Week of October 17, 2004
Know the story…Be the people…Expand the Kingdom.
If you would like to contribute to the eNews or converse with the editor, send an email to tfbyam1@hotmail.com
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IN THE eNEWS THIS WEEK
REGULAR HAPPENINGS
THINK! Virtual coach…
MEMORIZE!!
BEING COMMUNITY—The Front Porch reaches out streetside
BUILDING A FRONT PORCH…
REVIEWS—Put yours here…
SERMON NOTES—“Reaching Out Together”
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REGULAR HAPPENINGS
WORSHIP GATHERING @ 9:15 am—Main Worship Center
“COFFEE HOUSE” @ 10:30ish—TFB Courtyard
SUNDAY COLLEGIUM @ 11 am—TFB College Room
TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY @ 7:15-9:00 pm on Tuesdays— TFB College Room
Paul’s Letter to the Philippians
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THINK! Virtual coach…
Say you are the coach of a community basketball team. This past season, your team came in sixth place—out of the running, but not last. You want to improve in the standings next season. As it sits, your team consists of six players. Three of the players have good skill and teamwork. The other three players are okay. What steps would you take to prepare for next season?
Note: you CANNOT trade or remove players. The six you have must stay.
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MEMORIZE!!
The Front Porch is all about Love: John 13:35
The Front Porch reaches out streetside: Colossians 4:5
On the Front Porch, it’s easy to belong: Romans 12:5
The Front Porch is a place to grow: 1 Thessalonians 5:11
The Front Porch is a place to serve together: Galatians 6:2
The Front Porch is a place to worship: Leviticus 23:3
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BEING COMMUNITY—The Front Porch reaches out streetside
October 17: Reaching Out Together, Matthew 28:18-20
Core Truth: Jesus commands disciple-making and makes it possible through clear directions and empowering presence.
v.18: The command to make disciples flows from Jesus’ authority.
v.19-20a: The clear directions for disciple-making include baptizing people into the body and teaching them to obey Jesus’ commands.
v.20b: The command to make disciples is powered by Jesus’ constant presence.
A bit of a parable? Think of disciple-making as the car. Jesus' authority is the frame and engine, giving disciple-making it's structure and capacity. Going is what cars do. Baptizing and teaching are the means of travel...the how of disciple-making. Baptizing declares that an individual is part of the people of God. Teaching is about obeying. Jesus' presence is the body of the car and the fuel. The body protects the people in the car from catastrophic damage and the fuel provides the power to the engine. The car also has cargo. That's the good news. So what is the good news? Well the essential components are very basic: Christ died for our sins and he was raised on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-11). The other component is following Jesus. In the English Standard Version, the phrase "follow me" is found 20 times in the gospels. Read through these verses here. So, it's not about getting out of hell; it's about life forever following Jesus... starting right now.
October 24: Belonging Together, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
October 31: Growing Together, Deuteronomy 30:11-16
November 7: Serving Together, Luke 10:25-37
November 14: Worshiping Together, Psalm 22:23-29
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BUILDING A FRONT PORCH…
A front porch is the transitional space between the personal/intimate space of the house and the public/social space of the street. It is a space where perfect strangers are free to interact and join in community, if only for a moment between sips of iced tea.
On Sunday, October 10, we brainstormed some “front porch events”:
Camping
Chargers game
Christmas party: at a house, BBQ
Eat!
Good food
Skydiving from a plane
A ride on the blimp
Human bowling down Carson Street
October 17, we chose two front porches:
1. A Front Porch event in December: bowling
2. A Front Porch space, creatively thinking about how we might help the 10:30 TFB "coffee time" to be a front porch space.
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REVIEWS—Put yours here…
[this space left sadly blank…]
Here's how to do it:
- Give the movie/restaurant/TV show/whatever a rating of 1-5 stars (5 being best)
- Describe the story/style
- Explain your rating, why it was good or bad
- send your review to tfbyam1@hotmail.com
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SERMON NOTES—“Reaching Out Together”
Pastor Charlie
Philippians 1:27
Philippians 1:5
HOW TO BE PARTNERS IN REACHING OUT:
PRAY TOGETHER! Colossians 4:3
Action Step: Make a group prayer list.
APPEAL TO COMMON INTERESTS! 1 Corinthians 9:22-23
Action Step: Discover the common interests in your group.
REACH OUT IN LOVE. 1Thessalonians 2:8; 1 Corinthians 5:12
Action Step: Ask God to give you a deeper love for other people.
TELL YOUR STORY. 1 Peter 2:9; Psalm 66:16
Action Step: Write out your story, and share it with your group.
NURTURE FRIENDSHIPS. Romans 12:16; Luke 5:29; 2 Timothy 1:7
Action Step: Reach out to your non-Christian friends by inviting them to your group or a party.
EXPECT GOD TO ACT. Hebrews 11:1; Luke 5:20
Action step: Keep believing and praying.
REPRESENT CHRIST WITH YOUR LIFE. Colossians 3:17; 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
Action step: Pray to God, saying: “GOD, USE ME!”
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