January 7, 2026 • 24 mins
Health—a good diet? Yes. But only a good diet? Not likely. There has to be some movement if not intentional exercise. Is the same true for the church? For us as individual believers? We’ll explore these questions in this study.
Acts 2:42-47
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Fat Christians are fed Christians who are not serving
Christians. Fit Christians are fed
Christians who are serving Christians.
And so there is a balance of course, but the very least one
area serves. Welcome to the God Centered Life
with Josh Moody, 2020 Vision talking about Acts Chapter 2,
(00:25):
verses 42 through 47, Part 2 of our setup for the Vision series.
Josh Moody is senior pastor of College Church in Wheaton, IL
Thanks for joining us for our study today.
Taking a peek into the directionwe're heading, you apparently
are going to be challenging us that being well fed is not
enough. Yes, just like in the physical
(00:46):
life, if we simply eat a lot, we're not going to be in great
health. We need also exercise and.
Similarly as a. Christian.
It's important that. We exercise what God's giving us
through service and evangelism and.
Discipleship. And we'll be looking at that.
Today. Were you looking at me when you
said when we eat too much? Don't you're.
(01:07):
In pretty good shape. Let's let's move on.
Acts Chapter 2. This is Part 2.
We'll do a quick review of yesterday's material and jump
into the new material for today.Here's Josh.
I don't have a vision for college church.
Neither do the elders, nor any of the pastors, staff, boards or
(01:31):
committees. At least I hope not.
Vision is a word that you see can conjure up human ideas of
what we want the future to be like.
But as everyone knows, the business of prediction is.
Difficult, particularly when it comes to the future.
(01:56):
You see, sometimes when people hear the word vision, we, you
and I can think what's this really about?
And so we can talk about vision and values and commitments and
yes, we have that, but cynics that we are and very used to
(02:16):
human orientated vision speak aswe have become in the world.
It's easy for us to think that this is really about something
else. But you see that is not biblical
vision. Biblical vision in the end is
not a program, much less a building or an event, much less
(02:42):
a staff hire. Vision is something more to do
with who we are and what we see about God.
So if your question this morningas you come in here is what is
actually going to be different after this, then the answer I
(03:03):
hope and pray is going to be we are going to be different after
this. That is, with the vision of God
and His gospel, we will be different.
Well now we summarise this in our vision statement, the God
Centre gospel. Jesus Christ proclaimed in us as
(03:24):
a church and through us to the world by the transforming power
of the Holy Spirit. So here's a question that comes
out of that. What kind of church would
College Church have to become tomake Wheaton and Chicago glad
that we exist here it is. What would it take for us now to
(03:49):
launch a movement so that in another 150 years College Church
has 150 times the impact on the world?
If we are a gospel centred church and are about that
mission here and all around the world and college churches
(04:13):
commitment to global mission is unaltered.
If we commit to this vision of the gospel changing us and
through US changing our neighborhoods, our cities, our
suburbs, our world, then I thinkhistory will look back on this
moment and say not they had a dream, but they were faithful to
(04:40):
God's vision from His word when others were turning their back
on it and God was faithful to them.
If we commit our time, our talent, and our treasure to this
vision, we will, God willing, bedeeper as a church.
That is, we will be more connected through a flourishing
(05:02):
small groups ministry. We will be deeper in our mutual
shepherding, so that primarily through the small group
structure. It will be much more rare for
someone to come to Cottage Church for a few weeks or months
and then not be able to find a place to connect.
We will be much deeper in our inour giving.
(05:24):
You see, as the world lurches these days between materialism
on the one hand and socialism onthe other, we'll be more
thoroughly Christian in our approach to our finances,
fulfilling once again John Wesley's age-old maxim.
That is to make as much as you can, save as much as you can,
(05:48):
give as much as you can. And so we will plot together
about how to make money to finance God's work here and
around the world. We'll be engaged with culture
and business so that we live outour Christian profession,
equipped by the church to do so with a, with a full orb
training, with a now a holistic approach to Christian living
(06:13):
that does not demarcate the secular from the sacred, but
lives in the secular with the sacred.
We'll be 20 times deeper in our caring for the aged, giving the
older generation the chance, like Joseph in the in the Bible,
(06:35):
to worship with joy at the foot of their bed, seeing the
fulfilment of God's vision and promise to them, and Commission
support the next generation in their service.
We'll be 20 times deeper at helping our adolescent children,
our teenagers feel connected at church, a part of the church,
(06:59):
and making the, the jump from the youth ministries to the
worship sanctuary less of a jumpand more of a of a step.
Our disability ministry, our children's ministry will be 20
times deeper in devotion and connection and service.
We'll be, we'll be 20 times moreholy, God willing, if we commit
(07:20):
to this, if you can measure sucha thing as 20 times more holy,
not only in a renewed commitmentto the disciplines of the
Christian life, but in a passionfor justice and the needs of the
poor. We'll be 20 times more committed
to Bible teaching and preaching,seeing the word of life not
(07:44):
purely as an intellectual mind exercise, but something that's
about the heart that is biblically in Hebraic
understanding. The the head and the heart, the
heart, the the thinking and the feeling and the willing, the
volitional unit of a whole person.
Not purely an intellectual exercise, but now as a part of
worship exposition. Not as boring exposition, but as
(08:08):
living biblical exposition that breaks down the stranglehold and
the stronghold of cynicism aboutevangelicalism by raising up a
new God centred gospel movement,becoming a vehicle for
championing that renewed commitment to biblical
(08:29):
exposition. Living biblical exposition as
the lifeblood of the church locally, regionally and globally
through our networks and partnerships.
That is, our friendships. Yeah, we'll be 20 times deeper
if we commit to this. I I believe so.
We'll also be 20 times broader. Our commitment to global mission
(08:52):
would not be simply unchanged, but with a growing and dynamic
church and with maintaining the historic commitment to parity,
which goes back to the 1930s forthe Church and missions, which
goes back to all the way to JohnBlanchard and the beginning of
the church. With a bigger beating heart,
we'll be able to, as it were, organisationally pump more blood
(09:15):
around missions locally, regionally and globally.
We will plant churches and be a nursery for a church planting
movement in America so that withnetworks and partnerships with
other churches we will be able to see the the growing
population curve in America thatis predicted to be 400 million
(09:36):
by 2050. With many immigrants.
That growing population curve met the Christian compassion and
loving outreach to the least reached not just around the
world now, but on our very own doorstep too.
This mind expanding list of gospel size initiatives
(09:58):
continues in just a moment. But first, a quick reminder that
if you are brand new to the God Centered Life, we are so excited
that you're here. Drop us a note.
You can do that through God Centered life.org.
Let us know where you're listening and if a radio station
in your community has just started carrying the program,
send them a note and thank them as well.
Back in Acts chapter 2, now here's Josh.
(10:21):
We will grow our own body by strategically removing
structural obstacles. We will be 20 times better at
reaching out to the poor so thatwith all our resources and
relatively upwardly mobile nature, we will always be a
church that those in less fortunate areas will be able to
(10:42):
say, I know about that church. I'm glad they are there.
Here's how they have helped me. We don't want to just get
bigger. We want to get better, more
servant like more giving, more generous, more open handed with
who we are and what we are so that we can serve the church
worldwide and reach out to the loss locally, regionally and
(11:05):
globally. In other words, when I ask our
congregation to put up their hand if they came to Christ in
the last five years, there will be, God willing, I pray, a show
of hands of an exciting number as well as a show of hands of
people who are looking for a Bible teaching church and found
(11:27):
us of an equally exciting number.
In other words, we will be better at connecting people to
us and us to them. A family that is good at
adopting, adopting as we ourselves are once adopted into
(11:47):
the family of God too. Now you will say, how will we do
all this? And I will say, how can we not?
I was looking this week at the way in which Paul and Jesus
commissioned people for particular tasks that God was
(12:09):
calling them to do. When Paul was asking the
Corinthians to give financially to the cause of the Gospel, he
came alongside and pointed out how the Macedonians had given
out of their poverty and in whatwe would call a time of economic
downturn and had given generously.
He stirs them up by appealing tothe Christian value of self
(12:31):
sacrifice to the cause of Christ, by appealing to the
Christian desire to excel in giving as we do in other things,
by comparing their giving with other people who give out of
their poverty. I was sent a story this week of
a homeless man who came to church and he took out 100
(12:52):
pennies and dropped them carefully into the offering
plate. He'd save them up all week. 100
pennies, just $1.00, we might think.
But what a sacrifice. Paul compares the Macedonian
sacrifice to the wealthy Corinthian church to stir them
(13:15):
up to excel equally. He says we should give according
to our means. He tells them that if you sow
generously, you will reap generously.
He tells them if they give like this, then people will praise
God because of it. Those who are not yet here at
college church, who when they come will praise God because of
(13:37):
our giving. Those who are not yet in
churches across the country who will praise God because of our
giving. Those around the world who will
praise God because of your giving.
And he tells them they will prayfor you.
That's good, isn't it? Someone actually praying for you
because of the giving. So if you say how can we?
(14:03):
I say, how can we not? Paul pointed out these things to
the Corinthians. Jesus had a slightly different
approach when he commissioned the 72.
Jesus said there is great need. You are the people I am
personally commissioning to do this.
It will be a challenge. Here are the tactics.
(14:23):
Here's what you need to do, and I'm giving you the authority to
do it. Great need means great
opportunity, which can be met ifwe stick to the godsend of
Gospel, of Jesus Christ proclaimed in US as a church and
through us to the world. In some ways these days remind
(14:45):
me of the history of college church when during the Great
Depression they launched under Pastor Evan Welsh.
Their great expansion and like many Christians of the time up
and down the land, show that they were looking for another
country by their sacrificial giving and serving.
(15:06):
Look at those 5 personal ministry commitments either now
or later. It's a way of grasping on to the
vision like a hand, one larger gathering.
That means coming to church and being ready to receive and learn
and grow and bringing people with us.
If you find it very hard to conceive of bringing your
(15:27):
neighbor to college church, we need to hear about that.
Not that we just do what seekerswant, shorter sermons, louder
music, better coffee, but that we remove unbiblical stumbling
blocks, poor parking, incomprehensible jargon.
No space. One larger gathering.
(15:50):
One smaller gathering. We want to provide a means to
help folk get connected. And we think that right now this
seems to be primarily already happening through the many
smaller gatherings there alreadyare at College church.
And we want to provide a road map for that and as it were,
widen the bandwidth for that so that more can discover that.
(16:13):
And if we are to be a more connected and fellowshipping
church, then we will need to massively increase the small
group ministry 1 area of service.
Some people will serve more thanthan that.
None should serve less. We get great teaching at college
church at every level of the church from kindergarten and up.
(16:35):
Fat Christians are fed Christians who are not serving
Christians. Fit Christians are fed
Christians who are serving Christians.
And so there is a balance of course, but the very least one
area service, one outreach. This could be our love your
(16:56):
neighbor paradigm that we're getting ready to launch and
you'll be hearing more about could be just spending time with
a neighbor today, this afternoon, complete that list of
four people to pray for, to reach out to.
Will you? Someone doesn't have to be
completely outside the bounds ofhaving heard of Jesus to be
(17:17):
someone to pray for, to reach out to.
Someone doesn't have to be a Wiccan priest to be someone to
reach out to. They, they could be a missionary
who has come back from the fieldand is disillusioned.
They could be a Roman Catholic who doesn't want to go home
because they had such a bad experience in some Roman
(17:38):
Catholic home. And we can help them see that we
as Christians are part of the Magisterium of the Church with
an older heritage going back allthe way to the Apostles
teaching. Further than Armenian Apostolic,
further than Celtic Church, thenfurther than Coptic Church,
(17:58):
certainly further than Rome all the way to Jerusalem.
Whoever is your neighbor or the person you come into contact
with, that's who we're talking about, whoever that may be. 1
outreach and all this is undergirded with prayer and
giving. Not just one or the other.
(18:19):
They go together, prayer and giving.
It's great to have prayer warriors in this church, and we
have those, and that's a precious treasure.
I can tell you I have never feltso prayed for as I do here.
And I thank you. And I know others feel that too,
all around the world. So we have a prayer culture.
(18:40):
But how much, right now at least, Is it currently a
prevalent prayer practice? There is a core of prayer
warriors indeed, and there is nodoubt.
But how many of us pray through the prayer guide each week?
How many of you have it stickingout of your Bible so you can
(19:01):
pray about it first thing in themorning when you do your
devotions? How many come on Wednesday
nights? We know many are serving then,
of course, and there are other ways of praying other than
coming on Wednesday night. So we don't want to get all
legalistic about it, but we do want to provide a forum, a place
for a sea change in our prayer practice through these quarterly
(19:24):
concerts of prayer. Of course, that emphasis on
prayer goes all the way back to Jonathan Edwards.
Well, actually all the way back to Jerusalem as well.
It's part of our worship value and we need to commit to
undergird it all with prayer andgiving.
(19:44):
Will you make that commitment with me?
Will you grasp hold of this vision with your hand, with
these 5 personal ministry commitments, and make it not
mine, but yours, ours, our thing?
(20:08):
I said at the start that I don'thave a vision for college
church. Perhaps that felt like something
of a cheap rhetorical trick, butI mean it.
Yes, I do. I am waiting.
I feel a little like Joshua in the Old Testament this morning
(20:30):
saying to the people, choose this day whom you will serve.
It's one thing for me to say, this is what church is like.
These are the very rapidly changing times in which we live.
For the church in America, it isnecessary to discover,
rediscover what it means to be incarnational.
Take the lessons of the missionaries around the world
(20:51):
and apply contextualized ministry now on the home front,
which if any church college church with its history of
missions, surely must have the resident organizational memory
to do. It's one thing you need to say,
say that this new reality, this new land is a new opportunity
(21:11):
that the Lord I I believe is calling us into to to give us
our marching orders, a a simple gospel God centre framework
which is biblical and runs through it all with these 4
component parts of our organizational set ups.
One thing for me to do all that,to give that vision, which is
not mine, I believe, but God's not ours as a leadership and
(21:35):
eldership, but I believe God's, not the pastoral Staffs, but I
believe God's. Why?
Because I think it comes from His Word.
It's one thing to do that and say, as it were, choose this day
whom you will serve. But I still have no vision for
(21:56):
Coddie's Church until I know whether you have the vision too.
Will you go deeper with me? Will you go broader with me?
Will you buy into this framework, this journey, this
(22:20):
movement with your time, talent and treasure?
If you do college Church has a vision which I think will be the
Lords. That's Josh Moody and this is
(22:41):
the God centered life. I feel like you wrapped the fist
of the closing challenge in a velvet glove there, but in
essence, what I heard was that achurch vision is useless without
a church that buys in. Exactly.
Yes. Church is not like there's one
person at the front of the bus doing all the driving and
everyone else are passengers. No, it's a body at which every
(23:03):
member is required for us to flourish and grow together.
Recently we looked at the question of unity and talked
about, you know, how unity requires good teaching.
And so it's a complicated issue,but it's all intertwined.
So the vision has to be part of this broader scope of ministry
focus. It has to be real it.
Has to be boots on the. Ground A great.
(23:24):
Vision without boots on the ground.
Yeah, not all that useful. Thanks Josh a powerful challenge
for this new year and more importantly for us on a daily
basis. No vision probably not going to
surprise you that we think Scripture is a good place to
form that vision. God's word is full of vision
casting in one sense why we exist here at the God centered
(23:46):
life we have a resource that mayhelp you form that vision from
the Bible. It's Josh's new book called our
firm foundation Bible verses every Christian should know.
Josh highlights essential passages that every belief fever
should have readily available and to help make this happen.
There's assists to memorization.We're completely listener
(24:07):
supported. Your gifts allow us to continue
this ministry in return for a gift of any amount we're going
to send you Josh's new book, ourfirm foundation make that happen
at guidecenteredlife.org next time accumulation encouraged.
So this passage is not telling us that accumulation of any kind
is wrong. In fact, Jesus tells us to
(24:30):
accumulate. He just tells us to accumulate
in heaven, not on earth. Now this is somewhat surprising.
When you think about it. Continuing our vision, gassing
from God's word when we get together next time.
God Centered life.org is where you can pick up Josh's new book.
And this is your invitation to join us next time right here on
God's word for the God Centered life with Josh Moody.
Fat Christians are fed Christians who are not serving
Christians. Fit Christians are fed
Christians who are serving Christians.
And so there is a balance of course, but the very least one
area serves. Welcome to the God Centered Life
with Josh Moody, 2020 Vision talking about Acts Chapter 2,
(00:25):
verses 42 through 47, Part 2 of our setup for the Vision series.
Josh Moody is senior pastor of College Church in Wheaton, IL
Thanks for joining us for our study today.
Taking a peek into the directionwe're heading, you apparently
are going to be challenging us that being well fed is not
enough. Yes, just like in the physical
(00:46):
life, if we simply eat a lot, we're not going to be in great
health. We need also exercise and.
Similarly as a. Christian.
It's important that. We exercise what God's giving us
through service and evangelism and.
Discipleship. And we'll be looking at that.
Today. Were you looking at me when you
said when we eat too much? Don't you're.
(01:07):
In pretty good shape. Let's let's move on.
Acts Chapter 2. This is Part 2.
We'll do a quick review of yesterday's material and jump
into the new material for today.Here's Josh.
I don't have a vision for college church.
Neither do the elders, nor any of the pastors, staff, boards or
(01:31):
committees. At least I hope not.
Vision is a word that you see can conjure up human ideas of
what we want the future to be like.
But as everyone knows, the business of prediction is.
Difficult, particularly when it comes to the future.
(01:56):
You see, sometimes when people hear the word vision, we, you
and I can think what's this really about?
And so we can talk about vision and values and commitments and
yes, we have that, but cynics that we are and very used to
(02:16):
human orientated vision speak aswe have become in the world.
It's easy for us to think that this is really about something
else. But you see that is not biblical
vision. Biblical vision in the end is
not a program, much less a building or an event, much less
(02:42):
a staff hire. Vision is something more to do
with who we are and what we see about God.
So if your question this morningas you come in here is what is
actually going to be different after this, then the answer I
(03:03):
hope and pray is going to be we are going to be different after
this. That is, with the vision of God
and His gospel, we will be different.
Well now we summarise this in our vision statement, the God
Centre gospel. Jesus Christ proclaimed in us as
(03:24):
a church and through us to the world by the transforming power
of the Holy Spirit. So here's a question that comes
out of that. What kind of church would
College Church have to become tomake Wheaton and Chicago glad
that we exist here it is. What would it take for us now to
(03:49):
launch a movement so that in another 150 years College Church
has 150 times the impact on the world?
If we are a gospel centred church and are about that
mission here and all around the world and college churches
(04:13):
commitment to global mission is unaltered.
If we commit to this vision of the gospel changing us and
through US changing our neighborhoods, our cities, our
suburbs, our world, then I thinkhistory will look back on this
moment and say not they had a dream, but they were faithful to
(04:40):
God's vision from His word when others were turning their back
on it and God was faithful to them.
If we commit our time, our talent, and our treasure to this
vision, we will, God willing, bedeeper as a church.
That is, we will be more connected through a flourishing
(05:02):
small groups ministry. We will be deeper in our mutual
shepherding, so that primarily through the small group
structure. It will be much more rare for
someone to come to Cottage Church for a few weeks or months
and then not be able to find a place to connect.
We will be much deeper in our inour giving.
(05:24):
You see, as the world lurches these days between materialism
on the one hand and socialism onthe other, we'll be more
thoroughly Christian in our approach to our finances,
fulfilling once again John Wesley's age-old maxim.
That is to make as much as you can, save as much as you can,
(05:48):
give as much as you can. And so we will plot together
about how to make money to finance God's work here and
around the world. We'll be engaged with culture
and business so that we live outour Christian profession,
equipped by the church to do so with a, with a full orb
training, with a now a holistic approach to Christian living
(06:13):
that does not demarcate the secular from the sacred, but
lives in the secular with the sacred.
We'll be 20 times deeper in our caring for the aged, giving the
older generation the chance, like Joseph in the in the Bible,
(06:35):
to worship with joy at the foot of their bed, seeing the
fulfilment of God's vision and promise to them, and Commission
support the next generation in their service.
We'll be 20 times deeper at helping our adolescent children,
our teenagers feel connected at church, a part of the church,
(06:59):
and making the, the jump from the youth ministries to the
worship sanctuary less of a jumpand more of a of a step.
Our disability ministry, our children's ministry will be 20
times deeper in devotion and connection and service.
We'll be, we'll be 20 times moreholy, God willing, if we commit
(07:20):
to this, if you can measure sucha thing as 20 times more holy,
not only in a renewed commitmentto the disciplines of the
Christian life, but in a passionfor justice and the needs of the
poor. We'll be 20 times more committed
to Bible teaching and preaching,seeing the word of life not
(07:44):
purely as an intellectual mind exercise, but something that's
about the heart that is biblically in Hebraic
understanding. The the head and the heart, the
heart, the the thinking and the feeling and the willing, the
volitional unit of a whole person.
Not purely an intellectual exercise, but now as a part of
worship exposition. Not as boring exposition, but as
(08:08):
living biblical exposition that breaks down the stranglehold and
the stronghold of cynicism aboutevangelicalism by raising up a
new God centred gospel movement,becoming a vehicle for
championing that renewed commitment to biblical
(08:29):
exposition. Living biblical exposition as
the lifeblood of the church locally, regionally and globally
through our networks and partnerships.
That is, our friendships. Yeah, we'll be 20 times deeper
if we commit to this. I I believe so.
We'll also be 20 times broader. Our commitment to global mission
(08:52):
would not be simply unchanged, but with a growing and dynamic
church and with maintaining the historic commitment to parity,
which goes back to the 1930s forthe Church and missions, which
goes back to all the way to JohnBlanchard and the beginning of
the church. With a bigger beating heart,
we'll be able to, as it were, organisationally pump more blood
(09:15):
around missions locally, regionally and globally.
We will plant churches and be a nursery for a church planting
movement in America so that withnetworks and partnerships with
other churches we will be able to see the the growing
population curve in America thatis predicted to be 400 million
(09:36):
by 2050. With many immigrants.
That growing population curve met the Christian compassion and
loving outreach to the least reached not just around the
world now, but on our very own doorstep too.
This mind expanding list of gospel size initiatives
(09:58):
continues in just a moment. But first, a quick reminder that
if you are brand new to the God Centered Life, we are so excited
that you're here. Drop us a note.
You can do that through God Centered life.org.
Let us know where you're listening and if a radio station
in your community has just started carrying the program,
send them a note and thank them as well.
Back in Acts chapter 2, now here's Josh.
(10:21):
We will grow our own body by strategically removing
structural obstacles. We will be 20 times better at
reaching out to the poor so thatwith all our resources and
relatively upwardly mobile nature, we will always be a
church that those in less fortunate areas will be able to
(10:42):
say, I know about that church. I'm glad they are there.
Here's how they have helped me. We don't want to just get
bigger. We want to get better, more
servant like more giving, more generous, more open handed with
who we are and what we are so that we can serve the church
worldwide and reach out to the loss locally, regionally and
(11:05):
globally. In other words, when I ask our
congregation to put up their hand if they came to Christ in
the last five years, there will be, God willing, I pray, a show
of hands of an exciting number as well as a show of hands of
people who are looking for a Bible teaching church and found
(11:27):
us of an equally exciting number.
In other words, we will be better at connecting people to
us and us to them. A family that is good at
adopting, adopting as we ourselves are once adopted into
(11:47):
the family of God too. Now you will say, how will we do
all this? And I will say, how can we not?
I was looking this week at the way in which Paul and Jesus
commissioned people for particular tasks that God was
(12:09):
calling them to do. When Paul was asking the
Corinthians to give financially to the cause of the Gospel, he
came alongside and pointed out how the Macedonians had given
out of their poverty and in whatwe would call a time of economic
downturn and had given generously.
He stirs them up by appealing tothe Christian value of self
(12:31):
sacrifice to the cause of Christ, by appealing to the
Christian desire to excel in giving as we do in other things,
by comparing their giving with other people who give out of
their poverty. I was sent a story this week of
a homeless man who came to church and he took out 100
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pennies and dropped them carefully into the offering
plate. He'd save them up all week. 100
pennies, just $1.00, we might think.
But what a sacrifice. Paul compares the Macedonian
sacrifice to the wealthy Corinthian church to stir them
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up to excel equally. He says we should give according
to our means. He tells them that if you sow
generously, you will reap generously.
He tells them if they give like this, then people will praise
God because of it. Those who are not yet here at
college church, who when they come will praise God because of
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our giving. Those who are not yet in
churches across the country who will praise God because of our
giving. Those around the world who will
praise God because of your giving.
And he tells them they will prayfor you.
That's good, isn't it? Someone actually praying for you
because of the giving. So if you say how can we?
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I say, how can we not? Paul pointed out these things to
the Corinthians. Jesus had a slightly different
approach when he commissioned the 72.
Jesus said there is great need. You are the people I am
personally commissioning to do this.
It will be a challenge. Here are the tactics.
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Here's what you need to do, and I'm giving you the authority to
do it. Great need means great
opportunity, which can be met ifwe stick to the godsend of
Gospel, of Jesus Christ proclaimed in US as a church and
through us to the world. In some ways these days remind
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me of the history of college church when during the Great
Depression they launched under Pastor Evan Welsh.
Their great expansion and like many Christians of the time up
and down the land, show that they were looking for another
country by their sacrificial giving and serving.
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Look at those 5 personal ministry commitments either now
or later. It's a way of grasping on to the
vision like a hand, one larger gathering.
That means coming to church and being ready to receive and learn
and grow and bringing people with us.
If you find it very hard to conceive of bringing your
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neighbor to college church, we need to hear about that.
Not that we just do what seekerswant, shorter sermons, louder
music, better coffee, but that we remove unbiblical stumbling
blocks, poor parking, incomprehensible jargon.
No space. One larger gathering.
(15:50):
One smaller gathering. We want to provide a means to
help folk get connected. And we think that right now this
seems to be primarily already happening through the many
smaller gatherings there alreadyare at College church.
And we want to provide a road map for that and as it were,
widen the bandwidth for that so that more can discover that.
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And if we are to be a more connected and fellowshipping
church, then we will need to massively increase the small
group ministry 1 area of service.
Some people will serve more thanthan that.
None should serve less. We get great teaching at college
church at every level of the church from kindergarten and up.
(16:35):
Fat Christians are fed Christians who are not serving
Christians. Fit Christians are fed
Christians who are serving Christians.
And so there is a balance of course, but the very least one
area service, one outreach. This could be our love your
(16:56):
neighbor paradigm that we're getting ready to launch and
you'll be hearing more about could be just spending time with
a neighbor today, this afternoon, complete that list of
four people to pray for, to reach out to.
Will you? Someone doesn't have to be
completely outside the bounds ofhaving heard of Jesus to be
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someone to pray for, to reach out to.
Someone doesn't have to be a Wiccan priest to be someone to
reach out to. They, they could be a missionary
who has come back from the fieldand is disillusioned.
They could be a Roman Catholic who doesn't want to go home
because they had such a bad experience in some Roman
(17:38):
Catholic home. And we can help them see that we
as Christians are part of the Magisterium of the Church with
an older heritage going back allthe way to the Apostles
teaching. Further than Armenian Apostolic,
further than Celtic Church, thenfurther than Coptic Church,
(17:58):
certainly further than Rome all the way to Jerusalem.
Whoever is your neighbor or the person you come into contact
with, that's who we're talking about, whoever that may be. 1
outreach and all this is undergirded with prayer and
giving. Not just one or the other.
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They go together, prayer and giving.
It's great to have prayer warriors in this church, and we
have those, and that's a precious treasure.
I can tell you I have never feltso prayed for as I do here.
And I thank you. And I know others feel that too,
all around the world. So we have a prayer culture.
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But how much, right now at least, Is it currently a
prevalent prayer practice? There is a core of prayer
warriors indeed, and there is nodoubt.
But how many of us pray through the prayer guide each week?
How many of you have it stickingout of your Bible so you can
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pray about it first thing in themorning when you do your
devotions? How many come on Wednesday
nights? We know many are serving then,
of course, and there are other ways of praying other than
coming on Wednesday night. So we don't want to get all
legalistic about it, but we do want to provide a forum, a place
for a sea change in our prayer practice through these quarterly
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concerts of prayer. Of course, that emphasis on
prayer goes all the way back to Jonathan Edwards.
Well, actually all the way back to Jerusalem as well.
It's part of our worship value and we need to commit to
undergird it all with prayer andgiving.
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Will you make that commitment with me?
Will you grasp hold of this vision with your hand, with
these 5 personal ministry commitments, and make it not
mine, but yours, ours, our thing?
(20:08):
I said at the start that I don'thave a vision for college
church. Perhaps that felt like something
of a cheap rhetorical trick, butI mean it.
Yes, I do. I am waiting.
I feel a little like Joshua in the Old Testament this morning
(20:30):
saying to the people, choose this day whom you will serve.
It's one thing for me to say, this is what church is like.
These are the very rapidly changing times in which we live.
For the church in America, it isnecessary to discover,
rediscover what it means to be incarnational.
Take the lessons of the missionaries around the world
(20:51):
and apply contextualized ministry now on the home front,
which if any church college church with its history of
missions, surely must have the resident organizational memory
to do. It's one thing you need to say,
say that this new reality, this new land is a new opportunity
(21:11):
that the Lord I I believe is calling us into to to give us
our marching orders, a a simple gospel God centre framework
which is biblical and runs through it all with these 4
component parts of our organizational set ups.
One thing for me to do all that,to give that vision, which is
not mine, I believe, but God's not ours as a leadership and
(21:35):
eldership, but I believe God's, not the pastoral Staffs, but I
believe God's. Why?
Because I think it comes from His Word.
It's one thing to do that and say, as it were, choose this day
whom you will serve. But I still have no vision for
(21:56):
Coddie's Church until I know whether you have the vision too.
Will you go deeper with me? Will you go broader with me?
Will you buy into this framework, this journey, this
(22:20):
movement with your time, talent and treasure?
If you do college Church has a vision which I think will be the
Lords. That's Josh Moody and this is
(22:41):
the God centered life. I feel like you wrapped the fist
of the closing challenge in a velvet glove there, but in
essence, what I heard was that achurch vision is useless without
a church that buys in. Exactly.
Yes. Church is not like there's one
person at the front of the bus doing all the driving and
everyone else are passengers. No, it's a body at which every
(23:03):
member is required for us to flourish and grow together.
Recently we looked at the question of unity and talked
about, you know, how unity requires good teaching.
And so it's a complicated issue,but it's all intertwined.
So the vision has to be part of this broader scope of ministry
focus. It has to be real it.
Has to be boots on the. Ground A great.
(23:24):
Vision without boots on the ground.
Yeah, not all that useful. Thanks Josh a powerful challenge
for this new year and more importantly for us on a daily
basis. No vision probably not going to
surprise you that we think Scripture is a good place to
form that vision. God's word is full of vision
casting in one sense why we exist here at the God centered
(23:46):
life we have a resource that mayhelp you form that vision from
the Bible. It's Josh's new book called our
firm foundation Bible verses every Christian should know.
Josh highlights essential passages that every belief fever
should have readily available and to help make this happen.
There's assists to memorization.We're completely listener
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supported. Your gifts allow us to continue
this ministry in return for a gift of any amount we're going
to send you Josh's new book, ourfirm foundation make that happen
at guidecenteredlife.org next time accumulation encouraged.
So this passage is not telling us that accumulation of any kind
is wrong. In fact, Jesus tells us to
(24:30):
accumulate. He just tells us to accumulate
in heaven, not on earth. Now this is somewhat surprising.
When you think about it. Continuing our vision, gassing
from God's word when we get together next time.
God Centered life.org is where you can pick up Josh's new book.
And this is your invitation to join us next time right here on
God's word for the God Centered life with Josh Moody.
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