2013 GLCC 17 th ANNIVERSARY SERIES INTRO I. INTRO II. WHAT EVERY CHURCH SHOULD ASPIRE TO BE: HEALTHY III. THE BIBLICAL SIGNS 1. THE CLEAR UNCOMPROMISING EXPOSITIONAL PREACHING OF GOD’S WORD 2. SOUND BIBLICAL THEOLOGY 3. A BIBLICAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE GOOD NEWS

4. IMPACTING BIBLICAL WORSHIP4. IMPACTING BIBLICAL WORSHIP 5. FERVENT HEARTFELT PRAYER LIFE 6. PASSION FOR THE LORD 7. ACTIVE LOVE AND CARE FOR THE CHURCH ~ Mk 12:28-31 ~ Gal 6:2,10 ~ Heb 13:1 ~ Rom 12:10 ~ Rom 15:7

~ Gal 5:13 ~ Gal 6:2 ~ Phil 2:3 ~ 1Thes 5:11  The general application of these commands are to those who are brethren in Christ. ~ But primary context of the epistolary passages have to do with the local churches that Paul was writing to.

 When we have a grasp of the magnitude of the love we received from our Lord that is totally undeserved, it should drop us to our knees. ~ We must be willing to allow that love to flow out of us as well as in us. ~ This begins within the local churches we belong to.

 So when we love the Lord our God with all of our heart and with all our soul and with all of our mind and with all of our strength, then, we will love our neighbor with care!  The people that stay in a care-less environment will not have the impact they should have.  Cults attract people because they know how to care.

 There is a thread in the tapestry of Scripture that when removed will cause the whole garment of God’s call to tear apart. ~ That thread is love and care – without it is a church cannot function.  So, this passion for the Lord must also be seen in OUR PASSION FOR OUR CHURCH. ~ We must love the people who are there.

~ When a church is drenched with love for God, then people who are hurting can be ministered to.  Just remember: PASSION IS CONTAGIOUS.  The enthusiasm is the flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives being manifested in our actions and deeds. ~ Because God so loved us… we are responding to and in that love.

8. ONGOING DISCIPLESHIP  Read Matt 28:18-19a.  This is perhaps the characteristic that most churches somehow forget. ~ It is also the quintessential aspect and reason why the church exists.  But we must obey the command to make disciples. ~ It will move us from just playing church to being a church.

 Making disciples takes vision and the understanding of Scripture. ~ It gives the church a purpose that forms leaders who grow other leaders – an outgrowth of their growth.  This is why discipleship is so essential to the aspect of being a Christian. ~ We are called not to just visualize discipleship, but to do it; not to just talk about it, but to do it.

 Jesus’ purpose for His three years of earthly ministry was the discipleship and equipping of the disciples. ~ And they were to replicate themselves to others, so that the objective was every believer was to be an equipper, that every member a minister, that every Christian be involved in the life and gifts of the body to influence the world.