A Statement of Purpose
Part 3 - Committed to placing God at the centre of our lives
A STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
“ We at St Matthew's are a fellowship of Christians committed to placing God at the centre of our lives. We exist to follow Christ's example and to share his message and love with the local and wider community.
Last month we thought briefly about the statement 'A fellowship of Christians' and we move on to think what it might mean to be committed to placing God at the centre of our lives.
There's a famous verse in the Old Testament which comes just after the new community of Israel have been given the 'Ten Commandments'. It goes like this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is One Lord and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength' (Deut. 6:4).
It's clearly urging people to put God first. In fact the commands themselves start with a recognition that this God who rescued them from a terrible life of slavery is the loving God who deserves their allegiance to such a degree that he says 'Don't worship any gods except for me'. Jesus himself refers to that same command later, when someone asks him which rule is the most important. God is the one who knows what we need so giving everything we've got and keeping him central, number one, is the only way that everything else fits into place properly.
When we think about our fellowship, our church, we can come up with a list of things that are important: being there for people's weddings, funerals, and christenings; getting involved in social and community events; enjoying each other's company; singing and praying together and trying to do that in ways that are attractive to different groups; providing a place for children to grow up and older people to feel loved; keeping history going and keeping the building standing....the list is endless. These and many other things are valuable.
Yet if we forget that getting to know God and live as he wants should be first on the list, then we'll lose the point. Worship of God is about giving him what he's worth. So whether we like a particular style of service or not, God is worth coming for. He will speak through scripture or prayer or sermon if we want to hear him, and he's worth our praise. It's not actually about what we get out of it that really matters! It's also not about who stands at the front, or whether you're a great leader or not, or whether my agenda or yours gets attended to. It's about how we make God known. Put God in the centre and the rest will work out.
A STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
“ We at St Matthew's are a fellowship of Christians committed to placing God at the centre of our lives. We exist to follow Christ's example and to share his message and love with the local and wider community.