Vineyard Church of Knox County
Breakthrough of The Kingdom
Sermon Audio from Sunday, February 26, 2006 — "Much that once was, is lost, for none lived who could remember it. Some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth." These words are from the opening scene of the film The Fellowship of the Ring, based on the first book in J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy, The Lord of the Ring.
Much that once was, is lost. This applies to Christianity in this country, I believe. Author and pastor Erwin MacManus writes, "Jesus is being lost in a religion bearing his name." Much that once was about Jesus and the faith he birthed has been lost and we are seeing the consequences of that lost-ness in the profound demise of our oldest and largest denominations. Churches that have lost the life-changing, culture-transforming message of Jesus are dying and churches that are willing to get back to what Jesus dreamed of in the 1st Century are growing. A New kind of Christianity and a new kind of Christian is emerging in our country, new not to God but to our culture. In fact the changes seem to be a sweeping renewal back to the original message and ministry of Jesus. So, books with titles like, A New Kind of Christian, and The Lost Message of Jesus, are being devoured by those hungry for the reality of Jesus. Because, let's face it, Christianity in this country historically is anemic, and churches who espouse this modern message and ministry are producing Christians whose lives don't seem to be any different than non-Christians. Brian McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christian, writes, "Either Christianity itself is flawed, failing and untrue, or our modern, Western, commercialized, industrial-strength version of it is in need of a fresh look, a serious revision." We are beginning a series called Breakthrough this week, which is based on Mark's story in the Bible of Jesus' life and ministry 2000 years ago. My desire is to present this message of Jesus in its true clarity and accuracy to lay the foundation for true faith.
