From its early beginnings, the Church that Christ built was never meant to be just another religion; it was meant to be a revolution. His church upheaved the norms of society and presented a better way of living. His church redefined the ideas of love, community, and truth, while introducing the realities of grace, forgiveness and hope. We are His church today; His ambassadors to the world. In this new series we will be diving deeper into why Pluslife exists; our vision and our mission that defines us as a church. We don’t just do ministry, we are part of a movement. We’re not just a community, we are the Church. We don’t exist to be a religion, we exist to be part of the revolution that Christ began.
Reach
By: Ian Opiniano
The Revolution began when God reached down to save humanity. Now He’s tasked the Church to reach those who are far from Him with His love. In this sermon, we looked at Paul’s reminder of the “Ministry of Reconciliation”; sharing the good news of God’s act to reconcile sinners to Himself. We discussed reasons as to why we “Reach” others for Christ. We were reminded that as believers we have been altered; no longer living for our desires but for the desires of God. We also share the Gospel because we are God’s ambassadors, representing Him in a world in need of Him. Finally, we examined how we are God’s appeal to those who do not know Him, declaring to the world that He is good and has made a way for our good. As the Church, we have been tasked with the ministry of reconciliation; delivering the greatest news ever told, “that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19)
Revolve
By: Ben Thomas
To revolve around Christ is to live in line with the truth of the gospel. For the Christian, it is the very fabric woven into every facet of our life. In Galatians 2:14, we understand that Paul’s confrontation to Peter’s prejudice teaches us how the gospel ought to operate in our lives. To live a life that revolves around Christ is a continual process. Our lives bear witness to God’s truth through the power of the gospel, its sufficiency and its uncompromising truth to bear much fruit; not because it is required, but because it is a natural response out of love for our Saviour. We are reminded that the gospel is to be applied to every area of our thoughts, emotions and behaviours as it is no longer we who live, but Christ in us.
To reflect Christ’s love as a community is to love one another as Christ loved us. Looking at various passages, we learned to live and fight for brotherly love and unity in Spirit. Our love for each other in the body of Christ is the mark that testifies to the world that we are His disciples. We also learned that this is our daily mode; we are to outdo one another in honour out of a heart that loves and deeply values each other. Finally, we learned that it is our move to demonstrate Christ; to be compassionate, kind, patient and forgiving towards each other. All in all, fulfilling this great commandment of the Lord Jesus Christ will be our greatest accomplishment to a life well-lived.