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CONNECT #1 I. Connect…To God A. Through our worship… B. Now there are many ways to connect to God and I would certainly not limit it to worship but for us as a body this is one I think we need to focus in on. Acts 2:41-43, “ So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.” C. Our Sunday service must be a place where people can connect to God! D. Not just through the lesson, but through the entire experience; through smiling people greeting them at the door, through observing a body of believers who love each other, through enjoying an environment where Jesus’ love for ALL of mankind is celebrated. E. People will certainly be given an opportunity to connect to God through the acts of worship: our teaching/preaching, prayers, singing, weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper and through giving. F. And you play a BIG role in that, HOW?? G. By your willingness to be hospitable to others, by the way that you love your brothers/sisters in Christ and by the way that you offer your worship to God! H. In order for me to do these things-there is one more very important element… anyone have a guess what that is? a. I must be here! b. I have a part to play-and if I’m not here… I. Attendance; schools and work – Many of us would not think of missing work or allowing our kids to miss school as much as many of us miss the services of the church. J. BVH Attendance info (through 52 Sunday’s of 2007)
K. These individuals represent three things:
L. I’m not saying “don’t ever miss.” I think it’s good to get away during the year. But there is a big difference in being gone 6 or 7 and 10, 20 or 30 or 40. M. I’d like to see many of us be more committed to BVH and our functions within the body during 2008. (Be here for special days we plan a year in advance!) N. Help others to connect to God-by being here! O. But it’s not enough just to be connected to God-if we stop there-how does the circle continue? The first church did not stop with just a connection to God…they were also connected to each other!
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CONNECT #2 We are continuing to talk about our connecting in 2008 at Betta-View Hills. I trust you are recognizing the logo and more importantly recognizing the significance of it in your own life. This week we want to discuss how we can connect to God through our Worship. Now there are many ways to connect to God and I would certainly not limit it to our worship together on Sunday, but for us as a body this is one I think we need to focus in on. Remember we are noticing the example of the church of the New Testament, so look at Acts 2:41-43: "So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles" teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles." Our Sunday service must be a place where people can connect to God! Not just through the lesson, but through the entire experience. Through smiling people greeting them at the door, through observing a body of believers who love each other, through enjoying an environment where Jesus' love for ALL of mankind is celebrated. Now people will certainly be given an opportunity to connect to God through our singing, teaching, preaching, our prayers, observing the memorial of the Lord's Supper and through our privilege to give to God. But did you know that ALL of us play a BIG role in that. You may ask "HOW??" By your willingness to be hospitable to others, by the way that you love your brothers/sisters in Christ and by the way that you offer your worship to God! And in order for us to do these things there is one more very important element...we must be at worship! Let's all be sure we are doing our part in connecting to God by being present at these times when we gather as a family to worship. When we are not present we not only hurt the church family but we hurt ourselves and our own family. We miss out on opportunities to bless others when we are not here but we also miss out on the oportunity to be blessed and to teach our children the importance of worshipping together. When we don't bring our children to Sunday School and worship we are robbing from them something our parents gave to us..the blessings a relationship with God and other Christians and the untold Bible stories and lessons taught at the hands and hearts of godly men and women. There is no greater blessing than connecting with God...and no surer way of doing so than by offering our worship to Him! Let's take advantage of every opportunity He affords us! We will note next week that the first church did not stop with just a connection to God...they were also connected to each other. - Richard |
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CONNECT #3 We are continuing to talk out our connecting in 2008 at BettaView Hills. I trust you are recognizing the logo and more importantly realizing the significance of it in your own life. Last week we noticed how important our connection to God is and how we can enhance and deepen that connection through worship. This week we want to discuss how we can connect to each other through relationships. The best way to get to know someone is not in the assembly. As we just discussed last week the assembly is very important. But you cannot grow intimately with other Christians in that setting. Think about the holidays that have just passed. Those times afforded us all an opportunity to get together with family and friends, right? And where did you do that? At the mall? A football stadium? No, at someone's home. Maybe at your parents or grandparents or another relative or friend but you were in an intimate setting. My family and I were blessed to be with some of you in your homes - a time to make connections and time which we enjoyed and were blessed by. The early church made some of the same connections with each other. "And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people"(Acts 2:44-47). Where did many of the meetings take place? In the temple and in homes. And this example continued throughout the book of Acts. It should be our goal to CONNECT to every member through smaller group settings. Let me encourage you to take advantage of smaller groups here at BVH. *Bible Classes on Sunday and Wednesday, * Ministry Nights & Special Studies Nights, * Pre-Teens, Teens, Young Adult Activities(Homebuilders), *GEMS Meetings, * Men's and Ladies Devotionals, * Have someone in your home(few couples). We all need someone to lean on from time to time and that kind of support is hard to find in a group of 300! But when 300 are broken down into smaller groups, we find the love/support that we need to grow in Christ. Others need what you have to offer and you will benefit from the blessings of others - so learn and live to connect with other memebers of the body of Christ! - Richard |
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CONNECT #4 We are continuing to talk about connecting in 2008 at Betta-View Hills. I trust you are recognizing the logo and more importantly realizing the significance of it in your own life. We have noticed in previous articles how important our connection to God is and how we can enhance and deepen that connection through worhip as well as connecting to each other through relationships. In the final lesson in this series we want to see how we can connect to others through our service and good works. The first century church has been our guide throughout this series. They are a great example of how to reach out to those who do not know the Lord through acts of kindness and benevolence. Notice what is said of that early church in Acts 2:44-45: "And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need." So we certainly see the example; now let's see how we can follow such behavior as we strive to minister to others who are around us. It is explicitly clear from the pages of inspiration that there are certain things God has planned for each of us to do in His kingdom: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10). This is truly an amazing passage. God, before we were born, had plans for us!! And His plans call for us to be involved in His mission. The words of Jesus to his worried and frazzled mother, were I must be about my Father's business" and you and I must be prepared to make the same statement with tongue and life! Yet, how are we to connect to others through these good works? By taking full advantage of every opportunity the church offers. Get involved in any and every ministry and mission project you feel to which you can contribute. Whether the opportunity is working with World Bible School (Ray Ishee) or through individual opportunities (pantry; teach a class, volunteer to help a teacher with bulletin boards, mentor a new member, help out our youth in Lads to Leaders/talk to Chance about helping out, etc...) you can make a difference! Also remember that connecting to others can be as simple as baking a cake for a neighbor and inviting them to church with you or seeing to the need of a friend at work and giving the Lord Jesus the praise for what you have done. Connecting to others isn't about the "big" things. It's about doing all the little things that add up in a life and that matter to God (remember: "just a cup of water"?). See You Sunday! - Richard |