The House - Part 8
Pastor Ryan Brown

Listen to Sermon: The House: Dependent [12Mb]

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household,   Ephesians 2:19 (NIV)

An Authentic Christ-centered community is a DEPENDENT COMMUNITY.

Dependency is relying on others to meet needs that you can’t, or feel you can’t, meet by yourself. It is the act or attitude of relying on someone or something else for support and sustenance. Steve Chalke

Dependency Demonstrated

1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” 2 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: 3 “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” 12 “As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread–only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it–and die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.’” 15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah. 17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” 19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” 22 The LORD heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!” 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.”  1 Kings 17:1-24 (NIV)

Jesus was dependent.

28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am [the one I claim to be] and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”  John 8:28-29 (NIV)

What about us?

Our problem is that many of us are content to live with the CONCEPT of dependency, but we fail to LIVE OUR LIFE DEPENDENT on Him and one another.

What are you depending on someone else for right now?
What is going on in your life right now that only God can do?
What as a community are we depending on God for? 

Dependent Living

1. Acknowledge my need.
2. Surrender what I’m holding on to.
3. Seek Him with all my heart.
4. Watch for the Birds, Empty the Jar, and Cover one another!

Will you be DEPENDENT?

The House - Part 6
Pastor Ryan Brown

Listen to Sermon: The House: Vulnerable [29Mb]

An authentic Christ-centered community is a VULNERABLE COMMUNITY.

“To be vulnerable means that you are capable of being hurt or damaged.” Steve Chalke

Vulnerability is not…

• WEAKNESS
• COWARDLINESS
• SLAVERY

Jesus was vulnerable.

1 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. 2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” 10 Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. 12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. 18 “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: ‘He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.’ 19 “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. 20 I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”  John 13:1-20 (NIV)

Choosing a life of vulnerability…

1. Know WHO I AM and WHERE I AM GOING.

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; John 13:3 (NIV)

2. Walk boldly in the POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.  Acts 10:38 (NIV)

3. Get up from the table and be a SERVANT.

“It is this kind of vulnerability that we are called to exhibit as we follow the way of Christ. For in serving selflessly we always make ourselves vulnerable. We give without any guaranteed return; we lay ourselves open to rejection and pain.” Steve Chalke

5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross!   Philippians 2:5-8 (NIV)

What happens when we are vulnerable?

• We BUILD TRUST
• We BUILD BRIDGES
• We REFLECT JESUS.

OUR COMMUNITY IS TRANSFORMED!

The House - Part 5
Pastor Ryan Brown

Statement #1: An authentic Christ-centered community is a GENEROUS community.

Generosity is defined as the act of giving or sharing more than is necessary or expected. Steve Chalke

Statement #2: HEALTHY families are seedbeds of generosity.

• A bed of soil cultivated for planting seeds/ ground prepared for growing seeds
• An area or source of growth or gradual manifestation

5 So I thought I should send these brothers ahead of me to make sure the gift you promised is ready. But I want it to be a willing gift, not one given under pressure. 6 Remember this - a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. 7 You must each make up your own mind as to how much you should give. Don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves the person who gives cheerfully. 8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. 9 As the Scriptures say, “Godly people give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will never be forgotten.” 10 For God is the one who gives seed to the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will give you many opportunities to do good, and he will produce a great harvest of generosity in you. 11 Yes, you will be enriched so that you can give even more generously. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will break out in thanksgiving to God. 12 So two good things will happen - the needs of the Christians in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanksgiving to God. 13 You will be glorifying God through your generous gifts. For your generosity to them will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ. 14 And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the wonderful grace of God shown through you. 15 Thank God for his Son’a gift too wonderful for words!     2 Corinthians 9:5-15 (NLT)

Paul’s teaching…

Don’t give… SPARINGLY, RELUCTANTLY, or UNDER PRESSURE.

Give…  WILLINGLY, GENEROUSLY, and CHEERFULLY.

Two Kinds of Hearts

1. Sparing heart
2. Generous heart

Living Out Generosity…