November 17, 2024
Joe Cameneti Jr.
“Freedom is a fragile thing and it's never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people.” -Ronald Reagan -
RIP BC
1983 -?
It’s better to have a BIOPSY than an AUTOPSY
#1 Deceased Churches Refused to Change, Choosing to Live in the Past.
3 STAGES OF EVERY DYING CHURCH:
1. Movement
2. Monument
3. Mausoleum
Matthew 15:1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” 3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ New International Version
Matthew 15:5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8 “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules. New International Version
Colossians 2:16 So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink,or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. 17 For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. New Living Translation
We are Married to the MESSAGE, not the METHOD.
Matthew 23:27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like white washed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. New International Version
It’s not about the HOW, it’s about the WHO.
#2 Deceased Churches Forget the Great Commission, Losing their Biblical Purpose.
"The church that does not evangelize will fossilize" -Oswald J. Smith -
“We exist to see a city connected with God”
“We want to create a multiplying movement of disciples making disciples”
Matthew 28:18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. New Living Translation
Matthew 28:20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” New Living Translation
What disciples do:
· Disciples love God and worship Him with a passion (Mark 12:30)
· Disciples love the Bible and search it consistently (2 Timothy 2:15, James 1:25)
2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. New International Version
Acts 17:11 “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” New International Version
What disciples do:
· Disciples love God and worship Him with a passion (Mark 12:30)
· Disciples love the Bible and search it consistently (2 Timothy 2:15, James 1:25)
· Disciples love their fellow Christians (John 13:35, Romans 12:10)
John 13:35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” New International Version
What disciples do:
· Disciples love God and worship Him with a passion (Mark 12:30)
· Disciples love the Bible and search it consistently (2 Timothy 2:15, James 1:25)
· Disciples love the people of their community (Mark 12:31)
· Disciples look outside the church to convert and make disciples (Matthew 28:16, Mark 16:15, Acts 1:4)
· Disciples pray for their community (Romans 10:1)
Romans 10:1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. English Standard Version
#3 Deceased Churches Stopped Praying.
Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship to the breaking of bread and to prayer. New International Version
If Jesus is our Cornerstone, We’ll Never have a Headstone