http://destinationchurch.org Destination Church in Chicago Podcasts en Destination Church in Chicago Podcasts Destination Church in Chicago no Destination Church Sermons matt.sweetman@destinationchurch.org ℗ & © 2010 Destination Church in Chicago 720 Peace is not a feeling, nor is it the absence of conflict, it is the restoration of relationship. Everyone seems to know that Christmas is about peace on earth. But what does that mean? In Luke 21 Jesus predicts than nations will continue to be at war with one another. In Luke 12 he affirms that being a Christian can bring division in some of the closest relationships in life. Jesus of course encourages us to seek peace and he is not encouraging nations to wage war. What he is telling us is not to be naive -- we should know what people are like -- and that these things will continue until he returns. So what is the peace on earth that Christ brings? It's not futuristic or symbolic. It's peace on earth. It's concrete. It's now. (Some content borrowed from Tim Keller's Christmas Peace message in 2005) http://www.sermoncloud.com/destinationchurch/christmas-in-chicago-the-gift-of-peace http://media.monkserve.com/EKK/2840/christmas-in-chicago-the-gift-of-peace.mp3 Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:39:41 GMT Matt Sweetman Christmas In Chicago peace_is_not_a_feeling,nor_is_it_the_absence_of_conflict,it_is_the_restoration_of_relationship. 37:44 The journey of fulfillment is everyones. The coming of Jesus into the world promises great joy for all people. We can look for this joy in two ways, inside or outside. If we look internally, through imagination, we can put restraints on the heart to produce good behavior and happiness. Or, we can look to the enjoyment of social laughter and interpersonal expressions of joy. Christians have known for years that 'a joyful heart is good medicine' (Prov 17:22). In John 16:20-22 Jesus promises joy in the midst of sorrow. It's a joy that no one can take away from us. Jesus is the master of joy. The only way to experience true joy is for it to be given to you by Jesus. It's not imaginary, it's not socially constructed, it's real, lasting and deep. http://www.sermoncloud.com/destinationchurch/christmas-in-chicago-the-gift-of-joy http://media.monkserve.com/EKK/2840/christmas-in-chicago-the-gift-of-joy.mp3 Sun, 13 Dec 2009 02:01:44 GMT Matt Sweetman Christmas In Chicago laughter,christmas,joy 41:00 Have you ever believed a lie? The defeat of our actions starts with the defeat of our mind. The most dangerous yet common error for a new church is to not take spiritual opposition seriously. It becomes very tempting to focus on clever strategy above spiritual health and spiritual advance. However, if we take our faith seriously then spiritual resistance is inevitable. Most of the opposition that a new church faces comes through tension from the relationships. Attack comes from inside. The only real weapon the enemy has against us is a lie. We should not be ignorant of his schemes. Being involved in Destination Church, with a passion to build communities that are loyal to Jesus, will get you on the fast track to spiritual maturity. Sure, we'll get beat up, but we'll be better of for it. Conflict is beneficial because it means we have to work on our relationships. Imagine a mature Christian community who effectively defeat the enemies lies and work together to reach Chicago. If you are picturing this in your mind, you are envisioning Destination Church in the near future. http://www.sermoncloud.com/destinationchurch/what-does-it-take-to-start-a-church-part-8 http://media.monkserve.com/EKK/2840/what-does-it-take-to-start-a-church-part-8.mp3 Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:12:07 GMT Matt Sweetman What Does It Take To Start A Church? church_planting,matt_sweetman,newfrontiers 35:44 Culture believes that freedom of choice brings greater happiness and that our level of love determines our level of commitment. But this is not true. Harvard Professor Dan Gilbert has conducted many social experiments that prove this to be an incorrect assumption. In fact, love doesn't nurture commitment, commitment nurtures love. In Acts chapter 2 we see a blueprint for the church. Devotion to teaching, relationships, breaking bread and prayer. Our goal at Destination Church is to build communities that are loyal to Jesus. We want to prepare every person who visits for the day that they will meet Jesus face-to-face. Christianity is not a spectator sport so get out of the stands and into the field. The difference between a regular attender and church member is commitment. An effective membership class simply throws fuel onto the fire. 70% of believers begin serving at their church when someone asks them to. So, please serve at Destination Church because commitment nurtures love. http://www.sermoncloud.com/destinationchurch/what-does-it-take-to-start-a-church-part-7 http://media.monkserve.com/EKK/2840/what-does-it-take-to-start-a-church-part-7.mp3 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:53:44 GMT Matt Sweetman What Does It Take To Start A Church? church_planting,matt_sweetman,newfrontiers 48:33 It doesn't matter who you are, you will one day face a situation that will make you realize your life is not ultimately within your control. Prayer at this point seems like a valid option. The Bible says that the prayer of a righteous person has great power. Nehemiah in the Old Testament heard news of the shame and danger of the remaining people in Jerusalem. This caused him to pray. We can learn a number of lessons about prayer from this account. You need a place to pray, it's emotional, it requires persistence, it should be specific, it's about promises. Churches that lack in prayer will lack in power. If the prayer of a righteous person has great power what about the prayers of many righteous people? Imagine if we all valued prayer and persisted in asking God to save our friends. http://www.sermoncloud.com/destinationchurch/what-does-it-take-to-start-a-church-part-5 http://media.monkserve.com/EKK/2840/what-does-it-take-to-start-a-church-part-5.mp3 Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:04:27 GMT Matt Sweetman What Does It Take To Start A Church? church_planting,matt_sweetman,newfrontiers 56:17 Invitations bring transformations. The greatest influencer of change in all our lives is the interruption and sometimes the aggravation of an invitation. Destination Church is full of people who have been invited to come. Launching large simply involves giving as many invitations as possible. The more invitations we give the more people can be transformed by Jesus. The Bible is full of invitations. In John chapter 1 Andrew invites Simon to see Jesus and Philip invites Nathaneal. Jesus personally invites all his disciples. An invitation must be intentional, specific, simple, persistent and prayerful. Only 5-10% of Christians have the direct gifting of evangelism. But, 90-95% of Christians are gifted for gathering. Invitation based evangelism is our primary strategy to build communities that are loyal to Jesus. 1 in 4 people will come to church on the first invitation. Most people will come after 5-6 repeat invitations. If everyone invited 4 people this week we would double next week. A Destination invitation brings transformation. http://www.sermoncloud.com/destinationchurch/what-does-it-take-to-start-a-church-part-4 http://media.monkserve.com/EKK/2840/what-does-it-take-to-start-a-church-part-4.mp3 Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:38:07 GMT Matt Sweetman What Does It Take To Start A Church? newfrontiers,matt_sweetman,church_planting 39:01 It takes a committed core group of people functioning in their talents and calling to start a new church. But something much more fundamental is needed to start a church. Vision is critical to the success of a church plant. Clear, passionate and faith inducing vision is a must have ingredient if Destination Church in Chicago is to be established and experience gospel growth. Our passion is to build communities that are loyal to Jesus. Check out how we plan to embody that vision in Chicago. http://www.sermoncloud.com/destinationchurch/what-does-it-take-to-start-a-church-part-3 http://media.monkserve.com/EKK/2840/what-does-it-take-to-start-a-church-part-3.mp3 Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:34:15 GMT Matt Sweetman What Does It Take To Start A Church? church_planting,matt_sweetman,newfrontiers 50:18 The Chicago River is the only river in the world that has been reversed and stayed that way. It was reversed to take away pollution from the city and solve the health issues responsible for 80,000 deaths. At Destination Church our passion is to build communities that are loyal to Jesus. Our goal is to reverse the flow of the city so that people follow God, which will in turn bring spiritual health to the city. It takes a core group of committed people operating in their God given abilities to launch a new church. Destination Church is in the process of identifying 9 launch teams to coordinate an effective public launch. By recognizing our spiritual gifts we can work together to engineer a river reversing plan that will transform Chicago. http://www.sermoncloud.com/destinationchurch/what-does-it-take-to-start-a-church-part-2 http://media.monkserve.com/EKK/2840/what-does-it-take-to-start-a-church-part-2.mp3 Sun, 04 Oct 2009 01:07:57 GMT Matt Sweetman What Does It Take To Start A Church? church_planting,matt_sweetman,newfrontiers 39:06 80% of Americans will wake up on Monday morning and think "I hate my job". Studies also show that two-thirds of teachers have zero motivation to actually teach. How did we get into this mess? There are three main schools of thought regarding this topic. The deterministic model assumes that we are entirely shaped by the forces in our environment. The developmental model assumes that we can entirely become whatever and whoever we desire to be. With society subscribing to these first 2 models it is suspicious that we are still plagued by low self-esteem and insignificance -- they simply don't appear to be working. The 3rd and most satisfying view is the design model. We have been designed by God and when we discover our giftings and function in them we find the deep sense of fulfillment we are all looking for. http://www.sermoncloud.com/destinationchurch/what-does-it-take-to-start-a-church-part-1 http://media.monkserve.com/EKK/2840/what-does-it-take-to-start-a-church-part-1.mp3 Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:41:42 GMT Matt Sweetman What Does It Take To Start A Church? church_planting,matt_sweetman,newfrontiers 28:26 We are breaking from our current teaching series on the gospel of John to focus on church planting core group development. This new series will be titled 'What Does It Take To Start A Church?'. We will be taking more time to look at our vision, research into our city, training in networking, exposing church planting pitfalls, developing community, serving and working together as parts of the body. This fits well with our move next week to a new meeting time and location. http://www.sermoncloud.com/destinationchurch/what-does-it-take-to-start-a-church-intro http://media.monkserve.com/EKK/2840/what-does-it-take-to-start-a-church-intro.mp3 Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:17:22 GMT Matt Sweetman What Does It Take To Start A Church? church_planting,matt_sweetman,newfrontiers 41:52 Our relationship with Christ is defined by community. Our sense of community comes from being known by Christ and him calling us by name. The power of remembering someone's name cannot be under estimated, especially considering that Christ knows and uses our names. We hear God's voice best in community. Successful community is only achieved through individual loss. God has other sheep that he wants to bring into the flock. The difficulty of building community is worth it because the resulting faith and fruit is of greater value than the struggles we faced building it. Our passion is to build communities that are loyal to Jesus. http://www.sermoncloud.com/destinationchurch/john-10-and-11-community http://media.monkserve.com/EKK/2840/john-10-and-11-community.mp3 Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:07:12 GMT Matt Sweetman The Gospel of John: Having a relationship with Christ john_10,john_11,destination_church,matt_sweetman 41:51 The human race is self-centered by nature. Wouldn't it be awesome if we could be free from the power of this destructive tendency? John, one of Jesus closest friends, writes in his gospel that 'whoever the Son [Jesus] set's free, is free indeed'. Some who follow Christ consider themselves to do be sinner-saints, not really free from the power of self-centered, and still bound to evil desires. We do not find this to be a biblical view. Explore how our relationship with Christ is defined by true freedom. http://www.sermoncloud.com/destinationchurch/john-8-and-9-freedom http://media.monkserve.com/EKK/2840/john-8-and-9-freedom.mp3 Sun, 30 Aug 2009 23:22:21 GMT Matt Sweetman The Gospel of John: Having a relationship with Christ john_8,john_9,destination_church,matt_sweetman 52:06 Relationships are never formed through passivity. Instead, the best friendships form through intention and initiation. Action has to happen in the direction of another person. Plans need to be made and acted upon. Everyone loves it when a plan comes together. Our relationship with Christ is defined by a plan. It’s not just a small insignificant plan. Jesus has plans for every generation. Every day we have is numbered and planned by Jesus ahead of time. He has plans for this church in Chicago. Our purpose here is to prepare everyone in Chicago for the day they will meet Jesus face to face. http://www.sermoncloud.com/destinationchurch/john-6-and-7-the-plan http://media.monkserve.com/EKK/2840/john-6-and-7-the-plan.mp3 Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:56:43 GMT Matt Sweetman The Gospel of John: Having a relationship with Christ john 49:34 The strongest relationships are formed through the greatest challenges. When people go through hardship for each other and survive they share a deep connection. A relationship with Christ is defined by a challenge he gives each of us. In John 4 and 5 we see Jesus relentlessly pursuing relationships with people through directly challenging them. He challenges the woman at the well by pinpointing her deepest trouble -- constant failing relationships. He provokes a deeper faith from the royal official who was facing the hardest test of his life -- the near death of his son. He challenges the lame man at the pool of Bethesda to be prepared to face the implications of having a relationship with God -- living without sickness. Finally, he provokes the religious minded through breaking their meaningless traditions. His ultimate goal is to provoke people into saving faith and partner with them to spread salvation. One sows and one reaps. The Samaritan woman at the well reaches her whole town. The royal official leads his whole household into faith. However, the lame man and the religious people never wonder at Jesus miraculous healing powers, nor rejoice over his gracious gifts, nor exercise trust in his words. Our relationship with Christ is defined by how we respond to the challenge he gives us. http://www.sermoncloud.com/destinationchurch/john-4-and-5-the-challenge http://media.monkserve.com/EKK/2840/john-4-and-5-the-challenge.mp3 Sun, 16 Aug 2009 02:10:47 GMT Matt Sweetman The Gospel of John: Having a relationship with Christ 43:06 Our relationship with Christ is defined by our motivation, not just our application. Ultimately, faith is not based on an act but a heart attitude. This is the nature of salvation. It is to be born again from above, to be turned from water into wine, to be spiritually transformed by believing in the ultimate miracle -- that the resurrection of Jesus is able to take away sin. Therefore, being reconnected with God is only possible through Jesus doing something deep in our hearts. Christians are transformers. http://www.sermoncloud.com/destinationchurch/john-2-and-3-transformers http://media.monkserve.com/EKK/2840/john-2--3-transformers.mp3 Sun, 09 Aug 2009 22:47:54 GMT Matt Sweetman The Gospel of John: Having a relationship with Christ john_2,john_3,gospel 47:53 John was one of Jesus closest friends. He wrote his gospel to show us how to have a relationship with Christ. In chapter 1 we see what action the various figures take to reveal what it means to have a friendship with the person of Jesus Christ. In the end it's the things we do that define our relationships, not simply what we say. Action counts. http://www.sermoncloud.com/destinationchurch/john-1-action-figures http://media.monkserve.com/EKK/2840/john-1-action-figures.mp3 Sun, 02 Aug 2009 04:34:57 GMT Matt Sweetman The Gospel of John: Having a relationship with Christ john 50:35 Religion teaches that we must keep to a strict high standard in order to please, appease and win the right to be blessed by God. It virtually has the same framework as atheism in that our own efforts achieve a higher purpose and enlightenment, but rather than reaching God we become our own God. The gospel is utterly different than these forms of self-righteousness. Instead, Jesus came down to live a perfect life and freely gives it to us. What a scandal! http://www.sermoncloud.com/destinationchurch/religion-vs-gospel http://media.monkserve.com/EKK/2840/religion-vs-gospel.mp3 Sun, 19 Jul 2009 05:38:40 GMT Matt Sweetman Religion teaches that we must keep to a strict high standard in order to please, appease and win the right to be blessed by God. It virtually has the same framework as atheism in that our own efforts achieve a higher purpose and enlightenment, but ... the_gospel 33:45 Find out why community life is breaking down in society, how we can fix it and the vision of Destination Church. http://www.sermoncloud.com/destinationchurch/encouraging-community http://media.monkserve.com/EKK/2840/encouraging-community.mp3 Sat, 11 Jul 2009 04:30:58 GMT Matt Sweetman Find out why community life is breaking down in society, how we can fix it and the vision of Destination Church. community 60:05 A biblical understanding and vision to reach cities. Why planting a church in Chicago is so important. http://www.sermoncloud.com/destinationchurch/loving-the-city http://media.monkserve.com/EKK/2840/loving-the-city.mp3 Sun, 26 Apr 2009 01:04:24 GMT Matt Sweetman A biblical understanding and vision to reach cities. Why planting a church in Chicago is so important. church_planting,city 39:43