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sacramental reform

Filed Under: sermon notes by jon marq — Leave a comment
2010

(We apologize, but today’s sermon was not recorded due to a technical failure.)

Intro - We must devote ourselves to Sacramental Reform – the goal of today’s message is to help us develop a God-centered understanding of baptism and communion.

Sacraments defined

The sacraments are baptism and communion. For St. Augustine the sacraments were “visible words”. Martin Luther called them “rites” to which God attaches his promise.

They are known in some Christian circles as “outward signs of inward grace” and in other circles as “the enacted Word”. To some Christians they are “signs and seals” of the new covenant to others they “visible symbols of an invisible reality”. 

Finally, some Christians call them “mysteries” because there is something mysterious about the way God uses the physical elements of water, bread, wine for spiritual purposes.  View full article »

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worship order 03.07.10

Filed Under: worship by jon marq — Leave a comment
2010

Welcome and brief announcements. 

Grace and peace to you from the God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

Call to Worship – Aaron Ellis

- Your Grace is Enough
- Here I am to Worship
- Agnus Dei 
- God of Wonders 

Confession

Nicene Creed - Read by Kendall Felton  

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

- Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

Consecration

Children’s Bible Classes during sermon

Sermon – Sacramental Reform Acts 2:41-42

According to Luke, those who were baptized devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes. The goal of today’s message: to help us develop a God-centered understanding of baptism and communion.

Communion

The Lord’s supper is a covenant meal between Christ and his church. Christ invites all his followers to come, eat and drink and be joyful. If you are not a Christian, or if you are not spiritually prepared to share the meal, we encourage you to spend this time in prayer. The supper is prepared at tables around the sanctuary.

- Wonderful Cross

Gifts and Offerings

Benediction – May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

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enewz | thoughts on worship

Filed Under: church life, worship by jon marq — Leave a comment
2010

Here are a few practical thoughts on our worship. I am encouraged by the direction we are taking. Aaron is doing a fantastic job of leading us each week. Our worship and praise is getting better and better. We are still learning and growing, but more and more of us are becoming aware of God’s presence among us in our gatherings. Our pre-worship fellowship is great. It sends the right signal that we love and care about one another.

However, we are still having trouble getting our worship started in a timely and orderly way. This negatively affects visitors that God has started sending among us. 

Try to see our worship gatherings from their perspective. They think worship starts at 10 (because they read our sign) so they show up for worship a little before 10. Then they wait and wonder where the rest of the church is. We start showing up around 10:20. After our worship leader makes several attempts to get our attention we start worship around 10:35. By that time our visitors have been waiting on us for 45 minutes. Shouldn’t we be there early to welcome and serve them?

Sadly, this is not a hypothetical situation. It has happened to different visitors the past two weeks. 

Let’s make it our aim to consider the needs of others and serve them with the love of Christ. One small way we can do that is to show up earlier for worship and to show up ready follow the worship leader into God’s presence as soon as he calls us to worship.

See you at 10 sharp this Lord’s day. Remember: the goal of worship is the glory of God!

Grace and peace with you always.

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what are baptism and communion?

Filed Under: bible study, church life by jon marq — Leave a comment
2010

Join us for round table discussions of the following topics.
Study guides provided.

Wednesday Nights @ 7 PM

Session Five: What are Baptism and Communion?

The following section is not based on Vintage Church. These reflections were written by our minister to help stir our thinking towards a God-centered understanding of baptism and communion.

Perspectives on the Sacraments

Man-centered View – Sacraments are gifts which we offer to God. Baptism and communion are ways in which we offer ourselves to God. They are proof and evidence of our commitment and devotion to God.

God-centered View – Sacraments are gifts which God offers to us. Baptism and communion are ways in which God offers himself to us. They are proof and evidence (signs and seals) of God’s covenant devotion to us.

Two Approaches to Baptism and Communion

 “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” Acts 2:38-39

+ Confessor Baptism – Baptism is for individual believers only. Prior to baptism a person must be able to make a credible profession of faith. This view is also called credobaptism - credo is Latin for believe. Emphasis is placed on the discontinuity between the Old Testament and New Testament.

Biblical support in favor of this view comes from the stories of individual conversions recorded in the Book of Acts (e.g., Simon Magus – Acts 8; Ethiopian Eunuch – Acts 8; Saul the Pharisee – Acts 9; Disciples at Ephesus – Acts 19).

“Confessor communion” follows the same pattern of thought. Just as baptism is for believers only, so communion is for believers only.

+ Covenant Baptism – Baptism is for new believers/converts and their family members – including children. When the head of a family becomes a believer and is baptized his/her whole family is also baptized. In this way the whole family is brought together in the Christian faith. This view is also called oikobaptism – oikos is Greek for household or family. Emphasis is placed on the continuity between the Old Testament and New Testament.

Biblical support in favor of this view comes from the stories of household conversions recorded in the Book of Acts (e.g., Cornelius and his household – Acts 10; Lydia and her household – Acts 16; the Jailer and his household – Acts 16; and Crispus and his household – Acts 18).

Covenant communion follows the same pattern of thought. Just as baptism is for believers and their children, so communion is for all baptized Christian households.

+ A Call for Consistency — Consistency between belief and practice is necessary. What we believe is what we should practice. Ironically, many Christians are actually inconsistent one way or another on these matters. That poses problems on both sides.

On the one hand, some credobaptists bring their unbaptized children to the table for communion. They consider their kids spiritually capable of discerning the body and blood of Christ in the supper yet unprepared to confess Christ as Lord and be baptized.

On the other hand, some oikobaptists keep their baptized children away from the table. They consider their kids members of the covenant community by virtue of baptism yet they prohibit them from eating at the Lord’s table until they can make a credible profession of faith. 

The sacraments go hand in hand. You can’t take one without the other. As a result, one’s view of baptism will influence (if not determine) one’s view of communion and vice-versa.

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doctrinal reform

Filed Under: sermon notes by jon marq — Leave a comment
2010

INTRODUCTION

To help us gear up for our official “relaunch” we are going to work our way through a series of messages on reform and renewal. The messages are rooted and grounded in the soil of Acts 2. Last week we started with personal reform (repentance). This week we continue with doctrinal reform (tradition and theology).

My goal is to stir your affections for sound doctrine and whet your appetite for sound doctrine. I want you to get psyched up, fired up, jazzed up, pumped up about sound doctrine. View full article »

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