StoneBridge's Mission

A healthy practice for an organization is to revisit its mission statement to evaluate if it's still on track, to determine if its purposes have evolved, or to further refine its goals and clearly communicate them. Over the last couple years, StoneBridge's leadership prayerfully reflected on our church’s mission statement. On January 17, 2023, StoneBridge’s Board of Elders voted to approve the following, updated mission statement...

The mission of StoneBridge Community Church is:

to share the hope of Jesus,
deepen our community in faith,
and extend God's love to others.

Over the next three weeks, Pastor Jon and Associate Pastor Jonathan will be addressing each section of this statement in September's sermon series titled, Hope. Faith. Love.

SERMON OUTLINE:

I. Mission Statement Intro

II. Love is the Greatest - Why?

III. "God is Love" - 1 John 4:7-12; John 13:34-35

IV. "Lay down his life" - John 15:13

V. How?

NEXT STEPS:

1. Look over the opportunities to serve at StoneBridge in 2024.

2. Pray about which opportunity God may be calling you toward.

3. Commit to extending God's love with that opportunity.

GROWTH GROUP / PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. How does secular culture define love? In what ways is that dissimilar and/or similar to 1 Corinthians 13? How does the biblical perspective on love challenge or complement modern views?

2. Examine the different attributes of love described in 1 Corinthians 13 (patience, kindness, not being envious or boastful, etc.) and discuss how these qualities are expressed in your daily lives.

3. Why do you think Paul says that love "is the greatest of these?" Discuss why the chapter concludes that love is greater than faith and hope. Is this a hierarchy of virtues? How might it guide our priorities in life?

4. In what ways are you practically challenged to practice love in your relationships- family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and even strangers?

5. In what ways are we practically challenged to practice love as a church? (Consider reviewing the StoneBridge Mission Initiatives, 2024, together, and sharing the top 3 that are most attractive to each person in the group.)

We encourage you to use Facebook, Instagram, and other social media to share images, quotes, links, or what you've learned from this week's message and YouVersion message notes. Social media can also be a great way of inviting your friends to worship and special events.