Missional Living Series Week 5: The Personal Mission of Believers

Here's the link to the last week in our Missional Living Series: Part 5

The Response to Hope: Our Personal Mission

Passages for Study: Acts 17:26‐28; Ephesians 2:10; and
2 Corinthians 5:14‐21

Over the last four weeks we have discussed the Call to Mission we have in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Reason for the Mission we see in our utter depravity because of sin, the great Message of the Mission in the work of Jesus Christ upon the cross, and, last week, that the corporate body of the universal Church is to be the instrument by which Christ is revealed as the hope of the world. This week we move from the idea of mission to the application of mission in our individual lives. As we’ve discussed, in order to understand the mission of God we have to understand the story He is writing and the part we play. We have defined the mission of God as a redemptive mission in which we as His children have been given the ministry and message of reconciliation. Each member of the body of Christ plays his or her part in working out and proclaiming this great mission. We call this “Missional Living.”

Missional Living starts with understanding that God has placed us in this moment in history, His story, for His purpose (His mission). No matter where we are or what we do in life, this is the purpose of each believer whom Christ reconciled – to live out the ministry and share the message that God is redeeming man and creation to a right relationship to Himself through the gospel of His Son, Jesus Christ. Once we realize this, then we can move into fleshing out how our gifts, talents, resources and life can be used for this purpose. This is Missional Living.

Our personal mission is to use our gifts, talents, resources and life to glorify God by being ministers of reconciliation in every venue of our lives. For some this is engaging in the lives of their neighbors, for others it is moving to a “hard” part of town or the world to engage the poor, and yet for all of us it is the call by God to live missionally where we are.

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This Thursday at 7pm we are going to be looking at one of the most famous (or infamous) missionaries in the old testament Jonah. We will be looking at the ramifications of obedience and disobedience as well as what it means to be a witness. Hope to see you there!

Missional Living Series Weeks 3 and 4

Week 3: The Cross

Here's a link to week 3's audio sermon: The Cross

Passages for Study: Romans 5:1‐11 and II Corinthians 5:14‐21

Review and Reflection for Week 3:

The cross of Christ reminds us of the love of the Father and that having been reconciled to Him by the work of the Son we are no longer enemies but co‐heirs with Christ in His kingdom. The shed blood of Christ on the cross has redeemed and purchased us from death. Therefore, we are no longer our own, but we are His. We are not to live for ourselves but to the One who died and was raised for our sake. What have you been purchased from? To whom are you living? We have been reconciled to God and called to participate in His mission of reconciling the world to Himself. We have been given the message of reconciliation that Christ died so that we might live. How has this message affected your entire life? Who are you sharing this message with? What is keeping you from sharing the message?

Resources to keep Digging Deeper
• To Listen To:
o “God Demonstrates His Love Toward Us”

o Timothy Keller on the Gospel

• To Read:
o http://hv.thevillagechurch.net/becoming‐a‐believer
o “The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative” – Christopher J.H. Wright
o “God is the Gospel” – John Piper

Week 4: The Corporate Mission of the Church

Here's a link to week 4's audio sermon: The Corporate Mission of the Church

Passages for Study: I Corinthians 3:1‐21; Ephesians 3:8‐12; and Matthew 28:18‐20

Review and Reflection for Week 4:

Christ is the hope of the world, and the Church is the instrument He has chosen to manifest this hope. Together as the local church body, we desire to build upon the foundation of Christ with materials that will stand by engaging, equipping and sending our members and believers all over the world to be ministers of reconciliation. This looks like us starting new churches, supporting struggling churches, and partnering for the glory of the Lord. Your elders and pastoral staff desire to see the universal Church function as the Lord intended her to on His mission. This is not merely joining “missions” opportunities, but understanding that Missions, Groups, Connections, Pastoral Care, Recovery, Next Generation, etc. are all working toward this goal and by using your gifts to serve this local church body and, through our Missions Department, by serving your city and world you are joining the corporate mission of the local church.
The question is how are you on “mission,” God’s mission?

Resources to keep Digging Deeper
• To Listen To:
o The Resurgence Podcast

• To Read:
o “The Radical Reformission: Reaching Out without Selling Out” – Mark Driscoll
o “The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative” – Christopher J.H. Wright

Missional Living Series Week 2: Sin

Here's a link to part 2 in our missional living series.

Sin separates us from God. All of us have sinned; therefore all of us are separated from God. Being in sin, we do not have the ability to overcome it, so we are lost and hopeless. Yet God, in His great love and mercy, has put forth Jesus Christ to be the propitiation for our sins providing reconciliation and restoration of our relationship with Him. He does this through the blood of Christ on the cross. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Notfrom our merit, but by His grace are we saved (Eph. 2:8‐9). Our condition separates us from God, only His grace reconciles, so why are we not the most humble people? A right understanding of sin allows us to be participants in the mission of God, not creators of our own “missions.” When we realize that we are participants only by God’s grace demonstrated in redemptive history and manifested in the person and work of Jesus Christ, then we can take the ministry and message of reconciliation to our world with love, gentleness, kindness and self sacrifice. In what ways are you letting sin continue to distort your relationship with God? In what ways is sin keeping you from articipating in God’s mission?

Resources to keep Digging Deeper
• To Listen:
o “The Importance of Knowing Our Sin”

o “Adam, Christ, and Justification” parts 1‐5

o “The Fatal Disobedience of Adam and the Triumphant Obedience of Christ”

o “The Supremacy of Christ and the Gospel in a Postmodern World”

• To Read:
o “Mortification of Sin” (abridged) – John Owen
o “The Imputation of Adam’s Sin” – John Murray
o “The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative” – Christopher J.H. Wright

Missional Living Series Week1: The Resurrection

Here's a link to the sermon that we listened to on Thursday June 18th:

Here are a few key points that we went over in our study:

The Ministry of Reconciliation is: the corporate and collective activities of the Church to engage a world in all facets that is separated from the God who created and sustains it.

The Message of Reconciliation is: the personal message of the gospel as seen in an individual's life and expressed to people who are separated from the God who loves them.

The Mission of Reconciliation is: the mission of God to restore man and creation to right relationship with Himself. He has called us by the resurrection of Christ, having been made new by His victory over sin and death to participate in this mission.

Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have been reconciled to God. He has removed our sin and shame and given us the message of reconciliation, the message of hope that should take root in every area of our lives. This means that we are to look at each aspect of life, our own hearts and minds, our relationships, our work, our time, etc.; through the lens of the gospel of reconciliation.

Passages for study: 1 Corinthians 15:1-58 and 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Thursday Night Community Group

Hey so this is my first post ever on the Regen blog. That's pretty cool I guess. Anyways last Thursday at Community Group we listened to a stand alone sermon by Matt Chandler. We're going to be going through an audio sermon series by Matt Chandler on Thursday nights and I wanted to give everyone kind of an introduction and thought this sermon would be good for that. Enjoy!

Link to mp3

If the link doesn't work or you would like a text version of the sermon go to thevillagechurch.net/sermons. If you would like more information on who Matt Chandler is go to thevillagechurch.net.