Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
2 Corinthians 15:58, ESV
SOME EXCERPTS AND LESSONS FROM TODAY’S MESSAGE
SUNDAY SCHOOL
FOCUS: “DUTIES OF THE CHURCH MEMBERS TO THE DIACONATE”
THEME: WHAT DO THE DEACONS EXPECT FROM THE MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH?
- YOU ARE TO GIVE THEM DUE RESPECT
- YOU ARE TO LOOK UP TO THEM AS EXAMPLES
- YOU ARE TO COOPERATE WITH THEM
- YOU ARE NOT TO ABUSE THEIR WILLINGNESS TO SERVE
- YOU ARE TO APPRECIATE THEIR LABORS
- YOU ARE TO LISTEN TO THEIR COUNSEL
- YOU ARE TO PRAY FOR THEM
- YOU ARE TO ADDRESS ISSUES WITH THEM IN A BIBLICAL WAY
- YOU ARE TO THANK GOD FOR PROVIDING THEM
- YOU ARE TO PRAY FOR MORE OF THEM
“May each church member be a blessing to the deacons. And may the deacons be a blessing to the church”
MORNING SERMON
SERMON FOCUS: “HUMBLE DEACONING”
Main Proposition: When do we serve the LORD with humility?
- WHEN WE ARE PERVADED WITH CONSCIOUSNESS THAT WE ARE UNWORTHY SERVANTS
- WHEN WE ARE NOT CREDIT CONSICOUS OR REWARD HAPPY
- WHEN WE CONSIDER THE INSEPARABILITY OF PRAYER TO OUR SERVING
- WHEN WE CONSIDER THAT NO DUTY ASSIGNED TO US IS BELOW US
- WHEN WE GLADLY OPEN OURSELVES UP FOR CORRECTION
- WHEN WE DO NOT COMPARE OURSELVES WITH OTHERS
- WHEN WE SERVE WITH JOY AND NOT WITH A GRUMBLING SPIRIT
– Christ walked to be an example of serving in humility. ref. Matt 20:28
– Christ deserves everyone’s service. Instead of being served, Christ came to serve.
– Christ humbled himself to be our Savior. Thus, we are to be humbled in serving Him.
– A humble diaconate gives glory to God for His mercy and grace
– Unless we see ourselves as unworthy sinners, we will never serve with humility. Otherwise, it will be a pursuit of self-glory and ambition
– Do not be men-pleasers. Let your reward come from God and not from men.
– Our ability to serve came from God. We need God’s help, and we need to pray.
– We should be ready and prepared to take on menial jobs in order to serve humbly. It is following Christ’s example.
– The heart is naturally defensive, and we must remember that we are not perfect servants and the diaconate is not our exclusive domain.
– As you examine your work, do not compare yourselves with fellow members [deacons]
– It is easy to serve with a grumbling spirit.
– Do not be known as grumblers as it will ruin your testimony
AFTERNOON MESSAGE
SERMON FOCUS: “CHRIST’S PASTORAL PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY”
Main Proposition: What is Christian unity?
Text: [John 17:20-23]
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”
- CHRISTIAN UNITY IS UNIVERSAL
- CHRISTIAN UNITY IS SPIRITUAL
- CHRISTIAN UNITY IS VISUAL
– While we are still in our lost condition, our Lord Jesus Christ was praying for us
– Some sinners believed because it is an answer to Christ’s intercessory prayer.
– Positional unity is certain. It transcends local churches. It transcends distance and even generations.
– The church of Christ all throughout the ages belongs to one universal church. We are one in Christ.
– THREE (3) SPECIFIC UNITY discussed in these key verses:
a. UNION OF THE FATHER AND SON (v.21):
there is only one essence of the three distinct persons of the Godhead)
b. UNION OF CHRIST AND THE CHURCH (v.23):
through the Holy Spirit’s work
c. UNION OF THE INDIVIDUAL BELIEVERS TO ONE ANOTHER (v.21):
pertains to individual members of the church that all maybe one
– What the Father gave to Christ without measure, Christ also gave us in measure – That is the Holy Spirit.
– That is why believers are ‘united’ in believing the same thing: the all-sufficient blood of Christ.
– Christians are united having one goal: to glorify God – to deny ourselves and give glory to Him.
– Positional Unity – It is already certain. The actual unity no matter what the world says – with Christ as the cornerstone.
– Practical Unity – refers to the open and visible expression of our positional unity.
– Two impacts of Christian Unity to the world:
a. That the world may believe that you have sent me (v. 21)
b. That the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. (v. 23)
“Nothing was so likely to make the disciples one as the gift of the Holy Spirit”
J.C. Ryle
– A practically unified church is an effective proclaimer of the gospel
– We have been saved from the world to be sent back to it to share and tell the truth
– We are not just preaching but we are also displaying the power of the gospel
Today, the LORD gifted our local church with three new deacons.
For the glory of His name alone.
Blessed LORD’s day, dear saints!
To God alone be the glory!
HERALD OF GRACE COVENANT BIBLE CHURCH OF CAVITE 