We are a Gospel Church 

A Gospel church, our inheritance and our legacy.
 
Introduction:
 
We’re in the middle of a series of talks on the subject of the sort of church we are and want to continue to be.  A couple of weeks ago, David talked about how our heritage and future is in being a worshiping church.  Last week, Pete spoke about how we have shown compassion and will continue to be a compassionate church.  Next week Kate will be teaching on being a serving Church.  Today, I want to share part of how we will remain A Gospel church.  So if you’d like to join me in that for the the next quarter of an hour or so, could you open your bibles to John chapter 4...

⁴ Now he had to go through Samaria. ⁵ So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶ Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
⁷ When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” ⁸ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
⁹ The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.^[a])
¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
¹¹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
¹⁶ He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
¹⁷ “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. ¹⁸ The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
²¹ “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
²⁵ The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
²⁶ Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
²⁷ Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
²⁸ Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ²⁹ “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” ³⁰ They came out of the town and made their way toward him. 

Then skipping to verse 39:
³⁹ Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. ⁴¹ And because of his words many more became believers.
⁴² They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
 
Our inheritance and our legacy.
 
In a few weeks time we will be moving to Headingley and some things will change.  Different building, different layout. But some things will not change.  We will still be a worshipping, compassionate, serving, Gospel church.
 
When I looked at what it means to be a Gospel church, I found that it had northing to do with having a choir in robes swaying back and forth and singing beautifully in 4 part harmony!  It didn’t even mean that we should be punctuating the sermons we hear with shouts of Praise the Lord! Amen brother!?  When I looked up Gospel in the dictionary this is what I found:
Noun

The teaching or revelation of Christ. A thing that is absolutely true. Good News.

In the bible there are four books that we call Gospels. They are the teaching and revelation of Jesus Christ as documented by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  They are written with slightly different emphases, to reach different groups of people but fundamentally, all four Gospels share the same story - A continuation of the story that began in the book of Genesis, back in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge and sin entered the world for the first time. 

Our purpose when we were created was to be in relationship with the loving creator Lord God and to give him glory.  Sin presented a barrier to that relationship and being a pure and holy God, He could not be in relationship with those that were sinful.  Yet, he would not and did not give up on his creation.  He would not give up and did not give up on Mankind.  And so throughout scripture, particularly through the Old Testament prophets there is a recurring promise of redemption and reconciliation for mankind with God, through a Saviour who was to come.  The Messiah.  Jesus.  And the Gospels tell the story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection from the dead and ascension to heaven.
 
When we talk about the Gospel, it is the overarching story of the Good News that Jesus Christ has paved the way to a right relationship with God – not dependent on what we can do, but on what he has already done for us. 
 
John’s Gospel neatly sums this up; Chapter 3:16-17: 
 
¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

The story of the woman at the well is one of my favourite examples in the bible of someone meeting Jesus for the first time, and the effect that has.  The Samaritan woman had probably had, until lunchtime, a normal sort of day.  And then as she goes to draw water from the well, she has an encounter with a man who knows everything about her.  Everything.  Sensing that he is a prophet she attempts to deflect his comments away from her own situation with a religious question about where to worship, but then comes the kicker – Jesus reveals who he is. 

²⁵ The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
²⁶ Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

For us, being a Gospel church is about sharing that good news of who Jesus is with those that we come into contact with on a daily basis.  For those of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus, the Gospel is something that we once received - inherited even.  It was been passed on to us through the faithful testimony of Christians down the ages.  At times, many of them lost their lives for what they believed.  Because of those who shared the Gospel before us, we have the opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as our own Lord and Saviour in Leeds in 2013.  Part of being a Gospel church is accepting that inheritance gladly, being a community of faith which has at its foundation the absolute truth of the teachings and revelation of Jesus Christ and that through faith in Him is the only way that we can be saved.
 

My Story

For me, the revelation of who Jesus is came in the summer of 1993, as a not-quite 16 year old. I went on a Christian holiday camp held at Shebbear College in North Devon.  I had grown up in a household where we went to church on a Sunday – my parents both have a strong faith, but for me, until that summer it was more of a case that church was part of a routine.  You got up, went to church, came home for a Sunday roast and then settled down on the sofa to watch The Big Match on the TV whilst other members of the family had a nap or read the paper.  That changed twenty years ago as 150 or so 14-18 year olds and assorted helpers and leaders gathered for a week in the Devon countryside.  It was not unlike an Ashburnham holiday for those who have been... just... louder.
 
Half-way through the week, God became more than part of the routine before the football started.  There was a leader called Jez who gave a talk in one of the evening meetings.  Now, Jez was cool.  He looked like he’d just stepped out of an 80s hair metal band.  He worked in advertising and was always at the centre of the more raucous activities on the camp.  We’d had talks over the previous days which I had sat through and done things like counting the diamonds in the leading of the window behind the preacher, but I hadn’t particularly listened before that.  But that evening, as Jez very clearly presented the Gospel in a talk he called “The message of the cross”. 

Despite the fact that I must have heard talks like it before, it was the first time I really listened.  It was as though God himself poked me in the back and said “listen up, this is important”.  And as I listened, I heard how God loved me, and was for me, and accepted me as I was.  I didn’t have to achieve to be anything special for him - I already was in his eyes.  So special and so loved that he sent his only Son into the world, to die on the Cross for me.  He took my sin on his shoulders, so that I could have the relationship with God that He had intended for me since the beginning of time. It all seemed to click into place and that evening I prayed a prayer at the end of the service inviting Jesus into my life.  The message was from God.  The catalyst was Jez, sharing the Gospel. 
 
Back to the woman at the well.  Jesus has introduced himself to her in person.  And it changes her.  And her immediate response was to go and seek out her friends, neighbours and anyone else who will listen to her and say:

²⁹ “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” ³⁰ They came out of the town and made their way toward him. 
Then skipping to verse 39:
³⁹ Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”
 
The Gospel is our inheritance, but as believers it should also be our legacy.  An encounter with Jesus is something to be communicated and passed on to those who haven’t heard who he is yet.  Just as the woman at the well couldn’t keep the Good News in, being a Gospel church is about being  commited to sharing the Gospel with those who haven’t heard it.  Our friends, families, work collegues, club-mates, neighbours and the people of Headingley.
 

Action

How do we do that?  We preach the Gospel here on a Sunday.  We present Jesus Christ as the doorway to salvation and offer the opportunity to people to invite him into our lives. 
 
We run the Alpha course several times a year; the next one starts in a couple of weeks.  We run Alpha now as a four week course where over coffee and cakes in Costa Coffee, there is space to ask questions and introduce Jesus as we share the Gospel story.  If you haven’t been on an Alpha course, then Dave and Sue Richardson are going to be heading the next one up – have a chat with them or any of the leaders here.  If you have been, then get hold of some of these cards and invite someone else along. 
 
As a community of faith and  through a charity called The Vine, we run a debt advice centre and child contact centre.  Through these initiatives too, the opportunity may come to share Jesus as people start to ask questions as to why we are doing it.  One of my favourite quotations is attributed to St Francis of Assisi:  Always remember to preach the Gospel, where necessary use words.  And the work of the vine is a beautiful example of how that works.
 
That’s what we do corporately, but we can also share the Gospel on a personal level.  There are a number of books which give advice about how we can do so effectively.   "Just walk across the room" by Bill Hybels is one such book which we looked at as a community of faith a few years ago.  If you’ve not read it, I highly recommend it - It gives some really simple and practical thoughts on how to share your faith Story. One of those ideas is to share part of your story just 100 words and to prove it’s possible, I’ve asked a few people to come and share their story today in 100 words.
 
As they come down, just a couple of pointers.  What you share has to be true and come from our own personal experience.  This means that there will be subtle differences in emphasis in each of our stories of Jesus at work in our lives, just as there are subtle differences in the emphases of the four Gospels.  And that’s okay, because Jesus reaches out to each of us to meet our deepest needs and touches our lives in different ways.
 

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100 word stories from:
Pauline and Jerry,
Adam
 

Molly's 100 word story

My parents came from different church backgrounds, which caused conflict with their families when they got married. To prevent that discord for us, they taught us that GOD exists, giving us freedom to choose how to believe. At 13, I received my first Bible and soon after decided to follow Jesus. At 16, I started attending church several days a week. GOD’s fathering love for me drew me to seek Him. My dad died a year later. I was 17. I sought after my GOD daddy even more. My faith in Christ has always been and will remain my own.
 

Adam's 100 word story

I was brought up going to a catholic church and schools. Always knew about God but never let Him into my life. Life was a trip with no purpose. Spending more time with Paulina led to discussions that often turned to God. After reading "Why Christmas" - at Easter - and praying with Paulina I took the decision I wanted to know God and follow him. |I still have questions but life is a journey with a goal. The bible is a reference guide to my journey but reading it knowing it was written for me and to me continues to change my life. 
 

Jerry & Pauline's 100 word story

Jerry: As we entered our marriage  in 1970. I brought a love for Pauline but also a temperament that meant I could be moody, jealous, and would avoid confrontation. 
Pauline: I brought a love for Jerry and  baggage from a dysfuntional family which affected me with low self worth, rejection and a pile of other stuff.
When we met Jesus 8 years later God slowly helped us to become better people. 
Jerry: I had to allow God to open my heart and work through my issues.
Pauline: I also had to open my heart and let God bring healing to my emotions.
Over the years God has helped us both to be less selfish, more loving and considerate of one another. It has not always been easy but we know that we wouldn't still be together if we didn't have Jesus in our lives.

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I shared with you about the night that I became a follower of Jesus.  That night, as well as showing that if you could still be cool, Jez also made it clear that God was for me, not against me and loved me enough to send his Son Jesus Christ to die for me so I could have a relationship with him.  That night, it struck me like never before that “It is true” and that the Gospel needs to be shared with a world that still does not know Jesus.  The same feeling that struck the woman at the well nearly 2000 years before.
 
Jesus comes to meet people where they are.  He comes to meet us where we are. 

• To the thirsty, as we read in the passage he says “I will give you living water.” 
• To those who come to Him feeling unrighteous, He says: “I will give you My righteousness.” 
• To the unclean, He says: “I will wash you.” 
• To the naked, He says “I will clothe you.”
• To the prisoner, He says: “I will free you.”
• To the hungry, He says: “I will feed you.” 
• To the lonely, He says “I am here.”
• To the outcast, He says: “If you have no family, be My family.” 
• To the dead, He says: “If you have no life, take Mine.”

 
So if that’s you and if this morning Jesus has introduced himself and the Gospel has suddenly made sense for the first time, will you respond? I’m going to pray a prayer, and if today you want to start to follow him, I’d invite you to pray it with me.

Lord Jesus Christ,
I am sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life.
Please forgive me, I now turn from everything which I know to be wrong.
Thank You that You died on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free.
Thank You that You offer me forgiveness and the gift of Your Spirit. I now receive that gift.
Please come into my life by Your Spirit to be with me forever.
Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen.