March LOL SETO

We need a theme!!!! This will allow us to define our details in music selection, message, etc.

I want to emphasize to every one of what St. Pace is educating us on and to enumerate the three “E’s” of discipleship.

Evangelize
Edify
Equip

How do we work these into our service?

From Wednesday night, we established:
- Songs in beginning – 20 min
- Message – 30 Min
- Songs at end – 10 min
- Transition at start (lights, etc)
- Music to go with the theme.
- Use of media and visuals.

I would like to offer the word “GRACE” as a theme word. There are many ideas and directions to go with this theme. I am reminded of some things like.
- Louie Giglio’s talk about Grace as God in Action…and his real life illustration of “Fruitcake and Ice Cream”
- Pastor’s definition of Grace as the oil that keeps things lubricated, reducing the friction between us and God and between us and others.
- Another simple way of putting it is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.
- Our church is named “Grace Baptist”…(why?)
- If we are to reach the unsaved…we need to extend grace to them and meet them where they are. Christ did!
- If it wasn’t for God’s grace, we could never meet His requirements…..we aren’t good enough!

In book I just read, “Since Nobody’s perfect… How Good is good enough?”, Andy Stanley described the dilemma with the question, “How do you get to Heaven” and the belief of just being good enough will get you there. He lists many problems with the “good people go” belief that have to be reconciled. Here is the list of issues he brought up.

- We don’t know exactly what good is. Even our religious leaders can’t agree on it.
- Our internal moral gauges aren’t much help. They don’t line up cross-culturally (generational, different nationalities, or even across the pew) As time passes, our definitions of right and wrong may change.
- We have no clear indication from God how the scoring system works
- It is difficult to reconcile (justify) a good God with a belief system that is unclear and seemingly unfair. What percent of good is good enough?
- We can’t use the Bible to measure how close we are getting. The list from the Old Testament is culturally irrelevant and physically impossible to keep.
- Jesus assured the “most” religious people of his day that they weren’t good enough, while promising criminals and prostitutes that God would gladly welcome them.

The Christian understanding is that God’s Grace and Mercy is what allows only “Bad people” to go to heaven… as Forgiven people. This seems unfair to all those who are doing good things and trying their best. But what is “fair”. Fairness ended a long time ago when a naked man and a naked women choose to disobey the ONE (1 and only 1) rule God had. So…we pay every day for a decision made in our history (is that fair?)….

Now God had to choose whether to remove man from the face of the earth or choose mercy and grace. We all know the passage “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” So is that fair to God?

What blows my mind is that God’s way is fair to all men (and women!). Everyone is welcome, everyone gets in the same way, everybody can meet the requirements. “For God so love the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Whoever includes everyone who is willing, believing in him, trusting in the fact that Jesus is who he claimed to be and that his death accomplished what he claimed to accomplish. Our access to heaven.

Whoooooow…I don’t want to say this is our theme. I was just giving my input and an example.

Both Mr. Pace and I have talked and we want this to be “YOUR” SETO. We want you to be excited and want to invite your friends (or your generation) to reach them your way. We will use Wednesday nights and other times to get together (Sunday afternoon’s, before Sunday school, etc). We will put the finial touches on it the afternoon of the 15th but should have 99% of it defined before that.

We need to do our best and not for the reward…but because of the reward. Remember what Paul wrote to the Colossians:

“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” Col 3:17

-and-

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ” Col 3:23-24.