Special speaker, Dr. Ed Williamson, EMC General Superintendent
God uses a “NoBody” - Moses. Exodus 3 & 4
November 9, 2008 - “Who Jesus is, is what we are becoming” (emerging paradoxical congruency) John 18:28-40
Serving is one way that you will find out that God works totally different than we do.
• I think it is that when you serve, you find what you were created for.
• Ephesians 2:10 - “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.”
• Mark 9:35 - “He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, ‘Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.’”
• Serving is hard work but it comes with a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction because it is what we were created for.
• Serving the Lord together is the perfect picture of what the church was meant to look like.
Q: What does Glory mean?
> I glorifed you
* God shows His Glory - mainly in Christ (John 2:11; Luke 9:29-32)
> Please glorify me
* Give me back what I had
* Philippians 2:5-11
> I’ll show my glory through them.
* By Transforming us into His image (II Cor 3:18)
* Fidelity, loyalty NOT perfection (vs 6)
Q: How does He show His Glory through us?
> EKKLESIA - church - those called out
Out of the world to be separate
Out of themselves to become partners
A PICTURE OF WHAT A “CALLED OUT”
PERSON LOOKS LIKE
WHY?
BY ITSELF
IN COMBINATION
* GOD REFUGE
* GOD LOVES THE WORLD
* WE’RE ALL BROKEN
LOVE WITHOUT HOPE
EMBRACES THOSE
JESUS MISSES MOST
IN MERCY
* GOD WANTS TO RESTORE HIS IMAGE IN US II COR. 3:18
KNOWLEDGE
WITHOUT LOVE IN
ACTION
GOD IS GLORIFIED IN
US AND THROUGH US
REAL CHANGE
WHAT GOD DOES TO
MAN, HE OFTEN DOES
THROUGH MAN
SOCIAL GOSPEL
HELP WITHOUT
CHANGE
PEOPLE SEE JESUS
THROUGH US AND
DESIRE REFUGE
TRANSFORMATION
PARTNERSHIP
“A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word ‘darkness’ on the walls of his cell.” - C.S. Lewis
“It’s not about you, it’s about us”
Grief is all consuming
“If I’m right in front of you, you won’t learn to walk by faith”
“Any friend of yours is a friend of mine” – the Father
Concluding thoughts:
“No despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” -Romans 8:38 (NLT)
FYI - The ‘article” Pastor Jim refers to in the morning service, “Is the Church Distracted from its Mission by Seeking to Influence Politics?” is available online. Go to www.leadershipjournal/summer08 and search for conversation between Colson, Boyd and Claiborne.
If everyone you knew hated your best friend, would you stick with that friend?