Springhill Church

Topic: DNA – The Core of the Local Church

  • DNA – The Core of the Local Church – Part 3

    DNA – The Core of the Local Church – Part 3

    We are talking about the DNA of SpringHill Church.

    We have talked some about our Purpose (Why) and the Mission (How) but today we are going to talk about the Vision (What) – The Destination.

    Proverbs 29:18 MSG If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.

    What Limits God?

    Psalms 78:41 NKJV Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel.

    • A wrong view of your life.

    If your perception of life is limited to how you see your life being lived out as it is now, then that is the way that is always going to be. It becomes your reality. Get your eyes on something bigger!

    (Genesis 15:5-6 NKJV) Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” (6) And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

    • A wrong view of ourselves.

    All of us filter our lives through the way we view life and if we want change then we must see ourselves the way that God sees us.

    (Numbers 13:30-33 NKJV) Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” (31) But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” (32) And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. (33) There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

    Do you see yourself as a grasshopper or a victor that can do all things that God has called you to do? Do you see yourself able to go up and take possession of what God has already said is yours?

    • A wrong view of God.

    Are you praying boring prayers? We need to understand Who our God is.

    (Matthew 17:20 NKJV) So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

    (Luke 18:27 NKJV) But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

    (Mark 9:23 NKJV) Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

    (Jeremiah 32:17 NIV) “Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

    What Does a God Vision Look Like?
    1. A God vision will require faith.

    It is a faith step. God requires faith.

    (Hebrews 11:6 MSG) It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.

    1. A God vision will require God’s help.

    Dream a dream that God must show up for it to happen. Are we living life big enough? All the glory will go to God. Live life according to God’s bigness and not your bigness.

    (Isaiah 54:2-4 MSG) “Clear lots of ground for your tents! Make your tents large. Spread out! Think big! Use plenty of rope, drive the tent pegs deep. (3) You’re going to need lots of elbow room for your growing family. You’re going to take over whole nations; you’re going to resettle abandoned cities. (4) Don’t be afraid–you’re not going to be embarrassed. Don’t hold back–you’re not going to come up short…

    (Exodus 33:14-17 NLT) The LORD replied, “I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest–everything will be fine for you.” (15) Then Moses said, “If You don’t personally go with us, don’t make us leave this place. (16) How will anyone know that You look favorably on me–on me and on Your people–if You don’t go with us? For Your presence among us sets Your people and me apart from all other people on the earth.” (17) The LORD replied to Moses, “I will indeed do what you have asked, for I look favorably on you, and I know you by name.”

    1. A God vision will always impact more than just you.

    It will always be bigger than just you and yours. Your life is really about impacting other people’s lives; your life intersecting with other people’s lives.

    (Ephesians 1:8-12 MSG) He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, (9) letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, (10) a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth. (11) It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, (12) part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.

    Short-Term Vision:

    • 180 Filled Seats in the Auditorium

    Every number has a name, every name has a story and every story matters to God.

    • Second Service
    • Children’s Ministry Upgrades:
    • Paint and decorate the classrooms
    • New furniture for the classrooms
    • Purchase a large television for the wall
    • Upgrade the large warehouse/room in the back
    • Pay off our debt – Balance: $14,257.70
    • Webcasting/Video of our services – Online Campus
    • Student Ministry Growth
    • Expand our community outreach through events, etc.
    • Small Groups Ministry

    Long-Term Vision:

    • Lease Coming Up in March, 2020
    • More space for Children’s Ministry and Student Ministry
    • Prison Ministry

  • DNA – The Core of the Local Church – Part 2

    DNA – The Core of the Local Church – Part 2

    (Isaiah 54:2 NKJV) “Enlarge the place of your tent, And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your stakes.

    The stakes are what holds up the tent by providing the tension on the tent material to keep it strong and erect.

    DNA – the fundamental and distinctive characteristics or qualities of someone or something, especially when regarded as unchangeable.

    In the church world and especially at SpringHill Church, it is the fundamental and distinctive characteristics that are unchangeable that make us who we are.

    SpringHill Church exists to reach everyday people with God’s grace, His unconditional love, and the life-changing power of His Word.

    At SpringHill Church, we organize ourselves around these four guiding principles to fulfill our purpose.

    We lead people to:

    • Know Jesus – (Salvation)
    • Encounter God – (Worship and Prayer)
    • Experience Life-Change – (Discipleship)
    • Make A Difference – (Service)
    • We lead people to Know Jesus.

    In Luke 15, there is the story of the one lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son.

    (Luke 15:1-7 NLT) Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. (2) This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that He was associating with such sinful people–even eating with them! (3) So Jesus told them this story: (4) “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? (5) And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. (6) When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ (7) In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

    (Luke 15:8-10 NLT) “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? (9) And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ (10) In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

    (Luke 15:11 NLT) To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons.

    (Luke 15:20 NLT) “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

    (Luke 15:20 MSG) He got right up and went home to his father. “When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him.

    • In these parables, Jesus tells us that God is greatly focused and distracted by the lost child.
    • We should also be focused on and distracted by whatever God is focused on and what distracts Him.
    How to win people to Christ:

    One of our primary purposes is to reach people for Jesus. Every one of us can do our part by following these four principles:

    1. Accept the personal responsibility.

    (2 Corinthians 5:17-20 NLT) (17) This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (18) And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to Himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him. (19) For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. (20) So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making His appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

    (God does not have a plan B)

    1. Build a personal relationship.

    (Colossians 4:5-6 NLT) Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. (6) Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.

    (Colossians 4:6 MSG) Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.

    When you need help or have a problem that you want to get off your chest, where do you go to unload? Do you call your mechanic; the person that rang you up at Target yesterday; the person you saw pumping gas two rows over at the gas station?

    How would you feel if a stranger came up to you and began to talk to you about personal matters?

    How do you feel when the doorbell rings and it is a pair of well-meaning people that have come to talk to you about a religion that you are not a part of nor know much about?

    1. Share your personal story.

    Never underestimate the power of your story of what Jesus has done in your life.

    (Acts 2:32 NKJV) This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.

    Peter did not share what he had heard happened to Jesus, he shared what he had personally experienced.

    1. Give a personal invitation.

    You can invite them to make a decision in that moment.

    Be led by the Holy Spirit because you may be a seed planter, a waterer, or a harvester.

    (1 Corinthians 3:6-7 NLT) (6) I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. (7) It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.

    At the very least, you can invite them to church where they can experience God and His people.

    If they are ready, lead them in a simple prayer:

    “Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. Wash me clean in Your blood. I make you my Lord and Savior. Amen.”

    Remember the simple prayer of the thief on the cross, “Jesus, remember me when you get to your Kingdom.”

  • DNA – The Core of the Local Church – Part 1

    DNA – The Core of the Local Church – Part 1

    (Isaiah 54:2-4 NKJV) “Enlarge the place of your tent, And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your stakes. (3) For you shall expand to the right and to the left, And your descendants will inherit the nations, And make the desolate cities inhabited. (4) “Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; For you will forget the shame of your youth, And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.

    Phrase that the Lord dealt with me to focus on this year: (v2) “Enlarge the place of your tent, And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your stakes.”

    The stakes are what holds up the tent by providing the tension on the tent material to keep it strong and erect.

    We want to talk about the DNA of SpringHill Church.

    What is DNA? Is it just the stuff that we see on CSI or in the news where law enforcement uses it to solve cases?

    DNA – deoxyribonucleic acid, the carrier of genetic information; the fundamental and distinctive characteristics or qualities of someone or something, especially when regarded as unchangeable.

    Physically speaking, your DNA is what determines your physical characteristics: how tall you are, the color of your eyes, color of your hair, how big your feet are, etc.

    Spiritually speaking, when you were Born Again, you received a new spiritual DNA. The old, dead spiritual DNA was taken away and you were given new DNA infused with the life and nature of God.

    (2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV) (21) For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

    In the church world and especially at SpringHill Church, it is the fundamental and distinctive characteristics that are unchangeable that make us who we are.

    There are three things that make up the DNA of SpringHill Church:

    1. Purpose – Why something is done or the reason something exists.

    “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” Mark Twain

    This starts out with why we exist. Why did God call us and create a SpringHill Church?

    SpringHill Church exists to reach everyday people with God’s grace, His unconditional love, and the life-changing power of His Word.

    1. Mission – How you plan to arrive at your destination.

    At SpringHill Church, we organize ourselves around these four guiding principles to fulfill our purpose. We lead people to:

    • Know Jesus – (Salvation) – To introduce people to a meaningful, life-changing relationship with Jesus.

    (John 14:6 NKJV) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

    • Encounter God – (Worship and Prayer) – We believe all of us need to have an encounter with the presence of God because it is impossible to stay the same after coming face to face with Him.

    (John 4:23-24 NLT) But the time is coming–indeed it’s here now–when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship Him that way. (24) For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

    (2 Corinthians 3:17-18 NKJV) (17) Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (18) But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

    • Experience Life-Change – (Discipleship) – Real life-change happens as we grow in God’s Word and in the context of relationships with others.

    (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  (20)  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

    • Make A Difference – (Service) – We believe your life will never make sense until you discover, develop and fulfill your purpose and you use that purpose to serve and meet the needs of other people.

    (Matthew 10:8 NKJV) Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

    1. Vision – What the end results look like. (Objective)

    The bigger picture for us as a church is to have a growing, healthy, and thriving church that is seeing all of these things fulfilled in every members’ life.

    (1 Corinthians 1:10 NKJV) (10) Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

    (1 Corinthians 1:10 NLT) I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

    (Ephesians 4:11-13 NIV)  So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,  (12)  to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up  (13)  until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

    (Ephesians 4:13 MSG) …until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.

    As we continue to work towards unity in what we think, say and do, there is nothing that we can’t accomplish.

    (Genesis 11:6 NIV)  The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.

    (Genesis 11:6 NLT) “Look!” He said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!