Becoming A Great Church

"BECOMING A GREAT CHURCH"
Jer 29: 11

Intro: "Cabin Inspection"
For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to attend Thornhill week at CFBC, then you have indeed missed a treat. Aside from all of the games, activities, devotionals, Bible Studies, and lessons: there is one thing that is completely unique. It is Cabbin Inspection.
Cabbin inspection is special for a very simple reason. During this activity, you find aprocimently 85 children between the ages of 10-18 suddenly consumed by the of cleanliness. There greatest desire in the world is to have the cleanest cabin. If they win, they are allowed to go for a night-time swim. As much as the councelers don’t like this idea, the kids do. You see, their objective is to have the greatest cabin of all.
It is the drive to win which pushes us to do great things. It is our desire for success, which leads us to go that extra mile. If we are building houses, we want to build the best house. If we are playing games, we want to be the best. If we are weaving baskets, we want to weave the best basket.
While this can often be a negative attitude where our worldly lives are concerned, we should all strive to make our church as successful as we can. We should strive to reach the most people. We should look to touch the hearts of as many lost souls as we can find. Not so that the outside world will praise us, but rather it is because it is God's plan for his church. In Jeremiah 29: 11, we are told, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."
This morning, we want to ask the very important question, "WHAT CAN WE DO TO MAKE OUR CHURCH GREAT?" This lesson is designed to help you to see the things, which we need to do if we are to be successful in our work for the Lord.

I A GREAT CHURCH FOCUSES ON SPIRITUAL GROWTH!

1. The goal of each and every member of the Lord's church should be to become more like the savior.
A. Phil 2: 5 we should all strive to be Christ like in our minds.
B. Jn 13: 5 we should all strive to be Christ like in our attitude.
C. Jn 15: 13 we should all strive to be Christ like in the way we love one another.
2. Regardless of whether or not we choosy to become more like Christ or not, we need to understand that spiritually speaking, there will be changes that take place.
A. In Romans 12: 2, Paul points out that there are only two choices that we have in terms of our spiritual well being.
(a.) Ro 12: 2 we can either be conformed to the ways of this world.
(b.) Ro 12: 2 or, we can allow god to transform our lives, by changing our thinking.
B. Paul's message is very clear.
(a.) The message is that we will be changed, one way or the other, we will be changed.
(b.) Either we will conform to the ways of the world, and thus choose to grow away from the will of God.
(c.) Or, we will choose to submit ourselves to God, allow him to transform our minds, and grow in his grace and knowledge.
C. If we are to be a church that is great, then we need to focus ourselves on spiritual growth, which is based upon the transforming of our minds!
3. The reason that many churches today aren't growing spiritually is because they focus more on numerology, rather than theology.
A. A large number is good, but it isn't always an accurate gage on the spiritual growth of the church.
B. In other words, increased size doesn't always mean increased spirit.
C. Let's focus on growing in spirit, and the numbers will take care of themselves.

II A GREAT CHURCH WORKS TO PROTECT A HEALTHY FELLOWSHIP!

1. The truth of the matter is that churches, which are successful, work on growing spiritually closer to God, but likewise they attempt to grow closer to one another.
A. Eph 4: 3 the successful church is one that takes seriously the command to, "endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
B. They accomplish this goal by honoring one another, encouraging one another, inspiring one another, and spending time with one another.
C. To put it simply, the successful church is the one that cherishes the bond, which holds them together.
2. There is a side effect, which springs forth from a healthy fellowship.
A. Those around us will see and want to experience our love.
B. Jn 15: 13 when they see a love like ours, they will want that love!
C. Mt 18: 21-22 when they see forgiveness like our's, they will want that forgiveness!
D. 2Co 13: 9 when they see our rejoicing, they too will long to rejoice!