1 00:00:00,960 --> 00:00:02,104 Pastor Josh here. 2 00:00:02,272 --> 00:00:05,320 I want to give you a preview of our Sunday morning service on 3 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:08,376 January 12th here at Middletown Baptist Church. 4 00:00:08,568 --> 00:00:12,760 We're in the second part of our three part series, the goals 5 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:14,024 of a Growing Church. 6 00:00:14,072 --> 00:00:16,776 Last week we looked at the first goal of the growing church, 7 00:00:16,808 --> 00:00:18,888 and that is the goal of the gospel. 8 00:00:19,064 --> 00:00:21,592 We are called to proclaim the gospel. 9 00:00:21,656 --> 00:00:23,512 We're called to live the gospel. 10 00:00:23,576 --> 00:00:26,458 We're called to first and foremost believe the gospel. 11 00:00:26,624 --> 00:00:30,502 And so the first step of the growing church is to embrace the 12 00:00:30,526 --> 00:00:35,606 gospel, to live the gospel, to proclaim the gospel. 13 00:00:35,798 --> 00:00:39,334 But the second part is another word that starts with a G, and that 14 00:00:39,342 --> 00:00:40,970 is group or the church. 15 00:00:41,710 --> 00:00:45,574 What's the point of this group that we had together in the building? 16 00:00:45,742 --> 00:00:48,182 Well, the point of the group is to be unified. 17 00:00:48,326 --> 00:00:51,558 The point of the group is to be pointing towards Christ. 18 00:00:51,614 --> 00:00:54,124 And so we're going to look at the book of Ephesians And Ephesians, 19 00:00:54,172 --> 00:00:57,640 chapter 4, verses 1 through 6, talks about how the church is a body, 20 00:00:58,180 --> 00:01:00,092 that what does a healthy body look like? 21 00:01:00,116 --> 00:01:01,628 What does a healthy group look like? 22 00:01:01,684 --> 00:01:03,052 What does a healthy church look like? 23 00:01:03,076 --> 00:01:05,804 And so we're going to talk about how we can be unified as a 24 00:01:05,812 --> 00:01:07,900 church in our purpose of the gospel. 25 00:01:08,060 --> 00:01:12,876 And then we will come back next week with the third and final 26 00:01:13,028 --> 00:01:15,564 aspect of the goals of a growing church. 27 00:01:15,612 --> 00:01:19,804 And so this week we're going to be studying the group, the corporate 28 00:01:19,852 --> 00:01:24,298 group that is the church, the assembly of believers coming together 29 00:01:24,354 --> 00:01:24,858 here. 30 00:01:24,994 --> 00:01:28,106 And so hope that it'll be an opportunity for you to come and worship 31 00:01:28,138 --> 00:01:31,738 the Lord together with us as we learn about what we are called 32 00:01:31,794 --> 00:01:33,786 to do as a growing church. 33 00:01:33,978 --> 00:01:35,882 Well, we hope you have a wonderful weekend. 34 00:01:35,946 --> 00:01:39,402 We look forward to hearing from you soon and seeing you soon. 35 00:01:39,426 --> 00:01:43,610 If you're not able to visit us in person here in Middletown, we 36 00:01:43,650 --> 00:01:47,322 do ask that you follow along on Facebook or YouTube or you can 37 00:01:47,346 --> 00:01:48,550 follow on this podcast. 38 00:01:48,650 --> 00:01:53,694 On Monday mornings we replay the sermon and that will be a wonderful 39 00:01:53,742 --> 00:01:55,790 opportunity for you to grow in the Lord. 40 00:01:55,950 --> 00:01:59,086 So we thank you for your support and we ask that you share 41 00:01:59,158 --> 00:02:01,358 this message with someone that you know. 42 00:02:01,494 --> 00:02:02,142 Take care. 43 00:02:02,246 --> 00:02:03,030 We'll talk to you soon.