Developing Community at PAC - October 25, 2009

We Believe:

To become well connected to Princeton Alliance Church, we strongly encourage you to join a Community Group. People join Community Groups for many reasons - to know a few people well, to learn to grow spiritually, to connect to the body of a large church. The single most influential aspect of any healthy Community Group is caring - caring for each other and caring for the world we live in. When we care for and are cared for by others, we experience the very essence of the Gospel. John 13:34-35 says, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Groups that care for one another in words and actions have the deepest and most lasting impact on our church family and our communities.

Scriptural Picture:

Acts 2:42-47 gives us a beautiful picture of what biblical community looks like. They met together to teach one another about scripture. They met together to pray and offer praises to God. They participated in full biblical fellowship which is to sharpen each other to be more like Christ. They broke bread together which was simply having fun as a group. As a group they met the needs of those around them. As a result of this beautiful picture people came to know Christ as their savior. We believe that a healthy group will have people coming to Christ as a natural outflow of the group. Because the early church picture was they were living these things in community in their community. So many times we put a Christian bubble around ourselves and this is not what we want to see happen in PAC’s community groups.

Fulness of Christ:

Once a new Community Group forms, the early experience of the members will be fellowship, light study and sharing with one another. With ample time together as a group, caring for each other will take root and grow. As group grows towards maturity, caring will broaden to others beginning with their communities and then beyond to the world. Our prayer for Community Groups is just as people who know Jesus are gifted with spiritual gifts, so also will Community Groups be gifted with specific works of service for which they will be known. Ephesians 4:11-13 says, “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

Full Christian maturity can only take place in a group where people are empowered by the Holy Spirit, acting within their God given giftedness, are serving others together to meet the needs of all people.

Call to Action:

Our goal is for everyone to experience a Community Group during our fall Community Group campaign. It is difficult to explain the experience of being fully known and fully loved by a small group of friends. It is far better to experience it. In the process of meeting a need in someone else’s life, you will find that your heart is moved and often broken for all people in the world around you. New groups will form near you this fall. The campaign will be five weeks an will follow the sermon series on Prayer. Community Group information meetings will be held in September and the sermon series will begin on October 25.

Summer of 2009 Thoughts on Community Groups

The year of 2009 is flying by and for many people in can't end soon enough. Our country and way of life is in some kind of economic correction and we aren't sure when this correction will end and what the future will look like when it does. Stress levels are high for many people and people face many problems that are magnified by the woes of our nation.

"Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness." Rick Warren

This quote from Rick Warren pretty much captures my belief about why bad things happen to good people. I have been studying Abraham in the book of Genesis. Abraham walked with God. Abraham did not believe in God...he believed God; he did not ask for proof...he provided the proof. This is a picture of faith that really grabs hold of me.

Only God knows the future. In order to find meaning in this predicted uncertain year of 2009, we need to walk by faith, realizing that we have the choice to build character by walking boldly in our circumstances or flirt with defeat by retreating into anxiety and fear. Habakkuk 2:4b, "but the righteous will live by his faith".

For the reasons above, we strongly encourage you to join a Community Group at Princeton Alliance Church this fall.

Church Body that Functions

Leadership in the Church

If anyone wants to provide leadership in the church, good! But there are preconditions: A leader must be well-thought-of, committed to his wife, cool and collected, accessible, and hospitable. He must know what he's talking about, not be overfond of wine, not pushy but gentle, not thin-skinned, not money-hungry. He must handle his own affairs well, attentive to his own children and having their respect. For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God's church? He must not be a new believer, lest the position go to his head and the Devil trip him up. Outsiders must think well of him, or else the Devil will figure out a way to lure him into his trap.

Servants in the Church

The same goes for those who want to be servants in the church: serious, not deceitful, not too free with the bottle, not in it for what they can get out of it. They must be reverent before the mystery of the faith, not using their position to try to run things. Let them prove themselves first. If they show they can do it, take them on. No exceptions are to be made for women—same qualifications: serious, dependable, not sharp-tongued, not overfond of wine. Servants in the church are to be committed to their spouses, attentive to their own children, and diligent in looking after their own affairs. Those who do this servant work will come to be highly respected, a real credit to this Jesus-faith.
1 Timothy 3

Who Jesus is - Easter 2009

Hebews 1:1-4. "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.

The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs."

Ash Wednesday 2009

A Call to Repentance
Joel 2:12-14

12 That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.

13 Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.

14 Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of this curse. Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine to the Lord your God as before.