Putting the "U" in Church (3 of 7)
Series: Forty Days of Purpose
Roger Thomas
Ephesians 4:11-16; Hebrews 10:24-26
Introduction: I remember the words like they were spoken yesterday. I can remember exactly where I was sitting in my eighth grade social studies class as I watched the events unfold on television. One line in particular seared itself into my memory. I wasn't the only one. The young president's words of challenge in his inaugural address stirred the nation. Those of you who are old enough will never forget those lines from John F. Kennedy's famous speech. "Ask not what your country can do for you, rather ask what you can do for your country."
I would that I were eloquent enough today to stir each of you with similar words. I would say to you, "Ask not what your church can do for you; rather ask what you can do for your church."
Every one of you is here on purpose today. You chose to come. You didn't have to come. You are not here by accident. Something about this place, this church, this people drew you here today. Most of you came because you knew you needed something that this place has to offer. That's OK. In fact, that's quite good. We ought to come to church because of what it can do for us. But for just a few minutes today, I would like to ask you to turn that around. Just for today, I am asking you to forget what the church can do for you and instead ask what you can do for the church. Can we do that just this one time?
Today we begin the third week of our 40 Days of Purpose. We are exploring God's answer to the question, "What On Earth Am I Here For?" Our source for this journey is God's Word. Surely we should settle for nothing less! But we are using Rick Warren's bestseller The Purpose Driven Life as our roadmap. I encourage you to keep reading the PDL. Warren wrote the book to be read a chapter at a time for forty days. Even if you have charged on ahead in the reading, I hope you will go back and ...
Series: Forty Days of Purpose
Roger Thomas
Ephesians 4:11-16; Hebrews 10:24-26
Introduction: I remember the words like they were spoken yesterday. I can remember exactly where I was sitting in my eighth grade social studies class as I watched the events unfold on television. One line in particular seared itself into my memory. I wasn't the only one. The young president's words of challenge in his inaugural address stirred the nation. Those of you who are old enough will never forget those lines from John F. Kennedy's famous speech. "Ask not what your country can do for you, rather ask what you can do for your country."
I would that I were eloquent enough today to stir each of you with similar words. I would say to you, "Ask not what your church can do for you; rather ask what you can do for your church."
Every one of you is here on purpose today. You chose to come. You didn't have to come. You are not here by accident. Something about this place, this church, this people drew you here today. Most of you came because you knew you needed something that this place has to offer. That's OK. In fact, that's quite good. We ought to come to church because of what it can do for us. But for just a few minutes today, I would like to ask you to turn that around. Just for today, I am asking you to forget what the church can do for you and instead ask what you can do for the church. Can we do that just this one time?
Today we begin the third week of our 40 Days of Purpose. We are exploring God's answer to the question, "What On Earth Am I Here For?" Our source for this journey is God's Word. Surely we should settle for nothing less! But we are using Rick Warren's bestseller The Purpose Driven Life as our roadmap. I encourage you to keep reading the PDL. Warren wrote the book to be read a chapter at a time for forty days. Even if you have charged on ahead in the reading, I hope you will go back and ...
There are 12237 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
