COME IN TO WORSHIP, GO OUT TO

SERVE

Christianity Made Simple

THE WAY OF CHRISTIANITY

Christianity is a religion that imitates a model. We imitate those who imitated others before

them, who also imitated others before them, and so on and so forth.

Jesus is the model of everything we want to be. “For hereunto were ye called: because Christ

also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Peter 2:21, ASV).

CHRISTIANITY IMITATES CHRIST

We copy the right attitudes We copy the way they speak We copy the right doctrine We copy whatever things that make our

God happy.

1 CORINTHIANS 4:16-17

We know how Paul imitated Jesus. “I beseech you therefore, be ye imitators of me.” “For this cause have I sent unto you Timothy,

who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who shall put you in remembrance of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every church.”

The burdens

That is the first burden that we preachers are to deliver. Get that message to everyone and make them understand the message of the King.

The second burden lies on you: Seek to understand what the message is.

Simplifying Daily Christianity

COME IN TO WORSHIP

GO OUT TO SERVE

COME IN TO WORSHIP

Worship correlates its acts with the nature of the One being worshipped.

Worship carries with it the idea of submission to the will of the One being worshipped.

Worship carries with it the idea of giving all of what we are and what we have for the benefit of the One being worshipped.

Worship correlates its acts with the nature of the One being worshipped

John 4:19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

Prophet: Heb. Nabi – To bubble like a fountain

Verb means to utter. Cf. Psalm 45.1. Jesus also admits he is the

prophet they have been waiting for (John 4:25-26).

Worship correlates its acts with the nature of the One being worshipped

John 4:20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

“This mountain” – referring to Mt. Gerizim. Gerizim a mountain of Samaria, about 3,000

feet above the Mediterranean. It was on the left of the valley where one

could find the ancient town of Shechem on the way to Jerusalem.

Temple on Mt. Gerizim

Josephus relates that Sanballat built a temple for the Samaritans on Mt. Gerizim, and instituted a priesthood, as rivals to those of the Jews at Jerusalem.

Sanballat was an authority figure among the Samaritans during the time of Nehemiah.

(Antiquities of the Jews 11:8, 2-4)

Worship correlates its acts with the nature of the One being worshipped

John 4:21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father.

Worship has a schedule and it is “now.” Worship is not confined to any famous place. Worship is not confined to any temple or

church building (Acts 17:24).

Worship correlates its acts with the nature of the One being worshipped

John 4:22 Ye worship that which ye know not: we worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews.

True worship is based on the divine knowledge one group has.

Jews have knowledge of the God they worship.

Salvation started with the Jews

SALVATION IS OF THE JEWS Jesus our God became a Jew Abraham the father of faith became the ancestor of the

Jews. The twelve apostles who were the foundations of the true

church were Jews. 39 of those writers of the Bible were Jews; only one was a

Gentile. The Koran (800 AD) was written by an Arab; the Book of

Mormon (1830 AD) was written by an American. These were too late to become the Word of God!

The Old Testament was much older: 1500 BC – 450 BC The New Testament: 45 AD – 96 AD The Bible is much superior to any book!

Worship correlates its acts with the nature of the One being worshipped

John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers.

Worship- Gr. PROSKUNEO – to bend the knee. In worship, we are always lower than God, and God

is always higher than us. The dispensation of knowledge about what

constitutes true worship is now. True worship is in spirit and in truth. Father seeks such worship.

Worship correlates its acts with the nature of the One being worshipped

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

True worship should relate with the nature of the one being worshipped!

This tells us God the Father is always Spirit and He has not changed!

So why change the kind of worship offered to Him?

ROMANS 1:21-22 “Because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as

God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless heart was darkened; professing themselves to be wise, they became fools”

Man has changed the way God is being worshipped! They did not glorify Him as God nor were they thankful to

Him. False worship results to human degradation. Great wisdom it is when the object of our worship

became a human being. Great foolishness it is when a human being becomes the

object of our worship.

ROMANS 1:23 And changed the glory of the incorruptible God for

the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.

Man at first began worshipping two-legged creatures that looked like him.

Then he worshipped creatures with two wings and two legs.

Then he worshipped creatures that walked on fours. Then he worshipped creatures that crawled. True worship is supposed to be uplifting. Wrong

worship degenerates and abuses human dignity.

Worship correlates its acts with the nature of the One being worshipped

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

True worship should relate with the nature of the one being worshipped!

Worship is not by sight but by faith! True worship should relate with the dictates

of the One being worshipped! Worship conduct should be based on what

the truth of the Word says (cf. John 17:17).

Worship correlates its acts with the nature of the One being worshipped

John 4:25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh (he that is called Christ): when he is come, he will declare unto us all things.

John 4:26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

The Christ is God’s anointed spokesman (Heb. 1:1; Matt. 17:5).

He is to declare to men all things.

Worship carries with it the idea of submission to the will of the One being worshipped

That is the natural meaning of the verb PROSKUNEO.

In worship we admit our sinfulness and inability to atone for our sins. We need God’s grace!

The idea of salvation by grace should have a part in our thoughts as we worship the Grace-Giver.

It is not true as some are wont to believe that when we say we are saved by grace, grace becomes our savior.

EPHESIANS 2:8

For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

“By grace” is dative instrumental It simply means grace is the instrument in saving,

not the savior itself. Note also the passive construction of the phrase.

Greek grammar calls it divine passive; meaning the unmentioned subject or doer of the action of saving is God Himself.

It does not say: Because grace saves you through faith.

EPHESIANS 2:9

“Not of works, that no man should glory.” We can’t go to heaven by: Praying Burning candles Giving alms Giving our bodies to be crucified. If we could go to heaven by doing these

works of merits, then Christ did not need to die on the cross!

ROMANS 6:23

“For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Because we are sinners we deserve to die. We cannot save ourselves from our sins. But Christ paid for our sins by dying on the

tree. Since we are dead, He quickens us, giving us

eternal life.

Worship carries with it the idea of giving all of what we are and what we have for the benefit of the One being worshipped.

The first mentioned act of worship was the offering of sacrifices.

Gen. 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto Jehovah.

Gen 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And Jehovah had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

Gen 4:5  but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

The sacrifice in Moses’ time

Mosaical offerings

Burnt offerings. Bloody. Self-dedicatory. Meal offerings. Unbloody. Thanksgiving. Sin offerings. For trespasses. Expiatory. Incense offerings. Intercessory symbols.

The sacrifice of our bodies

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.

 Rom 12:2 And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Our living sacrifices

We bring ourselves here. Bodily. No proxy. We sing praises to our King. We are not singing for

others but for Him. We come to build up others. By our teaching, by our

talent to counsel, by our helping to lift up the others. We give of our means. God does not need that

money, but He needs us to share that wealth with the church, His only agency to do good and proclaim His goodness in the world

Go Out To Serve

We are the body of Christ. We are the feet that untiringly go out and find the

lost in the highways and byways of the world. We are the hands that untiringly reach to meet the

needs of the fallen, the downtrodden, the needy, the unserved, the forlorn, the lost.

We are the mouth that keeps on praising Him, that keeps on counseling others.

We counsel others to try putting down their burdens at His feet, try Him for once if they have not done so.

Going out to Serve

We serve by giving a glass of water, a slice of our bread, a coin to satisfy a minor need.

We serve by helping the suicidal find the One who gave life to all, the one who put a high value in so insignificant a creature as human beings.

Do you know the value of a mere human being in the marketplace?

What we are…

We have body fats enough to make a bar of soap. We have enough lead to make just one bullet. We have enough sugar to sweeten just one cup of

coffee. We have enough phosphorous to make just a box of

matchsticks. All the rest of us is just water. Actually, ¾ of us is

water. If we get killed on the highway, we are just worth a

little over P12,000.

Jesus came to change us and to improve our worth.

We have become so valuable because of One so valuable who died for us.

This just tells us that the price of everything is based on how much we value the thing. The cost of real estate in Manila runs by the millions. In the mountains of Cebu, a hectare of land may cost just P2,000.

Jesus was the one who gave value to us.

What the essence of Christianity is

Loving others as Jesus loves us. Letting our light shine in world. Becoming the salt of influence on others. Preparing for heaven. Waiting for Jesus.

J. M. McCaleb, our first missionary to an Asian country

Hear the story of J. M. McCaleb, our first missionary to an Asian country. At a time when an American constable was receiving $60 a month, and a Filipino constable $6 a month, McCaleb just got $60 a year. He supported himself by teaching English to Japanese students. Now great work in Japan attests to the lasting effect of McCaleb’s early work.

George Benson, our first missionary to the Philippines Hear the story of George Benson, one of our early

missionaries to China. Pepperdine visited the Philippines and saw that the churches of Christ did not have any active mission work. He convinced Benson to move to the Philippines temporarily and supported him to preach. Benson worked for four months in Mindoro island and founded 4 congregations, two of whom still remained.

When Benson moved to US mainland, he began a college in some remote place. The work grew too and became what we now know as Harding University.

The essence of Christianity is its ability to keep on…

George Pepperdine, the first great supporter of the Lord’s work

Hear the story of George Pepperdine, our first great supporter of the Lord’s work. He supported preachers and churches, built church buildings and built lives, and encouraged missions wherever they may be.

This great man, who was rich in world’s goods and in good works, also founded a college, now known as Pepperdine University.

Brother Daniel of India, who was a great supporter of the Lord’s work in Kalookan City

You of Kalookan church are so fortunate to have brother Daniel, who gave you this lot and built you this nice 4-storey church building! May his tribe increase.

Madison, TN church Hear the story of the church in Madison, TN. They had a

great preacher, not handsome, whose ways and dressing were quite unconventional–red suits with white shoes to boot. But his unconventionalities, his down to earth style of preaching and illustrations, like picking up a little black girl and putting her on the pulpit to picture to them God’s great love for the downtrodden, the outcast, the humbled, the humiliated, those who had less, had attracted many.

At one time this church had a membership of seven thousand— Hispanic, Asians, Caucasians, black, brown, yellow, white, men and women from the high and mighty to the low and the humble.

Madison, TN church

It was a church that was into something more noble and sublime, where the black, the yellow, the brown and the white could walk, laugh and eat together in the spirit of love and in celebration of the loving kindness of the great Master of the universe who died for all. It was a church that provided opportunities for growth.

The preacher who told me this story grew up in that loving church, and loved that church and that church’s unconventional preacher who was not handsome.

The essence of Christianity

Christianity is a beggar telling another beggar where the bread is.

You have been fed and nurtured and edified by the Lord in this place. At one time your life must have been in mess, you had lost your sense of balance and you had no directions.

But the Lord changed all that. Go tell another beggar where the true bread

of life is. That is what Christianity is all about.

THE END

Finis