Sermon Notes
PROJECT 20: 20 Christ-centered communities in the next 10 years
Biblical Authority:
We believe the Bible is God’s Word and shows us the right way to do life, if we are willing to follow what it says is right and true.
Your identity is shaped by what the most important voices in your life are saying about you.
Relational Intimacy
We believe no matter what we have done, we can have an intimate relationship with God by grace and through faith in Jesus.
Matthew 9:9–13
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. . . . Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?” When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Mercy — is not getting what you deserve and can’t pay for it because it was taken on for you by someone else.
Grace — getting something that you don’t deserve or earn because it was provided to you by someone else.
Ephesians 2:8–9
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
Matthew 26:35
“No!” Peter insisted. “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the other disciples vowed the same.
God loved me and I received his mercy and grace.