http://bible.com/events/7077465

Vision Sunday – March 1

Our new mission together….
Transformed by God to bring hope to others through Christ.

Background of today’s Scripture
-Joshua is leading the nation of Israel into the Promised Land
-This text is a moment sandwiched between these two great miracles
-Joshua 3-4 is the account of the parting of the Jordan River
-Joshua 5 is the account of victory over Jericho
-This is a pivotal moment in Joshua’s life and for the nation of Israel

Joshua 5:13-15
God is telling Joshua: “I haven’t come to be a part of your story, I have come to discover if you want to play a role in my story”

While this was true in Joshua’s life, it is true for us today
-You and I have been invited to play a role in His story
-It’s not about who is for me, it’s about who I am for
-“Leaving my mark is too small a thing to spend my life on” Andy Stanley
-Ultimately, if life is simply about what can I do, inviting God to bless what I’m doing, then it’s just not worth it  

Bottom Line:
God will do whatever He wants through an obedient church.

‭‭Joshua‬ ‭24:14-15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

 At the end of his life Joshua recognizes an incredible crossroads for the nation of Israel
-“Choose today who you will serve”
-“Will you ask God to bless what you do? Or will you choose to join God at work?”

The invitation to step out in obedience:
1. Go
2. Give
3. Serve

For more information on these specific steps, check out cotnaz.org/eastrock

http://bible.com/events/7065900

February 23

The Future is Now: The Call to Outreach

At HFCN we are committed to living lives of complete obedience to God. So we sense His love compelling us to worship Him wholeheartedly but, more than that, we will reach beyond our walls to welcome the outsider, the broken, the lost, the hopeless. Our work to bring hope to others through the person of Jesus Christ will make us relevant and valuable in our community.

NEW MISSION STATEMENT:
Transformed by God to bring hope to others through Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:18-21
Remembering the call in 2 Corinthians 5:14-17:
• The love of Jesus compels us
• Jesus died for all and we are compelled to no longer live for ourselves
• We no longer live according to a worldly perspective
• We are transformed, new creations finding our identity in Christ
• All of this is rooted in obedience to God  

Paul goes on to remind us (two times):
• God reconciled us to himself through Christ
• God initiated the work of grace
• God initiated the work of forgiveness
• God initiated the work of redemption
• God invites us to the same ministry of reconciliation
• We are his ambassadors and representatives in the world  
• We are extensions of his grace, forgiveness and redemption

If this is true, then how do we get it so wrong?
• This is a call to rescue, a call to redemption, a call to reconciliation
• The church is often known as isolated, disconnected, disengaged
• There is an incredible call to experience Godly community, to gather, and to build one another up. But we are never called to do that at the detriment of the world around us.

If this is true, wouldn’t the church look different?
• Wouldn’t we be spending just as much time focused on those outside of the church than those within?
• Wouldn’t we be building relationships with those who are different than us? Who believe differently
• Wouldn’t we be showing up in the lives of hopeless people?

The bottom line:
The church that does not go is not the church.

• The call to be Christ’s representatives in the world (ambassadors) is the call to “go”
• Obedience leads to transformation in our lives, and as we are transformed we are compelled to go!  
• If we are not obedient in this way, then we are not who God has called us to be

John 17:20• Jesus is praying not just for believers, but for the future believers
• For Jesus, the source of future believers is our message

Other Texts for Further Study/Reflection:

“So wherever you go, make disciples of all nations: Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to do everything I have commanded you. And remember that I am always with you until the end of time.” Matthew 28:18-20

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes to you. Then you will be my witnesses to testify about me in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

“I’m not ashamed of the Good News. It is God’s power to save everyone who believes, Jews first and Greeks as well.”
Romans 1:16

http://bible.com/events/7061090
The Future is Now: Part 2 – The Call to Obedience

Who are we called to be?

At HFCN we are committed to living lives of complete obedience to God. So we sense His love compelling us to worship Him wholeheartedly but, more than that, we will reach beyond our walls to welcome the outsider, the broken, the lost, the hopeless. Our work to bring hope to others through the person of Jesus Christ will make us relevant and valuable in our community.

Last week: The Call to relevance
This week: The Call to obedience

Our new mission statement:
Transformed by God to bring hope to others through Christ.
Transformados por Dios para traer esperanza a otros a través de Cristo.

2 Corinthians 5:14-17 
He died so we might live through Him.  
…His death, His payment for our sins, gives us access to forgiveness instead of the penalty of death

He died so we might live for Him.
…we want to live our lives for His honor, for His glory, for His purposes

He died so we might live with Him.
…we experience His power at work in us and the promise of eternal life with Him

The bottom line:
The transforming work of God begins the moment we say yes.  
* God does the transforming work as we obey Him
* Disobedience has the power to stunt God’s transforming work
* Obedience and transformation go together. You don’t have one without the other.
* As we introduce this brand new mission statement, our first focus must be on obedience.  

“Transformation into Christlikeness is not going to happen unless we act…what transforms us is the will to obey Christ Jesus.“
Dallas Willard

“Christianity does not begin with our pursuit of Christ, but rather His pursuit of us. Christianity does not with an invitation we offer to Jesus, but an invitation Jesus offers to us.”
David Platt

* How will you respond to His invitation?
* We are a holiness church, meaning we believe that the power of God can transform us, to make us like Him, as we obey Him.

Texts for Further Study/Reflection:

John 14:15-17

‭‭James‬ ‭1:22‬

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭15:22‬

‭‭John‬ ‭5:19-20‬‬‬

‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:16-18‬ 

Vision Night was a night for the church to come together to celebrate all that God has done in our church and believing that He has so much more in store. We took time to assess where we are today, introduce a new mission statement, and focus on a specific goal in the coming year to launch a new campus in East Rockingham County. We will keep sharing in the weeks to come!

http://bible.com/events/7055715

The Future Is Now – February 9
“The Call to Relevance”

The early history of the US Coast Guard had a simple but profound motto:
“We have to go out, we don’t have to come back.”

Instead of feeling INSPIRED, COMPELLED, and CALLED, the Church is often defined as FEARFUL and PASSIVE, while being DISCONNECTED and DISENGAGED from our world.

The Church in 2020 will always face the temptation the run away from danger, but we are called to go.  

Background of Ephesians 2:
 In the midst of turmoil and division, Paul is calling the Church towards a message of ONE:
-ONE humanity (verse 15)
-ONE body (verse 16)
-ONE spirit (verse 18)

Ephesians 2:19-22
One Nation (verse 19)
“You are no longer foreigners and strangers”

Within the church there is a seat at the table for each and every person

One Family (verse 19)
“Fellow citizen’s with God’s people and members of His household”

Within the church our identity comes from being a citizen of His kingdom.

One Temple (verses 20-22)
“Rises to become a holy temple in the Lord”

Jesus is the cornerstone, and the church is RISING UP to become His temple, a place where His Spirit dwells.

What does it mean for us, the church, ”to rise to become His temple” in 2020? 

At HFCN we are committed to living lives of complete obedience to God. So we sense His love compelling us to worship Him wholeheartedly but, more than that, we will reach beyond our walls to welcome the outsider, the broken, the lost, the hopeless. Our work to bring hope to others through the person of Jesus Christ will make us relevant and valuable in our community. 
HFCN Church Purpose Statement

What does it mean to be relevant?
• We believe that God’s purpose for the church was relevant then.
• We believe that God’s purpose for the church is relevant today.
• God’s purpose for the church is not outdated.

Specifically, when we speak of a church that is relevant, we are focusing on three things:

REAL
• We are REAL – honest about who we are (and who we’re not)
• We take time to listen, to understand those we are reaching
• We tell our real story about faith in Christ
• We don’t pretend or hype and we aren’t playing games
• We’re not afraid to speak truth to what’s happening today

URGENT
• We understand that this really matters –  eternal life and eternal death hang in the balance
• We believe that we are in the last days and that “waiting till tomorrow” is bad evangelism and bad theology. (Thus, “The Future is Now.”)
• We have hope and we will cannot keep it to ourselves
• We won’t be pushy, but we will have urgency to share the Gospel faithfully.

IMPACTFUL
• We make a meaningful difference.
• We realize that nothing happens apart from the love of Christ flowing through us.
• We don’t expect people to “have their act together” before extending a hand to them.
• We truly care and people know it.
• We’re not intimidated by sin, but we don’t turn a blind eye to it either.

 Ephesians 3:10-11 
• God’s work will be done through the church (We are His Plan A)
• If the church is irrelevant, it’s not because our marching orders have changed.
• God doesn’t become irrelevant.

Bottom Line: 
There is no substitute for the church being the church.