05/02/10 - Vision Sunday - Core Values - Pastor Tony Ashmore

Pastor Tony Ashmore recasts the vision of the Church At Mirror Lake in "Core Values" in this Sunday service.

Vision Sunday - Core Values
Pastor Tony Ashmore
Sunday, April 2, 2010

www.churchatmirrorlake.com


Sermon Notes:

John 3:6-8 (The Message) Jesus said, "You're not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation—the 'wind-hovering-over-the-water' creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life—it's not possible to enter God's kingdom. When you look at a baby, it's just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can't see and touch—the Spirit—and becomes a living spirit.
"So don't be so surprised when I tell you that you have to be 'born from above'—out of this world, so to speak. You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it's headed next. That's the way it is with everyone 'born from above' by the wind of God, the Spirit of God."

John 18:36 “…My Kingdom is not of this world.”
John 17:16 “They do not belong to this world any more than I do.”

Big Idea: As followers of Christ, as Christians, we are strangers and aliens on this earth. We are from another planet—Heaven—and are Out of This World. We have been given promises and benefits that are out of this world and we cannot simply try to force them into an old way of thinking and living. God’s plans for our lives are incredible, but they are Out of This World. Jesus never saw himself as a citizen of earth and would not allow himself to be subject to it until He surrendered on the cross. He did that so we could live “Out of This World”.

Our Lifeline—Our Core Values:

1 Peter 2:11 “Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” (aliens and strangers NIV) to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.”
Space walks would be disastrous if there were not lifelines that kept us tied to the mother ship. Without those we would drift away and die. Our Core Values are those lifelines. We have them as a church, and each of us have them individually. The question we need to ask is which planet, Heaven or Earth, do our core values have us tethered to?

Core Values: Are you better Inside or Outside? (Tootsie Roll Pop)

Mark 7:20 “And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you”
- When we are bigger and better on the inside than we are on the outside, over time we will become bigger and better on the outside.
- If we are bigger and better on the outside than we are on the inside, then over time we will become less on the outside. (No staying power—example is our “fallen heroes”)
- When we are bigger and better on the inside than we are on the outside, then the things on the outside will not rock or erode what’s going on inside.

Mark 1:7 Message “As he preached he said, "The real action comes next: The star in this drama, to whom I'm a mere stagehand, will change your life. I'm baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. His baptism—a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit—will change you from the inside out." (Core Values)

Our Core Values:

1. Life Giving
a. Known more for what you are for than what you are against
b. Lead by serving
c. Understand the Bible from a positive “God is for us” worldview
2. Christ Centered
a. Jesus is the center of our universe
b. In Him we live and move and find our being
3. Spirit Empowered
a. Holy Ghost church for “normal folks”
b. Not by power, not by might, but by My Spirit
4. Team Ministry
a. The power of connection
b. We are smarter and better together than we are alone
5. Excellence
a. Giving our best in all things
b. Presenting our remarkable Lord remarkably
6. Have Fun
a. Life is a gift. Celebrate it and celebrate each other.
b. Work hard, but when it is about eternal stuff it is a lot of fun.

Galatians 6:14 “As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.”