Who We Are (Abide Values)

Good morning.

The vast majority of our Sundays are going verse by verse through an entire book of the Bible.

And every once in a while we just take a quick jump over here or a quick jump over here when we have the opportunity to do so.

So that's what we're going to do today.

But first, if we look at Hebrews chapter 13, verses 20 through 21, if you're able to, please stand for the reading God's word.

Hebrews 13:20–21

It's going to be a quick pop-up and pop down.

I was going back and forth with it.

I'm like, do we do it?

It's like, no, we're doing it in deference and reverence for God's word.

So in Hebrews 13, verse 20.

Hebrews 13:20

Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.

Amen.

And Lord, I thank you for today.

I ask that you would be glorified, that we would be encouraged and just strengthened and invigorated to continue to follow you and to love one another as we follow you and as we look to keep our eyes on you as the author and perfecter of our faith.

Amen.

Alright, go ahead and have a seat.

Those of you who are routine people, I could see you starting to twitch when it's like he didn't say stand up.

Is he going to do it?

Do I need to intervene?

So thank you, that was good.

The visible twitching was what helped me remind me.

I'm not kidding, not even kidding.

Okay.

Why do we just read this passage?

It's the benediction at the end of the book of Hebrews.

It's the part of what the author of Hebrews is saying.

Ultimately, it's a blessing over those who are reading it.

And it's such a cool thing to see that idea of the God of peace, the one who raised our Lord Jesus from the dead, the great shepherd of the sheep, the one who guides us, ultimately the one who leads us.

May he equip you with everything good in his will.

And may he work in us what is pleasing in his sight.

All through Lord Jesus, and all for his glory forever and ever.

Amen.

So that's, in the midst of everything we're going over today, that is ultimately our goal, that we would be shepherded by the Lord, that we would be equipped to do everything good in his will, that he would work through us what's pleasing in his sight, all through Jesus for the glory of God.

So we'll we'll recap that at the very, very end.

But everything in the middle ultimately is for that goal.

So what we're going to go over today is the seven values of our church of the Bite of Calvary.

How many of you knew that we had specific codified values?

Okay, we had some.

That's a good amount.

That's why we're going over this.

So we're not going to do this all the time.

We're not going to do this on a constant regular basis.

Side note and story for you.

We went to a church in our travels that was great and we loved it, but every September, when the college students came back, they did a four-week series on their four values, and it was the exact same message.

So the people who were actually regulars were like, September is we're not listening in church anymore, Mom.

So that's why we don't do this all the time.

But it is good to do sometimes.

So just a quick intro here.

There is vision, there's mission, and there's values.

What on earth do those words mean?

Okay, vision.

Think about it this way.

Best way I can put it.

Vision is where we are going.

Where as an organization, as a church, as a body, where we are going ultimately.

So, no, vision is not a bumper sticker.

Vision is where.

Mission is how we get there.

That's how we are going to accomplish that direction.

Values is who we are that makes this possible.

So, the vision is the where, mission is how, and values are who, who we are.

And that's what we're discussing today.

Who we are.

Now, why are we going over this ultimately?

A few different reasons.

I'll put it this way in an analogy.

Because it's very easy to go, well, why do we even have to talk about this?

We're just going to do it, right?

We're just going to naturally do that.

So let's just get back to what we normally do.

Don't even need to go over this.

This is a waste of time, all the way down to this is carnal, however, you want to do all those different things because it's not specifically taking a passage, all those different things.

Okay.

Let's say you're going on a trip.

You're going on a trip, right?

And I say, we should plan what we're going to bring.

And you say, no, get in the car and start driving.

Or we say, well, we should think about what we're going to do on the way.

You know, we have we have kids, I have three kids.

You know, long car trip.

How are we going to keep them engaged and entertained?

No, no, no, don't think about that.

Don't, don't, that's wrong.

Just drive.

If you're not driving, you're doing it wrong.

Well, we should probably plan our route, right?

No, no, no, no, don't plan the route.

That's wrong.

Just just follow and just drive.

As long as you're driving, then you're doing it right.

That's crazy.

That is, and especially with like, you know, okay, let me put back that up.

That's crazy for someone who's not like a college student who can just afford to just things.

So, you know, if you have a family or if you're have the responsibility, if you have a goal in mind, all those different things, you don't just go.

So, at the same time, you don't spend the whole time on your trip going, let's revisit our packing list, shall we?

Alright?

Please tell me you don't.

If you don't, intervention time.

Um, so you don't spend the whole time thinking, okay, I need to look at my packing trip, my packing list again, again, pull out the GPS and go, we have gone 0.2 miles and we're still going the right direction, guys.

We're okay, we're still moving in the right direction, and you're sitting there and it's like, and you're looking at your spouse, going, like, yeah, you don't do that.

Just letting you know.

Um why on earth am I saying this?

Because, in the same way, as a body of Christ and as a church, it is good to know where we're going, how we're going, but also who we are that makes this possible.

We don't want to do that constantly.

We don't want to make that a regular basis for us, our church.

We're not going to constantly do that.

But it really is good to plan, to prep, and to be intentional about that.

And may I uh gently say, we build culture no matter what.

So I know that sometimes people are like, you don't do this, this kind of stuff is wrong, all you have to do is do the work.

And you go, really?

Because it looks like you just built a personality cult around the leader.

Because that's what happens when you don't plan and prep.

And so, with that in mind, you build culture no matter what.

So we might as well look at what we are doing.

And so when we were uh praying through how the Lord would have us found this church and go about this work that He has us doing, we gathered uh on a retreat as elders, and we talked through and prayed through what we saw the Lord doing for this, and we came out with seven values, and that's what we'll be going over today.

There will be a test at the end.

There will not be a test at the end.

Okay.

So, value number one.

The word of God is the compass that directs everything we do.

All of these values are gonna have a big thing and then a sentence afterward that further explains it.

So, value one, the word of God is the compass that directs everything we do.

And what does that mean?

God has given us everything required for life and godliness, and He speaks to us through the Bible.

So, foundationally, for abide, the Word of God is the compass.

What is a compass?

Compass is, yes, it shows us where we're going, it gives you your guide, it gives you your direction with all the different things.

If you don't have that, you don't know where you're going, you don't, you'll get lost.

Put it that way.

You go off in a weird direction.

You and you can be really convinced that you're going in a good direction.

But without that compass, you know, I okay, I'll put it this way.

I have no sense of direction at all.

I will get out of my car and say, I'm lost.

Where are we?

And then my amazing wife will be like, that's nice.

Yeah.

So it's amazing.

She has a sense of direction in that.

So with a, we we joke that, like, you know, when the fictional apocalypse hits, just eat me first.

Because it's not happening.

I'm not going to be the one.

So, but with that, a compass guides us, directs us.

And if you don't have that, you don't know where north is.

And so we could have that be our opinions, we could have that be our culture, we could have that be our tribe.

But what we have is we want the word of God to be that compass for us, that guide, that true north for us.

And so we see in 1 Peter 3 that his divine power, in 1 Peter 1.3, 2 Peter 1.3, his divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

And so if he's given us everything required for life and godliness, we need to know how do we find out what that is.

And there are a couple of verses that support that.

1 Thessalonians 2.13.

And it says, this is why we constantly thank God.

Because when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you welcomed it not as a human message, but as it truly is, the word of God, which also works effectively in you who believe.

So, the apostle speaking here that the message that was given to them by God is not just a human message, but rather it is the word of God, and it is works effectively in those who believe.

And also, 2 Timothy 3, 16 through 17, all scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

So scripture, God inspired, profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training, so that way we would be complete, equipped for every good work.

Not that so that we would have most of what we need equipped for 75% of the works that we would come across.

Complete and equipped for every good work.

And so that is why the Word of God is a compass for everything we do.

We abide, believe that Scripture is inspired, inerant, in its original manuscripts, and uh God breathed in that.

And that's why it's our authority.

We want that to be our foundation of everything, and that's why we go through uh books of the Bible at a time, the vast majority of the time, so that we can actually encounter that.

So, that was number one.

Number two, we are spiritual gardeners.

Followers of Christ are instrumental in the spiritual growth of each other as we become more like Jesus.

So, value number two, we're spiritual gardeners.

Think about this imagery.

Gardeners abide.

The vine, abiding in Jesus.

And we are fellow gardeners, followers of Jesus are instrumental in the spiritual growth of each other as we become more like Jesus.

We are, as we just went through in 1 Corinthians, we're a body.

Many members in one body, different functions, different purposes, different gifts, different strengths that are all interjoined for the sake of supporting one another and glorifying the head, which is Jesus.

We went over that quite a bit in 1 Corinthians, which worked out well.

So, what does this look like?

A few verses that pertain to this.

Colossians 3:14 through 16.

Colossians 3:14–16

Above all put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

Let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts, and be thankful.

And let the word of Christ dwell richly among you in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Also in Hebrews 10, 24 through 25, let us watch out for one another to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another all the more as you see the day approaching.

And then Romans 14 through 19.

So then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another.

Key couple of words in all of those verses are the one another's.

One another, one another, one another.

It's not an individual thing.

For those of you who are very, very, very structured and OCD, try not to focus on the fact that there are three verses for this one and two on every other one.

Don't just don't, that's gonna sit back there.

Anyway.

With that in mind, we are, as a part of body, the part of the body, we encourage, admonish one another, working through that way.

We actually have to gather together to do that.

You can't do that in isolation, you can't do that from a distance, you can't do that online unless there's a need a need, you know, a physical uh infirmary or something like infirmity or something like that.

But ultimately, it has to be done as a body togetherness, and that's why we gather together in person, and that's why it is a one-another, one another, one another, building up one another in that sense.

Because number one, the Lord built it that way, but number two, we at Abide do not ever want it to be a silo where the leadership not only does everything, but must be in charge of everything, or else something's wrong, and then have others that are everybody else is just a spectator or a participant or isolated in that way.

And so what you will find, and this may either be empowering or maddening or a mixture of both, is that oftentimes if the Lord puts something on your heart that's like, I see this ministry or this goal or this desire, and I'm just I kind of have this cool thing that could work, and you come to us and say that, odds are good, uh, unless it's something that kind of gives it that we need to pray through a little more, that will say, Yes, do it.

You do it, go for it.

Because, and that's not because we're lazy, because not, but also mainly because number one, the Lord put that on your heart.

And you have that passion and you have that desire, and I can guarantee that that burning and the passion desire that the Lord put on your heart is greater than what the what the elders are um would also be experiencing in that way, too.

So the Lord has equipped you to do that, and so with that in mind, if the Lord puts it on your heart to do a it's like, hey, I'd love to gather a bunch of people together and you know read the read the word together and do this activity together, it's like do it.

That's awesome.

Or I I have this thing that I'd like to go through with a couple of people.

Is that okay?

Yes, go for it.

That may mean that we're not going to specifically be pumping those in the announcements or something like that, and that is not a slight upon what you're doing in any way, shape, or form.

It's that we're not built that way to where we have to be the engine for it to be of the Lord, if that makes sense.

We don't want to, not only do we not uh need to be the engine for that, we also don't want to be the bottleneck that prevents that from happening.

So, one another.

We're spiritual gardeners.

It is not an isolated thing, we're all in this together, which is awesome.

Number one, the word of God is the compass that directs everything we do.

Number two, we are spiritual gardeners.

Number three, continuing this idea of what do we do, just as Christians, who are we as in a pie?

Number three, we are spiritual contributors, not spiritual consumers.

And what does that mean?

The church doesn't exist for us, we exist for the world.

We are spiritual contributors, not spiritual consumers.

We see a couple of verses on that.

Romans 12, 3 through 8.

For by the grace given to me I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think, instead think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one.

As we have many parts in one body, all the parts don't have the same function.

In the same way, we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.

According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts.

If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one's faith.

If service, use it in service, if teaching, in teaching, if exoring, if exhorting, in exhortation, giving with generosity, leading with diligence, showing mercy with cheerfulness.

And then in Acts 20 35, Paul speaking to the elders in Ephesus as he's saying goodbye.

In every way I've shown you it's necessary to help the weak by laboring like this, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, because he said, it's more blessed to give than to receive.

So him speaking to the elders of Ephesus as he's saying goodbye to them, uh, Paul says, We've worked on this, laboring to with one another in that sense to give rather than to conceive, do rather than to receive.

We are spiritual contributors, not spiritual consumers.

What does this mean?

That our goal at Abide, as an aspect of who we are, is not to just come and sit, receive, absorb, and walk out.

But rather, we come, we gather similarly to the previous one, and also we are used by the Lord.

So the second one, we're spiritual gardeners, largely involves the idea that we have to be gathered together to do this, and we also are uh used by God in one another's lives, not just the leadership, but rather the whole body.

And this one speaks a lot of the purpose of the goal, it's not to just to come, to get and to go.

It is to come together, to be fed and to feed and to work together, because the Lord has given you all different gifts in that way to function together.

It's not like the grasshoppers in the bug's life.

They come, they eat, they leave.

That's not the goal of, and I say that, and it's funny, but ultimately, like it can be very, very easy in our culture for us to pitch church that way if we're not careful.

Basically, no, because one way to try to uh have people be engaged and to come is to say, no, you need this, you need this, so that you need what we have, what we have to give you.

And then it unconsciously builds this idea of I need to come there to receive that to go about and live my life.

But it's no, we need each other, we need to be uh in community, in fellowship with that, which we'll touch on in a moment, and ultimately, not as consumers, but also as people to exist not only for one another, but also for the world.

God did not save us just to go, okay, I've given I have died for you, I've paid for your sins, and now you're good, and now you're going to hang out and be good until I come back for you.

You can sit on the curb like the kid waiting for his mom to pick him up after school.

He has a purpose for that.

We exist for the world to actually be in use, empowered by him.

Number one, the word of God is a compass that directs everything we do.

Number two, we're spiritual gardeners.

Number three, we are spiritual contributors, not spiritual consumers.

Okay.

Number four, well, what does that look like in our community, in our world?

We intentionally step out of our comfort zone to love our neighbor.

What does that mean?

Jesus is the best love we can share with anyone, and we want our community to experience it.

So we step out of our comfort zone to love our neighbor.

We see in Mark 12, 28 through 31, one of the scribes approached, and when he heard them debating and saw Jesus answered them well, he said, Well, which commandment is the most important of all?

And Jesus answered, The most important is listen, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Love the Lord our God, your God, with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength, and the Second one is love your neighbor as yourself.

There's no command greater than these.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Matthew 5, 14 through 16.

You're the light of the world.

A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden.

No one lights a lamp, puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand and gives light for all who are in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

So he has not only called us and equipped us and filled us and given us different giftings rather than to be consumers, but to actually pour out to others and to be gardeners involved in one another, working in one another through those gifts, but also to love our neighbor in our community to do so.

We do not desire at a bide to create a fortress where we're all inside and we are safe and we are right and we are holy.

And everyone on the outside is doomed.

And well, we have that hope, but we're really safe in here.

We're not going out there to the doomed to give them, to offer them that hope we're going to stay inside in our monument.

That's not our heart.

Our heart is to actually be in our community, active in that way, to share that hope of Jesus with others.

Not necessarily just to share our personal passions and desires, those are going to be okay, or to be campaigning for this or that, but to be able to be a light for Jesus in our community.

So our foundation is the Word of God.

We are all in this together as spiritual gardeners with one another.

Not just the leaders, the whole body.

We're not just consumers, we're contributors, not just in our walls, but in our community.

And then number five, what does this look like in the church?

We go out of our way to make people feel at home.

What does that mean?

We cultivate a place for people to be healthy and grow, where everyone is a greeter and no one goes unnoticed.

A couple of verses that pertain to this.

In Romans 12, 10.

Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters, outdo one another in showing honor.

And then John 13, 34 through 35.

I give you a new command: love one another.

Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

By this everyone will know you're my disciples, if you love one another.

Something we've talked about from the very, very, very beginning as the Lord has been doing this work at Abide is that we do not want to build a culture where we have our friend group circles that are no Vend diagrammed.

They don't overlap in any way, shape, or form.

They don't interact, they don't do that way.

And they rather the goal is to be able to interact with one another, to break out of that.

Those are good to have.

That's healthy, by the way, to have friends.

Friends are healthy.

Okay?

But ultimately, we want to be able to make sure that everybody feels at home in that way, to where we actually greet one another, to where we actually uh interact in that way.

When we see people come in that we may not know for the first time, that we are quick to say hello to and not just the greetings, but actually get to know them a little bit in that way.

That's a very, very important aspect of this.

We want to have not just the greeters at the front be the greeters, although we really want them to do that too.

But but rather that we would all be quick to see that and get and actually get to know one another in that way.

So, number one, the word of God is the compass that directs everything we do.

Number two, we are spiritual gardeners.

Number three, we're spiritual contributors, not spiritual consumers.

Number four, we intentionally step out of our comfort zone to love our neighbor.

Number five, we go out of our way to make people feel at home.

And then number six, more what we do in the church.

We place great worth on genuine community.

We desire deep relationships within our church body that extend into our homes, our lives, and throughout the week.

The previous one talked about our desire to greet people as they come in, to get to know people as they come in, to break out of our bubbles and see that on a Sunday.

Does the Christian experience in community only happen on Sunday?

No.

No.

No, it does not.

It's an all-day, everyday thing.

And so ultimately, the goal is to have that be something that extends throughout the week.

A few verses that pertain to that.

The obvious one in Acts 23, Acts 2, 20, 44 through 47.

All the believers were together, they held all things in common.

They sold their possessions and property, distributed the proceeds to all as any had need.

Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple.

They broke bread from house to house, they ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.

Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Hebrews 13, 1 through 2.

Let brotherly love continue.

Don't neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this, some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it.

If you want to know more on that, please see one of the other elders, and they will give you a full acquisition on that passage.

So, we place great worth on genuine community.

That the idea is to be a body not just on Sunday, but every day.

Now, these all have quite a bit of overlap intentionally and nuance that work all together in this way.

So if we were not spiritual gardeners working in one another, instrumental in the spiritual growth of one another, being more like Jesus, one another.

And if we are contributors, not consumers, if we're not contributors, but rather be consumers, how can we do this?

Those have to happen for this to work as well.

But we were our really big focus on this is that it extends beyond Sunday through the whole week.

It is very, very important that the body of Christ work together as a community to do so.

Side note on this, just to just to understand, is that there are two extremes to this because uh the one side is that, well, I'll put it this way, we went to, in our travels, we were at a church that was, they did everything really well.

It was so cool.

It was just everything was executed perfectly well, everyone was really, really nice.

It was a very, very large church, and yet the leaders were very accessible.

It was cool in that.

But because of the structure of things, it was okay, church, Sunday, last psalm, and everyone gets up, they go out, they get in the car, they drive away, the next people come in, they sit down, sh.

And so, in that extent, there was community was not necessarily something that was as built beyond the Sunday.

We want to avoid that.

On the other side, there are those of us who crave community and crave that goal, maybe in a way that only Jesus is supposed to fill.

There can be a dependence in that sense to where if you're constantly, I just you know, feel the let's say and this, if we are constantly feeling like the church is letting us down because they have not given us enough community, it's possible that we are looking for something in people that we should be looking for satisfaction through Jesus alone.

So, having that said, why on earth did I say that?

Number one, I just felt poked to say that.

But number two, please do not come up afterwards and say, hey, you remember that community thing?

Commune me.

Come on.

That's not the goal.

We're growing in this together, we're working on this together.

So, but having that said, the goal with that is it doesn't just happen on Sunday, the goal is to extend throughout the work.

With everybody, the whole body functioning in that way.

Number seven, looking outward and beyond.

Because we've talked about a foundation, we've talked about basically who we are as people, we've talked about what that looks like in our community in the world, we've talked about what that looks like in our community in the church, and now where do we go pulling forward?

Number seven, we raise up leaders and help them find their calling.

Soon as I said that, some of you I bet are like, okay, missionaries, cool.

Done?

Good luck, guys.

Uh church planters, awesome, cool.

That was cool in the early 2000s, let's do that.

No.

There's more than that.

And so what we have here is whether missionaries, pastors, church planters, students, workers, or parents, we want to help equip and unite them with God's call on their life.

Well, I'll dive into that in a moment, but a few verses on this.

Second Timothy 2, 2, what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses.

Commit to faithful men who will be able to teach them also.

There's a multiplication effect there.

And also Acts 13, 2 through 3, as they were worshiping the Lord in fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul to do the work which I've called them.

And after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off.

So the context of that is you have the leaders gathered together in there in their fasting and worshiping and praying, and then the Lord tells them, Hey, Barnabas and Saul, I've got some work for them to do, set them apart for that to go, and so they fasted, they prayed, which by the way doesn't happen immediately.

You can't fast in 30 seconds.

It doesn't work.

You can you it doesn't count.

I'll put it that way.

There's a time involved in that.

They fasted, prayed, laid hands on them, and sent them off.

So again, it's very easy to say this is what we do for those super spiritual equipped call people who are going to abandon all and go forth into the world and do that work.

Good luck, guys.

Some of us are called to be here.

Some of us are called to uh work here, some of us are called to parent here, some of us are called to be students in our area, and some of us are called to be missionaries, pastors, church planters, and so our goal is to help equip all of the above, not just the ones that you often hear about, which by the way, give them their due honor and respect because it's that's a lot, obviously, to do so.

I'm not taking away from them.

I want to add to that too, to say we're not creating two classes of Christians.

Ultimately, the Lord calls us to what he calls us to, and we want to raise up and help them find their calling in that.

So, here's a cool thing, random side, didn't expect to share this, but ultimately.

Okay.

Almost 10 years ago exactly, July 2013, so I was the associate pastor of Shoreline Calvert Chapel in Morrow Bay, and we went out for a church plant in 2013, 10 years ago.

Five years ago today, the Lord brought us back after trips of northwest Arkansas and Northern Arkansas and the panhandle of Florida, and then we're back here.

And so just a cool thing to how the Lord calls us and leads us and everything.

It was five years ago today.

We cross back over to California, and we're so glad to be back.

So thank you for that.

But ultimately, it's cool how the Lord calls us, and that doesn't mean it's going to be the same constantly all the time.

Like he gives you your card.

This is your future.

You don't deviate from like basically that's how you're gonna be forever.

There are seasons, and that changes and that develops.

And so, as a body, if we're if we are bodying together, we will do that uh and navigate that together.

So, our goal is to raise up leaders and help them find their calling.

Putting that all together, just a quick summary of that.

Foundation.

Number one, the word of God is the compass that directs everything we do.

Our foundation is scripture.

That is where we find our authority, that is what we appeal to in that, that's what we compare things to to see their truth.

So that's our foundation for everything at Abai.

Our goal is not to have this scripture, and then this is this cool thing over here that we're really passionate about as well.

Foundation of Scripture.

We are spiritual gardeners, instrumental to be together, gathering together, working together in that.

Number three, we are spiritual contributors, not consumers.

We don't come into the body to just consume, but to contribute.

And then, how that works in our community?

We step out of our comfort zone to love our neighbor, not just within the walls of our church, but out and beyond.

And then in the church, we go out of our way to make people feel at home, and we place great worth on genuine community, and finally we raise up leaders and help them find their calling.

Whatever that looks like, whatever the Lord is calling an individual to.

That does not just mean church planners and missionaries and pastors, it could mean people who are called here.

We want to help invest, equip, and bless in that.

Those are the seven values of Abide that all the way back at the beginning, before we ever met on a Sunday, we gathered and prayed through and talked to and sifted through.

Over the course of a few days, after praying through for a while and sifting through these things, we codified together as elders, as these are the things that are important to us for our church.

So when you think about vision being where we're going, mission being how we're gonna get there, and values being who we are as we go, what we just went through is the who we are.

So that's what we're desiring to be as a body.

This fit really well with 1 Corinthians that we went through, where it talked about being a part of a body, taking care of one another, not having the I'm a Paul, I'm Apollos, I'm of Cephas, schisms, but rather taking care of one another, giving each other preference, using our gifts for one another.

This just fit really well in that.

And what our desire is three years strong for our church to be, we're growing in this all together.

So the goal is not to be here is our desire in this.

Now let's get out the scorecard and go.

I'd give you a solid two on this one.

Give you a six on that.

But that's what we're all growing in this together, but we want to cast this from time to time so that you can see what we're desiring to be as a body as we do that.

And then just bouncing back to Hebrews 13, 20 through 21, reading it again.

Now may the God of peace who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what's pleasing in his sight.

Through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.

Amen.

It's God who does the work, that same God who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus.

That implication being the worker of our salvation through the death and resurrection of his son.

Because it is only through faith and belief in Jesus by which we can be made right with God, which way we can our sins can be forgiven and we be reconciled with God.

The great shepherd of the sheep.

He is the one shepherding us, guiding us, leading us through the blood of the everlasting covenant, through the blood of Jesus and nothing else by which we can be saved.

May He equip us to do everything good to do His will.

He's the one who gives us the ability, the gifts, and the goals, and we work together under Him to do that, working in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus.

Through Jesus, through Jesus, through Jesus.

To whom be glory forever and ever.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Lord, I thank you so much for what a gift it is to be a part of your body.

I ask that as we go through these things, Lord, that we would ultimately seek to conform ourselves to your image.

That everything that conforms us to your image will stick, and everything that would conform us to an ideology or a person or something would fall away, but that ultimately that we would be strengthened and equipped to follow you better, to love one another harder, to love our community more deeply and purely, to equip, to strengthen, to encourage, to console, to rejoice with, that we would truly be a group of believers that abides together on the vine that is Jesus.

And as you use us to, by your spirit, to strengthen, to equip, to prune one another, that we would keep our eyes on you alone.

In your name.

Amen.