SERMON SERIES

Vibrant: something full of energy, life, or intense color. The first aspect of our vision is the most descriptive of where we believe God is leading us. We are not becoming “vibrant, diverse, and welcoming” so our congregation can be amazing, but it is a fruit of working the Method and becoming more of who God calls us to be. The fruit of sustained faithfulness at Ankeny First will be an energetic, diverse, and welcoming community. “Diverse” is the pivotal word in the first part of the vision. To be full of energy, life, and color, we need people with diverse backgrounds, diverse ethnicity, diverse political views, diverse ages…you get the idea. We welcome all people and become diverse; our diversity will make us more vibrant, which will motivate us to become even more welcoming still!

The Method is the vehicle through which we grow into Christ. The first movement is to worship: to begin to know and understand the power, glory, and love of God. Passionate worship is engaged; it brings heart and mind together, and it transforms us. We become more like what we look at, and as we look at the glory of God, we become people who bring glory to God. Psalm 96 has verses that speak of praising God in spiritual ways, like attending a worship service (v.1, 4-6), but also speak about a lifestyle of praising God and making God known beyond formal worship (v. 2-3). The rhythm of celebrating God for who God is and then showing and telling others about who God is, is worship.

In the Method language, when we talk about the connect step, we mean being in a small group to enjoy being in spiritually significant conversations. The Apostle Philip showed just how far we can take spiritually significant conversations. He was directed to walk a certain direction, which he did while observing his surroundings. He was able to begin a conversation with the Ethiopian—on the Ethiopian’s terms—that became spiritually significant very quickly. In the verses after this, the Ethiopian moved from being excluded from worship and not understanding the scriptures to knowing where he fit into God’s story and was baptized. He went on his way rejoicing. The challenge is to structure our lives in such a way that we are available to our Christian and non-Christian friends, to make time for spiritually significant conversations and all the places those conversations can lead!

When we respond to God in service, we are doing more than checking a box. We are not pacifying ourselves by showing that we put in an effort, gave a little money, but walked away unchanged. We actively seek to connect with the people we serve, to understand their needs, and to position ourselves to make a difference. The word we hear is that we are to love God and love our neighbor. The word we hear is that God is generous to those who are broken by life’s circumstances. Demonstrating love for our neighbor through the giving of time, talent, and resources makes a difference in us as our trust in God grows, sure, but that’s a byproduct, not our purpose. Our purpose is to make a difference in the lives of people who need it. True religion takes care of those without enough and without the power to change their circumstances. We are called, invited, and privileged to know people and to make a difference in their lives.

At the end of the vision, we restate the Method that transforms us into a diverse, vibrant, and welcoming community. Relentless in our pursuit of God. Passionate about deepening relationships so others can know God for real. Serve with joy and invite others to come with us. Jesus prayed for those things for us. Jesus prayed that we would be as connected to Jesus as Jesus is connected to the Father. Our worship, our connection to one another, and our joyful service and inclusion of others allow the world to know Christ and to experience the depth of connection with Christ that Christ has with the Father. We make disciples as we grow as disciples. We make God known as we know God better. Jesus prayed that it would be so, and so it is.