Teachng # 3 Purpose Drven Life--YOU WERE MADE FOR GOD'S FAMILY

Sermon Outline Notes FORMED FOR GOD’S FAMILY by Rick Warren 1. “God is the one who made all things, and all things are for His glory. He wanted to have many children share his glory...” Hebrews 2:10a (NCV) 2. MY 2nd PURPOSE IN LIFE IS ________________. “The person who loves God must also love other believers.” 1 John 4:21 (GW) 3. FELLOWSHIP is ___________________. 4. I’m writing… so you’ll know how to live in the family of God. That family is the church...” 1 Timothy 3:14-15 (NCV) TWO INITIAL LEVELS OF FELLOWSHIP 5. LEVEL 1: MEMBERSHIP n the Church is CHOOSING TO PARTCPATE. 6. “...You are members of God's very own family... and you belong in God's household with every other Christian.” Ephesians 2:19 (LB) 7. “In Christ we who are many form one Body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:5 (NIV) 8. LEVEL 2 of Fellowship: FRIENDSHIP 9. “Let us not give up the habit of meeting together. Instead, let us encourage one another...” Hebrews 10:25 (TEV) 10. “Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are My disciples.” John 13:35 (LB) “ Please note: The sermons/messages for ‘CCQF’s 40 Days of Purpose’ were written and provided by Rick Warren, to be used on Sundays to complement the program. Each pastor s free to adapt them for local use. The Rector takes no credit for their authorship. Copies of the CCQF PDL sermons/messages may be found online at: www.urimportant2god.blogspot.com Sermon Transcript Last Sunday we heard that one of our 5 purposes in life is express our love for God. The Bible calls that “worship.” And today, we're going to look at the second purpose, which is that ---YOU, you were formed and designed and created to be a part of something larger than yourself—to be a member of the family of God. God wanted a family. That's why we're here. He wanted children. The entire Bible is the story of God building a family. That's what it is all about. God says to me, you, and the whole world wide church, “I want you to practice now learning to love other believers.” So would you write this down at point # 2, “My second purpose in life is Fellowship.” That's the word that the Bible uses to describe loving each other. Fellowship is loving God's family. The Bible says this in 1 John 4:21, "The person who loves God must also love other believers." We have to love other believers…and those other believers are known as the CHURCH. The church is family. It is not a building; it is not an institution; it is not an organization; it is not a club. It is a family. A lot of people say, “Well, I’m going to go to church,” as if church is a place you go to. That's not correct. Church is not a place you go to. Church is family. Now, in God’s family, the church, there are two initial levels of fellowship : The first is joining. Looking at POINT # 5, Level one of fellowship: Membership the church is "Choosing to participate by making the choice to belong. That's the most basic level. That means you find a church family and you choose…. you choose to get connected to it. The Christian life is not just a matter of believing. It is matter of belonging, and you and I must choose to belong. You know, you hear some people say, “Well, I’m a Christian, but I don't want to belong to any church.” That just doesn't make sense. The church is where you live out what it means to be a Christian. That's like saying, “I’m a football player, but I don't want to be a part of any team.” It doesn't work. A Christian without a church family is an orphan. The Bible says this in point # 7. Let’s read this together:“In Christ we who are many form one Body, and each member belongs to all the others." Through this decision that we make, you belong to every other Christian as part of what the family of God, which is the Church There is a symbol of that, of the fact that we belong together and that s called??? “Baptism." Baptism is the picture that we belong together in the Body of Christ. It is a public way of saying, “My child and my family are part of the Family of God.” So, the first level of fellowship is choosing to belong. The second level of fellowship is a little bit deeper, which we call “the friendship level.” You were made for relationships in the family of God. Now within our church family here at Christ Church, there are some people that have really deep friendships; they have long-term friendships, 20, 30 years, or more. And they value those friendships. Then there are others of us, like me, who have started attending here within the past 18 months or so, and we want to build friendships, too. To build new or renewed friendships , each of you needs to commit to putting time and energy into building relationships; and Christ Church provides some opportunities for that to happen. Our Small Groups are such opportunity, which I hope will become a regular part of our church experience n the future, just as it s now. Today, I have asked two people to briefly speak about their experiences in making friendships in small groups. The first is Tyler Sharron, a member of our youth group. Tyler, what has t been like to make new friendships in Youth Group? Tyler----I have made new friends in Youth Group. WE spend time together each Thursday, where we play games and have discussions. We all have something in common, and that is learning about God. It is easier to make friends when you share a common belief, unlike school , where kids do not have too much in common. If I didn't show up at school. most people might not notice. But if I miss Youth Group, they people will inquire about you. So, I feel valued by my Youth group friends. Now our second speaker s Tammy Borkowski, who has participated in Small groups for years. Tammy, why do you do Small groups? Tammy---“The reason why I choose to participate in small groups is for the fellowship of friends and the making of new relationships. I find that when working with small groups other people help me look at things in a way I had not looked that them before. They are able to give me insight into situations and a new perspective. It has always been a positive experience for me and one that I cherish. I find small groups to be a safe place to really open my heart to the Holy Spirit and what God has in store for me. Mostly I find that I need those other people to help me see the path God has for me. Looking at something through someone else's eyes always seems to bring new light to the situation or experience.” So, small groups are one way to make friends at church. Also, lots of people make friends by taking the time to serve with others in a church ministry. We’ll hear more about that in a couple weeks. But spending time with one another is key to fellowship. Jesus speaks about this, as we see at point # 10. Let’s read that together, saying, “Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” It wasn't too long after Jesus said this that the Roman Empire was throwing Christians to the lions in coliseums. They weren't very hospitable to Christians for several hundred years. They were putting them up on stakes and burning them and they were crucifying them and throwing them to lions and all other kinds of things. And in that period of time, one of the most famous secular historians, not a Christian, wrote this about Christians: “Behold, how they love each other." You see, what we want Christ Church Quaker Farms to be known for is not our size, We want to be known for our LOVE. We want people to say, “That's the place where they love each other,” because that's what Christianity is all about, loving God and loving each other. I’ll tell you why, When people find a church, a place, where there is genuine love, you'd have to lock the doors to keep people away, because people are not looking for religion, they are looking for a family. They are not looking for doctrine; they are looking for love..and so are we.