Creekside Church, Sunday, September 11, 2022
Super Kick-Off Sunday
Locations & Times
Creekside Church
660 Conservation Dr, Waterloo, ON N2J 3Z4, Canada
Sunday 9:00 AM
Sunday 10:30 AM
What is your first Creekside memory?
What was your first impression?
---
It takes an army/body of people to be Creekside
The danger of the digital age is to build a bodyless body of Jesus.
For the church to only celebrate the mouth, or the brain.
---
What will it take for Creekside to continue it's mission of helping people Follow Jesus, Love God and Love People?
It will take everyone of us playing our part in the body called the church.
---
Mark 10:42-45
42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Are you here to serve or be served?
Is it better to serve or be served?
---
Are you hungry?
Are you discontent? Do you want more from life?
We live in a time and place where it's easy to not be hungry.
Jesus - Sermon on the Mount - Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
---
Do you know what will satisfy your hunger?
John 6:35
35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
When you read the whole of John chapter 6 you see that people come hungry, but eventually, after listening to Jesus for a while, they lose their appetite.
---
What does hunger for God sound like?
Psalm 42:1-2
1 As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
---
What happened to your hunger?
Jesus tells a parable that I think contains the answer of what happens to some of us. Try applying it both personally and to the church as a whole.
Mark 4:1-20
1 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
---
Jesus speaking to the churches in the book of Revelation
Revelation 2:4-5
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
Revelation 3:14-20
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
---
Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing
Author - Pete Davis
Two main reasons people in our culture don't commit
1. Fear of regret—that if you commit to something, you’re going to wake up 20 years later and wish you had committed to something else.
2. Fear of missing out—that you won’t get to experience a lot of other fun things.
---
Three invites
1. Find your place to volunteer. Start to ask questions. Visit different ministries to learn.
2. Unofficially join the welcome team. Look for new people on a Sunday morning. Look for ways to help and be a loving presence to people you don't know.
3. Invite someone to Creekside at the Movies starting next week.
---
Last Song - Your Love Awakens Me by Phil Wickam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIMh6lS6VjE
What was your first impression?
---
It takes an army/body of people to be Creekside
The danger of the digital age is to build a bodyless body of Jesus.
For the church to only celebrate the mouth, or the brain.
---
What will it take for Creekside to continue it's mission of helping people Follow Jesus, Love God and Love People?
It will take everyone of us playing our part in the body called the church.
---
Mark 10:42-45
42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Are you here to serve or be served?
Is it better to serve or be served?
---
Are you hungry?
Are you discontent? Do you want more from life?
We live in a time and place where it's easy to not be hungry.
Jesus - Sermon on the Mount - Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
---
Do you know what will satisfy your hunger?
John 6:35
35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
When you read the whole of John chapter 6 you see that people come hungry, but eventually, after listening to Jesus for a while, they lose their appetite.
---
What does hunger for God sound like?
Psalm 42:1-2
1 As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
---
What happened to your hunger?
Jesus tells a parable that I think contains the answer of what happens to some of us. Try applying it both personally and to the church as a whole.
Mark 4:1-20
1 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
---
Jesus speaking to the churches in the book of Revelation
Revelation 2:4-5
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
Revelation 3:14-20
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
---
Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing
Author - Pete Davis
Two main reasons people in our culture don't commit
1. Fear of regret—that if you commit to something, you’re going to wake up 20 years later and wish you had committed to something else.
2. Fear of missing out—that you won’t get to experience a lot of other fun things.
---
Three invites
1. Find your place to volunteer. Start to ask questions. Visit different ministries to learn.
2. Unofficially join the welcome team. Look for new people on a Sunday morning. Look for ways to help and be a loving presence to people you don't know.
3. Invite someone to Creekside at the Movies starting next week.
---
Last Song - Your Love Awakens Me by Phil Wickam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIMh6lS6VjE