TRUTH: AN ENABLED LEADER PROMOTES VICTORY
QUESTION: DO WE ENABLE LEADERS OR DO WE DISABLE LEADERS?
III. THE FIGHT IS ABOUT THE RIGHT BANNER VV. 15-16
A. THE RIGHT BANNER IS A WARRIOR: JOSHUA = YAHWEH/THE LORD IS DELIVERANCE = THE LORD IS SALVATION!
B. THE RIGHT BANNER IS A SCROLL, SOMETHING TO BE REMEMBERED, “I WILL COMPLETELY BLOT OUT THE MEMORY OF AMALEK FROM UNDER HEAVEN (V.14).” THIS IS CURSE LANGUAGE!
C. THE RIGHT BANNER IS A HAND RAISING LEADER: “FOR HANDS WERE LIFTED UP TO THE THRONE OF THE LORD (V.16).” THIS IS ALL ABOUT BLESSING, THE LORD BLESSED IN BATTLE!
D. THE RIGHT BANNER IS THE LORD: “THE LORD WILL BE AT WAR…(V.16)” THE LORD IS OUR WARRIOR!
KEY THOUGHT: WE ENGAGE OUR COMMUNITY BECAUSE IT IS THE LORD WHO LEADS US THERE AND BRINGS ABOUT THE VICTORY!
TRUTH: THE LORD IS THE BANNER OVER ALL BATTLES; WE GO IN HIS NAME AND IN HIS POWER!
QUESTIONS: ARE WE WILLING TO CARRY HIS BANNER INTO OUR BATTLES? ARE WE WILLING TO CARRY HIS BANNER INTO HIS BATTLES?
IV. THE FIGHT IS ABOUT A PROMISED FUTURE VV. 14-16
A. A PROMISED FUTURE IS A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PRESENT: Joshua did not win the battle by strength alone! V. 14
B. A PROMISED FUTURE IS CERTAIN VICTORY: The Lord will blot out the memory of Amalek V. 14
C. A PROMISED FUTURE IS CONSISTENT HELP: The Lord will be at war against the Amalekites V. 16
KEY THOUGHT: AS WE DESIRE TO ENGAGE OUR COMMUNITY WE MUST TRUST THAT THE LORD IS THE ONE WHO IS OUR HELP, WILL BE OUR HELP, AND WILL COMPLETE WHAT HE DESIRES!
TRUTH: Our Lord is our ever-present help and Conquering King!
QUESTIONS: DO WE EVER CLAIM THE VICTORY AS OUR OWN? DO WE BELIEVE THAT THE LORD IS OUR HELP IN ALL OUR BATTLES? DO WE TRUST THE LORD FOR SURE AND CERTAIN VICTORY!
CONCLUSION: The conclusion of the matter is that our Lord calls us to engage our community. This is a fight, for the enemy wants to hang on to all his territory and will not go quietly into the night! The Lord has called us, He will enable us, He will fight for us, and ultimately HE will win the battle. For us, this text calls for participation! Participation is ownership, support and final victory! The real question for us today is, are we ready to rumble? Are we ready to engage our community for the glory of the Lord? Yes, we are called to pray and fast, then we are called to fight. Are you ready?
BENEDICTION: I TIMOTHY 1:17
