WHAT NOW?

· There is more to the Church than just showing up on Sunday morning.

· Without Jesus, we are the living dead.

· We are God’s handiwork. We have a purpose.

· Our Church, all three campuses must be in Unity to make a difference in our communities.

Christians are to LIVE DIFFERENT. We are to live different so that we will be contagious to others.

We must LIVE IN the world but we must LIVE DIFFERENT. It is a decisive and continual action.

If we look the same as the world, we’re doing something wrong.

If we have anything in us that keeps us from being truly different; let us ask the Lord to reveal that even this morning. A prayer to pray for God to reveal His will to you is found in Psalm 139:23-24,

“Dear God search me O God, and know my heart; test me, and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Lord I desire to continue on the path of everlasting life. Please God speak to me. Help me Lord to live differently than those in the world. You are my God and I trust You with my life. In Jesus Name, Amen.”

The letter of Ephesians is a letter of encouragement to the church. Paul is writing to call them out of their old ways. The Christian answer to this condition is “reconciliation with God”.

Once we repent of our sin and ask Jesus to come live in our heart, we MUST turn in the opposite direction of sin. There is no neutral ground.

How are you representing Jesus? It is either “Good” or “Bad” there is no in-between.

The Evangelist, Billy Graham said “We should have a redemptive relationship with society, as Jesus did.” We are to be in the world, but not of it.

What are you putting into your mind everyday? As we listen to God, we will continue to change all the time to be more like Jesus.

Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world.” STOP. Quit giving in. LIVE DIFFERENT.

Be transformed by the renewal of your mind by putting good things in your mind. When you stop, you must fill the void with the right things.

· Jeremiah 15:16: When your words came, I ate them;

They were my joy and my heart’s delight,

For I bear your name,

Lord God Almighty.

· Psalm 119:9 – With your whole heart search for God. Stay in God’s word. Store up God’s word in your heart so we do not sin against God. This gives us a renewed mind.

Many believers are living in 2 worlds. Trying to honor God and also trying to live and please your friends. It will not work.

Have you ever had the desire to change and not been able to?

Galatians 5:16 “…Walk by the Sprit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

Daily choices matter. Day after day we must be consistent in choosing to Live Differently than those in the world.

Becoming a Christian requires turning from your sin to God. We call this repentance. But repentance is not a one-time event. It defines the lifestyle of a believer. God changes us radically at the moment of salvation by imparting a new life to us, but this is followed by a lifetime of changing into the image of Jesus Christ.

When we turn from sin and turn to God, we are forgiven in Christ’s eyes. He grants a full pardon just like the sin never happened. We are regenerated, ‘made new in Christ’, with a heart that is capable of faith, love and obedience.

When we ask Jesus to live in our heart, we are immediately adopted into the Family of God. Jesus forgives and He instantly gives you a pure heart. Forgiveness, regeneration, and adoption happen simultaneously in the experience of a new believer in Christ.

The Lord wants you, me, and every person who call their self a Christian to encourage each other to LIVE DIFFERENT than the world.

I must die to self and live for Christ.

Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Focus on you. Get to the place where you can walk with the Lord. Die to the old self and allow Christ to have full control of your life. Ask God to help you die to the old self.

http://bible.com/events/48725380

The Measure of Generosity

What is the measure of generosity? So what is the measure of generosity?
Before Jesus came to earth, most people thought they knew how to accurately measure generosity.
But Jesus showed us the new standard. He changed the measurement.
Your method of measurement matters.

Luke 6:27-36NIV

27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. If someone has to love you for you to love them, if you have to like someone in order to love them, if someone has to agree with you in order for you to love them, you are using the wrong standard of measurement.-The principle of the day was one of reciprocity. This principle says one must give in equal measure to what one has received. This was the measurement. But now Jesus introduces a radical new standard.-The call of the disciple is to a greater love, a distinct love, a love that is unique in the world. This is THE new measure of love. A new definition. A new standard. The new standard of generosity!

Our standard is: “What is fair?” God’s standard is: “What is merciful?” (Luke 6:36)Add your private notes…• • •We don’t get to be the ones who decide who deserves to be loved.

Luke 6:37-38NIV

37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Jesus is saying ‘Be careful of the standard you use with others. That’s the standard I will use with you’.“ For the measure you use, it will be measured to you”

What now? Part 4
What now? Part 4 We’re united

What Now? We’re united

‭‭John‬ ‭17:20-23‬‬
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:1-3‬‬
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Be completely humble
Be completely gentle
Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Be patient, bearing with on another in love.
“Patience is the calm acceptance that things can happen in a different order than the one you have in your mind.” David G. Allen
“Bearing with one another means fully accepting them in their uniqueness, including their weakness, and faults, and allowing them worth and space” Andrew T. Lincoln.

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:3‬‬
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

So what now? We’re united

‭‭James‬ ‭3:16‬‬
For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

“There is enough of the flesh in every one of us to wreck any local church and any other work of God” -William MacDonald

BEST WEEK EVER June 27–July 4, 2021Our mission statement states this, Transformed by God to bring hope to others through Christ! Best Week Ever is a great opportunity for our church to engage our community in tangible and relational ways. This is an opportunity to be love in action. Whether you are taking a week’s vacation, or you just have an hour or two to spare, there is a place for you to make a difference. This is your church. In your community. This is your event! It won’t be the same without you. So, let’s get you registered. There will be opportunities to worship, work and play! After this pandemic year, lets come together and bless our community with the BEST WEEK EVER! We invite you to be a part of some of the fun events happening alongside the service projects during the week:
Worship, Prayer, and Sundaes– Sunday, June 27 @ 6:30pm. Best Week Ever is kicking off with an outdoor worship and prayer event! All three campuses worshiping together for the first time! We will end the evening with fellowship and brownie sundaes! Bring a chair or a blanket. If there is inclement weather, the event will be held in the auditorium.
.5K for Stone Haven- Tuesday, June 29th, 6:30pm. Join us as we host our first ever .5k! If you can walk 1,640 feet, this event is for you! We hope that you will join us that evening as we compete in fun competitions, enjoy good food, and end the evening with a movie! We are hosting this event to bring awareness to a new nonprofit in our area called Stone Haven. This evening will be fun for all ages! So bring yourself, bring a friend, and we will see you for a night of FUN!
First Responders Dinner– Thursday, July 1, 11:00am-2:00pm. This is for the first responder community in its entirety. The menu will be: BBQ chicken, green beans, potato salad, tossed salad, homemade pie and ice cream. There will be a drawing for some pretty cool door prizes. If you don’t have time to sit down and eat, you can get your meal to go. We look forward to seeing you and thanking you for your service!

Essential Attributes of a Volunteer

Pastor Adrian Mills shares about what being a volunteer in the Kingdom looks likehttps://youtu.be/EB-y8nG_9hU

Heart of Best Week Ever

Hear Pastor Margaret’s heart behind why we do Best Week Everhttps://youtu.be/EUO8y_8UWEM

Here are some of the organizations COTN volunteers will be serving this week:
Nonprofits: Habitat for Humanity, Hope Distributed, New Creation, Open Doors, Skyline Literacy, Stone Haven, EAUS Food Pantry and Thrift Store Schools: Stone Spring Elementary, Elkton Area Schools Others: First responders, individuals’ needs, veterans

Remembering the words of Jesus in Mark 12:30-31, let’s lean in and have the Best Week Ever!!
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

What now? Part 3
What now? Part 3 We get to work

What Now? We get to work

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:10‬‬
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

For we are God’s handiwork…
You are God’s workmanship, His idea!

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:4-6‬‬
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:7‬‬
in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:8-9‬‬
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

For we are God’s handiwork…
Speaking of what it means to be God’s handiwork author Rick Renner says:
“it emphatically means that on the day you got saved, God put forth His most powerful and creative effort to make you new. Once God was finished making you new, you became a masterpiece, skillfully and artfully created in Christ Jesus. There’s nothing cheap about you at all! God’s creative, artistic, intelligent genius went into your making.”

We are created in Christ Jesus…
Chapter 2 begins with the walking dead and concludes that we have been created in Christ! What a glorious transformation!

To do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do…

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:16‬‬
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

‭‭John‬ ‭15:5‬‬
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

What now? We get to work!