What do we stand for?
What do we stand for?
All our readings today are about making a stand: Joshua calls his people to make a stand and worship God and no-one else; Jesus calls the disciples to make a stand and accept his words and his claims; and St Paul in Ephesians 6 calls us to constantly stand firm in our faith, and offers good, practical help for us in doing so.
But what do we stand for? Where do we make a stand as a church? What causes us to be excited and challenged and definite in our calling as God's people at St Catherine's?
The following is an outline I am giving to everyone who comes to church today, an outline of what we stand for. First there are attitudes, things that undergird us as a church. These are not foundational truths (the love of God, the cross of Christ, the Resurrection, the Holy Spirit indwelling all believers, the Scriptures, the fellowship of believers etc) but rather attitudes of faith in God that cause us to act in certain ways. So - if we believe God loves all people, guess what - we have to too! And then there are our Mission Aims. These are part of our Mission Statement as a church, three words which can be found on our logo and on our notice board, and all over our web site. But I then add small pointers to explain more and to tie these in with the attitudes section.
Read it, comment on it, and ask this question: if our church really was like this and worked like this, wouldn't it be a great church? Then why should we stand for less?
Attitudes
Love
· No-one is unimportant
· Everyone is valuable
· Dignity and respect for all, especially those with whom we disagree
The Church That Can
· No room for cynicism (which is the enemy of faith)
· Everyone can play – all are gifted in some way
· Cultivate a natural positive way
Growth Is Normative
· We expect to grow closer to God
· We expect to draw others closer to God
· Good News is infectious!
Mission Aims
Worship
· We express our love for God and receive His love for us.
Do we come to church prepared to worship?
Do we read God's words of love to us often enough?
Are we like two lovers on the telephone, unable to say goodbye, or is it easy to leave worship?
· Enthusiasm comes from the Greek for “in God”.
Would people know this of our worship? Let’s make it so!
· We seek to grow closer to Him & to draw others on the same journey
How often have we seen a film or a play or a show and just had to tell people and take them to it? How often have we felt like that about church?
Evangelism
· We share faith with (and because of) love: this is NOT a project!
People are people, and must be offered the chance to receive Christ as we would wish to.
· Everyone can share their faith.
We just need to learn how.
· Attractively and infectiously – i.e. naturally!
Compassion
· We offer dignity and respect for all, regardless of background or status or appearance.
Jesus cared for the poor and the leper; and he cared for them with love. That's our bench mark.
· We work hard to find ways of caring, and we bless those who are particularly good at this.
Zeal for others is not to be sniffed at but admired and blessed.
· Matthew 25: we do it for Jesus, which draws us (and those we care for) closer to Him
All our readings today are about making a stand: Joshua calls his people to make a stand and worship God and no-one else; Jesus calls the disciples to make a stand and accept his words and his claims; and St Paul in Ephesians 6 calls us to constantly stand firm in our faith, and offers good, practical help for us in doing so.
But what do we stand for? Where do we make a stand as a church? What causes us to be excited and challenged and definite in our calling as God's people at St Catherine's?
The following is an outline I am giving to everyone who comes to church today, an outline of what we stand for. First there are attitudes, things that undergird us as a church. These are not foundational truths (the love of God, the cross of Christ, the Resurrection, the Holy Spirit indwelling all believers, the Scriptures, the fellowship of believers etc) but rather attitudes of faith in God that cause us to act in certain ways. So - if we believe God loves all people, guess what - we have to too! And then there are our Mission Aims. These are part of our Mission Statement as a church, three words which can be found on our logo and on our notice board, and all over our web site. But I then add small pointers to explain more and to tie these in with the attitudes section.
Read it, comment on it, and ask this question: if our church really was like this and worked like this, wouldn't it be a great church? Then why should we stand for less?
Attitudes
Love
· No-one is unimportant
· Everyone is valuable
· Dignity and respect for all, especially those with whom we disagree
The Church That Can
· No room for cynicism (which is the enemy of faith)
· Everyone can play – all are gifted in some way
· Cultivate a natural positive way
Growth Is Normative
· We expect to grow closer to God
· We expect to draw others closer to God
· Good News is infectious!
Mission Aims
Worship
· We express our love for God and receive His love for us.
Do we come to church prepared to worship?
Do we read God's words of love to us often enough?
Are we like two lovers on the telephone, unable to say goodbye, or is it easy to leave worship?
· Enthusiasm comes from the Greek for “in God”.
Would people know this of our worship? Let’s make it so!
· We seek to grow closer to Him & to draw others on the same journey
How often have we seen a film or a play or a show and just had to tell people and take them to it? How often have we felt like that about church?
Evangelism
· We share faith with (and because of) love: this is NOT a project!
People are people, and must be offered the chance to receive Christ as we would wish to.
· Everyone can share their faith.
We just need to learn how.
· Attractively and infectiously – i.e. naturally!
Compassion
· We offer dignity and respect for all, regardless of background or status or appearance.
Jesus cared for the poor and the leper; and he cared for them with love. That's our bench mark.
· We work hard to find ways of caring, and we bless those who are particularly good at this.
Zeal for others is not to be sniffed at but admired and blessed.
· Matthew 25: we do it for Jesus, which draws us (and those we care for) closer to Him
posted by St Catherine's @ 10:53 pm
1 Comments:
At Tue Sept 05, 06:36:00 pm BST,
Marcus Green said…
Richard - I love your blogger name!
I wonder if your problem is similar to mine? I know that "enthusiasm" comes from being "in God", but I try to work it up in myself - rather than simply spend time being "in God" which would just kind of bring it about naturally. So my lack of enthusiasm (when it comes) is often a symptom of my spending too little time with Jesus. For me, I know what I then need to do.
What do you think?
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