We Are Not Okay, Week 1: With Consumer Christianity

Title of message:  We Are Not Okay with Consumer Christianity (1 Thessalonians 5:14) (MSG) Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out. (1 Thessalonians 5:14) (NIV) And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.  1.    Warn those who are idle and disruptive 2.    Encourage the disheartened 3.    Help the weak The Purpose of Freedom Church – Why we exist: To reach out as FRIENDS with the life-giving message of Jesus so that we all might become fully devoted followers of Christ. (Luke 15:4) (NLT) “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? Moving from Consumer to Contributor: 1.    With our Treasure  (Malachi 3:8) (NLT) “Should people cheat God?   (Malachi 3:8) (NLT) …Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’   (Malachi 3:8) (NLT) “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me.   (Malachi 3:9) (NLT) You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me.   (Malachi 3:10) (NLT) Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! 2.    With our Time 94% of people said volunteering improved their mood. (Luke 6:31) (NLT) Do to others as you would like them to do to you. (Philippians 2:3-4) (NIV) …in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. (Ephesians 5:15-18) (MSG) Live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility, not as men who do not know the meaning and purpose of life but as those who do. Make the best use of your time, despite all the difficulties of these days. Don’t be vague but firmly grasp what you know to be the will of God. Don’t get your stimulus from wine (for there is always the danger of excessive drinking), but let the Spirit stimulate your souls. 3.    With our Talent (1 Peter 4:10) (NIV) Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. (2 Corinthians 4:2) (MSG) We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God.