A Life-Giving Church is a connected community that contextualizes the message of God’s love.

FACT : The church must contextualize its presence in society if it is to grow in relevance, sustain its health and hold forth the Gospel in truth and integrity.

The content of the Gospel must be set in the context of human culture.
How we do church must be a response to two things:

We must be able to integrate the old with the new by: (1) understanding the original purpose of the old, (2) examining the Biblical teaching, (3) evaluating the old in light of this teaching, and (4) prayerfully creating a new practice.
“Our goal is to plant an idea—the Gospel—in such a way that the members of a culture can embrace it without distorting it, but also in a way that no culture can contain or claim ownership of it.”
Crabb and Jernigan in The Church in Ruins
Contextualization requires a “whatever it takes” attitude.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, moralists, loose-living immoralist, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life…but I entered their world…I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in order to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to just talk about it; I wanted to be in on it! (The Message) We must be mission-oriented not maintenance-oriented.

The incarnation of Christ is about contextualization.
Jesus made the ultimate jump across cultural barriers.

John 1:1, 14, In the beginning was the Word…and the Word was God…The Word became flesh and dwelt among us .
Jesus was different in his culture, not from his culture.
Jesus showed us that confrontation is a necessary part of contextualization.

Proverbs 29:18, Where there is no vision, the people perish. The people whom God uses…see the invisible hear the inaudible believe the incredible think the unthinkable!

Life was the reason Jesus came.

John 1:4, In him was life and that life was the light of men. John 10:10, I have come that they may have life and life to the fullest. John 14:6, I am the way, the truth and the Life.

There are two kinds of life:

Characteristics of the “God-engaged life” From Luke 4:18-19: Good news proclaimed to the poor
Freedom to the prisoners Sight to the blind Releasing the oppressed
Three “C’s” of a Life-Giving Church…
A connected community that contextualizes the message of God’s love.

In a post-modern, post-Christian world, we must hold forth the only life-giving message…
Jesus is still asking his people, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15) A Life-giving church has a fresh vision of Jesus and lifts him up in all things. John 12:32, If I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto myself.

A Life-giving church knows that life flows from the Spirit.
John 6:63, The Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 6:3, The Spirit gives life
The anointing of the Holy Spirit is essential for life-changing ministry to occur. John 3:6, Flesh gives birth to flesh. Spirit gives birth to Spirit.

A Life-giving church takes prayer seriously. Acts 2:43, They devoted themselves…to prayer.
Jesus said the Father’s House would be a House of Prayer. (Matthew 21:13; Isaiah 56:7) A Life-giving church connects with God’s Kingdom through prayer and intercession, motivated by compassion. A Life-giving church is also connected to other like-minded churches with a Kingdom agenda to touch reach our city and touch our world.

Francis Schaeffer, “I am convinced that people will not listen if we have the right doctrine or the right polity, but are not exhibiting community…With orthodoxy of doctrine, there must equally be orthodoxy of community.”

George Gallup has identified the six spiritual needs of Americans:

A Life-giving church is not about a crowd. It is about becoming an authentic Christian community. Membership in City Church of Chattanooga will not be institutional membership, but covenant membership.

It is based on commonality — a shared life.

Acts 2:42-47,They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord’s Supper and in prayer…. And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes…(NLT)
It is to be a counter-culture.
Mark 10:42-43, You have observed how godless rulers throw their weight around and when people get a little power how quickly it goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. (Message) The trademark of this community will be love for one another.
John 13:35, Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. (NLT)

There is a core of committed Christ-followers.
A place where believers are know for their spiritual maturity because they have been taught with excellence.
A place where true worship exists because believers are truly in love with Jesus.
A place where believers are growing in love and in grace to one another
A place where believers can wait to learn more…serve more…give more…tell more…grow more.
An attractive place for seekers.
A place where seekers are welcomed guest. A place where seekers are accepted no matter what their spiritual condition A place where energy and resources are give to attracting seekers.
An extension of grace. A place where sharing time and possessions is normal. A place where bearing another’s burdens is basic A place where the spiritual gifts of believers are released. A place where an atmosphere of grace-giving is prevalent (praying, sharing,  caring)

Acts 2:42-47,They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord’s Supper and in prayer…. And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes…(NLT)

Hebrews 6:1, Let us go on to maturity.
Today we come to the second characteristic of a spiritually mature Christian. A Biblically measured Christian is one who has a growing knowledge of God’s word and is using this knowledge as a standard of living.

Our lives are shaped by two key factors:

How we live in our relationships with others and the choices we make are governed by our values—the things we deem important and true. This is the question we must address today…

What is the source of my value system?

James 3:13-18 outlines two sources of wisdom:
If you are wise and understand God’s ways, live a life of steady goodness so that only good deeds will pour forth. And if you don’t brag about the good you do, then you will be truly wise! But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your hearts, don’t brag about being wise. That is the worst kind of lie. For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and motivated by the Devil. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every kind of evil. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no partiality and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness.

Wisdom is the criteria I use to live my life. It is decisive factor in all our decision-making. We could think of it as the “operating program” of our minds.

Its characteristics… It is secular. It is sensual. It is Satanic. Its results…

Its source…God
Its characteristics Its results…

It produces a right attitude that is followed by right actions and results in a right harvest.

To neglect the Bible is to lose the ability to make right choices.
Hebrews 5:13-14, A person who is living on milk isn’t very far along in the Christian life and doesn’t know much about doing what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who have trained themselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong and then do what is right.

If we are going to call ourselves Christians, we must decide that God’s Word will be the blueprint for our lives.
Psalm 1 is a poetic expression of the contrast between one who walks in the wisdom of the world and one who walks in the wisdom of God’s Word.
Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with scoffers.
But they delight in doing everything the LORD wants; day and night they think about his law.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail.
Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper.
But this is not true of the wicked. They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly.
For the LORD watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

Because of the pain of divorce, because of the agony of difficult marriages, and because marriage was God’s idea, it is important that we return to the subject of marriage on a regular basis. Today’s message is a little different, I am going to share six observations about the realities of married life, and offer implications to those who are casually dating or in serious courtship.

Series: Broken in the Right Places – City Church of Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN

Today we continue our study on brokenness. We have defined brokenness as the process by which God brings us to the end of ourselves and into total love, trust and submission to him.
We will focus our thoughts on a time of brokenness in Paul’s life that is presented in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10…
To keep me from getting puffed up, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep be from getting proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, ‘My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work thought me. Since I know it is all for Christ’s good, I am quite content with my weaknesses…for when I am weak, then I am strong.

God never abandons his children.
2 Corinthians 4:8-10, We are hard pressed on side but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our body.
God promises to never forsake you.
Hebrews 13:5, Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.
Brokenness is not a sign of God’s abandonment, but of God’s activity.
Hebrews 12:5-11, Don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. It is the child he loves that he disciplines…God is educating you…He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble isn’t punishment; it’s training…

Paul’s descent into greatness. Galatians: 48 A.D. 1 and 2 Corinthians: 56-57 A.D. 1 Timothy: 64 A.D.
Brokenness is painful. Thorn … Messenger of Satan … torment It is not meaningless pain.
Brokenness is purposeful. God is not random and haphazard in his work. Ephesians 1:11, God works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.
What was God’s purpose in Paul’s life? Brokenness is productive when met with an open spirit.

An open spirit is one that does not turn away from God. In your pain, stay in God’s face. It means to embrace God’s discipline with an open spirit as Paul did.

Job 42:1-6, I am convinced: You can do anything and everything. Nothing and no one can upset your plans…I babbled on about things far beyond me…I admit I once lived on rumors of you; now I have it all first hand—from my own eyes and ears! I’m sorry—forgive me. I’ll never do that again, I promise! I’ll never again live on crust of hearsay, crumbs of rumor.

In this message we bring this series on marriage to a conclusion. Our focus today will be on the strategies we employ to make our marriages work.

Most people rely want their marriages to work. The question is “what strategy will we use?”
Strategies for marital happiness.

This is the only strategy strong enough to sustain a marriage.

A commitment to Jesus Christ changes our understanding of the purpose of marriage.
1 Corinthians 7:2, Since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.
Marriage brings us into a close relationship with another person in order to allow us to work on those areas of our lives that need to be conformed to Christ. 1

Marriage is not designed to make us happy, but to make us holy. Marriage is part of God’s plan to develop you. A commitment to Christ changes our pattern of behavior. 1 John 4:16-17, We know how much God loves us, and have put our trust in him. God is love, and all who live in love live in God and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect.
As your relationship with Christ deepens, your love gets better. You are changed from pride and self-protection to humility and vulnerability.
A commitment to Christ changes our perspective. Ephesians 5:21, Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. When you are committed to Christ, you have the following perspective about your marriage… “This is between you and me and Jesus.”

“It’s not about the two of us. It’s about the three of us.”
“I can’t do whatever I want to do because Jesus is a part of our relationship.”
I can do whatever I need to do because Jesus is a part of our relationship.” 2

Hebrews 6:1, Let us go on to maturity.
We continue our look at the characteristics of a spiritually mature believer. A Biblically measured Christian is one who has a growing knowledge of God’s Word and is using this knowledge as a standard of living. For such a Christian the Bible is the criteria by which he lives his life. It is the decisive factor in all his decision-making.

2 Timothy 3:16-17, All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do. (NLT)

All Scripture is inspired by God…

The Bible came from God.

It is a God-breathed book.

How did God write this book?

2 Peter 1:20, 23, You must understand that no prophecy of Scripture ever came from the prophets themselves or because they wanted to prophesy. It was the Holy Spirit who moved the prophets to speak from God. (NLT)

The Bible is not the product of human ingenuity.

God moved on the writers of Scripture, watching over them as they wrote, insuring that the product of their writing was the object of divine trustworthiness.

…is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right… Useful means practical, beneficial, relevant.

A few weeks ago, we made a strategic and historic move as a church. We decided to change our name. This, indeed, was an audacious move, but God has proven again and again that he blesses audacity. With this in mind, we must understand that our goal as a church should not be the blessing of God. Our goal must be to be a people whom God is willing to bless.
Today, we begin a series of messages the City Church of Chattanooga. I want to cast a vision for the future.
A vision is a specific call to our church, imparted by God, which gives us a mental picture of a preferable future.