Just in case you missed last Sunday’s bulletin. . .

Barbara Sisson remains hospitalized and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is

having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack’s sermons.

Tonight’s Sermon:

“What Hell Will Be Like”

Come early and listen to the choir practice.

The OVER 60’s CHOIR will be disbanded for the summer with the thanks of the entire church

The May meeting of the church finance committee will be hell as usual

The nursery is back to the right. The switch is on

the wall.

The choir will meet at the Larsen house

for fun and sinning.

Lent is that period for preparing for

Holy Weed and Easter.

If you choose to heave during the

Postlude, please do so quietly.

Please place your donation in the

envelope along with the deceased

person(s) you want remembered.

Sermon Outline:

I. Delineate your fearII. Disown your fearIII. Displace your rear

Know God

Know God

Pastor Leaves

Leading a church from

Anxiety to

Anticipation

Interim Decision

Know Your Church

Know Your Community

Know the Plan

Know God

Know the Path

New Pastor

Assessment Renewal

Planning

Anxiety

Anticipation

Transitional Interim Pastor

Implementation

Know God

1. Prayer strategy2. Passion for the lost3. Loving the church &

Denominational loyalty4. ReFocusing – Understanding

the simple, 4-step process5. Building agenda harmony6. Preparing the church for

change

LostLost

Have you ever Have you ever been lost?been lost?

1.1. How long did you go before How long did you go before you realized you were lost? you realized you were lost?

2.2.How did you feel?How did you feel?

3.3. What did you do?What did you do?

4.4. Who helped you?Who helped you?

Jesus came Jesus came to seek and to seek and save those save those

who are lostwho are lost

All of Heaven parties when one lost person

comes home

As the As the establishedestablished church are church are we we helpinghelping to give heaven a to give heaven a

reason to party or our we reason to party or our we hinderinghindering the party? the party?

The Key The Key Question for Question for God’s ChurchGod’s Church

The fact that 95% of American Christians will never lead anyone to Christ in their entire lifetime…..does that help give Heaven a reason to party, or hinder the party?

The fact that, according to Thom Rainer’s research, there are 60 million people living in the United States who would be willing or even desirous to talk to someone about Christ, BUT the vast majority have never had such a conversation…..does that help give Heaven a reason to party, or does it hinder the party?

The fact that most congregations are primarily focused on those already in the church……does that help give Heaven a reason to party, or does it hinder the party?

The fact that thousands of churches go year after year without winning a single person to Jesus…..does that help give Heaven a reason to party, or does it hinder the party?

The fact that the average Christian prays just five minutes a day, and seldom for lost people…..does that help give Heaven a reason to party, OR does it hinder the party?

Only 2% of Church Members will invite someone to church in an entire year, despite 82% of unchurched people indicating they would consider visiting, if only invited. Does that help give Heaven a reason to party, or does it hinder the party?

The fact that we reach only one person for Christ each year for every eighty-five church members in the United States….does that help give Heaven a reason to party, or does it hinder the party?

What are we supposed to What are we supposed to be doing as a church?be doing as a church?

Study by Win Arn of 1,000 different Study by Win Arn of 1,000 different churches:churches:

What is the purpose of the church?What is the purpose of the church? 89%89% of the people in the church said of the people in the church said

that the church exists that the church exists “to take care of “to take care of my family’s and my needsmy family’s and my needs.”.”

11%11% said that the church exists to win said that the church exists to win the world.the world.

Me Church

I have not come to call the righteous, but SINNERS to repentance.”

- Jesus

What did Jesus say about His Mission here?

“The Son of Man came to SEEK and to SAVE the lost.” - Jesus

Do Lost People really matter?

Do Lost People Really Matter?

“I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” Matthew 15:24

Jeremiah 50:6

“My People have been lost sheep…They

wandered over mountains and hills and forgot

their own resting place.”

Ezekiel 34:6

“My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill.

They were scattered over the whole earth

and no one searched and

looked for them.”

Matthew 9:36

“When He saw the crowds he had compassion on them because

they were harassed and helpless, like

sheep without a shepherd”

Lost People Matter to God

This is the key This is the key issue that Jesus issue that Jesus

addressed in Luke addressed in Luke 1515

““Now the tax collectors and sinners Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear him. were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ Then Jesus sinners and eats with them.’ Then Jesus told them this parable.”told them this parable.”

Luke 15:1-3Luke 15:1-3

Luke 15

The Lost Sheep

Left the 99

Searched

Picked the sheep up

Took him home

Had a party

Giving Heaven a Giving Heaven a Reason to PartyReason to Party

““I tell you that in the same way I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who heaven over one sinner who

repents than over ninety-nine repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need righteous persons who do not need

to repent” to repent”

Luke 15:7Luke 15:7

Luke 15

The Lost Coin

Light a lamp

Sweeps the house

Searches carefully

Finds the coin

Calls her friends and celebrates

Giving Heaven a Giving Heaven a Reason to PartyReason to Party

““In the same way, I tell you there is In the same way, I tell you there is rejoicing in the presence of the rejoicing in the presence of the

angels of God over one sinner who angels of God over one sinner who repentsrepents

Luke 15:10Luke 15:10

Luke 15

The Lost Son

Divided the Estate

Wild Living

Feeding Pigs

Returned Home

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” -Luke 15: 20

Luke 15

The Lost Son

Divided the Estate

Wild Living

Feeding Pigs

Returned Home

Welcomed

Party

Brother’s Response

Giving Heaven a Giving Heaven a Reason to PartyReason to Party

““But we had to celebrate and be But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was was dead and is alive again; he was

lost and is found.”lost and is found.”

Luke 15:31Luke 15:31

The more you read your Bible, the more you will see the value at the core of scripture…running from Genesis to

Revelation- Lost People Matter To God!

Will they

Matter to HIS

Church?

BOTTOM LINE….BOTTOM LINE….The church is The church is God’s chosen instrument to God’s chosen instrument to reach a lost world…..but if it reach a lost world…..but if it

is unhealthy, and not focused is unhealthy, and not focused on the lost, on the lost, PEOPLE WILL PEOPLE WILL

DROWN DROWN in their sin.in their sin.

Why are we doing this Why are we doing this TIP thing anyway?TIP thing anyway?

Ronald Regan’s long battle with Alzheimer’s disease erased almost all of his memory of who he was, and what he did. BUT one memory stayed alive almost until the end…

In his home office, there was a picture on the wall of the Rock River in Illinois. When a visitor would ask him about it, he would brighten up and say, “O that’s where I was a lifeguard when I was 17. That where I saved 77 lives.”

What will your church’s most memorable legacy be?

After all was said and done, the one thing Ronald Regan could remember was the lives he saved. There is nothing about your TIP church that’s more worth remembering, no matter how large other accomplishments might have been, than using their resources to see as many people SAVED as possible. What a legacy!

What kind of What kind of church will it take church will it take to reach our world to reach our world

for Jesus?for Jesus?

A Healthy Church A Healthy Church desiring to give desiring to give

heaven a reason to heaven a reason to party by reaching party by reaching

the lostthe lost

A Healthy Church A Healthy Church willing to “do willing to “do

whatever it takes whatever it takes to rescue lost to rescue lost

people.”people.”

Remember the Dramatic Rescue of Baby Jessica

When the rescuers realized there was no easy way, no conventional way to save little Jessica, they devised a whole new way of getting it done. They dug a wider shaft parallel to the one she was trapped in, and then a tunnel connecting those two shafts. Finally, a rescuer was lowered into that second shaft. Minutes later, we all cheered as the rescuer emerged from that shaft with Jessica in his arms.

The attitude of the rescuers was “Whatever it takes”. That has to be the mindset of anyone who hopes to rescue someone who’s going to die if they don’t.

The rescue probably won’t happen if we insist on it being easy, safe, or by conventional methods. THINGS HAVE CHANGED. Most lost and dying people are not going to enter our front door, kneel at our altar, and find Jesus. That’s the conventional, easy way…. We have to realize that if we keep on doing what we’ve always done, we’ll keep getting the results we’ve been getting…..and dying people all around us will just go on dying.

Like Jessica’s rescuers, we have to be willing to try new methods, to get out of our comfort zone to rescue dying, drowning people, to explain Jesus without all those religious words that only we understand, and GO to the places where dying people really are, instead of waiting for them to walk into the rescue station, or “jump into our boat.”

LostLost

Help! I’m