WELCOME
Communion Worship Service
Good morning First Baptist. We welcome you to worship this morning. Be sure to remember your brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the week as you pray for them, and as the Holy Spirit brings their faces to your mind. Be sure to also connect with them in the ways that are possible. And if you have any questions or would like to talk to someone, please don’t hesitate to contact the church through the church telephone and leave a message. (519-733-4144)
Songs
Call to Worship
Here we are on the first Sunday of a new year. For many, a new year means a fresh start. We may have made promises or resolutions for 2024 or perhaps we are hoping to break some bad habits. Maybe we’ll succeed, maybe we’ll fail – that’s yet to be seen…. But here’s something that is rock solid truth…that we are here to worship a God who always makes good on His word.
In Jesus Christ, God has promised us renewal, freedom from the hold of sin and burden so that we, each of us, might know eternal salvation. The Apostle Paul wrote these words in his second letter to the church in Corinth…he reminded them, and through that us too…
All of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory. He has anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Amen!
Good Morning FBK….WELCOME TO WORSHIP!
Songs
Prayer
Prayer of Confession & Assurance
The act of confessing our sin is not simply a recitation of our faults and wrongs, but also an opportunity to receive God’s mercy and share in that abundant grace. Confident of God’s love for us, let us offer our prayers, first in silence.
Silent Prayer
Lord Jesus, as the new year is born,
We remember our need for You…
Forgive us, Holy One,
When we keep You at a distance
When we defy your will
When we make it harder
for people to know you
Forgive us, Holy One,
When we deny our weakness
When we wallow in our weakness
When we take advantage
of the weakness of others
Forgive us, Holy One,
When we refuse Your counsel
When we waste your gifts
When we withhold Your compassion from others
Silent Confession
As the new year is born
We strive to look forward
Our hearts fill with hope
For You are making all things new
even us… AMEN.
Words of Assurance
You are not alone. God is always with you.
You can place your trust in God, for God will not fail you. AMEN.
The Mission
The Next 200 Years
Today's Message: Pastors Marlee Page and Dave Page
Our Mission Statement: We are committed to becoming fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ, and inviting others to do the same.
How many of you know what this is….?
It’s our Church mission statement. And in many ways, it’s a timeless one.
For the next 2 weeks we want to link back into the theme of our 200th anniversary as FBK – though this time we want that to be very forward focused – What might God be calling us to in the Next 200 years?
So this week we want to pull apart this statement with you and explore it’s two components specifically. This statement will be our ‘north star’ for this next season and then next week, we’re going to look at the core values statement we share as FBK, and take a bit of a bell weather check to make sure that where we are going lines up with those values…
DISCIPLESHIP
‘Fully Devoted Followers of Jesus Christ’ – in many ways this is discipleship, isn’t it?
Scripture Reading: Matthew 28:19-20
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20 states: “19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””
We are commanded to “make” disciples. Note, that this is a two part process.
- Introduce then to Christ and baptize them.
- Teach them to observe all that Jesus commanded.
But what exactly is DISCIPLESHIP – in others words, what would we at FBK say being a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ might look like?
The word disciple is used over 250 times in the New Testament and is only found in the Gospels and Acts.
In Acts 11:26 the Disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.
The name “Christian” was given to the disciples through Paul and Barnabas and we believe it was inspired by Holy Spirit.
Discipleship is the teaching, training, developing and releasing of Christians.
Now, there are some things that mark Discipleship – this is from Jesus Himself:
- Love each other. JOHN 13:35 “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
- Love Jesus. LUKE 14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.”
- Be like Jesus. MATTHEW 10:25 “It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!”
- Stay Connected. JOHN 15:4 “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”
II. THE PURPOSE OF DISCIPLESHIP
The purpose of discipleship then is to help Believers become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ “re-forms” our lives.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!
Jesus Christ “transforms” our lives.
2 Corinthians 3:18 says,
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
III. THE BENEFITS OF DISCIPLESHIP
- Discipleship causes us to grow into the image of Christ.
- Discipleship makes us “Rock Solid” in God.
- Makes us Stable.
- Makes us Strong
- Teaches us that our help and hope is in the Lord.
The first application point this morning – as you contemplate the new year ahead of you:
Let’s recommit to a lifestyle of learning and becoming more and more like Jesus.
Now, in our mission statement- there’s this second part – about inviting others to do the same….
You know, there is real power in an invitation!
There is something about an invitation that makes us feel special, wanted and accepted. An invitation is a powerful way to reach out to others. Think about the invitations we receive all the time:
A person invites another out for a date.
A business person invites a client out for lunch.
A friend invites another friend over for coffee.
A family invites another family to supper.
So often, it’s the invitation that is the catalyst to relationship. That is the way you get to know people and your circle of friends, and in our context, the church family gets larger. We all want our church to grow, and if it grows we all must grow. Here’s a reality to consider from our brief discussion around discipleship….When we stop growing our church stops growing.
I want us to look today at the power of an “Invitation” from a Biblical perspective. I want to look at the invitations in the Bible.
THERE IS A HOLY INVITATION
God has never been obligated to invite us into his presence. The access that we have to God is only by grace through faith. The only audience you and I will likely ever have with the King of Kings is at HIS pleasure. He doesn’t have to invite us but I’m glad that he does.
God Invites the Sinners To Come
Isaiah 1:18
““Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.”
God Invites the Hard-Hearted To Come
Isaiah 55:1,2
“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
God Invites the Struggling To Come
Matthew 11:28
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
God Invites The Seekers To Come also….in fact, that’s almost always where you and I come into the equation
THERE IS A HUMAN INVITATION
The Lord sends out his message of invitation in many forms. But the fact remains that we have a responsibility to respond to his open door. God has chosen to use us as servants to deliver his invitation.
The Prophesy of the Invitation
Isaiah foretold of a day when God’s people would unashamedly ask others to join them as they journeyed to the House of God.
Isaiah 2:3
Many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
The Practicing of the Invitation
Just as people came to Christ by invitation in the Bible, they can still come today. The Lord does the inward work of the heart but we do the outward work to expose them to truth.
Romans 10:17
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
- In (Luke 5) Matthew gave a feast to introduce Jesus to his friends.
- In (John 4) the Samaritan Woman at the well invited her neighbours.
- In (John 1) Andrew invited Peter, and Phillip invited Nathaniel.
- In (Acts 8) Cornelius invited his friends and family.
The Power of the Invitation
Isaiah 55:11
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
There are many forms of Invitation
As Disciples, we ultimately have but one task. To simply magnify Christ and Him alone…and very often, in our efforts to do just that we can present invitation. Here’s what I mean by that:
Invite People to See For Themselves
John 1:46
“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
God can save the curious as well as the obvious.
Invite People to Study The Word
John 5:39
You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,
Invite People To Our Church
Never underestimate the power of a simple invitation. Your personal call or contact may very be the key that unlocks the door of faith in someone’s life. It is better for them to decline your invitation than for them to have never received one.
FBK, our Mission is a simple statement, with the potential to change many lives, ours and those we encounter along the way.
Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” His desire is that all should come.
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, we acknowledge that your Son, Jesus Christ, is far bigger than we imagine him to be.
I think of verses such as those in Hebrews 1:1–3 where it says that you have spoken to us finally and definitively through your Son, whom you appointed as the heir of all things, and through whom you also created the world. Many will celebrate today as Epiphany Sunday, a celebration of Jesus coming to unite the world as the true “king of kings” and that He came to be a saviour to all people.
Father, for us, now that the carols have been stilled,
When the star-topped tree is taken down,
When family and friends are gone home,
When we are back to our schedules
The work of Christmas begins:
To welcome the refugee,
To heal a broken planet,
To feed the hungry,
To build bridges of trust, not walls of fear,
To share our gifts,
To seek justice and peace for all people,
To bring Christ’s light to the world.So we ask that as one year closes and a new one begins, you would renew our affection for Jesus and focus our attention on him. We come to you as those made in your image, but through our sin, we have become weak, wounded, and wayward. Though we do not deserve it, because of your grace and mercy, we ask that you cause us to enjoy the living Jesus in all of life—in this life and the life to come….and certainly to invite others, many others to do the same.
We pray all these things in the name of Jesus, which is a way to say that we pray these prayers, not in our authority, but His authority, and we pray these prayers, not according to our will, but his will. Amen.
Communion
Invitation to Communion
This is God’s Table come, all of you, you are invited to dine at this banquet of heaven
You are God’s People come all of you, you are invited to sit with your Lord
The table is waiting for you – all of you, you are welcomed to be here.
The Elements:
On the night he was handed over, Jesus had a meal with his friends. He took a loaf of bread and after giving thanks to God, he broke it and gave it to his disciples. He said, “Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
After supper Jesus took the cup of wine; and after giving thanks, gave it to them and said, “Drink this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, remember me.”
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father…. we come to your table this day because you have invited us here… let this meal be nourishment for our souls… let it fill us up from the inside out …. Father, we thank you for the gift of your son Jesus Christ, whose love pursues us our whole life long. Thank you, Jesus, for giving your life to us in word and deed, even unto death, even death on a cross. Lord before we take the elements we pray together, as you taught us:
AMEN.
“Through the broken bread we participate in His body, given for you.”
“Through the cup of blessing we participate in the new covenant Jesus gives.”
Take the elements now and be thankful.
Song
Benediction
At the end of Hebrews there are two little verses that have provided much comfort in my life thru the years—their truths lead me to a breathtaking view of my God and His goodness to me.
Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Heb. 13:20–21)
FBK family, As the new year dawns, none of us has any idea what lies ahead. Many of our days will unfold quite differently from how we’ve planned them for 2024, and we will be reminded of how little we actually control in this life. But for you, you the Church of God, we are given precious promises that not only make sense of life’s interruptions and sorrows, but also fill us with greater joy and purpose than we can begin to imagine.
So take those promises out with you today and into 2024!!
Blessings, Have a great week!