Yesterday I took the morning Family Service for Goodwood Evangelical Church, Leicester. Goodwood invite me once or twice a year and I have always enjoyed ministering here. They love to sing so I'm at home! I took as my theme a spiritual check up based on Philippians 3 where Paul sets out a pattern for Christian living. Obviously I adapted it to keep it relevant for younger children and built in lots of fun. Here's the outline:
The attributes of a model Christian
(a) Worshipping God with/by the spirit (i.e. having real communion with God through new birth)
(b) Being excited about Jesus.
(c) Not trusting in self effort to gain favour with God.
The aspirations (ambitions) of a model Christian
(a) To know (experientially) Christ
(b) To know (experientially) the power of the resurrection
(c) To know (experientially) the fellowship with his suffering.
The attitude of a model Christian
(a) I'm not yet perfect
(b) I'm not backward looking
(c) I'm eagerly pressing forward to grasp the prize.
Paul brackets this exhortation between two groups of people that he warns them against. The first is legalistic religious people; the second is carnal professing believers.
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