A Passionate Disciple of JC

Know Fellowship Raleigh’s Gang Sign

mattschoolfield — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:22:32 +0000

God has been powerfully at work in my life as a leader. On January 8th I preached a sermon at our church on the subject of our vision for 2012. Of course our mission, values, and big vision are all staying the same, but this message was about our hyper-focus as a church for 2012. The title of the sermon was “Humble Ambition” and each point started with an “S” hence 4S (see gang sign above).

1) See our City- A big reason we as Christians fail to be burdened to share the Gospel with people in our lives who are far from God is that we do not even SEE them. It has been said, “people are either scenery, machinery, or ministry.” Jesus actually saw people. Matthew 9:36 says, “When he saw the crowds he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (or Pastor).” At Fellowship Raleigh we are re-committing to be missionaries and see our city through the eyes of Jesus in 2012. We must see our city with the eyes of Jesus and move toward our city with the heart of Jesus.

2) Serve People- These days serving is “cool” and everybody wants to fit a little serving in their schedule (well not everybody, but you get what I’m saying). The problem is that our serving costs us so little. Serving is often superficial rather than sacrificial. It is often a strategy rather than an identity. It is often reactive rather than proactive. Paul recounted in Acts 20:35, how “the Lord Jesus himself said it is more blessed to give than receive.” Of course seeing and serving go together. One of the reasons Jesus saw people in Mt. 9:36 is that he was serving them in word and deed in Mt. 9:35 (the immediately preceding verse!). At Fellowship Raleigh we are committing to serve people better in 2012. We will continue doing what we have been doing with Preaching the Word, New Life w/ Christ evangelism, LAMP, Foxy Lady Outreach, Fellowship Group Service Projects, and much more but we will also complete 8 big service projects as a church in 2012 (every 6 weeks). This will help us be more proactive, rather than reactive. Of course we know that our serving must be more than a planned event, but it is certainly not less than that!

To be continued….. 3) Seek God & 4) Set Goals will be in next post

Staff & Spouse Appreciation Night

mattschoolfield — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:55:06 +0000

At Fellowship Raleigh we have a great team. We are highly unified through both the Gospel and our shared vision together. This is our team right now. Everyone except me is either part-time, bi-vocational, or an intern, which means they are super committed and awesome. I am very blessed to be surrounded by fun, talented, hard working, and Godly friends.

Dear Shelby, 3 things as you turn 15

mattschoolfield — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:46:36 +0000

Dear Shelby (Best Niece in the World)

Happy Birthday. It is hard to believe that you are 15 today. Wow time flies. I can still remember you living at our house as a baby when I was a senior in High School. I remember when your mom took you to one of my basketball games and held you in the NFC bleachers. You were crying (not cheering).

I also remember taking you to the FSU circus when you were 3 and introducing you to cotton candy. You got the cotton candy all over your face then played in the woodchips, which blanketed the floor of the circus tent. Woodchips stuck onto your face with cotton candy sticky-ness was pretty funny. Randomly, I also remember from that circus that you absolutely hated clowns and they scared you so much.

Well I really just want to encourage you on your birthday. You are a beautiful, smart, resilient, and wonderful 15-year old girl. I am so proud of who you have become and how you have hung on throughout the ups and downs of your childhood.

When I was in High School I lived with my parents (that is your grandparents). Funny but this is exactly where you live now. They were younger and less grouchy then for sure. Ha! But I am thankful to say that they were great examples to me of walking with God and loving each other. They are not perfect but they loved me the best they could. If I am really and truly honest I would have to admit that most of the conflict I had with my parents was not because of them. It was because I was a high schooler who wanted something (fill in the blank______) that I could not have. Those things are so small now- looking back from my 30’s! I am sure you are much better than I was.

With this letter on your birthday I just want to remind you of a few things to encourage you. I hope this does not feel to preachy, but hey, you know that’s my profession. Here we go…

Anchor your sense of value on God’s truth. When God sees you He sees a beautiful girl that he made in His very own image. There is simply nothing more valuable than that! No one can ever take it away from you. Genesis 1:27 says, “He created man in his image… male and female he created them.” Your value is not fundamentally based on “come and go” realities such as attention from your dad and mom, how many FB & text messages you get in a day, the car you ride in, the clothes you wear, the boy who asks you to homecoming, and stuff you do to make others laugh. Let’s be real… these things I just listed do help us all with “feeling” valued, but it will serve you well to anchor your sense of value on God’s truth (and not feelings).
Know that you know the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There are two subtle dangers that come with living in a Christian home and going to a Christian school. First, it is a danger that you might assume the Gospel instead of knowing that you know the Gospel and believing in the real Jesus whom the Gospel is all about. A second danger is that us older Christians (i.e. parents, grandparents, teachers, youth pastors, and especially uncles) will constantly be encouraging you to live like a Christian. We mean well, but the danger is that in our tone and repetition we may unintentionally send you the message that Christianity is all about what you do to please God. The fact is that Christianity is the exact opposite, namely what God has done for us. So here is the Gospel: God created us, we have sinned separating us from God, then God sent Jesus to save us by dying for our sins. We must turn from sin and believe in Jesus and God will save us. Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God.” You are never more or less accepted and loved by God than the level of God’s acceptance and love gained for you by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Choose your friends. These days most people just sit back and let others choose their friends for them. I know that from moving around your whole life you probably feel like you’ve never been able to choose your friends and you may be glad just to have friends. However, now you are 15 and the stakes will never be higher. Please wisely choose Godly friends (mostly girlfriends) and please do not just let friends choose you. Who you are friends with is who you are becoming and who you are becoming is who you will be. Proverbs 13:20- “whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm.” Don’t be sort of a part of several churches and youth groups; rather be deeply invested in Godly friendships in one church. That is the wise plan!

I hope that those three encouragements will be of some help for you. I know they would have helped me at 15! Again, Happy Birthday and we look forward to your next visit.

With much love from your un-cool uncle who knew Taylor Swift’s middle name when you did not,

Uncle Matt

Voddie on Family Shepherds

mattschoolfield — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:25:02 +0000

This looks like a good and challenging book for men/husbands/fathers to read. I love this guy Voddie Baucham and I vividly remember the first time I heard him preach at a Passion event in 2000 (12 years ago- wow).

0:22 – Voddie shares why he wrote Family Shepherds
2:26 – TV’s portrayal of a man versus Scripture’s portrayal of a man
5:05 – The influence of Titus on Voddie’s writing
7:05 – What Voddie hopes will stick with you

Let’s Talk About Money!

mattschoolfield — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:26:33 +0000

Oh before I start !! I am not doing this because our church is desperate for money. Not at all. Rather, I simply want the culture of Fellowship Raleigh regarding finances to be biblical, clear, and helpful to our church family and anyone else who wants to know. Okay then……

Questions to consider: Why is talking about money more awkward at church than anywhere else? How does our church view finances? How are we doing financially as a church plant? What can a person do to help?

Dan Ellis and I took some time the other day to make a video where we talk about Fellowship Raleigh Church and finances. This is a brief and helpful conversation on giving and church (specifically our church). Hope you enjoy! Merry Christmas.

Child Dedications at Fellowship

mattschoolfield — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:42:19 +0000

A baby is born every 7 seconds in America. By the sovereign graciousness of God a small minority of these children are born into families where the parents love Jesus and desire to proactively & intentionally raise their child up knowing and learning God’s Word and the Gospel. When this happens we want to celebrate!!! I love child dedications because it takes a church to raise a disciple (great spot for an amen). Here is a picture of the Fellowship child dedication from a couple weeks ago….. Emmanuel Jr, Brooke, Anna Beth, & Emilia.

Claire Diane

mattschoolfield — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 03:03:46 +0000

Sermon Prep This Week

mattschoolfield — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:51:24 +0000

It has been said of preaching that “A mist in the pulpit is a fog in the pew.” I have a hard to interpret yet awesome passage of Scripture to teach on this Sunday. The passage is Hosea 1:8-2:1 where the LORD tells Israel, ‘you are not my people and I am not your God…” It has been a hard study week (not even over yet). Despite the grueling nature of preparing a sermon each week I would still say that I have got a cool job/calling such that I can spend hours each week studying and praying through God’s Word. Preaching is indeed a joyous burden. The Sermon Title is: Bright Sadness. Excited for Sunday!

Bible Translation Visual (repost)

mattschoolfield — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 13:28:43 +0000

Hosea 1:6c is reluctantly leading me into a discussion in my sermon about Bible translations. So i wanted to repost this to the blog. Here is a helpful picture to think about Bible translations. We currently use the ESV at Fellowship Raleigh on Sunday mornings. Someday we may switch to the NASB. I like to read and listen to the NIV. Sometimes I enjoy the NLT too.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, [32] and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32 ESV)

The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul.  The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.  [8] The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.  The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. (Psalm 19:7-8 NIV)

AV Team at Fellowship Raleigh

mattschoolfield — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 02:11:25 +0000

We launched our Hosea sermon series this week. It was a big Sunday and very exciting to me to start a new series. Our AV team made a mistake and forgot to record the sermon so we could stream it on the website. The sermon manuscript (in pdf form) is linked to this post. I want to talk about the AV team for a moment right here in this blog post. This weeks accident really got me thinking… The AV (audio video) service team is one of those ministries in the local church that no one notices unless something goes wrong, which is really kind of a bummer. It is also rare at Fellowship Raleigh mind you. So I actually want to take this opportunity to thank our guys and gals for all that they do so excellent each week. “We ought to always give thanks to God for you…” (2 Thessalonians 2:13). Our AV team really does a great job. We’re a church plant, our team has had no formal training or professional experience, we pay them $0, we use mostly ’hand-me-down’ equipment, and we still have GREAT sound every week and have accomplished so much more. On top of all of this, let us never forget that this is Jesus’ church and the focus is on people, not on pressing buttons, garage band, techy equipment, light bars, Macbooks, iPhones, podcasts, etc….etc….

I choose to believe this accident happened so that (#1) I could take this important opportunity to commend our AV team, and (#)2 some of us could read the sermon manuscript from this week, which is likely more edifying than listening to it. See link for the sermon manuscript here…. Scandalous_Love_Manuscript (Hosea #1)