Hebrews 5:11-6:3 Go On To Maturity

Sunday, we begin a very captivating and complex section in the book of Hebrews. For five chapters, the writer has exalted the glories of Jesus and repeatedly shown how He is better than all else. As Hebrews continues to call the readers to hold fast to Christ, chapter 5 began explaining the depths of Jesus as our perfect High Priest. As the author mentions Jesus as a priest in the order of Melchizedek, he stops this line of teaching and gives one of the strongest warnings in all of Scripture. Hebrews 5:11-6:12 is a single unit, but we will examine this section in two sermons. Here, the writer admonishes the Hebrew Christians for being “dull of hearing” and needing milk instead of solid food. Hebrews 5:11-6:3 will be our text Sunday, as we see the danger of spiritual immaturity and learn why and how we “go on to maturity” (Heb. 6:1). The following Sunday, we will examine what is perhaps the most debated text in the Bible, Heb. 6:4-12, which is a warning about apostasy. However, please read the whole section (5:11-6:12) for this Sunday. The writer does not separate these two concepts but shows that regressing into spiritual immaturity is the first step toward apostasy. I will readily confess that this has been the most challenging section of Scripture I have ever had to explain. There is no end to the different interpretations of the writer's words. Therefore, I hope to show you what the text means and how I came to my conclusions. You may be surprised Sunday as we challenge the common definitions of milk, solid food, spiritual maturity, and progress in the Christian life.

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Luke 17:7-10 Heart Of Christ's Servant

 this Sunday, we will continue examining how we make disciples and grow as disciples. The last three weeks, we have talked about worshiping corporately and personally, and we have shown the importance of connecting in discipling relationships. This Sunday we will see how serving is essential for making disciples and growing as disciples. We will examine Luke 17:7-10 and hear how Jesus explains the heart of a servant to His disciples. Verses 7-10 will be our focus, but we will read Luke 17:1-10 to see the incredible context which leads Jesus to speak about service to the Lord. Please read Luke 17:1-10 for Sunday as we look at the heart of Christ’s servant. As servants of Christ, our highest priority is to be faithful.

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Hebrews 3:7-15 Connect: Battling The Deceitfulness Of Sin Together

 Right now we are reminding ourselves of who we are at First Baptist Church. We exist to make disciples of Jesus and grow as disciples of Jesus. We have seen that discipleship is not a destination. It is the lifelong process by which believers are always deepening in their relationship with Christ and moving closer to Christlikedness in their walk. We saw from Acts chapter 2 that the early church in Jerusalem discipled thousands of new believers by worshiping, connecting in discipling relationships, and serving one another as they served Jesus in evangelism and disciple-making. Worship, Connect, Serve is much more than a pithy slogan. It is the means by which believers grow in Christ. Over the last two weeks, Dave and Cameron preached on corporate worship and personal worship. They showed us from the Scripture how important worship is for the growing disciple. Ultimately, we become like what we worship. This Sunday, we will examine the importance of connecting in discipling relationships. Growing in Christ cannot be done in isolation. Jesus’ model of disciplemaking involved an intentionally small group of disciples who were relationally bound together under His teaching. They followed and learned as they daily walked with Him through His earthly ministry. In this same pattern, the early church continued the practice of smaller groups (Acts 2:46-49.) To illustrate the urgent and essential nature of being in accountable discipling relationships with one another, we will examine Hebrews 3:7-15. The Hebrew Christians were being tempted to leave from following Jesus and go back to the old ways of Judaism. They were suffering persecution, being treated as outcasts by their own family and friends, and enduring hardship because they had professed faith in Christ. The temptation was great to just go back to the old religion they had always known. The book of Hebrews is written to encourage them to remain faithful to Christ. Again and again, Hebrews shows us that Jesus is better than the old sacrifices, temple, priests, and even Moses. Jesus is the fulfillment of all these things. As the writer exhorts them not to turn away from Christ, he shows us the importance of being in discipling relationships with one another. Hebrews 3:13 says, “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” We were never intended to fight alone. We were never intended to battle the world, the flesh, and the devil in isolation.

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Acts 2:42-47 The Disciple Making Church

This Sunday will be our first service in the remodeled sanctuary. This is an exciting and overwhelming time in the life of our church. About four years ago, we began talking seriously about building, and through this process we have seen God’s hand working at every step. Of course, the building is beautiful and more spacious and we praise the Lord for His work among us. But what I find more amazing is that, by the grace of God, we have come through this entire project united together as a body. Sunday we have a new church building - but it is the church (all of you) that makes First Baptist Church such an oasis in the desert. I am thankful that God has brought us together to carry this baton that has been passed to us. And just like God led us through this building project, he will lead us to carry out His will as we commit ourselves to the gospel above all, feeding on the word of God together, and investing ourselves in making disciples. God is doing an amazing work among us (I’m not talking about the new building) and what we have at FBC is worth passing down to the next generation. It’s my prayer that no matter what state the word descends into, there will always be a place in Mulvane where disciples of Christ are made and grow strong.

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Matthew 28:16-20 The Mission Hasn't Changed

There are lots of changes happening at First Baptist Church. We are still on track to have our first service in the new sanctuary Sunday Sept. 17th. It will be at 10am and we will only have one service. I’m sure we are all looking forward to the new space. This is the beginning of a new chapter in the life and history of First Baptist Church and I am overjoyed to be embarking on this journey with this congregation. Sunday the 17th, won’t be the end of this project. It will just be the beginning. While there are many things that are changing and have changed in the life of our church, our mission hasn’t changed. We are called by the authority of our Lord, as individual believers and as a church, to His mission. The mission is to make disciples. This building is a glorious work of God and we have seen God’s hand move in mighty ways throughout this whole process. But I don’t believe God has provided this building as an end in itself. It is a tool for us to more effectively make disciples and grow as disciples of Jesus. The mission will not change until the end of the age. To remind ourselves of that, we will examine Matthew 28:16-20 this Sunday as we continue focusing our hearts on who Christ calls us to be at First Baptist Church. This passage is often called the Great Commission. It is what Jesus calls the church (all of us) to be doing until he returns.

Last week as we looked at the end of Revelation, we saw how the Bible is one grand story of redemption. God is moving to restore creation to what was intended in the garden. And you are part of that epic story. You have a place in the movement of God’s kingdom toward His goal. Adam and Eve were commissioned to be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth with God’s image. But sin spread with humanity. It spread so profusely that God destroyed all life with a global flood and began again with Noah, who he also told to be fruitful and multiply. But Noah also failed. Then Israel was called to be a light to the nations, and they rebelled in unbelief. Finally, Jesus the Son of God took on a human nature and defeated the sin that pervaded the creation. Now by the Holy Spirit, His people are being conformed to the image of His Son. And so we have the same commission as Adam and Eve - be fruitful and multiply. We spread this image over the earth as we make disciples of Jesus Christ. As we study the Great Commission we find that:

I. The Mission isn’t Given to Perfect Disciples (v. 16-17)

II. The Mission Bears The Authority of Jesus (v. 18)

III. The Mission Is To Make Disciples (v.19-20)

IV. The Mission is Empowered By Jesus HImself (v. 20)

I am looking forward to the book of Hebrews and getting back to preaching section by section. I am still firm in my conviction that verse by verse is how God intends us to study His word. But taking several weeks to remind ourselves of who we are and who we are going to be no matter what is extremely important. Our mission is to make disciples and grow as disciples, and we do that just as the early church did in Acts 2:42-47, by worshiping, connecting, and serving. So in the first Sunday in our new Sanctuary (Sept. 17) we will look at that passage in Acts.

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1 Timothy 4:6-10 - Training For Godliness

1 Timothy 4:6-10, where Paul tells Timothy what a good servant of Jesus Christ looks like. What is most striking to me about the letter to Timothy is that though Paul is writing to tell him how to build up the church(es) and how to be faithful as a minister of Jesus Christ, Paul continually draws Timothy’s focus to watching over his own walk and godliness. And it is in this text that he tells Timothy to train for godliness. Having just come out of Galatians, this may sound strange to us. But Sunday, we will see that training for godliness and depending upon the Spirit do not contradict. Even in Galatians, Paul could say that we are to walk in the Spirit as He produces His fruit, and at the same time we sow to the Spirit and not the flesh. This is essential for us to comprehend if we are to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ. We must:

I. Be Nourished On The Word of God (v. 6) - (ESV says "train" here but it is more appropriately "nourish"

II. Train For Godliness (v. 7-9)

III. Strive With Our Hope In The God Who Saves (v. 10)

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Acts 2:42-47 The Disciple-Making Church

Peter has just preached his Pentecost sermon, the Holy Spirit moved and three thousand people are converted in a single instant. Now the Jerusalem church is faced with a logistical nightmare. In one moment it time, the church went from 120 people to 3,120. How can all these new Christians grow as disciples? How can the church disciple all these people with no infrastructure or programs? They did so by being devoted to worshiping together, connecting with one another in discipling relationships, and serving one another. That is the pattern of discipleship presented in Acts 2:42-47. The early church met in the Temple courts, and in smaller groups in their homes. They praised God together. They loved and cared for one another when needs arose. And God moved among them, adding to His church daily. Sunday, as we examine this passage, we will see the early church’s method of making disciples and we will see the discipleship that Christ calls for each of us to invest ourselves in.

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James 1:19-27 Doers Of The Word

Psalm 78:1-8 For The Next Generation

Psalm 78:1-8 centers on the responsibility of the family and the covenant community to make known the greatness of God to the next generation. Our goal is “so that they should set their hope in God” (Ps. 78:7) and the Psalmist shows us how we strive toward that goal. Today, as our world strays further and further from biblical values, morals, and objective truth, planting the Word of God in the next generation has never been more important.

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1 Peter 1:13 Living Faithfully As Exiles

Acts 2:42-46 Making Disciples Growing Disciples

How the early church discipled the massive amount of people who were saved under the Apostle's ministry in Jerusalem. They discipled one another through Worshiping, Connecting, Serving

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John 21:15-19 Do You Love Me?

Peter's earlier three fold denial of Jesus. Here in this short exchange, Jesus gives both the priority and the necessity of Love for Jesus as the impetus for service to the flock.

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Philippians 4:2-9 Stuff Christians Deal With

Paul addresses disunity, sinful thoughts, rejoicing regardless of circumstances, anxiety, depression, and other things the church needed instruction on.

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1 Corinthians 12:12-26 Your Part In The Body

Paul instructs the Corinthians in the proper use of their gifts. Each member of the body of Christ is both useful and in need of the other members. No one can say "I am not needed," and no one can say, "I don't need anyone." The great commission is about making disciples, therefore our mission is people.

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1 Peter 4:7-11 The Servant's Responsibility

Peter exhorts the believers to live in light of Jesus' coming. The end of all things is at hand and so he counsels us to use the gifts we have received to serve one another as good stewards of grace, as dependent upon God's strength, and as instruments of God's glory.

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John 13:1-5 The Servant's Heart

Note: Sorry about audio issues toward the end

Jesus gives us the example of what it means to have a servant's heart. It is a heart of love and humility. Not only does He model it for us. He tells us that we must follow His example in serving one another.

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Philippians 2:1-4 Being United in Fellowship

Paul exhorts the Philippians to unite with one another. Believer must invest themselves in one another because of what Christ has done for them. Seeing each other through the lens of the gospel, we are to do nothing from conceit, but to count others better than ourselves and look after the interests of one another

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Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 True Biblical Fellowship

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon examines meaning in various aspects of life. One of these, is the necessity for community. In his description of companionship, we find principles which illustrate true New Testament Fellowship looks like in the Christian context. This is essential to growing as a disciple of Jesus

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Hebrews 3:7-15 Connect: Fighting Unbelief Together

The writer of Hebrews gives a stern warning to his readers. Because many are departing from the faith, He warns them to watch carefully their hearts by exhorting one another daily. He shows that the Christian life is lived in community and disciples cannot grow without it.

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1 Timothy 4:6-10 Training For Godliness (Private Worship)

Paul describes to Timothy what a "good servant" looks like. He is told to nourish himself on the word and train himself for godliness. Paul compares this growing in discipleship to the disciplining of the body.

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Colossians 3:15-17 The Growing Disciple's Worship

Paul shows the Colossians what their Christian worship looks like. They are to do everything around the word, singing and giving thanks to God. He also shows that corporate worship is essential for spiritual growth

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