Sermon 

Membership Series Values

Value #1 Spiritual 

V,M,V of ICA

• Vision: To see 1,000 souls worshiping at ICA Surabaya by 2010.
• Mission: To make empowered disciples of all nations that live in the city of Surabaya.
• Values:

1. Spiritual People:  Our Christianity should be a Spiritual experience with a Spiritual God.
2. Trusting Relationships:  We will always endeavor to have trusting relationships with our families, our fellow worshipers and our pastoral team.
3. Loving the Lost:  We value the Lost more than the found in how we do our outreaches both to congregants and in outreaches to the community.

Today Value #1 Spiritual people
What are values?

    * Values are what people hold as the most important things in their lives.
    * Our values are made clear by the decisions that we make.  You are being defined every day by your decisions.  
    * Churches have values.
    * Corporations have values.

John 3:5-8

⁵ Jesus replied, "I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. ⁷ So don't be surprised when I say, 'You must be born again.' ⁸ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit."
 
John 4:19-24  

¹⁹ "Sir," the woman said, "you must be a prophet. ²⁰ So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?"

²¹ Jesus replied, "Believe me, dear woman; the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. ²³ 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."
 

      1. We are re-born or born again if you will have it.

    * Nicodemus question is not out of line.
    * Maybe you’re like me and wonder what it would be like to live all over again.
    * When we become a Christian there should be an experience where literally your inside is reborn.  There should be this spiritual experience.  1 Thess 5:23-24 Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
    * It is hard to explain but you will know when it happens.   Vs. 8 People want to figure it out and analyze it scientifically.
  
      2. We should live Spiritual lives. Vs. 6

    * What’s the difference between regular life and spiritual life?
          o It’s the recognition of a Spiritual force all around you.
          o It’s the recognition of a Spiritual force inside you.
          o That force is the Holy Spirit of God.  Galatians 5:16 says So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves.
    * What’s the level of your spirituality?
    * As a Christian how much do you feel that leading.
    * Our biggest problem is that we don’t walk in an awareness of a Spirit world.

3. We should worship him in Spirit.  

    * Some how we need to get past our flesh and worship the Lord.
    * What are distractions in worshiping the Lord?
          o We can’t clear our minds of life’s business.
          o We think that our worship to God is what we do for Him.
          o The purpose of the worship time each week is to get you in contact with the Holy Spirit.

GO Question

Let’s define spiritual Christianity
(John 3:5-8)
 
Ice breaker:
On a piece of paper, write down some worst mistakes/decisions in your life that you’ve ever made and you regret. (Share it with your group)
If you can turn back the time, would you make right those mistakes/decisions you’ve made? Why and why not?
Question

   1. How do you define "being reborn" spiritually? If you think today you’ve known Christ deeper and deeper, and that helps you to be a better person. If you could turn back the time to the moment when you didn’t have a close relationship with Him, would you change yourself and live a better life?
   2. As it is called "Reborn" spiritually, there must be a process of going through "The Death" inside us. This process will later bring you to a higher level of faith. Have you ever gone through that process? How did God/Holy Spirit lead you through it?
   3. Galatians 5:16 says "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves"
      This verse emphasizes that as a Christian, we should always get in contact with the Holy Spirit. How do you attempt to keep contact with Him on your daily lives in order to feel His leading?Have you committed to do that/those?
      
   4. How truly wonderful God’s promises are! I Corinthians 2 : 9 and 10-16. If we are just close enough to God, His spirit will shows us His thoughts, plans, feelings, provisions because He loves us. And How do you think we can be God’s beloved children? How do you worship Him? How much do you trust Him to take care all of your problems and burdens?
      If you have a boy/girlfriend, how proud you are when she/he needs you. Same with God, He wants to be treated the same (even more I guess) as our boyfriend. And He’s much, much more reliable than anyone else in this world. Trust Him more, than you can feel how much God would care for you more.
   5. What are your biggest obstacles to grow in Christ?

Closing: Pray for each other’s problems/obstacle in their Christians walks.
 
 
Have fun in discussion.
 
 
God Bless Us

GO Question by Santi Novia