Vision Sunday - Part 2: What We Do

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9:00 Service | 10:30 Service | Sermon Audio

I think we can all agree that change is hard. You get used to things being a certain way, and then all of a sudden they’re not, and it’s disorienting. It’s unsettling. Some of you are dealing with major change in your personal life right now, and it’s stressful. As a church, we’re dealing with some changes in our staff, and for many of us, that’s hard. So if you’re feeling that right now, I need to remind you that, yes, life is hard…but God is good. I know for many of us over these past few weeks, we’ve hung on to that truth, and it’s exactly what we’ve needed. Life is hard in all kinds of ways, but God is good.

But this morning I want to be more specific. God isn’t just good in a general way; God is faithful. He’s reliable. He’s unchanging. Hebrews 6:19 says We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. I love that promise. Have you ever been in a rowboat or a canoe, and there’s a strong wind, and you’re trying to paddle, but the wind is winning? It’s scary, because you feel helpless—you feel out of control. And when there’s a lot of change happening in life, you can start to feel like that out-of-control boat. And that’s why we need an anchor. We need something that doesn’t change, to anchor our soul. And that something is the faithfulness of our God. He has never failed us, and he never will. Let that truth anchor you right now.

Today is part 2 of Vision Sunday. And I’m teaching through the Chapel’s mission statement, which is—everybody: Building a family of Christ-followers who love God, love people, and serve the world. So last week we talked about Who We Are: we are a family of Christ-followers. Today we’re going to talk about What We Do: we love God, we love people, and we serve the world. Once again, we are featuring the Hot Seat. In the past, we’ve called up mostly staff members, but today I’m going to focus on some people from the Chapel family that I want you to meet.

Our anchor Scripture for today is from Matthew 22, starting in verse 35. Let’s hear the Word of God…

35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” This is the Word of the Lord.

So today let’s talk about how Jesus teaches us to love God, love people, and serve the world…and what that’s going to look like for The Chapel in this next season.

So, first: Loving God. This religious expert asks Jesus to give his opinion: of all the commands in the Scriptures, which one would you put on the top of the list? And without even stopping to think, Jesus says, Easy: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. He reaches all the way back to the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, and quotes that commandment: “Love God with all that you are.”

St. Augustine taught that life is all about rightly ordering our loves. Because we love lots of things, right? But sometimes we put them in the wrong order. So a wise person loves God more than they love Long Beach Island, and more than they love the Yankees, and more than they love their own comfort…and here’s where it starts to challenge us: they love God even more than their own family,

and even more than their own life. I’m not saying they don’t love those other things, but their love for those other things pales in comparison to their love for God. They have no other gods before Him.

So if Jesus says that’s the most crucial thing in life, then the most important thing our church can do is to help people to…what? To love God. How do we do that? Well, first we help people to meet God personally, by receiving what Jesus has done for them on the cross. Because there’s a difference between knowing about God and knowing God. So we preach the gospel. We are unapologetically evangelistic. John 1:12 says “As many as receive him—to those who believe in his name—he gives the right to become children of God.” So you’ll hear the invitation to receive Christ in sermons; you’ll hear it in Chapel Kids and Chapel Students and Chapel women, etc.—the first step to loving God is to put your faith in Christ and be saved. There’s a decision to be made.

And then we celebrate salvation through baptisms. Baptism is the outward symbol that Jesus gave us to represent our inner faith. I love that we hear individual testimonies of each person being baptized, and that we do it every month. In fact, next week we have I think four people lined up to be baptized, and they all have amazing stories. If you’ve never been baptized, we would love to help you make that step. Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit…” So it’s a joy to live out what Jesus called us to do.

We help people love God through our preaching—obviously very close to my heart. The book of Hebrews says the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword. And after preaching for 30 years, I believe that more than ever: when the Bible is faithfully communicated, supernatural things happen. So I thought a lot about what to preach this fall, because it’s going to be a very intense season for our country. All through the week, we’re going to be dealing with division and anger and craziness, and it’s going to be easy to get dragged down into that. So I decided that when you come to church on Sunday, you’re going to hear something different. Every week, you’re going to hear a different New Testament teaching that reminds you that we belong to a higher kingdom and and we serve a higher King. So my goal is to refresh us and refill us, so we can enter go back into the world and represent Jesus really well. The series is called “Seek First the Kingdom of God,” and it starts next Sunday.

We also nurture people’s love for God through musical worship. Every Sunday, the goal of our worship is to remind people why God is more awesome than any of those lesser loves, so we can love him with all our hearts. So worship will continue to be a high priority at The Chapel. By the way, for the past few weeks, our Director of Worship, Lauren, has been taking a break. And there have been two people, especially, who have stepped up in a big way. Litthya Baez and Levi Schmidt both have families and full-time jobs, and they’ve been leading us so faithfully. Can we say Thank You to them?

I also have some exciting news. For the first time ever, The Chapel just put out a full-length worship album, with live music from our worship services. It’s really high quality; you can get it on Spotify or Apple Music, or wherever you get your digital music. Our hope is that it will be used to help people continue worshiping beyond Sunday morning. It’s also a great way to introduce friends and family to The Chapel.

And then, finally, we’re going to help deepen your love for God through our J-term courses. We launched this for the first time last January. “J” stands for January and June, which is when most of our small groups are on break. And these are classes for people who want to go deeper in their knowledge of the Bible. I have been amazed at the response. Which leads to my first Hot Seat guest. Would you give a warm Chapel welcome to Jake Geddings?

Dave: Welcome Jake. Some people might recognize Jake because he was recently baptized here. And Jake, you also have some exciting family news—tell us about that.

Jake: Tell about birth of baby (we’ll show your family photo).

Dave: So this past June, we offered a J-term course on prayer, and over 100 people participated in that, including you and Michele. Tell us about the class—what was it like?

Jake: Talk about format—for example, Julie and Paul teaching, real-life examples, questions and interaction, etc.

Dave: What’s one important thing you remember learning from the class?

Jake: Talk about one thing about prayer that stuck out to you.

Dave: So one last question: 3 months later, how is your prayer life different?

Jake: Talk about something in your prayer life that has improved after taking the class.

Dave: Well Jake, we are so happy to have your growing family as part of the Chapel family; thanks for being on the Hot Seat.

So stay tuned—there’s going to be another J-term course happening in January—I’m really looking forward to it.

Listen: the one thing in life that will never change is God. So this season, we’re going to grow in our love for him through evangelism and baptisms and worship and preaching and J-term. We’re going to fan the flame of our love for God. And that first love will affect everything else we do.

Jesus went on to say: And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ If we truly love God, that will always lead to Loving People. And at The Chapel, the main way we learn to love people is by gathering together in different kinds of groups.

Last week I mentioned the Beginnings group, and I shared the story of someone who went from feeling like an orphan to having a family, because of that group. So this is for new people, or disconnected people; it’s a six-week group to help you connect with others and start growing spiritually. It starts this Wednesday, so there’s still time to sign up on our web site. Now: we have lots of other small groups besides Beginnings. So please: if you are not yet part of a small group, you still have a few more days to get plugged in. I always tell people: if you’re unsure, just commit to the fall, and see how it goes. You can see all our groups by going to our web site, thechapel.org; click on “Groups,” and you’ll see all the options: men’s groups, women’s groups, MomCo for young moms, the list goes on. If you’re only attending on Sundays, this is your next step.

Our Chapel Kids ministry has officially re-launched, and it’s been a great start for the new year—tons of kids; awesome volunteer teachers. Can we show our appreciation for our Chapel Kids Director, Bria Gabriele and our Chapel Kids volunteers? (applause)

This afternoon, there’s going to be an exciting kickoff for Chapel Students, which is our middle school and high school ministries. And that leads to my next Hot Seat guest; please welcome Danny Johnson!

Dave: Dan first of all, congratulations on your first wedding anniversary! So how long have you been volunteering in Student Ministry, and what’s your role?

Dan: Talk about how long; what you do in CS

Dave: I know our student ministry is going through some transition right now. How are you feeling about this new season?

Dan: Share your heart. Possibly—sad to see Cesar go; amazed by team of volunteer leaders rising up; looking forward to working with Heather; passionate about helping students find and grow in faith.

Dave: One last question: this afternoon at 5:00 is the Chapel Students kickoff. Why should people show up, and what should they expect when they get there?

Dan: Talk about the kickoff—hibache, games, meeting leaders, etc…..

Dave: Dan, there’s been a lot of change in Student Ministry, and I know your steady presence has been a huge blessing. So to you and our other Student Min volunteers, thank you.

I believe it’s going to be a really good year of student ministry, because God is faithful.

Just last year, we started Chapel Seniors, and it has exploded. Chapel Seniors is for people 60-plus; they meet every last Wednesday of the month; there’s worship; fellowship; creative special events. So we look forward to a great year of Chapel Seniors.

We’re also very excited about the momentum of our Young Adults groups. Which brings me to my next Hot Seat guest; would you welcome Andre Frueh!

Dave: Once again, you might recognize Andre because he was recently baptized here at The Chapel. Andre—tell us what you do for a living.

Andre: Talk about your career.

Dave: So you’ve been involved in the young men’s—first of all, what’s the age range for that group—and is it only for single people?

Andre: Explain age range (you might know that better than I do!), and clarify that you can be married or single—maybe mention the benefit of that kind of life stage variety.

Dave: So tell us why this group is important to you.

Andre: Whatever you want to say—how is the group helping you grow in faith, and why?

Dave: so if someone wants to get involved, tell them where to go

Andre: Talk about day/time/place

Dave: Andre, we are so happy to hear how this group has helped you to grow, I should mention there’s also a group for young women, called The Girls Room, which is really strong. And the two groups combine in the summertime. And today, after pizza on the lawn, young adults are going to stick around and play volleyball and corn hole, etc. So Andre, God bless you this fall, and thanks for being with us.

One more thing I need to mention about Loving People. This year is the 45th year of the Chapel Preschool. Ever since the pandemic, a lot of preschools have declined or shut down, but ours keeps growing. This fall, we have 146 kids registered—that’s the most we’ve ever had. We have an amazing staff—let me show you a picture. This is the staff, with our director, Jasmine Knaus. And they’re posing on the brand new playground that just got installed. Next month, that playground is going to be officially dedicated to the memory of Flor Chaux—if you remember, Flor was a longtime preschool teacher who passed away last year.

One of the things I appreciate about our preschool is that it reaches people in the community in ways that we could never do if we only had church. Which leads me to our final Hot Seat guest—would you welcome John and Shannon Aiello.

Dave: Welcome, Shannon and John. Tell me about your family.

S&J: (Family photo will be up on screen)—tell us names and ages of your kids.

Dave: So how did you get connected with The Chapel?

S&J: Talk about how you found the preschool, and your experience there. What did you appreciate/benefit from?

Dave: Now in a way, you guys are very unlikely people to interview about the Chapel preschool, because your son actually didn’t stay for long, right?

S&J: Talk about why you moved your son, but in the process decided The Chapel would be your church. Talk about why you appreciate Chapel Kids on Sunday morning, and why you love The Chapel.

Dave: Thank you!

So Jesus said the second-most important thing in life is to love your neighbor as yourself. And so much that The Chapel does is for that exact purpose.

The last phrase in our mission is crucial: Serving the World. Jesus said, “Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” So if we’re following him, we will have a servant mentality. We will care deeply about the people around us, and we’ll be involved in serving their needs.

So how are we planning to serve the world this coming year? Well, of course we will continue our More than Conquerors group for addiction recovery; our Life Givers group for people with terminal illnesses; our Grief Share group for people grieving losses; our Loaves and Fishes food pantry—all of those are great ways to serve our community. We’ll continue to prioritize inclusion of people with special needs: one-on-one buddies on Sunday mornings; our special classroom downstairs called “The Ark”; Night Out events to give a much-needed break to parents of kids with autism or Down Syndrome, and of course the Night to Shine in February. Special needs inclusion has become a core part of who we are, because it reflects the heart of Jesus so beautifully.

One way we have engaged the world is through our Spanish campus in Wayne—this is a picture of some of their leaders at a recent gathering. So this is going to be a big year for them. For more than twenty years, our Spanish campus has been part of The Chapel. But as every parent knows, when your kids grow up, there comes a time for them to move out and become independent. And it’s that time for our Spanish congregation. So I have some dates for you: on January 1, they will be financially independent. And this spring, we plan to celebrate the launch of a new, independent, Spanish-speaking church. Isn’t that exciting? And even though they won’t be part of The Chapel anymore, we love these guys, and we’re going to continue the relationship.

Let me tell you about two very concrete ways we’re going to be serving the world in the coming days. You know my heart for the city of Paterson. And I know many of you share that same passion. It’s no accident that God has placed us just twelve miles from this city with so many needs, and so many amazing Christian leaders who are doing good things. So we have continued to nurture our partnerships with those leaders and ministries, and I have two opportunities that I want to invite you to be part of.

On Saturday, November 16, we are holding our annual WeServe day. That’s the day we gather as a family here in Lincoln Park; we have coffee and bagels; we pray together and split into teams, and then we go out to about ten different locations—most of them in Paterson—and we do whatever they need done: cleaning, demolition, painting, working with kids—whatever they tell us. Some of the locations finish by lunch; some of them provide lunch and you work into the afternoon. It’s a really a beautiful thing, and it’s such a great thing for small groups to do together, or for families to do together. You will come home tired and sore, and really glad you did it. So mark your calendar for November 16—WeServe is going to be a special day.

Here’s the last thing: you all know what my favorite night of the year is. Christmas Eve. I will never get tired of seeing this room filled with candles and hearing the voices of all of us singing O Holy Night. As long as I’m here, that’s not going to change. But over the past few years, I’ve had a lot people come up to me and say, “Pastor Dave, what about Christmas morning? When are we going to start serving again on Christmas morning?” If you’ve been here for a while, you know we used to take a big team to Newark on Christmas morning, to serve food and give out warm clothing. And so many people have said, “My family misses that. It was the perfect way to start out Christmas, not focusing on ourselves.” So here’s the great news: through our partnerships in Paterson, we are going to serve on Christmas morning. We’re going to give out hot food and warm clothing, and shake hands, and pray for people, and it’s going to be cold, and it’s going to be early, and it’s going to be awesome. So make plans to join us on Christmas morning this year.

There’s so much more I could say, but I’ve tried to share some of the highlights, just to give you a taste of what’s coming this year. It’s going to be a good year.

Who are we? We are a family of Christ-followers.

What do we do? We love God, love people, and serve the world.

I’m going to call our worship team up for one last song.

Let me close with this: this is going to be a year when a lot of things around us are changing. In a few months, we will have a new president in our country. You will probably have changes in your family, or in your job, or in your health. You already know there’s going to be some changes to the Chapel staff. Don’t be surprised when you see change happening around you. But here’s what I can promise you: our God will not change. He is an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. He’s going to be faithful to The Chapel, like he always has been, and he’s going to be faithful to you. So trust him. And let’s rise and worship him now…