Various Passages

Below is a sermon manuscript from August 31, 2025. Watch the sermon here.

Introduction

Over the past several months, the elders worked through a book together about the purpose and nature of the local church. Three key aspects kept coming up again, aspects that we have intentionally sought to grow in as an elder team and ones that we have to continue to reform and hone as a local church. They are prayer, discipleship and evangelism. We could see them through three images – folded hands, transformed minds, and sent feet.

In each of these images the goal is not to give a comprehensive description and outworking of each, but hopefully by briefly touching on each it will spark both their importance and some implications for us personally and as a local church.

Folded Hands

The first images is folded or praying hands. I had a professor who said the greatest need was more prayer. 

Prayer is exhale of the Christian life

It has been said that prayer is the necessary exhale of the Christian life. We learn from the Bible and one another how to follow the Lord, but this intake, intake, intake, needs a release valve. Pray brings it back to God. 

For our kids curriculum here at Blue Course Community church it asks “What is Prayer?” And it answers, “Prayer is talking to God.” This is a simple yet profound concept. 

Tim Keller defines prayer as the “personal, communicative response to the knowledge of God (45)”, and gives this insight in his book on prayer,

Prayer is the only entryway into genuine self-knowledge. It is also the main way we experience deep change—the reordering of our loves. Prayer is how God gives us so many of the unimaginable things he has for us. Indeed, prayer makes it safe for God to give us many of the things we desire. It is the way we know God, the way we finally treat God as God. Prayer is simply the key to everything we need to do and be in life. We must learn to pray. We have to.^[1]

Keller discusses prayer as a response to God. He says it is, 

continuing a conversation that God has started through his Word (48)…

Without immersion in God’s words, our prayer may not be merely limited and shallow but also untethered from reality. We may be responding not to the real God but to what we wish God and life to be like.

Pray at all times

As Philippians 4:6 and 1 Thessalonians 5:17 teach, prayer is for all times, continuously. This does not mean that we are actively, consciously praying every second of the day. This does not mean neglecting sleep or our various duties in order to pray. But what it is getting at is an active heart posture of communion with God. Prayer is a specific act that we do, but going to God in prayer is also a reflex that is developed. One of my favorite Biblical examples of this kind of prayer is in the life of Nehemiah. 

In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. ² And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. ³ I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” ⁴ Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. ⁵ And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.” ^6[2]

Did you catch that? Nehemiah prayed. It was after he was afraid in the King’s presence. Something that just doesn’t happen. The King has enough to worry about, he doesn’t need a sad face around. So Nehemiah is scared, and he prays. It’s probably not a lengthy two-hour prayer, but a quick prayer like at the end of chapter 1, asking God to grant a favorable outcome; it’s a reflection of a heart reflex of prayer. Praying without ceasing; it’s a posture of prayer.

Plan to Pray

Not only is prayer spontaneous, but it can also be a part of our regular routine. We make time for it. Jesus made time for prayer and communion with God.

Jesus made time in the morning to pray in Mark 1:35, 

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. ^36[3]

 Jesus would often withdraw to desolate places to pray, we see in Luke 5:16. We see him going to the mountainside to pray in Mark 6:46 and before he was arrested, Jesus withdrew to a solitary place. We see this example in the life of Daniel as well who prayed to God three times a day, a pattern so recognized that it was used against him.

I have used the Martin Luther quote before, but it’s worth repeated. He once said,

“I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.”

This was said in response to what his plans for the day were. Too often things don’t get done because they are not planned or prioritized. Sometimes we don’t prioritize prayer because we don’t see the importance or beauty of prayer. We can reflect the cultural chorus of thinking of prayer as inaction. Especially in a culture that prioritizes productivity above all else, we see prayer as taking up time that could be better spent elsewhere. But that is one reason that prayer is so important. It recenters us. We find our value and worth not in our output but in communion with God. We recognize our limitations and dependance. 

What We’re Doing

As a local church we have intentionally implemented more planned prayer in our services. First, we incorporated elder prayers twice a month, and now they are every week. Some of these prayers are written out, others are extemporaneous.  One is not better than the other, but both are important to remind us and guide us in prayer corporately.

Transformed Minds

Romans 12:1-2

We are more than our minds, certainly, but not less. Romans 12 makes clear that we are transformed through the renewing of our minds. In fact, the word “disciple” means learner. Christians are disciples of Jesus. We are learners of Jesus and the way of Jesus. That is why teaching is such a big aspect in what the church is called to do. In Matthew 28, Jesus instructs the disciples to make disciples by baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything he commanded. In baptism we proclaim our union with Christ. We are now dead to our sins and alive in Christ Jesus. We no longer live for ourselves but now trust in Him and His way.

From time to time there is push back on the idea of teaching in the Christian life. It often goes like this “It’s not important what you believe, but how you live.” But the Bible never neatly separates the two. In fact, both Christian living and Christian teaching are emphasized throughout Scripture as important, often one impacting the other. If we are caught in sin, we can easily justify it by obscuring the Bible’s teachings. If we believe faulty things then it can lead to flawed living. This is why I am very wary of some trends today that want to reduce discipleship to a way of life. It is certainly a way of life, but it is also a set of beliefs. It is about human flourishing by following God’s way for us and it is also about obedience to God and his commands. We have to be careful of leaning into the things that are palatable in our culture.

Sometimes we might even have the desire to live for Jesus but our understanding of how to carry it out can be lacking. Recently Maliah had the desire to curl her hair but she tried to implement her own strategy for carrying it out. She took a comb and spun it around in her hair over and over. The result? It was completely tangled and she didn’t know what to do. She was crying, the boys were laughing, her parents were shaking their heads and a little frantic about how to fix it all. In a similar way, when we rush ahead without knowledge it often creates a tangled and frantic mess. 

Proverbs 19:2 “It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.”

I asked Maliah if I could tell this story and said “we should have got a picture of it, would have made the story better. Can we do it again so that I can get a picture?” Both her and my wife, Ashley, shouted “no!” What’s nice is that God often teaches us through experience but how much better to avoid those headaches through instruction beforehand. 

We are called to love the Lord with our minds, to follow his way and not the way of culture or whatever any one else finds acceptable. That doesn’t mean be contrarian on purpose, but it does mean to submit to something that is greater than yourself. 

Discipleship happens both formally in informally

God has given structures within his church for discipleship to take place. We see the early Christians having specific practices that mark them out. Acts 2:42 gives us one description, 

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.^[4]

We might say that these are the ordinary means of grace. The regular patterns that God has given his church to grow. While the early church dedicated themselves to the teaching of the actual apostles. Today the church is built up through those whose teaching aligns with apostolic teaching as laid out in Scripture. Ephesians 4 says it this way,

¹¹ And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. ¹⁵ Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.^[5]

This happens on Sunday morning, it happens in our kids classes and ETS classes, in Bible studies and life groups, in Kids midweek. But there are also informal ways this happens within the context of a local church. Discipleship happens when retirees encourage young moms, when singles plan to do a hike together, and discuss what’s happening in their lives. It happens when a husband says a loving word to his wife and someone takes note either about what they wish given where they are in life or hope to do one day. It happens when people observe one another worshipping. I don’t want to be dogmatic about this. Godly and Biblical churches have different preferences and practices, but I love the fact that we can see one another as we worship. God forms us not only by what is taking place on stage but what is happening in the chairs all around us. 

Teaching kids what we do and why we do it

One thing we are doing to encourage discipleship is including communion on the fifth Sunday of the month. This will start in November. The fifth Sunday is when we have a family service and the kids are with us in the service. This will give a chance for kids to observe what is taking place in communion and for parents to have conversations with their kids. I am thankful for Ed and Dew’s leadership in making sure the elements get prepped well. Jeff and Sue Fetterman have also been helping out. If you are interested in helping in this important ministry, please let us know so we can get you plugged in.

This is another important aspect of transformation and growth it happens not only as we intake information but as we live in light of it. Service is one key way that transformation takes place. Service extends beyond the walls of this church, for sure, but serving alongside other Christians for the good of the church is a special way to bless one another.

Little one’s pay attention to what is happening. I got this picture from Claire a few weeks ago. Look at what it illustrates. It was the stage, the pulpit, me, the congregation, and I love what else is included. It is not just a person on stage and everyone sitting there. Look what is is my hand and in every other person’s hand. A Bible! She even has an arrow to the Bible giving the reference in Revelation. We are learning together, it’s God’s Word that is guiding us. I love it! 

Sent Feet

Christians are witnesses

Acts 1:8

One way that we witness to Christ is through gathering together. This itself is a witness. Throughout the history of Christianity, there has been a gathering on the first day of the week to remember the resurrection of the Lord. This is why Paul instructed the church to gather an offering on the first day, because that was the primary meeting time. It’s also why John refers to the Lord’s Day in Revelation 1, a term that so commonly referred to the first day of the week that everyone recognized it. We have documentation from the early church of Christians gathering to hear teaching and to celebrate the Lord’s Supper together. Why mention all this? Because sometimes we forget the ordinary ways that God has given us to be witnesses. 

But our witness goes beyond gathering as well. It applies not only to the gathered church but also the sent church. Every week we end the service by saying, Blue Course Community Church you are sent. This is intentional. There is a distinction between the gathered church and the sent church. We gather to worship the God who is worthy. To set time aside for Him. To build one another up, to be transformed by God’s Word and the ordinances he has given us. But then we are sent out to live for him throughout the week. In theology there is a distinction between the church as institution and the church as organism, sometimes it is simplified to the gathered church and the sent church. Both are witnesses to Christ and to who He is. 

Christians get to gather the nations

Witness is a broader category but within that category of witness is specific witness to the saving work of Christ through words. This is evangelism. Evangelism is from the word gospel in Greek. It could be referred to as gospeling. We get to tell of the greatest news ever and are able to participate in this reality in both word and action. Now, the gospel is primarily words. At it’s core it’s the announcement of Jesus Christ, who He is, what He came to accomplish. But it also produces a community of those who are now transformed. Our living in light of the gospel, in step with the truth of being members of the kingdom that is breaking in, highlights and gives external validation to the announcement. Both are mutually reinforcing. Let’s think about how amazing it is that we get to participate in God’s work of saving the nations.

Romans 10:14-15 tells us the importance of someone going to tell the good news of the gospel.

Christians

Think about the idea that we, as Christians, get to be a part of this. Michigan paid their quarterback 3 million per year, he was the top recruit coming out of high school and they wanted him to contribute to their team and it’s success. His talents and abilities were what brought him to the team. But think about how different things are for the kingdom of God. God doesn’t need us. He doesn’t need our talents or services for his team.

Luke 19:40.  He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Or think about 1 Corinthians 1:26-27,

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;

Here is the beauty of belonging to God’s team, to his kingdom, he equips us. He gives us what we need for what he has called us to.  If you are a Christian, you are one of God’s chosen instruments to make himself known in this world. He is with you in this task, you are not alone. So we go out and live for Jesus and as opportunities arise we get to share the good news of Jesus as His ambassadors. 

Our ETS class will start with an introduction then we will spend three weeks on evangelism specifically, if you want to know more about this, come early each Sunday. Our Equipping the Saints time is from 9am – 10am.

Conclusion

Our prayer, discipleship, and evangelism will never be perfect. Our goal is to grow in these areas, but we do so ultimately resting in Jesus’ work that was done for us. He succeeded where we fail. We don’t merit a right relationship with God based on how well we do these things. Salvation is a gift from God based on Jesus’ work for us. We do this in response out of grateful hearts, trusting that his way is better than our way. Taking joy that we get to serve the one who came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. What amazing truth that is. We want to live for him.

One practical way this can happen is this Wednesday. We purposefully did not announce this ahead of time. But from 6:30-7:30 this Wednesday the church will be open. I encourage you to come out if you are able. It will be incredibly informal. We will come together to pray as individuals privately, as families, however you want. There will be several topics that we will cover and one will be those in your life who you want others to pray for because they don’t know the Lord.  

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^[1] Keller, Prayer, 18.

^[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ne 2:1–6.

^[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mk 1:35–36.

^[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ac 2:42.

^[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Eph 4:11–16.