Back Creek Church | Charlotte, NC

"If these (people) remained silent, the very stones would cry out." Another shouting stone is the one that sealed the tomb in which Jesus was laid. In its closing, it declared that Jesus was King in death. In its being rolled away, it declared that Jesus is King over death! He is risen!

Jesus leaves us with only two options: reject him or receive him as King.

Because sin is relentless, we need Gospel vigilance.

Because God is faithful, we dedicate our selves, our space, and our stuff.

Leaders set the example. Leaders seek God's will. Leaders sacrifice their expectations.

Spiritual Renewal and Church Revival are expressed in WORSHIP.Renewed and Revived WORSHIP features:CONVICTIONCELEBRATIONCONSECRATION

If we want spiritual renewal in our lives, if we want revival in our church, we must receive God's Word with readiness, reverence, and responsiveness.

What happens after a significant win? The tendency and temptation is to celebrate and then to coast. It's good to celebrate, but we cannot coast! Instead we ask, "what's next?" Then we assess and address the issues that remain, looking to the Lord for grace and growth.

Resistance intensifies when you are making progress. But focus leads to finish. And focus requires us to know the work, know the truth, and know our role.

Along with external resistance that tried to discourage, deceive, and distract, Nehemiah was also dealing with internal resistance that threatened to divide. Self-orientation among God's people leads to division. When this happened to Nehemiah's team, he experienced righteous anger and rebuked those who were doing wrong, leading to repentance and restoration. Nehemiah had the credibility to do this because he took up responsibility, laid down his rights, and laid down his resources.

Every vision, every team, and every good work will experience resistance. When resistance tries to discourage us, we devote ourselves to God's callWhen resistance tries to deceive us, we defend ourselves with God's truthWhen resistance tries to distract us, we depend on God's power

You can have a burden. You can have a vision. But you won't get far without a team.On an effective team, everyone unites, everyone serves, and everyone matters.

Vision means seeing what should be. Nehemiah's God-given burden led him to a God-inspired vision. But there were obstacles that would challenge his vision. In this message we see that vision requires courage, clarity, and confidence (in God).

A BURDEN leads us to BUILD.A BURDEN is a PROBLEM that awakens a PASSION that leads us to PRAY.

Life without the Lord looks like seizing control. Life with the Lord means surrendering control, in our work, in our world, releasing our worry to Christ.

“Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain...

Jesus is worthy as the righteous Shoot of Jesse, the royal Son of David, and the reigning Savior of the nations.

The Lion is worthy to receive (praise, victory, and fear)The Lion is worthy to ruleThe Lion is worthy to receiveIs He worthy? He is!

The first message in our Advent series from Revelation: Is He Worthy?

One day, we will be fully and finally free to worship as we were created and redeemed to worship!

Why regular household worship? Because God deserves it and we need it.Who should participate in household worship? Everyone in our home.Where should household worship happen? Anywhere it makes sense (it is wise to have a regular time and place)What should be the content of household worship? Read, pray, sing

Daily personal worship is an opportunity for repentance and rejoicing in the Gospel, for openness to the Lord throughout our day, for us to pause and lean into his presence.

Does the rhythm of your life make you feel like you are flourishing? Or are you living an unsustainable cadence that makes you feel drained? God offers us a cadence for life that centers our highest purpose and contributes to our spiritual, physical, and emotional flourishing.The cadence of weekly public worship is codified in creation, confirmed by command, and commended by Christ.

The structure of our worship tells the story of a glorious God, a sinful humanity, and a redeeming Savior - the story of the Gospel.The style of our worship reflects biblical priorities by aiming to be simple, consistent, contextualized, ordered, free, singable, and hospitable.

"God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."- Jesus

The content of our worship is regulated by God himself through the Scriptures, and is expressed in we call the “ordinary means of grace” – word, prayer, and sacrament. Worship – public, personal, and household – is saturated by prayer because prayer is a means of God’s grace and connected to promises of God’s presence, provision, and power for his people.

The content of our worship is regulated by God's Word and it falls into three broad categories we call "the ordinary means of grace": word, prayer, and sacrament. God saves sinners and sanctifies saints through his word. "Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ." (Romans 10:17)

We have an obligation to worship God. But because of our sin and idolatry, we have no qualification to ascend the hill of the Lord and stand in his holy place. An obligation with no qualification means condemnation. But the good news is the Incarnation - Jesus came, and through his life, death, and resurrection, we are given clean hands and a pure heart - a soul that is not lifted up to idols. We seek the face of the King of Glory.

God is the center of all true worship. All creation is called to worship the Lord.Why?Because God alone is Creator.Because God alone is Worthy.Because God alone is Redeemer.

We can have confidence before God because of the greatness of the Father, the sufficiency of the Son, and the testimony of the Spirit

Our 10-year vision for Back Creek Church is to cultivate spiritual, relational, and missional growth, leading us to plant a new church by 2035.

We embody our mission of connecting people with the hope of the Gospel by living out four core values: Real Hope, Deep Connection, Full Engagement, Wide Reach

Back Creek Church's mission is connecting people with the hope of the Gospel. We know the content of the Gospel? But are we connected with the hope of the Gospel? The hope of the Gospel is forgiveness.The hope of the Gospel is freedom.The hope of the Gospel is forever.The hope of the Gospel is forgiveness.

Christ is the Son of God and the ultimate expression of his love, who through his cross is making all things new.

The story the Bible tells is the one story that makes sense of the world as we experience it. Creation explains the world as it should be. (Genesis 1)Corruption explains what happened to the world. (Genesis 3)Catastrophe and Confusion explain the world as it is. (Genesis 6-9, 11)But there is hope for the world to be restored to what it should be! Next week we will consider Christ, his Cross, and the Consummation.

In this passage Jesus teaches us what to pray (in the Lord's Prayer) and how to pray (in the parable of the friend at midnight).He teaches us to pray relationally, audaciously, openly, continually, and expectantly.

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."- Jesus

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” - Jesus

The Church is God's field and he wants us to grow.

What does it mean for the Church to be the Family of God?It means the Gospel shapes our identity (as children of God)It means the Gospel shapes our lives (as those who do our Father's will)It means the Gospel shapes our relationships (as brothers and sisters in Christ)

The Church is the flock of God and Jesus is our Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd calls the flock (and we must respond).The Good Shepherd leads the flock (and we must follow).The Good Shepherd keeps the flock (and we must rest).

Jesus is building his church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

What is the church? The Body of Christ - many members, one body. As the Body of Christ:Our connection is intimateOur connection is interdependentOur connection is indispensableOur connection is intentional

What is the church? We are. The Called (by God's mercies). The Committed (offering our bodies as living sacrifices and our minds for renewal). The Connected (one body and members of one another).

The Christian faith is objective reality and ultimate relationship.

If the resurrection of Jesus is reality, it's time to change our expectations. If resurrection is reality, the last will be first. If resurrection is reality, the dead will be alive.If resurrection is reality, the world will be changed.

Salvation, transformation, proclamation - we're all in this together! We are the Church.In these final greetings, Paul models and commends at least seven characteristics of a church growing more deeply rooted in Christ:AffectionAffirmationReconciliationCommunicationHospitalityUnityService

Gospel transformation brings Gospel proclamation by changing our posture (inward focus to outward focus) and our participation in God's mission - we prepare with prayer, walk with wisdom, and speak with saltiness.

We need all of Christ for all of life.He is our Savior and the Lord of all our relationships, roles, and responsibilities:As husbands and wivesAs children and parentsAs workers and bosses