Zealous for Our Fall Focus

Resources/Articles

Edwin Crozier
09/01/13 - Zealous for Good Deeds

Zealous for our Fall Focus

To all of our guests, thank you for your presence. You have shown up on a very special day. Today, we are kicking off our Fall Focus. We are taking an entire month to focus on being “Zealous for Good Deeds.” Our key passage for the month is Titus 2:14.

…waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works (ESV).

Jesus Christ didn’t redeem us simply to get us to heaven. He redeemed us so we could be part of His special people who are zealous for good works. September 2013 is our month to fulfill what Paul taught Titus. “And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful” (Titus 3:14, ESV). This month, we’ll learn to devote ourselves to good works.

But first, that is going to take being devoted to our Fall Focus. There are two parts of our focus. The first is on an individual level, the second is at a congregational level.

As a congregation, every sermon in September is going to focus on good deeds. Many of the lessons will be based on the Parable of the Good Samaritan, but others will come from other principles and passages found in the Bible. The sermons are as follows:

September 1
10:30 AM--The Good Deed
5:00 PM--Great in the Kingdom

September 8
10:30 AM--The Good Samaritan: Who Do You Love?
5:00 PM--The Good Samaritan: What Love Is This?

September 15
10:30 AM--The Good Samaritan: Seeking to Justify Himself
5:00 PM--The Good Samaritan: A Levite, a Priest, and a Samaritan Walk Into a Bar

September 22
10:30 AM--The Good Samaritan: Where Does It Stop?
5:00 PM--Let Not the Church Be Burdened?

September 29
10:30 AM--When Going to Church Doesn't Help
5:00 PM--A Singing: Zealous for Good Deeds

You won’t want to miss a single one of these lessons designed to help you and this congregation be zealous for good deeds.

On an individual and family level, you will be given a pack of cards. The goal is to tear off, read, and act on one card each day in September. Each card has three sections: a Message, a Meaning, and a Movement. The Message is a passage of Scripture that relates to zeal for good deeds. The Meaning is a devotional paragraph that will help you see how the text applies to your life. The Movement is a practical way you can pursue good deeds on that particular day.

Consider Day 6 as an example:

Message: “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

Meaning: God is always up to something. Here, Paul reminds us that: 1. God is on our side. With Him we have a clear leader providing purpose and support. 2. God influences our heart and our hands. The word of God is working within us to stir our will towards holiness, and to motivate us in the work He wishes accomplished. 3. God is pleased to be our partner. As Christians we are able to give God pleasure! How amazing that we can share in the work and the joy of the Lord!

Movement: Just to please God, sing Him a song today. God loves our hearts to praise Him, so sing your favorite song from church or make up your own words to joyfully sing to the Lord.

Make sure you get your card pack before you leave today. Then make sure to read one every day during September. Read them together as a family. Read them with friends in the congregation. Or get a friend from work or school involved. Let them know what we are doing and have them read the cards with you each day. You might even be able to invite them to hear one of the sermons. Who knows what kind of opportunities for the good work of spreading the gospel this month can produce?

But of course, this is all going to take some devotion, commitment, and zeal. This is going to be a great month, a great Fall Focus, a great opportunity to increase our zeal for good deeds. You won’t want to miss a single part of this focus. So make sure to be zealous for our fall focus.

—Edwin L. Crozier