LCC Online Service - 15 November 2020
Welcome
Please click below for the video welcome message.
Greetings Lusaka Community Church Family,
It is good to join with you online or in-person. We are so thankful to participate in the greater body of Believers this day worshipping our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. I know I always say this, but I truly am amazed at how many LCC family members have come and gone, and yet we continue to have amazing unity with so many of our dear friends, who are furthering the Kingdom all across this world. If I am speaking to one of you who is no longer within Lusaka, I want you to know that I find such joy in being able to join today with you, as we seek God’s Kingdom coming here on this Earth.
Let us pray.
Last week, I had the opportunity to preach on how we store up treasure in Heaven, how we are called as Believers, to be servants with our resources. We are to “orient [our] life around limiting both consumption and wealth building, focusing instead on giving the most money [we] can toward blessing other people.” To “use money as potential blessing to the world in Christ’s name, desiring to make the most of its potential for positive impact” today and into the future.
I think of now as the world is struggling and being challenged with COVID and what everyone is calling a new normal. May we as the church present our own new normal. A new normal of seeking the Holy Spirit to find ways to be a conduit of God’s Kingdom coming here on Earth. That we would use the resources that God has blessed us with to invest in the Kingdom today and into the future. May we, as the Church, show the world what it looks like when we as Believers join together as servants to invest our money into healing the sick and proclaiming the gospel. Rather than focusing on spending on our own luxuries or saving for our own security, may we seek to spend on those in need and save so that we can have something to give to others into the future.
We all may experience the new normal of COVID, wearing masks and following guidelines, but may we embrace the new normal that Jesus called us through the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters five through seven: “Seek first God’s Kingdom (the Kingdom of Heaven) and His righteousness and everything else will be given to you as well.”
CS. Lewis’s words, written in Mere Christianity are a phenomenal summary for all of us:
Give up your self, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fibre of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.¹
We have a wonderful opportunity to worship God and embrace His kingdom. We will hear from Dave Roberts giving great examples of those who give to see the Kingdom grow. Finally, I encourage you to join us in a time of prayer to give thanks for God’s provision in our lives and seek opportunities to invest in the Kingdom.
Praise and Worship
Please select “play” on the image below and join with us in worshiping our Lord and Saviour.
Song List:
- Peace Be Still - Hope Darst
- Build My Life - Pat Barrett
- Weapon - Vertical Worship
- You are Holy (Prince of Peace) - Michael W. Smith
- Ever Be - Kalley
sermon
Sermon - Dave Roberts - Tithes & Offerings Series Part 8 - A Generous Grace
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:1-9
Please select Play below (depending on your bandwidth it could take a few seconds to buffer and play):
If you have issues playing the sermon, you can download the audio version directly from OneDrive here:
Sermon Download
Prayer
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.2 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
9 for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.10 Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,
prisoners suffering in iron chains,
11 because they rebelled against God’s commands
and despised the plans of the Most High.
12 So he subjected them to bitter labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
and broke away their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
16 for he breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron.- Psalm 107:1-16 (NIV)
Praise God for His provision.
Praise God for His great works.
Give thanks to God for His grace and mercy.
Pray for Chad, Callie and family as they spend time with family and prepare to join us in the the new year.
Pray for those in our Church family going through health issues.
Pray for financial provision, sustainability, and stewardship for LCC.
Pray for continued wisdom for the government in handling the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pray for the prison ministry work.
Pray for the work in Chipata.
Pray for wisdom and guidance for the Elders.
Pray for opportunities to proclaim the Gospel fearlessly as we should.
Please share your praises and prayer needs with any of the Elders via WhatsApp or email the church email or via the Prayer Form so that we can all continue being in prayer for one another.
Giving
If you are able to commit to regular giving, please click on the following link and complete the form: Pledge Form
Tithing and giving can be done through online transfer facilities (wire, mobile, & bank). We currently do not offer direct debit or credit card donations, but some have found TransferWise to be a helpful platform for transferring money locally or internationally (minimal transaction fees).
If you are unable to use contactless methods, you can still drop-off your offering at the church office during regular working hours. You can confirm any details with the church administrator by calling, texting, or WhatsApp: +260966800100
The church bank account details are below if you would like to use online transfer facilities:
Account name: Lusaka Community Church
$ acc #: 8700220232300
K acc #: 0150420232300
Bank: Standardchartered
Branch: Manda Hill
Branch code: 03000
Swift code: SCBLZMLX
Thank you
May each of us go forth today proclaiming the Kingdom.
Benediction
I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
- 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 (NIV)