This past Sunday, our lead pastor, John Burke, shared some of the following thoughts:
“Left alone, Christ-followers tend to not be or do what God intended. We all have these huge desires to do good in the world, to be loving, life-giving people to those around us, to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. To restore what’s broken, to bring neighbors together, to be a loving force for positive change, something more significant than just daily survival, but entropy sets in, and left to ourselves, we just get overwhelmed with all our own problems.
Human entropy can be reversed when energy and resources are put into the system. When we come together as a church, and encourage each other to take the risk to allow God to infuse His Life and Energy into us and through us into the world.
I’m convinced God can create hundreds of epicenters of impact through each of us.
God wants to change us into people whose hearts break for what breaks his heart.
Our mission from the beginning has been ‘To help unchurched people become a unified community of growing, multiplying Christ Followers.’
If our hearts don’t break for a broken world, then we don’t experience the infusion of God’s energy, His love and Life and joy that helps restore what’s broken. That’s what God wants for us all.
In Jesus’ sermons, he taught people about real life and God’s Goodness and how trusting God’s Kingdom will and ways works in real life. He never once went verse by verse through Isaiah or Daniel (though there’s a time and place for that). That’s what we’re trying to do in this Inspire Service.
Jesus main message:
- For sinners, He forgives and loves you like you’ve never been loved. Trust him.
- For the religious, let him break your heart for a broken world so you can love like he loves you. Trust him with your control-issues and god-complex.
- For the fishermen, though people tell you you’ll never amount to anything, God can lead you to be extraordinary. Trust him.
Let God infuse you with His Life, so you can bring life to this decaying human way.
A Sunday service is not enough to mature you, but it can inspire next steps and catalyze culture so that we all live as Jesus’ church should. Maturity comes from connection in small groups, studying, learning all week on your own and together— worshipping and encouraging one another in relational environments.
When the disciples of Jesus started thinking about themselves first—what’s best for me, how can I get what I need or want, how can I succeed (which is the entropy of human nature). Jesus pulled them aside and said, ‘Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.’ (Matthew 20:26-28)
What does it mean to be followers of Jesus? It means we grow up spiritually to be able to put others first, to think about how we can serve them, not just what will best serve us. We’re trying to help you be like Jesus to the world around you—right where you live.
Do you realize that Jesus intends you to bring Life, hope, healing, and the message of God’s goodness into the world you live in? That’s what it means to be His church and follow Jesus, but it doesn’t just happen. We need each other.
We reorganized around networks and small groups several years ago to help all of us who follow Christ, live out what he’s called us to be and do. Networks are geography or affinity based gatherings of 20-75 people, coming together to have fun, serve, grow, and bring Life to their neighborhood. Our goal is not to create more events for you to come to that make your life crazier. We want Networks to simplify your life—to know and be known, serve and be served, love and be loved by doing church where you do life!
Every year end we have an Epicenter Fund. This year, we’re using the fund to accelerate epicenters – networks serving all over our city and all across the world. For more on the Epicenter, go here.”
To hear or watch the entire message, go to www.gatewaychurch.com/podcast.
