Who Hope Christian Community Church Is and What We Are About
Why Does Hope Christian Community Church Exist?
WE EXIST TO CELEBRATE GOD'S PRESENCE
"Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only." Matt. 4:10
"...The Father seeks worshipers...and His worshippers must worship Him in spirit and in truth." Jn 4:23-24
HOPE CCC Worship Style
"Celebration" Psalm 122:1
"Inspiration" Isaiah 40:31
"Preparation" Eph. 4:11-12
WE EXIST TO COMMUNICATE GOD'S WORD
"His intent was that through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known..." Eph. 3:10
"Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But who can ask Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells him?" Rom. 10:13-14 (LB)
WHY OUR CHURCH MUST NEVER STOP GROWING
1. Because
"The Lord...is patient, not wanting anyone to perish, but wants everyone to come to repentance." 2 Pet. 3:9
2 Cor. 5:14, Luke 15:3-10,
2. Because
"Go out into the country...and urge anyone you find to come in, so that My House will be full."
Luke 14:23 (LB)
"...you will be my witnesses..." Acts 1:8
3. Because
"Under Christ's control, the whole Body is nourished...and grows as God wants it to grow." Col. 2:19 (GN)
"(Jesus) I will build my church." Matt. 16:18
WE EXIST TO EDUCATE GOD'S PEOPLE
"Let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity..." Heb. 6:1
"Grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 3:18
"(God has given)...some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of ministry, so that the Body of Christ may be built up until we all...become mature...like Christ." Eph. 4:11-13
WE EXIST TO DEMONSTRATE GOD'S LOVE
"By this shall all men know that you are my disciples — that you have love for one another." John 13:35, 1 John 3:16-17, Matt. 25:34-40, Heb. 13:16, Rom. 12:13
"Now God gives us many kinds of special abilities.. and there are different kinds of service to God(ministry)... All of you together form the one Body of Christ and each of you is a separate and necessary part of it." 1 Cor. 12:4-5, 27 (LB)
OUR STATEMENT OF FAITH
What We Believe
• In essential beliefs — we have unity.
"There is one Body and one Spirit...there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of us all..." Eph.4:4-6
• In non-essential beliefs — we have liberty.
"Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters... Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls... So then each of us will give an account of himself to God... So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God."
Romans 14:1,4,12,22
• In all our beliefs — we show charity.
"...If I hold in my mind not only all human knowledge but also the very secrets of God, and if I have the faith that can move mountains — but have no love, I amount to nothing at all." 1 Cor. 13:2 (Ph)
BELIEVE
PROFESS YOUR FAITH IN CHRIST
PARICIPATE IN OUR MINISTRY
Romans 10:9-13 if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.11 For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.13 For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
THE ESSENTIALS WE BELIEVE:
I believe in God, Tlationship with Godhe Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father;
from there he will come to judge
the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
WHAT DOES GOD WANT ME TO DO?
1. Admit THAT GOD HAS NOT BEEN FIRST PLACE IN YOUR LIFE AND ASK HIM TO FORGIVE YOUR SINS.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from every wrong." 1 John 1:9
2. Believe THAT JESUS DIED TO PAY FOR YOUR SINS AND THAT HE ROSE AGAIN ON
EASTER, AND IS ALIVE TODAY.
"If you confess that Jesus is your Lord, and you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9
"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name (Jesus) by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12
3. Receive GOD'S FREE GIFT OF SALVATION. DON'T TRY TO EARN IT.
"For it is by grace you are saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8,9
Our relationship to God is not restored by anything we do, but on the basis of what Jesus already did for us!
4. Ask JESUS CHRIST TO COME INTO YOUR LIFE AND BE THE DIRECTOR ("LORD") OF YOUR LIFE.
"To all who receive Him, He gives the right to become children of God. All we need to do is to trust Him to save us. All those who believe this are reborn! — not a physical rebirth...but from the will of God!" John 1:12-13
YOU CAN TAKE THESE STEPS BY PRAYING A SIMPLE PRAYER OF COMMITMENT TO GOD:
"Dear Jesus, thank you for making me and loving me, even when I've ignored you and gone my own way. I realize I need you in my life and I'm sorry for my sins. I ask you to forgive me. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. Please help me to understand it more. As much as I know how, I want to follow you from now on. Please come into my life and make me a new person inside. I accept your gift of salvation. Please help me to grow now as a Christian."
Have you considered your growing your Christian life at HOPE CCC?
HOW TO BEGIN A DAILY QUIET TIME
1. SELECT A SPECIFIC TIME.
The best time to have a quiet time is when I am ______________________!
Reasons for considering an early morning quiet time:
1. The example of Bible characters.
David -Psalm 55:17 "Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud.."
Daniel -Daniel 6:10 "The windows in its upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before."
Jesus -Mark 1:35 "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went to a solitary place, where he prayed."
2. It seems logical to begin the day with it.
"The best time to tune your instrument is before you play the concert, not after!"
3. It demonstrates that meeting with God is your first priority. You give him the first part of your day!
4. You are likely to be more rested, your mind is less cluttered, and it's often the
quietest time!
Whatever time you set,
_______________________________.
HOW LONG SHOULD A QUIET TIME BE?
3 Guidelines
Start with 15 minutes and let it grow.
Don't watch the clock!
Emphasize quality, not quantity!
2. CHOOSE A SPECIAL PLACE.
"Jesus left the city and went, as he usually did, to the Mount of Olives ... to pray."
Luke 22:39 (GN)
The Important Factor:
"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went to a solitary place, where he prayed." Mark 1:35
3. GATHER THE RESOURCES YOU'LL NEED.
1. A Bible - with readable print.
2. A Notebook - to write down what the Lord speaks to you about, and to keep your prayer
list.
3. A Songbook - if you want to sing.
4. BEGIN WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDES
______________________________________
"Be still, and know that I am God." Ps. 46:10
______________________________________
"Open my eyes to see wonderful things in your Word." Ps. 119:18
______________________________________
"The thing you should want most is God's kingdom and doing what God wants" Matt 6:33
5. FOLLOW A SIMPLE PLAN
"FIFTEEN MINUTES WITH GOD"
(A Plan To Get You Started)
1. ___________________________.
Be still and quiet! Slow down! Prepare your heart. Take a few deep breaths and wait on God.
2. ___________________________.
Begin reading where you left off the day before. Read until you feel God has told you something.
Then stop and think about it.
3. ____________________________.
See the section on "How To Meditate on God's Word".
Think about what the passage means to your life. Write down your thoughts. Part of reflecting is memorizing verses that speak to you in a special way.
4. ____________________________.
Write out a personal application statement that is practical, passable, and measurable.
"Thoughts disentangle themselves when they pass through the lips and the fingertips."
5. ___________________________.
Conclude our Quiet Time by talking to God about what He has shown you and making your requests from our prayer list.
HOW TO OVERCOME THE
PROBLEMS
WITH YOUR QUIET TIME
1. THE PROBLEM OF DISCIPLINE
Your first problem in establishing a quiet time will face you the moment you wake each morning:
Am I going to get out of bed? ("The Battle of the Blankets")
Suggestions
1. Go to bed ______________________.
2. Get up ________________________.
3. Be aware of quiet time _____________.
4. Fall asleep thinking ______________.
2. THE PROBLEM OF DISTRACTIONS
Satan will try to use anything to get your mind to wander during a quiet time.
Suggestions
Get out of _____________________.
Get thoroughly _________________.
Read and pray __________________.
___________ during your prayer time.
Keep a ________________________.
3. THE PROBLEM OF DRYNESS
Sometimes you will feel like you're not getting anything out of your quiet time. ("The Battle of
the Blahs")
Never judge your quiet time by your
____________________.
Possible Causes of Spiritual Dryness
1. Your physical condition.
2. Disobedience to God.
3. Rushing your quiet time.
4. Getting in a rut.
5. Not sharing insights with others.
4. THE PROBLEM OF DILIGENCE
Your greatest problem will be your struggle to stay consistent. I find Satan fights nothing harder than my quiet time.
Suggestions
1. Make a vow to God.
2. Schedule it on your daily calendar.
3. Be prepared for Satan's excuses.
4. Leave your Bible open at night to the passage for the next day!
Christian Maturity
Christian Maturity involves a number of different, yet interrelated, factors.
1. There is the Knowledge Factor:
Christian Maturity involves growing in knowledge which is both true (propositional) and relevant (personal) as brought home to us in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. There needs to be understanding, which is knowing how Biblical facts inter-relate. There needs to be the instruction in the Word of God by the Holy Spirit; making the objective truths subjective.
1 Corinthians 2:6-16 teaches
Hebrews 5:11-6:3 teaches
2Timothy 3:16,17 teaches us
Describe the implications of this verse:
2 Peter 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Memorise this verse.
2. There is the Group Factor.
A significant finding in the realm of counselling theory is the rediscovery of the fundamental importance of "inter-personal relationships". The groups we belong to tend to determine our attitudes,
emotional responses and our actions.
1Corinthians 15:33 teaches
Ephesians 4:7-16
What importance does this passage have for
the Church ?
the small group ?
close Christian friendships ?.=.....
Throughout the epistles, Paul and the other Biblical writers use the phrase "one another". List out (with the help of a concordance) each of the attitudes or actions we are directed to have towards one another in the Body of Christ.
3. There is the Love Factor:
Without a doubt, the value of loving and being loved is crucial to our balanced development as individual personalities, let alone in our development as mature Christians. Paul often begins his epistles by commending a church on its faith, hope and love. Gene Getz, in his book "The Measure Of A Church", states that a mature church will display qualities of faith, hope and love in an abundance. What are the qualities of love that should be evident in our lives as we grow in maturity?
1Corinthians 13 lists these qualities of love:
"To grow in maturity it is important to know that you are deeply loved by God. Interestingly, we only discover that we are loved by our fellow believers when we are active in showing love unconditionally to others."
Comment on the above paragraph:
4. There is the Self-Concept Factor :
There are many factors that should be taken into account when we are determining our own concept of what we are really like. It is not Biblical to be preoccupied with our selves, nor with only one aspect of who we are, such as our sexuality. You are uniquely who God made you to be. Self is a wrong "core" or obsession for personality. Still, there are some aspects we must always bear in mind. Read these passages and list the factors we should bear in mind.
Romans 12:3
Romans 3:10,20.
Romans 5:1,6-8.
Ephesians 1:4,5.,
Ephesians 2:4,5,10.
Romans 6:13.
5. There is the Goals Factor
A maturing believer will have spiritual goals.
What are "meaningless" goals and what makes them "futile?" See Ecclesiastes 1,2.
What were Paul's goals or purposes? See Philippians 3:10-21.
What are meaningful goals for you and why?
6. There is the Factor of the Holy Spirit:
This does not mean that we sit around and wait for some spiritual "zap" from heaven to make us completely holy and mature as a Christian, although this is what some groups teach.
How does the Holy Spirit of God make us fruitful?
Philippians 1:6
2Peter 1:3,4
2 Corinthians 3:18
Romans 8: 1-39 teaches us
John 15
7. There is a Discipline Factor:
The maturing disciple of Christ is content to be disciplined by the Lord. He does not treat such times lightly, nor does he despond. Read Hebrews 12:4-13.
Describe one time when you were under the disciplining hand of the Lord.
Make your own paraphrase of James 1: 2-4.
What is the object of discipline? 1Peter 1:4-7.
Discovering Worship
Magnification
Membership
Maturity
Ministry
Mission
Worship
Worship (Magnification), has sometimes been hard to define and confusing to many, the source of much of the heat in the so-called "Worship Wars". The confusion arises for the same reason that there is confusion over worldviews: individuals are so immersed in their worldview that they cannot see it. Like a fish in water, we may not be aware of the effect our worldview has on everything we perceive.
"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." - C. S. Lewis
When a person becomes a Christian they receive a whole new worldview. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.
Paul writes of the effect of this whole new worldview. Romans 12:1 "Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship." 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
Our worldview has changed because we have now entered into a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. God, who created us, has entered our world, and has entered our lives. Because God has entered into a personal relationship with you, worship is the fundamental component of the Christian life.
Psalm 95:6 "Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our God our maker." Jesus reemphasized the Old Testament command "Worship the Lord your God" (Matt 4:10). The Ten Commandments emphasise the need for worship. Exodus 20:2-6;
2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. 3 Do not have other gods besides Me. 4 Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers' sin, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commands.
Modern Christians like to think all worship is acceptable. Israel in the Old Testament did not get worship right all the time. They sought to worship God as they pleased in the form of a golden-calf, and not as he had commanded them. The penalty for many of them was death. How can we avoid worshipping God in vain?
Worship is…. _____________ __ and Responding to God
One might define worship as focusing on and responding to God as he has revealed himself in scripture. It is not simply singing. We often think of worship as a music style, but reading, praying, singing, listening and responding to God's word, all of these are acts of biblical worship. In John 20:28 Jesus appears to Thomas and shows him his hands and side. Worship is what happens when Thomas exclaims, "My Lord and my God!"
In Revelation 4 we read of the great throne, and the four creatures around the throne worshipping God day and night without ceasing. "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."
In the same chapter the 24 elders around the throne are said to worship him by casting their crowns at His feet, falling down before Him, and proclaiming, "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." Then in Rev. 5 we see the culmination as thousands and thousands of angels, elders, and living creatures cry out, "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise."
To worship God is to ascribe the proper worth to God, to magnify his worthiness of praise, or to approach and address God as He is worthy.
How has God revealed Himself to us that we might focus on Him?
He has revealed Himself to us through ___________ (Psalm 19, Rom. 1:20).
He has revealed Himself to us through His Word, the Bible, and His Word in flesh, Jesus Christ. We will understand and respond to what God is like for, "Jesus has made him known." (Jn 1:18). Bible reading and preaching are central in public worship because they are the cleanest, most direct, most extensive presentation of God in the meeting.
Worship is…. Done in_______ and in _____________
In John 4:23-24 Jesus says, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in sprit and truth."
Of course to worship in this manner presumes we must have the "spirit of truth" within us, the Holy Spirit himself. We're reminded in 1 Corinthians 12:3 that, "no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit." It is he who replaces cold, dead hearts with vibrant, passionate hearts toward God. Yet having the Holy Spirit doesn't ensure that we will always worship in spirit and in truth, it simply means we can. To worship God in spirit is to worship "from the inside out". It means complete sincerity and passion toward God in Christ.
"Where feelings for God are dead, worship is dead." –John Piper
But emotion and passion are not enough, there must also be Truth! Worship is not about what I get from it, but rather what God wants from me. God does care about the content of our worship as well as its spirit.
We can be very sincere, and yet sincerely wrong if we offer worship to God that is not in truth as revealed in scripture.
We are to worship in response to truth..
Biblical worship is worship in sprit and truth, heart and head, emotions and thought.
They are complementary. Meditation on truth will kindle a right passion for God, and a proper spirit of worship will desire to be guided by truth
Worship is…. Expected Both _____________ and______________
Hebrews "Let us not give-up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing." (Heb. 10:25) The first exercise in worship is to develop the habit of faithfully assembling with other believers for the purpose of worshipping God. There is no such thing as individual Christianity. Christianity is not an isolationist religion. The New Testament describes the church as a body (1 Cor. 12:12), a building (Eph. 2:21), a household (Eph 2:19), a flock. To be a Christian is to be a part of, and involved in, this corporate body. When the author of Hebrews called those to meet together it was to worship!
Public worship can be fulfilling and should be faithful. Jesus, while faithful in temple
worship and teaching, regularly withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Public worship does not excuse private worship. Can we expect the flames of our worship of God to burn brightly in public on the Lord's Day when they barely flicker for him in secret on other days?
Worship is…. A ____________ to be Cultivated
Will you commit yourself to the Discipline of daily worship?
Will you put actual worship into your acts of worship? Allow scripture, meditation, prayer and relationships with other Christians to aid us in our worship. For when we put worship into our worship, religion will become not merely a set of doctrines, but a way of living.
"Worship is the central concern of the Christian." –John Calvin
Our Mission
The majority of people in our world have no idea about their need for God or how to deal with the sin that separates them from God. In our world today people live and die without hope.bIt is estimated that 95 percent of the current Australian population is lost without Christ.
"All authority has been given to Me
in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:18-20).
Two important promises:
We will have His power.
We will have His presence.
Moving Toward Spiritual Dialogue
Jesus was intentional in His approach.
Look for Opportunities
Look for the Hole in the Heart
Make Opportunities Search for common areas of interest.
Listen for what the person already knows about spiritual matters.
Discover details about a person's church background.
Let your friend talk.
Ask open-ended questions.
Let people tell their stories.
When Making a Home Visit
Look for clues about the family when you arrive.
Identify yourself as being from your church.
Make sure you know the full name of the person.
Express interest in the things important to the person.
As often as possible and appropriate, call persons by name.
USE Your Testimony of Conversion
Your evangelistic Preconversion experience:
Select a time in your life that illustrates what it was like without the assurance of heaven.
Be as specific as possible.
Keep this part of the story to one minute or less.
Your Conversion experience:
You may want to use the statement "I had a life-changing experience" to describe your conversion.
The purpose is to create a desire in the person to know how to have heaven.
Ask A Key Question
You are seeking to find a way to introduce discussion about Jesus.
The Key Question
In your personal opinion, what do you understand it takes for a person to go to heaven and have eternal life?
Could one reason we have difficulty sharing Jesus with others be that we have lost our love for Him?
F Is for Forgiveness
Everyone has sinned and needs God's forgiveness.
"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23
God's forgiveness is in Jesus only.
"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace."
Ephesians 1:7
All humanity was created to be in relationship with God.
We are separated from God by sin.
By using the word forgiveness for the letter F, you have the opportunity to remind people of their need for forgiveness and to establish the fact that only God can provide it.
No one can obtain that standard and is therefore already a condemned person.
Sin results in broken fellowship with God.
Anything that disturbs, distorts, or breaks this fellowship is sin.
God's Forgiveness Is in Jesus Only
Forgiveness is based on the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for our sins when He died on the cross.
A Is for Available
God's forgiveness is available for all.
"God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
God's Forgiveness Is Not Automatic
God's forgiveness is available but not automatic.
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord!' will enter the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 7:21
I Is for Impossible
According to the Bible, it is impossible to get to heaven on our own.
"By grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift—not from works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
Because of who God is
Because of who we are
T Is for Turn
Question: If you were going down the road and someone asked you to turn, what would he or she be asking you to do?
Turn means repent. Turn away from sin and self.
"Unless you repent, you will all perish as well!" Luke 13:3
Turn to Jesus alone as your Savior and Lord.
"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6
Our choice is a simple one: we can keep trusting ourselves and living the way we are living, or we can give our lives to Christ and begin to follow Him.
H Is for Heaven
Heaven is a place where we will live with God forever.
"If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also."
John 14:3
Heaven is the epitome of beauty, glory, and joy.
It is best understood as the place where God's holy presence dwells.
Heaven is the future home of believers.
The Reality of Hell
Hell is a literal place. It is described as a place of constant fire and torment.
Enjoying a Bit of Heaven Now
Eternal life begins now with Jesus.
"I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance." John 10:10
How? Making the Transition
The letter H can also stand for how—how God took the initiative to save us through the death of His Son, Jesus, and how a person can have God's forgiveness and eternal life in heaven.
How can a person have God's forgiveness, eternal life, and heaven?
ASK
Understanding what we have shared, would you like to receive this forgiveness by trusting in Christ as your personal Savior and Lord?
With this question the conversation moves into the Invitation—when someone has the opportunity to receive personally the truth you have shared.
The Invitation
Inquire
Understanding what we have shared, would you like to receive this forgiveness by trusting in Christ as your personal Savior and Lord?
Invite
Insure
Leading to a Response
"Is that something you would like to do?"
"Have you ever thought about making this kind of commitment?"
Let the person respond.
Ask God to help you know what to do next.
Do not rush them or appear pushy.
At times it may be necessary to continue the conversation on another day.
Continue to depend on the Holy Spirit, listening to Him every step of the way as you share.
Leading someone to pray a prayer of
salvation becomes a meaningful expression of that person's decision to accept God's offer of forgiveness and salvation and to begin following Christ.
HOPE PROFESSION OF FAITH
SCRIPTURE PROMISES
If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and
believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
For one believes with the heart and so is justified,
and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.
The Scripture says, "No one who believes in him will be put to shame."
Romans 10:9-11
Today we are privileged to welcome into the full life of the church's fellowship those who wish to confess their faith in Christ as Lord and Savior. When they were baptized God made clear his claim on them as his own, and they were received into the church. Now they wish to share fully in the life of this congregation and of the whole church of God. And so today they will publicly accept and confirm what was sealed in their baptism, confess their faith in the Lord Jesus, and offer themselves to God as his willing servants. We thank God for having given them this desire and pray that as we now hear their confession, he will favor us with the presence and guidance of his Holy Spirit.
It is God's sovereign grace and love that made you hear the good news of Christ Jesus in years gone by, and so you were not left ignorant of the open Way to the Father.
It is God's sovereign grace and love that led you to repentance , to make you humbly see your need of the gospel of salvation.
It is God's sovereign grace and love that calls us all, who were doomed to die eternally, to live instead and be bearers of hope and life in a dark world.
In the presence of God and His people, we now invite you to profess your faith in Him.
The Vows*
(name), will you stand now, and in the presence of God and his people respond to the following questions:
- Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God sent to redeem the world, do you love and trust him as the one who saves you from your sin, and do you with repentance and joy embrace him as Lord of your life?
Answer: I do.
- Do you acknowledge that believe that the Bible is the Word of God revealing Christ and his redemption, summarized in the Apostle's Creed and our Confessions, and taught in this Christian church faithfully reflect this revelation and is the true and complete doctrine of salvation?
Answer: I do.
- Do you accept the gracious promises of God sealed to you in your baptism and do you affirm your union with Christ and his church which your baptism signifies?
Answer: I do.
- Do you promise to do all you can, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to strengthen your love and commitment to Christ by sharing faithfully in the life of the church and its means of grace, honouring and submitting to its supervision and discipline; and do you join with the people of God in doing the work of the Lord wherever you are?
Answer: I do.
- I profess that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Saviour and I want to follow and serve Him as His disciple. So with all my heart, by the grace of God, I say 'Yes!' to these questions.
The Reception
[The minister asks the congregation to rise.]
Minister: In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ I now welcome you to all the privileges of full communion. I welcome you to full participation in the life of the church. I welcome you to its responsibilities, its joys, and its sufferings. "May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen" (Heb. 13:20-21).
Congregation: Thanks be to God! We promise you our love, encouragement, and prayers.
Minister: Let us together say what we believe:
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Prayer
Lord, our God, we thank you for your Word and Spirit through which we know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. May those who confessed your name today never cease to wonder at what you have done for them. Help them to continue firmly in the faith, to bear witness to your love, and to let the Holy Spirit shape their lives. Take them, good Shepherd, into your care that they may loyally endure opposition in serving you.
May we, with all your children, live together in the joy and power of your Holy Spirit. We ask this, Lord Jesus, in the hope of your coming. Amen.
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
and give you peace. Amen.
Numbers 6:24-26
Congregational Welcome (all stand)
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we now welcome you to full participation in the life of the church, the privileges of communion, the responsibility of exercising your gifts, the fellowship of its joys and sufferings.
Thanks be to God! We rejoice in your profession and promise you our love, encouragement and prayers.
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