New Sermon Series: Church Foundations

New series for the month of August

What is the purpose of the church? It’s an important question as we launch into a new season of ministry as an independent church in the Wesleyan/Methodist tradition. Focusing on our essential tasks is key to being a church that fulfills the Great Commission of making disciples of Jesus Christ.

Following up on our last series on the basic “Gospel Truths,” we’re going to spend the month of August exploring the basic mission and ministry of the church. The series is based on the definition of church long used by those in the Wesleyan/Anglican tradition:

The Church is of God and will be preserved to the end of time, for the conduct of worship and the due administration of God’s Word and Sacraments, the maintenance of Christian fellowship and discipline, the edification of believers, and the conversion of the world. All, of every age and station, stand in need of the means of grace which it alone supplies.

The series will look at the four basic functions of the church revealed in that statement: worship, discipleship, fellowship, and evangelism/mission. When we focus on these primary functions, we will lay a good foundation for the future.

This Sunday we’ll start by looking at the critical importance of worship in the life of the church. It’s worship that invites us into a new way of being as the result of an encounter with God. We’ll be using Isaiah’s encounter with God in Isaiah 6:1-8 as a model for understanding the “synesthetic” nature of worship, giving us a new perspective on what it means to gather together before God and to leave changed.

Join us at 8:00am in the Chapel, 9:00am in the Fellowship Hall,10:30am in the Sanctuary, or online as we worship and learn together. We’ll also be celebrating the incredible week of Vacation Bible we’ve been having at Aldersgate and, at 9:00am, we’ll join the children in worshipping the God who calls us to be ready, to be set, and to move out in mission!