The Lord’s Harvest Community Church

John 1:1-5

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

The bible tells us that God began time with the word. As we enter a New Year, I thought about how I would begin it. Many people make resolutions for many things. To lose weight, exercise, fix credit, go to school, GET INTO CHURCH (hint hint), ect… That all fine and good, but how does God want us to get focused in 2008. Well in John 1:1-5 God gives us an example, “the Word”.

In the beginning the Word was…. and all things were made through him. In verse 14 of John chapter 1we find out that the Word was Jesus Christ. What a great way to begin a new year, with Jesus Christ. Maybe things don’t go your way in life, because you are starting off wrong…. if you want to START OFF RIGHT I want to show you how.

Join us this Saturday as we begin a journey of the New Year @ The Lord’s Harvest Community Church @ 3pm in Oklahoma City. 

This past saturday I unvailed our goals as a church for the year 2008. I believe it is important to not only have a vision for the overall direction for a church, but also in the short term. God has shown us where he wants us to go and having short term goals will help us measure our progress.

I believe that 2008 will be a year of harvest for us. Now, I am not talking about money, which is often use when talking about a harvest. Rather I am talking about souls for Christ, which is our main purpose.

God led me to  John 4:38 which says, “I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.” I believe that this church will be build on the effort of other. Spiritual seeds have been planted in the hearts of many, but they have never connect with a local church. I believe this is the direction God has us on as a church, to connect with the unconnected. Below are some of the main goals for The Lord’s Harvest Community Church in 2008.

Vision 2008

1. To develop specific times for corporate prayer

• March 22, 2008 we will have a special prayer service and laying on of hands for members of TLHCC.
• Incorporate a time in the service for altar prayers.

2. To develop the teaching program

• Seminar for an overview of the bible.
• Starting a daily reading plan, for the church to read through the bible together each year (contact us if you’d like one).
• Teach the congregation about how to read the Bible

3. To continue a strategic approach to local evangelism

• 12,000 post cards (Easter, New Movers, WHY?)
• 1% response rate (120 first time visitors in 2008)
• New Members of 25-50 people.
• Research an introductory course for outreach
• Research the “How To Share Your Faith” Course
• To encourage and equip the congregation to make personal evangelism a way of life

4. To maintain a loving and caring community where all are welcomed, accepted and nurtured

5. Foundations established for future growth.

• New Members/Membership Information Classes (Catch the Vision- 4 sessions)
• Guest Services Ministry in Full Force
• Follow up ministry activated for guest to connect.
• Effectively transition guests to regular attendees to active covenant members.

6. To aim for operating excellence in all we do

• Look for willing people to serve (worship, administration, guest services, communications, outreach).
• Leadership development meetings.
• Processes review/Vision committee to advise how we can do things better.

2008 is a Year of Harvest

Become a Covenant Partner (only $10/month)

When The Lord’s Harvest first began, we were invited to use the facility of Pastor Juan’s home church, Shield of Faith Baptist Church. Of course, in order to do this, we needed to choose a time other then theirs. Pastor Juan determined Saturday to be the best time for several reasons … the following day was not a school day for children, we believe it is vital that the family spend time together and Saturday gathering would allow a full day on Sunday to do so, and for our church family and folks in the community, a Sunday work schedule does not allow them to attend church on that day. It is our belief that Scripture does not command that the gathering be on Sunday, but instead to simply to gather as the body, just as the Early Church did –

(Acts 2:42-44; I Peter 2:17)

If you are in the Oklahoma City Metro area you have an open invitation to be our guest on Saturdays.

Kingdom Greetings,

I pray you all have had a blessed Christmas and are looking forward to what God has in store for you in 2008. I am expecting a year of harvest for The Lord’s Harvest Community Church. I am excited about what God wants to show me in this up coming year.

I wanted to take some time and update you on a few things. First, we have made some major changes concerning our website. The main site can be viewed at TheLordsHarvest.org and our podcast/blog at TheLordsHarvest.org/tlhc . I hope to do more personal blogging in 2008 and hope to hear your comments and concerns about various subjects. Secondly, I would like you to watch a special video invitation I created promoting an upcoming series to help us get focused in the new year.

Those of you in the Oklahoma City Metro area, if you would like to be placed on our mailing list e-mail us your contact information (name and mailing address).

 

 Your Journey Begins with a New Year [1:22m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We will be launching a new website for 2008 and the current site will be used in addition to the main site for a pastor’s blog. We still plan on posting audio content as well, but will under go design changes.

If you are in OKC and would like to be placed on our church mailing list please forward your complete name and address to info@thelordsharvest.org

Accessing God’s Grace

Key Verse: Romans 5:2, “through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Scripture Text: Romans 5:1-5

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Definitions:

• Justified - Dikaioo (dik-ah-yo’-o); 1344 - to render righteous, to show, to declare, pronounce one to be righteous
• Grace - Charis (khar’-ece); unmerited favor of God

1. Common Grace – is the aspect of God’s grace that is extent to mankind in general. An example is rain that falls on the just and the unjust.
2. Divine Grace – is the aspect of God’s grace that is extended or made available because of our relationship with him, by faith in Jesus Christ, as we have in our text today.

Key Points:

1. It is because of our faith in Jesus Christ that we are justified and declared righteous by God (v 1).
2. Because of our faith in Jesus Christ, we have access to God’s grace and can glorify God (v 2).
3. We can glorify God in tribulations, maturity, and hope (vs 3-4).
4. The foundation of God’s grace in our lives is his love (v 5).

This Week’s Challenge
Identify and thank God for his grace being active in your life.

 

 Accessing God's Grace [15:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download