Theological Words Every Christian Should Know ~ Justification

The legal aspect of salvation whereby God declares those who place their faith in Christ "are not guilty". He even goes beyond the declaration of "not guilty" to the point of declaring the Christian "righteous" before Him. Justification is by faith alone in Christ alone.

why did Christ come?

1. Matthew 5:17 - He came to fulfill the law
..."Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
2. John 12:46 - He came as a light into the world
..."I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.
3. John 10:10 - He came that we might have life
..."The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
4. Matthew 9:13 - He came to call the sinners to repentance
..."But go and learn what this means: 'I DESIRE COMPASSION,AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
5. Matthew 10:34 - He came to bring a sword
..."Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."
6. John 9:39 - He came to bring about judgement
... And Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind."
7. Matthew 10:35 - He came to set man at variance
... "For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW;
8. John 18:37 - He came to be a King
... 37Therefore Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say correctly that I am a king For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."
9. John 6:38 - He came to do the will of the Father
... 38For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.

looking at the life of Paul

When looking at the life of Paul, we can see the following things:

8 elements of his missional strategy

1. maintained close contact with his home base (sending point)
2. confined his efforts into a few areas (which birthed into others)
3. concentrated on larger cities (which became sending units)
4. preached to responsive people
5. baptized converts
6. remained long enough to establish the church (not just plant it)
7. made ample use of fellow workers
8. became ALL things to all people

7 elements on why Paul was successful

1. deep conviction of call
2. completely dedicated to the will of God
3. depended on the Holy Spirit
4. fearless in the presentation of the Gospel
5. emphasized the autonomy of the church
6. had a wise policy regarding money
7. lived what he preached

Sunday Reflections

This Sunday was a little different at Gateway Fellowship. I pulled double duty this weekend. Scott Finch our worship pastor was out, so I led the worship with the band and preached as well. I have to admit that at times, I do enjoy to get back in the saddle and lead musically, but it did seem to wear me out a little more than a usual Sunday. The band did a great job and I enjoyed leading with them.

The message, on "boundaries", was the fourth message in a series called "Stressed?". This series is one that I have really enjoyed teaching through and look forward to the next as we wind it down and prepare for our next one. We have some really cool things taking shape and we will be launching some new "Gateway IN Gear" tasks very shortly. The first of those tasks will be a few neighborhood block parties that will take place during the month of August and September. This block parties will take place in the neighborhoods that we have ConnectGroups in in, and are meeting on a weekly basis.

I love our church
I love our people
I love our team
I love what He is doing in us
I love what He is doing through us
I love that He is not done with us

innovation via @gregatkinson

At the Church 2.0 conference at Fellowship Dallas and the 2nd session is on innovation:

innovation is that act of doing something new
innovation is being spirit led

~ Isaiah 43:19
~ Ephesians 5:1
~ Jeremiah 33:3

innovation comes from God moments when you are being led by the spirit

God's activity is far greater than anything we can dream up ~ William Blackaby

The main thing is to be Pure and Praying

There is not short cut to innovation, you can not by pass Prayer

7 ways that innovation happens:

1. revelation~ God speaks to you through scripture, prayer and/or worship
2. inspiration~ when you are challenged, stretched, encouraged and inspired by watching others
3. observation~ we have to be students of culture:: a learner and watcher of those you come in contact with
4. conversation~ you never know what God is doing through the loves of the people that surround you:: listen
5. situation~ you never know what God is teaching you through your circumstances or situations
6. frustration~ pay attention when you are frustrated because the Lord may be doing something huge
7. desperation~ when you are so desperate that you have no where else to go but God:: This is good

3 Uses of Twitter via @gregatkinson

Sitting in the Church 2.0 Local Forum at Fellowship Dallas led by Greg Atkinson. He is talking about uses of Twitter and how we can implement them into the lives of our people and churches

1. listening
2. life streaming
3. networking

You have to be intentional in using these tools

boundaries~ having a dark day = means you do not use it for that day. We have to set boundaries!!

Sunday Reflections

We talked about FEAR yesterday morning and I really enjoyed preaching on this topic. We looked at the scriptures in Matthew 10: 16-31 where Jesus begins to talk to the disciples preparing them for their ministry to the community and the fact that they will face new challenges and things that may even cause them to fear. A few things to remember when dealing with fears. Although many of us fear things such as death, illness, clowns, and spiders~ there is really only one thing to fear and that is The One who is able to destroy both soul and body (Matthew 10:28). There are a few things to remember when walking through the things that "we" count ourselves to be fearful of. Here they are:
1. God knows everything
2. God cares for us
3. God is in control of everything
4. God is with us
We had a great Sunday! The worship led by Scott Finch was awesome and it was great to hear the congregation engage in worship through song. Our YARD staff, which works with our children, were on spot yesterday morning. I love to see people who are passionate about teaching children and are willing to do "whatever it takes" to get the job done. A big shout out to The Yard Staff!! We will be talking about "boundaries" next Sunday, July 26th. I am already looking forward to preaching on this topic

~ I love our church
~ I love our people
~ I love our team
~ I love what HE is doing in us
~ I love what HE is doing through us
~ I love that HE is not done with us