How We Function: Four Key Values by Gary Vanderet
THE MINISTRY OF THE SAINTS Ephesians 4:11-16
The work of the church is to heal the brokenhearted, give deliverance to the captives, preach the good news to the poor and despairing, and encourage and strengthen others. All that doesn’t happen on Sunday. We come to church to help get equipped for ministry. You discover your gift by getting involved in the needs of others. Gifts are the means by which we love others. And each of us loves differently. You might also gain some insight into your gifts by observing the kinds of people for whom God burdens you. Be willing to do anything. All Christians are called to be ministers, to serve, to use their gifts in ministry. The body of Christ is like an orchestra: people play different instruments, but we all play the same melody. When that is going on, a church is functioning as God intends. Life is about losing yourself in the lives of others, giving yourself away.
THE NEW COVENANT 2 Corinthians 3:1-6
In the new covenant that God initiated at Pentecost he has not only forgiven us completely, he has also changed us deeply, profoundly and permanently. It is the same law, but written in the heart instead of on an external stone tablet as a demand. Under this new arrangement we are not merely commanded to glorify God, we want to glorify him. And we are empowered and equipped to do so. All of that is ours because the Holy Spirit now dwells in us. The old covenant is man demonstrating what he can do for God; the new covenant is God demonstrating what he can do for and through man. We don’t live life according to a code anymore. We live through a person, the Sovereign Lord of the universe and the supreme lover of our souls, who infuses us with resurrection power. God’s supreme calling for our life is to a passionate and deepening love affair with his Son. When that is in place, the externals take care of themselves.
EXPOSITORY PREACHING 2 Timothy 3:14-4:4
Biblical exposition is “communicating the inspired text with such faithfulness and sensitivity that God’s voice is heard and his people obey Him” - John Stott. The pulpit is the primary means by which the saints are equipped. We believe in the power of expository preaching! And what makes it expository preaching is not so much that it is preaching from the Bible as it is preaching the Bible itself. It is preaching that derives its content from the Scripture directly. It is an exposition of a text (drawing out what is there) rather than an imposition (making a text say what the speaker wants it to say). All Scripture is from God, All Scripture is profitable, The purpose of reading and studying the Scriptures is not merely to grasp the truth, but that the truth might grasp you.
SERVANT LEADERSHIP Luke 22:14-27
Jesus’ leadership was not lordship but servanthood. He preferred others and deferred to their needs. He didn’t storm around Palestine saying, "I want to be treated like God. I want to be served. I want to be understood." He made himself a servant. His whole life was an expression of that servant attitude. He told his disciples, "[I] did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give [my] life as a ransom for many" (Matt 20:28; Mark 10:45). He was always serving. That was the major characteristic of his life: cooking meals for his disciples and washing their filthy feet. Servant leadership means just that: being lower than all, washing feet. It means preferring others, furthering their causes, seeking their good, encouraging their growth, bearing their faults, being gentle and humble; doing for others what God himself has done for us. Jesus’ call to leadership is a call to humility, to dying to ourselves and serving others.
How We Function: Four Key Values
| 1 | Ephesians 4:11-16 | The Ministry of the Saints | 13 Jun 2004 | |
| 2 | 2 Corinthians 3:1-6 | The New Covenant | 20 Jun 2004 | |
| 3 | 2 Timothy 3:14-4:4 | Expository Preaching | 27 Jun 2004 | |
| 4 | Luke 22:14-27 | Servant Leadership | 4 Jul 2004 |