Church Values – 10 Values Our Church
Must Have
Excerpts
from the sermon of Dr. Harold Adams,
Radford Worship Service, Radford, VA, March 18, 2018
A man was
walking through a field and came across a valuable coin. He then buried it,
went home and sold everything he had so he could buy that field.
 |
| A field -- on the Blue Ridge Parkway - Photo by Connie Wohlford |
This little story is a parable Jesus told in
Matthew 13:44. Jesus likened the discovered treasure to the Kingdom of Heaven.
That man
placed so much value on the treasure, he was willing to give up every other
possession he owned in order to obtain that one thing.
In a recent
sermon, our pastor, Dr. Hal Adams, used Jesus’ “Parable of the Hidden Treasure”
to illustrate how people assign value, whether it be to living beings, like
family members and pets or to inanimate objects, like houses and cars.
Throughout
his sermon, Pastor Hal eloquently talked about values and their importance in the
daily life of every person. Our value systems determine how we spend our
thought life, our energy, our time, and our money.
Pastor progressed
in his sermon, talking about the values we should have as followers of Jesus.
He then focused on values we need in our own church, Radford Worship Center.
The core of
Pastor’s sermon was to emphasize the values we should have as a church—in our
own church. He said, “Our values as a church will determine what we accomplish
here. … What we value is also going to affect The Great Commission.”
Pastor Hal then
gave us his list of values for Radford Worship Center. I believe other Christians,
especially church leaders, might find his list helpful.
Ten Values
that make a difference in fulfilling or not fulfilling the vision, purpose, and
commission of this church:
1. We will regard Jesus’ deservedness, importance, and worth above all
things. This must be
inscribed on our hearts. God values people so we must value people.
2. We will honor Christ and the Church with integrity. We need to have the right heart—we must
be honest before God in excellence and moral principle.
3. We will give up the things we love for what we love most. We do that every day. It’s an honor
to sacrifice for God. We need to love what God loves.
4. We will believe all people are important. If we do this we’ll be willing to give
up what we need to give up in order to please God.
5. We will do anything, short of sin, to reach people who don’t know Christ. For us to reach people no one else
is reaching, we need to do things no one else is doing.
6. We will be contributors, not consumers. Our church must consist mostly of people who
contribute not simply consume.
7. We will lead the way with intentional generosity. We need to truly believe it is
better to give than to receive.
8. We will be faithful to things we value. If we value our spouse, we’ll be faithful to him or
her. If we value God, we’ll be faithful to Him. If we value The Great Commission,
we’ll be faithful to do our part.
9. We will always bring our best. To drag into worship service after staying up until 4 a.m., watching
sports or the entire season of “The Walking Dead,” is not bringing our best. In
essence, that says, “Now I’ll give God what’s left.” Let’s give God our very
best. Excellence honors God and inspires people.
10. We will have fun! We have much to thank God for and we’re winners. The loosing team never
celebrates a loss. Let’s celebrate the
love and goodness of our God!
Today’s
Tweets: “What we value determines what we will become.”
“Our values are
the engine that brings fulfillment.”
Know
that Christ values you. That’s why He died for you.
To
get the most from Pastor Hal’s message, watch the video of him delivering this valuable
message. He calls it “Values.” Please watch it all the way through, including
his powerful prayer at the end. I pray
you are blessed and ministered to.
Here’s
the link:
©Copyright
2018 Connie Wohlford
