MAKING PASSIONATE DISCIPLES – 2025
 

As I was preparing for the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM), I had the perennial question – what to say this year?
There is a good principle if you have a quandary to solve. Go back to basics.

So, what are we about? What has the last year taught us? What are we being called into?

Our vision is:

Making – active verb, about creating from the parts and ingredients available
Passionate – a description of something that is vibrant, full of life and energy
Disciples – a technical word for both a follower and an apprentice who seeks to be like the master
For – a conjunction that infers that this is on behalf of someone else
Christ – the Greek version Christos of the Hebrew word for the anointed one, Messiah

Working on two levels this means growing as disciples where we already have a faith and inviting others who don’t to come to know Jesus as Lord and saviour.

The sub text is threefold:

Rooted and grounded in God’s word
Led by the Holy Spirit
Give it away!

Simply spoken, we grow by his Word and the Spirit and we give it away to others so they can too.

Our reading and Martin’s exposition on Sunday will point us to a fundamental fact:

God is in the salvation business.
When He spoke the words oft quoted through Jeremiah, that He has plans to prosper, he is a rescuer. The whole of the bible can be summarised in four unequal parts:

• Creation
• Fall
• Rescue – most of the story and where we are now
• New creation

Jesus’ commission to the disciples in Galilee was GO, “make disciples and teach them all I have commanded”.
And he promised that he would be with them (ie us) until the end of the age (when he will come again).

So, we can do it because he is doing it.

Q: What is church?
A: A co-partner with God in the salvation business.

As I was preparing I had this song come into my mind. We will sing it on Sunday.

VERSE 1:
I see the King of glory
Coming on the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes

VERSE 2:
I see His love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing

CHORUS:
(Hosanna) – Lord save us
(Hosanna) – Lord save us
(Hosanna) – Lord save us in the highest

On Palm Sunday we marched round the outside of the church building shouting Hosanna. We trampled over the cloak and shouted to God – Lord save us.
For us and for the whole nation. For the whole of Purley.

VERSE 3:
I see a generation
Rising up to take their place
With selfless faith

This song is 19 years old – its older than my son! The generation rising with selfless faith is still rising. We are those generations!
Rooted and grounded in God’s Word, led by the Spirit and giving it away.

VERSE 4:
I see a near revival
Stirring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees

We are still meeting once a week to wait on God, we call it Firelighters (all welcome).

We had 6 weeks of fasting and prayer.

And the kick back from the enemy is still being felt. He doesn’t like it.

 There is a near revival, its stirring, we need to press into prayer. Waiting on God. Watching what he is doing. Expecting him to do the heavy lifting.

And being ready.

BRIDGE:
Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love
Like You have loved me
Everything in love, because he loved us first. We want salvation for others because we love them because he loves them.
Break my heart for what breaks Yours

Weep for the lost. We can lament our failings. But we are also called to lament those who do not know him. Those still needing salvation and rescue.

Everything I am
For Your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity
God wants his creation to turn to him. It breaks his heart to see lost sheep. Jesus wept over Jerusalem. The kingdom is near. We are walking in faith towards the new creation BUT the work of the harvest is not over.

We are in the salvation business because HE is in the salvation business.

Everything I am. Everything we do.

For your Kingdoms cause.

The kingdom to come. And that has broken in here.

Nothing is more important than giving away the invitation to eternal life and a place in the kingdom to come.

We are called to GO!

We are called to pioneer – to step outside these walls and be church out there.

Lord save us
Lord save us
Lords save us in the highest!

And that means everyone in this church. Everyone in “the Church”.

Every part of the body makes the body work by working together.

Rooted and grounded in God’s Word

Led by the Spirit

Giving it away….

Let’s Go….

(more details to follow on Sunday).

 

TRUST THE LORD – EARNED OR ASSUMED?