GOSPEL :: FAMILY :: MISSION
Who are you pursuing with the message of the gospel in your extended family? Your work place? Your neighborhood? Your friend circle? How willing are you to have your life completely turned upside down so that you can be engaged in the mission of the gospel?
As we come into the last week of our series on what it means to be the people of The Well, I want to recap what we’ve learned throughout this series. You may recall that we began this series back in June by studying Acts 2:42 – 47 and then we picked up again in early August by studying John 4:1 – 42.
Last week as we studied John 4:1 – 15, we outlined 4 different barriers to becoming a Christ encountering people. We learned that barriers like the barrier of place, or the barrier of person, or the barrier of resource, or the barrier of thirst can all be hindrances to becoming a people who encounter Christ.
This is a historical day for us. Exactly five years ago on this day, Christy and I gathered together with 4 other adults on a park bench here in Hastings to begin planting The Well. We had no church name, no church building, no discipleship strategy and no money in the bank. We didn’t even have a bank account yet!
Our mission and vision at The Well is to be a gospel centered church family of gospel communities that grow missionally engaged disciples who glorify God. Three words. Gospel… Family… Mission. Those three words are the summarizing focus or values of our mission statement here as we plant The Well. And that mission and vision is rooted and inspired by what we see God doing in and through the life, the death and the resurrection of Jesus in the gospels on the one hand and then what we see the Holy Spirit doing in and through the early church in the book of Acts.
Our plan over the summer is to devote six weeks of preaching through a sermon series called The People of The Well. What we want to do is anchor ourselves to two texts that have heavily influenced the ethos of who we are. So we’ll spend the first three weeks in Acts 2:42 – 47 as we examine the work of God in and through the early church. And then we’ll take a break over the month of July for some guest preachers. And then we’ll resume our series in August with the final 3 weeks focusing on Jesus’ interaction with the woman at the well in John 4:5 – 42.
Five years ago, my wife, our kids and I spent the summer praying through a decision to answer the call to plant a church here in Hastings, NE. And then in August of 2012 we gathered with four other adults and 3 other kids to begin studying the Scriptures, sharing life with one another and praying for one another on a weekly basis.
A Christian is someone who is a new person with a new mind-set, who puts off the old person and puts on the new person who is filled with gratitude towards God. A new mind-set. Put off the old person. Put on the new person. Possess a heart that overflows with gratitude towards God. This is what it means to be a new person in Christ Jesus.
Last week we began a 3-week sermon series in Colossians 3 examining what the apostle Paul wrote to the Colossian church on what it means to be a new person. Last week we focused on verses 1 – 9 and we unpacked what it means to be a new person with a new mind-set who puts off the old person. This week we are going to focus on verses 10 – 14 and we are going to unpack what it means to be a new person who puts on the new person.
What does it mean to be a Christian? To be a new person? Colossians 3:1 – 17 is a treasure trove of practical theology of what it means to be a new person in Christ Jesus. So let’s submit what we think to what the Lord says through the apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossian church.
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