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CHBC Connect for January 19, 2024

God’s Vision for CHBC: 3 Piers, 3 Pillars, and 3 Purposes

3 Purposes

The three purposes of CHBC are to equip believers, exalt Christ, and extend the gospel to the glory of God. The last two weeks I have written about the purposes of equipping and extending. Think with me and pray about with me the need to extend the gospel. The population of Oklahoma City is 1.5 million people. Moore has a population of almost 65,000 people. Norman’s population is almost 130,000.

 Only about 60% of the population of Oklahoma claims to be highly religious. That includes people of any faith background. There are hundreds of thousands of people in driving distance of your home, and our church that are unchurched, and unconverted.

 If we believe the Bible is truthful about the eternal judgement of hell, we cannot help but believe extending the gospel is necessary purpose for why the church exists. On top of the reality of people dying without a Savior is the mandate of Christ Himself, when He said, “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation,” (Mark 16:15).

 We need no other reason that Jesus’ command, but we also have been given a heart of compassion. We know forgiveness ourselves. And the Holy Spirit causes us to love our neighbor as ourselves.

 Extending the gospel goes beyond OKC, Moore, and Norman. We are to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. But we must not overlook the opportunities that immediately surround us.

 Will you begin each week with this prayer, “Lord, give me one opportunity this week to share the gospel with someone.” Each time you leave the church parking lot on Sundays the banners say, “You are now entering the mission field.” Take that seriously. Worship on Sunday. And pray for your opportunity each Monday morning.

 By His Grace and For His Glory,

Pastor Mark

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CHBC Connect for January 12, 2024

God’s Vision for CHBC: 3 Piers, 3 Pillars, and 3 Purposes

3 Purposes

 The three purposes of CHBC are to equip believers, exalt Christ, and extend the gospel to the glory of God. Last week I wrote to you about the purpose of equipping believers. This week I want you to think with me about what it means to exalt Christ. We could use the term treasure Christ or glorify Christ in place of exalt Christ. To exalt, according to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, is to, “raise high; to elevate”.

We are saying that we have as a purpose to raise high the name, person, and work of Jesus Christ. Not only in corporate gatherings, but also as individual believers. How do we glorify, exalt, or elevate Christ? The Lord Jesus Christ is exalted when we love Him, trust Him, enjoy Him, and obey His law, will, and commands (New City Catechism, Question 6).

 I usually refer to this as the pursuit of personal, practical holiness. When we are pursuing a life of holiness in accordance with the Word of God, we are elevating the person and work of Christ in our lives and before a watching world.

 What is true of our individual lives becomes true of our corporate lives as a local church. The church which loves Christ, enjoys Christ, trusts Christ, and obeys Christ’s law, will, and commands is a church that is exalting Christ. Our exaltation of Christ is much more than our singing praise to His name, it is functioning according to His Word, and living according to His will.

By His Grace and For His Glory,

Pastor Mark

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To learn more about the life of the church please click the image below.