OUR MISSION (should we choose to accept it..)

TEXT:

(Luke 9:23-24 NIV) "Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

{24} For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but WHOEVER LOSES HIS LIFE FOR ME WILL SAVE IT."

BOOK:

SEVEN LONGINGS OF THE HUMAN HEART - by MIKE BICKLE

These are the Longings that we have as Humans.. All pursuits are dependant on these longings..

1. The Longing to Be Enjoyed by God

2. The Longing for Fascination

3. The Longing for Beauty

4. The Longing for Greatness

5. The Longing for Intimacy Without Shame

6. The Longing to Be Wholehearted

7. The Longing to Make a Deep and Lasting Impact

REVIEW… HOW TO BE A MEMBER IN THE BODY OF CHRIST:

ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES…

1) BELIEVE in (PUT YOUR TRUST IN..) Jesus as Savior

- PERSONAL DEVOTION TO JESUS

- INITIATE A RELATIONSHIP

2) BE BAPTIZED IN WATER according to the EXAMPLE & TEACHING OF JESUS

- PUBLIC DEVOTION TO JESUS

- NO PRIVATE CHRISTIANS

(Mark 16:15-16 NIV) "He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. {16} Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

3) FOLLOW JESUS AS A DISCIPLE (PURSUER)

- MEETS OUR LONGING TO PURSUE A DREAM, PERSON (something to chase after!)

(Luke 9:23-24 NIV) "Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. {24} For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it."

4) ENTER INTO THE PROCESS OF SPIRITUAL REGENERATION by obedience to Jesus.

- MEETS OUR NEED TO GIVE OUR LIFE AWAY!

(2 Cor 3:17-18 NIV) "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. {18} And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

(Eph 4:22-24 NIV) "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to PUT OFF YOUR OLD SELF, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; {23} to be made new in the attitude of your minds; {24} and to PUT ON THE NEW SELF, CREATED TO BE LIKE GOD in true righteousness and holiness."

CHRISTIANS VS. FOLLOWERS OF JESUS

CHRISTIANS – Is what the world called the FOLLOWERS OF JESUS

1. The believers did not call themselves CHRISTIANS

(Acts 11:26 NIV) "and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. THE DISCIPLES WERE CALLED CHRISTIANS FIRST AT ANTIOCH."

2. THEY WOULD NOT HAVE CALLED THEMSELVES CHRISTIANS

a. They did not believe that they had become Christlike.. only that they were followers of Christ!

FOLLOWERS OF THE WAY – Is what PEOPLE OF GOD CALLED THEMSELVES

1. JESUS CALLED HIMSELF “THE WAY”

a. (John 14:6 NIV) "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

2. THE CHURCH CALLED “DISCIPLES” OR “FOLLOWERS OF THE WAY”

(Acts 24:14 NIV) "However, I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets,"

OTHER SCRIPTURES: Acts 9:2 19:9,23 24:14,22

SHOULD WE BE CALLED CHRISTIANS?

1. CHRISTIAN means Christ-like in appearance

a. Are we really like Christ in appearance?

b. Barna Statistics say that the church is statistically no different than the world

c. FOCUS BECOMES “LOOKING LIKE JESUS”

i. It becomes a work of the flesh.. trying to look like Jesus!

2. FOLLOWER OF JESUS means pursuer of THE PERSON OF JESUS

a. WHEN WE ARE A FOLLOWER OF JESUS..

i. Transformation is what God does when we pursue Him

b. WE KEEP PROPER FOCUS – LOVING GOD!

i. LOVE THE LORD WITH ALL HEART, MIND , STRENGTH

ii. LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR AS WE LOVE OURSELVES

5) WALK IN THE AUTHORITY OF THE WORD OF GOD (the WORD - TRUTH)

- MEETS OUR LONGING FOR TRUTH

(John 15:10 NIV) "If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love."

(Col 3:16 NIV) "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."

6) WALK IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (the SPIRIT – GRACE)

- MEETS OUR LONGING FOR POWER

(Acts 1:8 NIV) "But YOU WILL RECEIVE POWER WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES ON YOU; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

(1 Cor 5:4 NIV) "WHEN YOU ARE ASSEMBLED in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and THE POWER OF OUR LORD JESUS IS PRESENT,"

(1 Cor 2:4-5 KJV) "And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: {5} That your faith should not stand in the WISDOM OF MEN, but in the POWER OF GOD."

5) EMBRACE AND ENGAGE IN RELATIONSHIPS IN THE BODY OF CHRIST

- MEETS OUR NEED FOR COMMUNITY (something bigger than ourselves)

(Rom 12:4-5 NIV) "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, {5} so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."

- Serve and minister to other members in the body of Christ using time, talents, spiritual gifts, resources as God directs.

CORNERSTONE CHURCH

MISSION,VISION AND VALUES

(Revised July 2011)

OUR MISSION: TO MAKE MORE & BETTER DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST…

(To love God and others by passionately following Jesus and partnering with others to do the same.)

OUR VISION: TO EXPERIENCE CHURCH LIKE WE READ ABOUT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

OUR STRATEGY: TO WIN - CONNECT – DISCIPLE - SEND

1) WIN – To share Jesus and lead others to a life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ.

2) CONNECT – To assist others to experience wholeness in attachment to God & the Body of Christ.

3) DISCIPLE - To teach others to passionately follow Jesus & be transformed into His image.

4) SEND – To reveal Jesus and minister in His name in our community and beyond.

OUR VALUES: BASED ON LOVE, ACCEPTANCE AND FORGIVENESS...

PURSUIT OF PRESENCE:

The Longing to Be Enjoyed by God

The Longing for Intimacy Without Shame

1 – PRAYER

Prayer is not preparation for the work of the church; it is the work of the church. In prayer, God’s heart and will is revealed. In prayer we are led and empowered to accomplish the purposes of God in our life, family, church, community and world.

The Longing for Fascination

The Longing for Beauty

2 - WORSHIP

We were created to worship God. (Rev. 4:11) Through worship we bless by giving Him the adoration and praise due His Name. We praise Him for who He is through singing and the spoken word. Our worship gatherings include celebration of our life in God, adoration of Jesus, proclamation of the Word of God and transaction with the presence of God.

PURSUIT OF TRUTH

3 – TRUTH

The Bible is God’s Word. It reveals the standard by which our attitudes and behavior are to be measured. We conform our lives to the Bible as Truth and do not attempt to adjust this Truth to conform to preferences. Biblical standards of truth supersede all other social and cultural standards.

PURSUIT OF POWER

The Longing for Greatness

4 – FAITH

As God’s Children, we are called to walk by faith, not by sight, being led by the direction of the Holy Spirit and the instructions of God’s word. We therefore value hearing Gods voice, obeying His directives, and applying the Word of God to our daily lives.

11 - THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit has been given to empower the church to fulfill the purpose and claim the destiny God has created us for. We therefore value and depend upon the Holy Spirit’s presence and power to guide and empower in every gathering and in all relationships.

PURSUIT OF COMMUNITY (larger than ourselves)

The Longing for Intimacy Without Shame

5 – COMMUNITY

The church is a place to belong. It is an extended family where each member lives in encouraging and accountable relationships. Members of the church family encourage, serve and care for one another in an atmosphere of love, acceptance and forgiveness and live their lives together in both small and large group settings.

6 – LEADERSHIP

Congregational leaders are given authority to lead the congregation by serving under the Lordship of Jesus Christ who is the head of the church. Instead of “doing” all the ministry, pastors are to serve the body of Christ by training, equipping and releasing members into the work of ministry. (Eph. 4:11)

12 – UNITY

Working together in the Body of Christ with unity of vision is essential if we are to be the Church and operate according to the plan of God for us. We therefore commit to unity in the Spirit with the larger Body of Christ and a unity of a common mission, vision and values as a local congregation.

PURSUIT OF PURPOSE (something to live and die for..)

The Longing to Make a Deep and Lasting Impact

7 – GIVING

The tithe (10%) is the foundation of biblical giving and is given and used in the local church. Faith Promise giving for missions, sacrificial giving for facilities and compassion giving for the needy are given above and beyond the tithe. While the tithe (10%) is given out of obedience to God, offerings above and beyond the tithe are optional and are to be given according to ability, desire and leading.

8 – OUTREACH

The main focus of the church is to be outward rather than inward. Reaching out to others is not simply one of the things that we do, but is the focus of everything we do as a church. Extending the Kingdom of God both at home and around the world must be at the forefront of our minds in every decision we make.

The Longing to Be Wholehearted

The Longing for Beauty

9 – LIFE TRANSFORMATION

Lives are transformed by the renewing of our minds. Believers must personally grow in intimate, transparent relationship with God. Through this relationship we experience wholeness: the forgiveness of sin, freedom from past hurts, and healing in our lives through the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit.

10 – EVERY MEMBER A MINISTER

Every member, including youth and children, is to be actively involved in ministering to one another to win, connect and disciple others to Jesus. Each member is called to minister to others by the power of the Holy Spirit and serve one another according to their spiritual gifting.

HOW WILL YOU FULFILL YOUR MISSION ON THE EARTH?

HOW WILL YOU FULFILL THE LONGINGS OF YOUR HEART?