Lakeview Christian Center

Loving the Local Church

“God is not just saving individuals and preparing them for heaven. Rather, He is creating a people among whom He can live and who in their life together will reproduce God’s life and character” –Gordon Fee

[Ephesians 2:18-22]

Temple of God

“In [Christ] the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (v. 21-22)

-People of holiness who reflect God’s character
-Church distinguished by God’s manifest presence
-Church structured on the cornerstone of Christ
-Gathering as a place for God to dwell by His Spirit

Members of the Household

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (v. 19)

-Loving the church as Christ loves the church
…“Every Christian should have his church enclosed within his heart, and be affected with its maladies, as if they were his own, sympathize with its sorrows, and bewail its sins” –John Calvin
-Valuing the corporate gathering & church membership
-Practicing Biblical fellowship & “iron sharpening iron”
-Cultivating an atmosphere of leading and following
-Serving the family of God as well as those outside the family

Word & Spirit

“The Word without the Spirit is pedantic; the Spirit without the Word is chaos” –John Piper

The Sword of the Spirit

“…receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21)

-Unbelievers in our midst to receive new birth by the Word
…“since you have been born again….through the living and abiding word” (1 Peter 1:23)
-Individuals who cherish the written Word & meditate on it day & night (Ps. 1)
-Church that values the preached Word & practices “expositional listening”
-Souls “saved” by the implanted Word & guarded by disciplined reading

The Spirit of the Sword

“While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the Word” (Acts 10:44)

-Spirit making us doers of the Word and not just hearers (James 1:23)
-Spirit using Word to “comfort the afflicted & afflict the comfortable”
-Spirit-filled lifestyles of godly character, righteous living, and mission mindedness
-Spirit-gifting that exalts Christ (1 Cor. 12:3) & empowers the church (Eph. 4:11)

A View for God’s Work

“Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is working until now, and I am working” (John 5:17)

Looking Back: Gratitude

“For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God” (2 Cor. 4:15)

-For the work God has accomplished to bring us here
…Flooding away obstacles preventing our access to the community
…Planting us deeper into Lakeview
…Pruning & disciplining us as a congregation
-For God’s favor upon us at both Monday’s hearing & our previous variance exception
-For how God has been working in our lives individually

Looking Forward: Faith

“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” (Rom. 1:17)

-A church that is quick to believe and slow to doubt the promises of God
-Postured with listening ears & open hearts when God speaks
-Strengthened faith when we experience trials
“For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:3)
-Embracing the discomfort & sacrifice that accompany acting in faith
-Faith for seasons when it seems like God isn’t working
“When reason fails, with all its powers, then faith prevails, and love adores”
-Spirit to root out the seeds of unbelief within each of us

Praying with the Hymns

God Moves in a Mysterious Way

“God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform
He plants His footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm
Deep in His dark and hidden mines with never failing skill
He fashions all His bright designs and works His sovereign will”

-A people who characteristically trust in God during trials
-Faith in God to accomplish His purposes in His way & timing (John 7)
-Comfort & joy for those who are currently suffering
…“The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower”
-God to interrupt seasons of mourning with merciful intrusions of His presence

A Mighty Fortress is Our God

“And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us
We will not fear for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure
One little word shall fell him”

-Display of God’s triumph in overcoming Satan’s tactics
-Committed to the battle of God & guarding ourselves against the Enemy
-Biblically informed about the realm of the demonic & postured accordingly (1 Peter 5:8)
-Built up in truth & submitted to God in order to resist the Devil (James 4:7)