1. The Trouble With Our Jerusalems36
The Trouble With Our Jerusalems

2. Six Big Hindrances
The Jerusalem Pattern

3. Contentious distractions
The church had to confront fairness in the face of diversity
The Greek-speaking widows
The Holy Spirit provided the answer:
broadening the leadership pool
Including leaders from another ethnicity

4. Inward Focus
The Jerusalem church focused on reaching other Jerusalem Jews
They didn’t think about moving out to other places
There was plenty to do right there
The Lord allowed persecution to move them out into the rest of the world

5. Scrutiny not Spirituality
Philip’s success in Samaria brought scrutiny, not celebration
Peter had to account for his ministry to Cornelius
Jewish elitism persisted to the time when Paul and Barnabas had to give an account of their missionary journey

6. Worship not Witness The church worshipping in the temple
Why didn’t they see the Ethiopian eunuch?
Was he ignored out of preoccupation, or fear, or what?
If all we think about is our Jerusalem, then our Jerusalem is all we will reach.

7. Suspicion of Outsiders
The Jerusalem church had a hard time with outsiders
accepting Saul/Paul because of his reputation
Rioting when they thought Paul had brought a gentile into the temple courts
We have to examine our own attitudes
toward people of other cultures
Toward Canadian sub-cultures unlike us

8. Legalism not Protection
We sometimes want the church to be a safe haven from a wicked world
Paul and Barnabas found their mission report met with suspicion, questioning, doubt; finally a welcome letter to these new churches – as long as they kept a few Jewish-friendly rules
Legalism and self-protection go hand-in-hand
We still do this today – encouraging new believers to become like us, rather than looking at what makes sense in their context

9. A Practical Call to Witness
Five Important Practices
A Practical Call to Witness

10. Rediscovering God’s Mission
It begins in God’s heart, not ours
We don’t innovate, we emmulate.
The Holy Spirit empowers our witness
We can’t stay stuck in the past and move with God into His future
So step one is to wait together for the empowering and directing of the Holy Spirit
That’s what the Jerusalem church did at first

11. Learning from History
A radical realignment of God’s people toward the mission of God has usually resulted in a politicized power struggle.
Churches have worked together much more smoothly in an environment of persecution
There is constant battle between the body of Christ and the “worldly” church .
We can never expect to accomplish God’s mission through human power plays
We cannot expect the church to be perfect
We can’t expect God’s people to always agree; nor can we selfishly “go it alone”
The church must be humble and willing to serve the Lord behind the scenes

12. Centering on the Gospel
The church has often forgotten the gospel
Focusing on social justice
Focused on self-righteousness
Focused on fellowship
The center of our message and mission
Jesus Christ: crucified, buried, raised, exalted
The gospel, alone, can keep us humble and worshipful ; can keep us working together

13. Finding Our Place
There is great diversity in the ways God uses his people
Each of us marching with our various discipleship communities
in the same overall direction
Be quick to learn from one another
Be open to innovation, and be devoted to prayer
Follow the Lord as disciples, not as consultants

14. Working through the Church
We have the privilege of working together
We serve, linked to the patchwork of efforts that is the church through history
Now is our day to advance the Kingdom by the power of God’s Spirit
We have received an inheritance of those who have gone before
We will leave a legacy to those who come after