What We Are FOR
February 7, 2019
At NewPointe we have some very clear goals. One of the most important is to create environments and experiences that unchurched people love. The fact is that many unchurched people are more familiar with what the church is against than what the church is FOR. This really bothers us. That is not the way of Jesus.
At NewPointe we simply want to be known for what we are FOR. We are FOR families, couples, singles, students, and kids. We are FOR our communities. We are FOR Eastern Ohio. Simply put, we are FOR people. What kind of people? All of them.
You might be kind of skeptical about that. You say, “I can think of some people who have lifestyle differences or addictive patterns I feel pretty sure you aren’t FOR.” Well, if you think that, you’re wrong. There’s not a person God created that we are not FOR. It doesn’t mean we don’t have differences. It doesn’t mean we won’t ever disagree. But we are FOR people. All of them.
Why? Because God is FOR people. We care about what He cares about, and so we care about people.
We want the people in our communities, the people of Eastern Ohio, to know that God is for them, and we are too. I hope you will join us each week this month for an important new series that will help each of us better understand who we’re FOR and how we can make a difference by living it out. You can help us make THE difference by becoming known by what we are FOR.
Romans 8:31 asks the question, “If God is FOR us who can be against us?” That’s a rhetorical question. This isn’t a question about the possibility of God being for us, it is a statement about the certainty of God being for us.
No doubt there have been people who have disappointed you, rejected you, turned their back on you, or who have proved in a dozen different ways that they are not FOR you. As much as that hurts, the One who scattered 100 billion stars over 100 billion galaxies is for you.
Let’s look at that:
GOD—the Almighty One, the Powerful God.
IS--not was, not will be or might be, but is right now. There is no waiting. There is no probationary period.
FOR--there is no small print to wade through. Unequivocally.
YOU—He loves YOU. There’s no one He loves more than you.
God is for me all the time, in the good and bad, when I am doing great and when I fail, in disappointments, discouragements, extraordinary trouble and pain.
God is all powerful, always loving, and ready to help me right now. God is for me when I can’t see it, feel it, or understand it. God is for me even when everything falls apart and I am on the brink of giving up. God is FOR me.
God is FOR US, and He calls us to be FOR people. Our three goals of FOR are to create common ground, create connection, and create conversation.
The reason we are FOR people is because God is FOR people. We want to say YES to people who have said no to church, to what we believe, and to Jesus.
You can be a part of this important endeavor. If you haven’t picked up the book,Good Faith—Being a Christian When Society Thinks You’re Irrelevant and Extreme, why don’t you? You will get a jump ahead in the process.
God is FOR us. And we are FOR you!