The Start of the Church

We're going to begin by singing to the Lord Jesus, who is the reason why we're here today. Come on, let's sing. ♪ Oh, what deadly claims victory ♪ ♪ A king, the love and giving of his life ♪ ♪ The darkest day in history ♪ ♪ They run the cross, they made for sinners ♪ ♪ For every curse, there's blood to drink ♪ ♪ One final breath and it was finished ♪ ♪ But not the end, we could've known ♪ ♪ Oh, put the evidence in the shade ♪ ♪ And the victims free ♪ ♪ Oh, a time for his praise be ♪ ♪ As the heavens roar ♪ ♪ Lord ♪ ♪ All hail King Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Lord of heaven and earth ♪ ♪ All hail King Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Savior of the world ♪ ♪ All hail the Savior of the world ♪ ♪ There was a moment when I let go ♪ ♪ Of flesh and life breaking through ♪ ♪ When all was lost across eternity, yes ♪ ♪ The King of life was on the move ♪ ♪ For in the dark, all was new ♪ ♪ For the Lord was great ♪ ♪ He was reckless, brave ♪ ♪ He was forever changed ♪ ♪ All hail King Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Lord of heaven and earth ♪

♪ All hail King Jesus, yes ♪ ♪ All hail the Savior of the world ♪ ♪ All hail King Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Lord of heaven and earth ♪ ♪ All hail King Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Savior of the world ♪ ♪ The world ♪ ♪ Oh, he's the Savior of the world, yeah ♪ ♪ Let every knee bow before the King of kings ♪ ♪ Let every tongue confess that he is Lord ♪ ♪ Lift up your shout, let us join with all of heaven singing ♪ ♪ Holy, we're singing holy, we cry out holy ♪ ♪ We're singing holy, we cry out holy ♪ ♪ Singing holy ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, all hail, all hail King Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Lord of heaven and earth ♪ ♪ All hail King Jesus, the Savior ♪ ♪ All hail the Savior of the world ♪ Amen. Well, good morning, everybody. It's so good to see you. Welcome. If you don't know me or if you haven't met me yet, my name is Caleb. I serve as a worship minister here at 121. And I'm just excited to worship with all of you. It's such a joy. I just came out this past weekend with some of our team writing songs here at the church. And it was such a beautiful time.

And you know what it reminded me of? It reminded me, as I was teaching, because we did some adult songwriting, then we also did some songwriting for the students, and I invited them in, and some of them, it was for their first time. And so it was such a beautiful experience. And I think, as I was teaching them, it reminded me that worship's more than just something fun that we do. Worship is more than just singing lyrics and singing along with the song before the message comes. Worship is an opportunity. Worship is a weapon that we use against the world, that we use against the enemy, that we use against the hard seasons and the tough times that we're in. And so I just wanna invite you guys, as we continue to worship, as we continue to lift up the name of Jesus and praise Him, I would just challenge all of us to encounter the Lord, to open up, to open your hands, to open your minds, and to clear the distractions around you, to really just let the Lord work in you. Don't miss this opportunity, because I don't know where you're coming from today. You may be coming from a tough season, and if that's you, then this time is for you. This time is for you, that the Lord wants to meet with you in this moment

and throughout the rest of this gathering. And if that's not you, and life is good right now, I would just challenge you, what does the Lord have for you this morning? Don't walk in here and then walk out without truly meeting with Him and worshiping Him in spirit and in truth. So let's continue to sing this song together and remind ourselves what we're here to do. We sing. ♪ Light of the world, you step down into dark ♪ ♪ Open my eyes, let me see you ♪ ♪ Beauty that made this heart adore you ♪ ♪ Hope of a life spent with you ♪ Sing that again, light of the world. ♪ Light of the world, you step down into darkness ♪ ♪ Open my eyes, let me see you ♪ ♪ Beauty that made this heart adore you ♪ ♪ Hope of a life spent with you ♪ Let's sing this together. ♪ Here I am to worship, here I am to love you ♪ ♪ Here I am to bow down, here I am to say that ♪ ♪ You're my God, come on ♪ ♪ You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy ♪ ♪ Altogether wonderful to me ♪ King of all names. ♪ King of all days, so highly exalted ♪ ♪ Glorious and well-remembered ♪ ♪ Only you came to the earth you created ♪ ♪ All for love's sake became poor ♪

♪ So here I am, here I am to worship ♪ Sing it out. ♪ Here I am to love you, here I am to say that ♪ ♪ You're my God, You're altogether lovely ♪ ♪ Altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me ♪ Sing it again. ♪ Here I am to worship, here I am to worship You ♪ It's what we're here to do, God. It's what we're here for, yes. ♪ You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy ♪ ♪ Altogether wonderful to me ♪ ♪ And I'll never know how much it costs to see myself ♪ ♪ Upon that cross and I'll never know how much it costs to see myself ♪ ♪ Upon that cross and I'll never know how much it costs to see myself ♪ ♪ And I'll never know how much it costs to see myself upon that cross ♪ Come on. ♪ Oh, I'll never know how much it costs to see myself upon that cross ♪ ♪ Oh, I'll never know how much it costs to see myself upon that cross ♪ ♪ And I'll never know how much it costs to see myself upon that cross ♪ ♪ Oh, I'll never know, I'll never know, I'll never know, I'll never know Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, I'll never know how much it costs to see myself upon that cross ♪ ♪ Here I am, here I am to worship, here I am to bow down, here I am to say that you're wonderful to me ♪ ♪ You're altogether wonderful to me, altogether wonderful to me ♪ ♪ You're altogether wonderful to me, altogether wonderful to me ♪ ♪ So here I am to worship, here I am to bow down, here I am to say that you're my God ♪ ♪ You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me ♪ ♪ You're altogether wonderful to me, altogether wonderful to me ♪ ♪ So here I am to worship, here I am to bow down, here I am to say that you're my God ♪ ♪ You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me ♪ ♪ So here I am to worship, here I am to bow down, here I am to say that you're my God ♪

♪ You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me ♪ Amen. ♪ Let the kingdom of heaven be the mountain where I run ♪ ♪ The fountain I drink from, oh, the essence of my heart ♪ ♪ Let the kingdom of heaven be the shadow where I lie ♪ ♪ The ransom for my heart, oh, the essence of my heart ♪ ♪ Let the kingdom of heaven be the mountain where I run ♪ ♪ The fountain I drink from, oh, the essence of my heart ♪ ♪ Let the kingdom of heaven be the shadow where I lie ♪ ♪ The fountain I drink from, oh, the essence of my heart ♪ ♪ Let the kingdom of heaven be the shadow where I lie ♪ ♪ You are the kingdom of my life ♪ ♪ You are the wind inside my sail ♪ ♪ The fountain I drink from, oh, the essence of my heart ♪ ♪ You are the anchor in my way ♪ ♪ Oh, you are my sun ♪ ♪ Let the kingdom of heaven be the shadow where I lie ♪ ♪ You are the kingdom of my life ♪ ♪ You are the fire inside my veins ♪ ♪ You are the echo of my days ♪ ♪ Oh, you are my sun ♪ ♪ You are the king of my heart ♪ ♪ You are the wind inside my sails ♪ ♪ You are the anchor in my way ♪ ♪ Oh, you are my sun ♪ ♪ You are the king of my heart ♪ ♪ You are the fire inside my veins ♪ ♪ You are the echo of my days ♪ ♪ Oh, it's my song ♪ ♪ You are good, you're good, oh ♪

♪ You are good, you're good, oh ♪ ♪ You are good, you're good, oh ♪ ♪ You are good, you're good, oh ♪ ♪ And you're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down ♪ ♪ And you're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me ♪ Come on, if you see it, if you believe it, we sing. ♪ You're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down ♪ ♪ Oh, you're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down ♪ ♪ Oh, you're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down ♪ ♪ Oh, you're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down ♪ ♪ Oh, you're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down ♪ ♪ Oh, you're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down ♪ ♪ Oh, you are good, you're good, oh ♪ ♪ You are good, you're good, oh ♪ ♪ You are good, you're good, oh ♪ ♪ You are good, you're good, oh ♪ ♪ You're never gonna let… You're never gonna let me down, oh! ♪ ♪ You're never gonna let… You're never gonna let me down, oh! ♪ ♪ You're never gonna let… You're never gonna let me down, oh! ♪ ♪ You're never gonna let… You're never gonna let me down, oh! ♪ ♪ You are good, you're good, oh! You are good, you're good, oh! ♪ Amen. Can we give God a hand of praise? He's good, He's good. Let's continue to sing. ♪♪♪ ♪ You have always been good in my life, God, the shepherd of my souls. ♪ ♪ The Lord is my shepherd and He is everything, so I will not worry, I will not fear the enemy. ♪ ♪ He said that He loves me, He said that He's with me even though I walk through the valley of shadow and death. ♪ ♪ And still I know He has good plans, He has good plans for me, we see. ♪ ♪ So I won't take heart in deserts and gardens, He has good plans, He has good plans for me. ♪

♪ If I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans. ♪ ♪ Oh yes, He does ♪ ♪ Oh yes, He does ♪ ♪ Oh yes, He does ♪ ♪ Oh yes, He does ♪ ♪ Oh yes, He does ♪ ♪ The Lord is my Savior ♪ ♪ So why should I doubt my victory? ♪ ♪ Why would I question? ♪ ♪ The Lord in the sight that comes me ♪ ♪ He quiets the waters ♪ ♪ He quiets the storm inside of me ♪ ♪ So what could be better than walking with Him? ♪ ♪ When I believe He has good plans ♪ ♪ He has good plans for me ♪ ♪ So I will take on and dare to take on Him ♪ ♪ He has good plans ♪ ♪ He has good plans for me ♪ ♪ If I know my Father, I know my Father has ♪ ♪ He has good plans, He has good plans for me ♪ ♪ So I will take on and dare to take on Him ♪ ♪ He has good plans, He has good plans for me ♪ ♪ If I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans ♪ ♪ Oh, yes, He does, Lord, He always has good plans for us, Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, we trust Him, Lord, surely goodness and mercy will follow me all my days, God ♪ Let's sing that together, shall we? ♪ Oh, surely goodness and mercy will follow after me ♪ ♪ So fear well, not fight me, cause I'll be dwelling in the house of God ♪ ♪ Oh, surely goodness and mercy will follow after me ♪ ♪ So fear well, not fight me, cause I'll be dwelling in the house of God ♪

♪ Oh, surely goodness and mercy will follow after me ♪ ♪ So fear well, not fight me, cause I'll be dwelling in the house of God ♪ ♪ Oh, surely goodness and mercy will follow after me ♪ ♪ So fear well, not fight me, cause I'll be dwelling in the house of God ♪ ♪ He has good plans, He has good plans for me ♪ ♪ I won't take heart, I won't take heart in deserts and gardens ♪ ♪ He has good plans, He has good plans for me ♪ ♪ If I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans ♪ ♪ Oh, if I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans ♪ ♪ Oh, if I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans for me ♪ ♪ Oh, if I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans for me ♪ ♪ Oh, if I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans for me ♪ ♪ Oh, if I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans for me ♪ ♪ Oh, if I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans for me ♪ ♪ Oh, if I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans for me ♪ ♪ And I... ♪ ♪ I once was lost, but now I'm found ♪ ♪ Was blind, but now I see ♪ Amen. Lord, we thank you. Lord, thank you for your amazing grace that holds us, God, through everything. You are the good shepherd that guides us and comforts us by your rod and your staff, God. You light our path before us through your word, Lord. You give us clarity, you give us scripture to teach us and to guide us in wisdom, Lord. So Lord, as we open your word today, God, later on, Lord, I just pray that you would use it, Lord, to teach us, to convict us, Lord,

and to bring us to repentance, to bring us before the cross, God, so that we may see Jesus and we could taste and see that he's good. Because he is good. Thank you for this time together, in Jesus' name, we pray, amen. Amen, you may be seated, we have announcements. Hey, we're really excited about our next phase of the Scent series. We've talked about global efforts, God's global heart, and then God has a heart for starting churches. That is the way the gospel spreads, not just globally, but locally, the US, all over the world. So these next three months, we are going to spend our time thinking about church planting as we study 1 Thessalonians, which was a letter that Paul wrote early on after he planted that particular church. I wanted to share with you a little bit how 121 started, because we're a church plant. Back in the 90s, God started working in my heart and the hearts of some of my friends, thinking about a church plant, and we didn't know if that was our idea or God's idea, and we just began praying if he would have us to plant a church. And then God used passion to really spark our hearts around what worship could look like. I was working on some education,

and in that education, I was working on solitude and what that looks like in an extended way. So God was really bringing a lot together to form and shape what 121 would look like. As we talked about where and prayed, God led us to this area at the time. The 121 corridor was not as churched. And when we talked about the corridor, we said, hey, what a great name for the church. It'd be 121 Community Church. We could anchor it in Philippians 121, for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. And that gives way to our mission statements, to lead people to live for Jesus Christ. And God led us in a very specific way. 23 people launched in September of 1999 in a home, 800 Rodeo Drive in Colleyville, Texas. And God has just moved us in a progression of ongoing transformation in people's lives and just being a part of his mission globally and in church planting. We've been a part of several church plants over the years. We're grateful that God planted us, and we look forward to how we can be a part of more church plants in the future. And I'm grateful Kevin Brooks has led a team for the last several months, a church planting team, to help us strategically think through how God would have us to do that. And we're excited to see how God unfolds that

in the coming days. ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ Well, good morning. How are we doing this morning? You guys awake? Let's go, baby. Welcome back to 121 Church. Like Kevin said, my name is Zach, and it's an honor to be with you, but it's a joy to be back with you. I don't know if anybody was here last May when I came and spoke with you guys. A lot's happened since last May. And so I'm excited to share a little bit about our church plant. Now, before I jump in, okay, a few disclaimers. First of all, I'm battling a cough, okay? And the 8 a.m., God bless them, we barely made it through. And at the end of the service, this random lady comes up to me and she says, hold out your hand. And I'm like, okay, this is interesting. And she hands me some cough drops, okay? And I don't always take drugs from random strangers, but I do if it's grandma, baby. So anyways, bear with me. Number two, if you got a bulletin coming in and it tells our story of our church plant and you look on the back and you see my family

and you're like, is bro wearing the same shirt and the picture as he is today? Yes, I am. Now, here's disclaimer, this is why I'm wearing the shirt. That shirt, we gave out these shirts, good news for Denton, at our launch. And your church actually bought the shirts for us. We gave out hundreds of shirts at our launch. And so every time I wear it, I think about you guys and I thank God for you guys. And which kind of leads me to what I wanna say at the very end. I am especially thankful for your church, 121 Church, because a year ago, when I was with you, you know, I was thankful, but only to a certain extent. I barely knew these guys, but what was interesting, and also, we hadn't even planted a church yet. We were young people with a vision to plant a church in Denton, Texas. Go Mean Green, anybody? Go, let's go, man. Oh, call, it sounded like a chicken, not an eagle. Um, there's, call, oh, not a, we're gonna make it, 915. Oh, not a, we're gonna make it, 915. Oh, why did I say all that? I'm thankful for you guys. We wanted to plant a church in Denton that loved the campus, okay, UNT and Texas Women's. We hadn't done the thing yet. A lot of questions on if it's gonna work,

what God is gonna do, and I'm especially thankful today, a year later or so, because of what God has done, and because your church, it was interesting, about 121 Church, I didn't know what kind of partnership we would have, but it wasn't a, hey, here's some money, good luck. It was a, hey, let's do this together kind of partnership, and that is a great kind of partnership, okay? Over the past year, Ross and Kevin and Eric and Jermaine, all these guys have bought us lunch, come up to Denton. I've shown them around, they prayed for us. I get more audio message prayers. I feel like every week, Ross is sending me, or Kevin sends me audio message prayers, and I've never, I don't get that from anybody else, except this church. I don't know if that's culture. You know, Kirk Cousins did that in the quarterback documentary. I don't know, like, if it's a big Kirk Cousins church, but I'm thankful for you guys. Go green, go white, Michigan State love. Anyways, I'm thankful for you guys, and I thank God that you belong to a church that cares about the nations. You know, you've been doing that whole thing, but also serious about church planting and seeing what God might do with new churches, which does set us up with where we're going this morning. It makes sense, since you got 27 years ago,

you guys planted this church, but also we're starting a series through First Thessalonians. So if you have a Bible, why don't we do it? Can we jump in? Can you guys actually go to First Thessalonians? We're gonna be there for about four seconds. And then if you wanna be proactive, you're gonna need to put a pen or a finger, or just, you have an app. You're gonna get to Acts 17 eventually, okay? Because what we're gonna do today is we're gonna look at one verse in First Thessalonians chapter one, and then we're gonna hop into DeLorean and go back in time, okay? Because I wanna show you not what the church in Thessalonica became, but how it started. Because you can learn a lot about something or someone by looking at their past, by looking at their hometown, by looking where they came from, okay? We love origin stories, don't we? One of my favorite books is Shoe Dog, which is a book about the founding of Nike, okay? This company, obviously we all know, and they started not as a mega company, but selling shoes out of a van or out of the back of a car. We know that Amazon and Apple both started in a garage. We love seeing the origin stories, the early struggles, if you will.

Or maybe you meet someone new, like today or this week, and you're like, oh, I wonder what kind of person that is. And you go on Facebook or Instagram, and you do like a deep dive, like stalking them and see where they came from. I had this whole bit planned this morning where I was gonna do that for your pastor. Like I was gonna try to find all these early pictures of Ross, okay? Like I wanted to find some baby pictures, some like elementary school pictures, high school pictures of Ross. But guys, can I tell you, your pastor's a hard man to find online, okay? I'm being dead serious. I could not find a single photo of Ross under the age of 30. I think he like paid a government agency to like, like Ross is on sabbatical. No, bro's on a mission with the government. I think he works for the government. You cannot, I'll pay you a dollar if you can find a photo of Ross online. But Ross, if you're listening to this, you might've, you know, swept the internet, but you do have traitors in your midst, okay? I did. I found a photo of Ross, and it's, it wasn't from staff. It's actually from his brother. Okay, can we throw a picture of Ross when he was a kid?

Okay, this, guys, that, I, I think this is the only photo, you know, before 30 that you're gonna find of Ross ever, okay? And I, it looks like AI made that picture, but I'm assuming not even a photo of it. It's like a painting of him, you know? So anyways, but you can learn a lot from someone. Here's my point, okay? You can learn a lot about someone or something by looking backwards, right? The beginning of something, who their parents were, what their hometown was, their upbringing, the values they had, the early struggles they went through. And guys, the same is true of churches here at 121 Church, but also the church in Thessalonica. And before you journey through the book of Thessalonians, it's helpful to go back and look at the baby picture, okay? The infant stage, the beginning and the birth of the church. And especially as you consider church planting and starting a new work, what a church is built on does impact what it becomes. Like what was involved at the beginning does impact it years later. And what we're gonna see in these nine verses in Acts and this one verse in 1 Thessalonians is what this church was started on, what it was founded on. And I actually wanna submit to you this morning that 121 Community Church, these four things we're gonna look at, these four marks of an early church,

I actually... should think are true of 121 Community Church, and I pray it continues to be true, and it's something I'm hoping is true of King's Church up 35 there in Denton. So we're gonna look at four marks of an early church. Sound good? You guys with me? Let's go to 1 Thessalonians one, and see what we're dealing with here to get some context before we go backwards, okay? 1 Thessalonians chapter one, verse one, an 11-week series starts right now. Okay, verse one. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy. To the church of the Thessalonians, in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, grace to you and peace, okay? Textbook opener here. We get a lot, actually, in one verse. We get the author and the recipient. Okay, the author here is Paul and his crew, and the recipient is a church with some Thessalonians in it. Now, if you're a student of the Word or a student of the book, one of the first questions you should ask is this. Well, who are these people? Like, who is Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, and do we have anywhere else in the scriptures

that puts that crew in a place with some Thessalonians in it? Well, good news, we do have a place in the Bible, and it's Acts chapter 17. Okay, now let's go to Acts 17. That's all you get in 1 Thessalonians one. We're gonna be looking at Acts chapter 17. We're going backwards in time. The book was written later. Acts 17 verse one is what we're gonna be. If you got it, say, got it. We're quick here, okay, people of the book. Verse one says this. Luke is writing. He says this. Now, when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, big deal, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. Okay, stop right there. Context, let's get our bearings. It's obvious we're right in the middle of a story. Again, if you're a student of the Word, if you read that verse out of context, you should ask the question, well, who are they? All right, it says they twice. Well, who are they? Well, very quickly, you can learn a few verses earlier. We learned who they are. It is the same crew that wrote the book of 1 Thessalonians.

We get Paul and Silas, which is another name for Sylvania, same dude. And also we know in Acts 16, a chapter earlier, they pick up Timothy to come with them. He opts on this church plant train. So it's the same people who wrote the book of 1 Thessalonians. They're gonna be in it for 10 more weeks who wrote or who are here in Acts 17. And so they're doing something, they're on the move. And so while we get Timothy, Paul's young disciple, Padawan, and you got Silas, his coworker, most of the book's heart and letter and story is actually written by the apostle Paul. And while we know a lot about Paul, it would be helpful for us, at least for 45 seconds, to think about who is the apostle Paul as we consider this letter. Well, you guys know this already because your whole church is named after something he said. The apostle Paul is one of the most dynamic, unique people in the Bible. He wrote 2 3rds of the New Testament, did a lot for the Lord, but he wasn't always for the Lord, was he? No, Paul previously went from town to town to town, not as a church planter, but as a terrorist of Christians, right? He persecuted them, threatened them,

went door to door and turned them in. But now Paul is going from town to town to town, not persecuting Christians, but starting churches. Why? Because he met the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus. Jesus changed his life. And now he can say something like, to live is Christ, to die is a gain. Paul's a big deal here, right? In this church and in this letter and in the book. Okay, so that's the apostle Paul, and he's on a journey to a place called Thessalonica. Now question, what do we know about the book or the city of Thessalonica? Well, if you Google it, or look at the map in the back of your Bible, you can actually pinpoint Thessalonica. It's a city in Macedonia or in modern day Greece. Okay, and it's a port city. So it's near like the Mediterranean or whatever ocean is there. And it was known for its influence. Okay, so it's a port city, but people would come in and out. A lot of culture there, a lot of influence. Okay, so if you had to like picture it today, it's like, if you could take Houston, like the port city of Houston, and mix it a little bit with Dallas, like just take the port part of Houston,

leave all the humidity and the smell, the people behind, and pick Dallas, okay, Dallas. Sorry, Houston fans. You take Dallas, and here's why Dallas, it's a hub, a culture. People come in and out and in and out, like it's a sending place. Ideas and people are coming through Dallas. If you mix those together, that's kind of what you get with Thessalonica. It's a strategic, influential city where ideas and people come in and out. It makes sense why Paul would go there, right? And so that's what we have so far. You got a group of people, Paul, Silas, and Timothy on the move across Europe, and they pass through all these places and get to Thessalonica. But here's the thing you have to understand. These guys are not just backpacking through Europe. No, they're going with on a mission. Like not just meandering through Europe. No, they're walking very intentionally through Europe. In fact, we're right in the middle here in Acts 17 of Paul's second missionary journey. He is on the move with the gospel, isn't he? He is being sent out by the Lord Jesus and the church of Antioch to proclaim the gospel, which leads me to our very first mark of a church in church planting and this church here in Acts 17,

it starts with a sent people, a sent people. That's the first mark of this church in Thessalonica. It was built on the backs of a sent people, people on the move, okay? People who were sent with the gospel, people who are not content with the lostness in the world, in their families, in the city. Church planting always starts with a people on the move, a sent people, people who pray to the Lord, God, you've moved my heart, now move my feet. God, you've opened my eyes, now open my mouth to proclaim the goodness of the Lord. This is how church planting starts. Acts 17 starts with people on the move. You just watched a video. This church, 121 Community Church, started a people on the move, and that's how our church in Denton also started. Okay, one of my favorite things to share about King's Church, our church up the road, is the fact that, that catches people off guard. One of my favorite facts is the fact that my wife and I, we did not move home to Denton alone. No, similar to Ross, when we moved to start King's Church, 60 people from across the country, mostly from Michigan, and Iowa, and Colorado, and Ohio, and Indiana, and Florida, and Oregon, these people all moved to Denton, Texas, of all places I know, to Denton, Texas, to plant a church. And check it, guys, they didn't have jobs.

Like, we're not employing 60 people vocationally in the church. Yeah, a few of them did, but no, almost all of those people who moved from their home and comfort to Denton had no jobs and had to find jobs. But they gave up life and home and all these things, why? Because they wanted to plant a church that would engage the campus and engage Denton. Okay, so we got people who found jobs as fourth grade teachers, doulas, insurance brokers, okay, auto finance people. We got people, baristas. These people all found jobs in Denton because they're motivated by this message. Okay, what happened in the book of Acts? Okay, they also read in the scriptures that nobody who leaves father and mother and home will not be paid back a hundredfold in the kingdom to come. You see, this church and our church starts on the heels of people who are sent. Okay, one of my favorite guys who came with us, his name is Ryan Harkey. He's non-staff, he works for Delta Dental. I think like dental insurance or something like that. And what's fun about Ryan is he's not from Michigan, where we came from, he's from Iowa, and he felt called to plant a church in Michigan, and then he felt called to move again and plant another church in Texas. He's a serial church planter, kind of like Paul here,

but he's a legend and he'll never stand on a stage like this, he'll never write books. But Ryan Harkey is in the hall of faith in our church. He's the kind of guy because he lives on mission. He lives sent. You see, that's the first mark of this church here. You have to see people who are always on the move. Our church is built in the DNA of this church and King's Church and Thessalonica is a church on the move. And that's my argument is, if you wanna reach a city and stay reaching a city, you have to stay on the move, which is here where I wanna pause and bring it out to you today. Because just because this church was founded 27 some years ago, it doesn't mean it needs to lose its sending culture. No, I would argue probably that you would have to reinforce it and cultivate it even more. You see, the fastest way for 121 church to die, for this to be an empty building on the side of the road, is for it to stop moving and stop sending. But if you'll stay committed to sending and moving and being a church on the move, God will continue to bless this church. And so here's the question that this leads to, to the people in the room. Are you living as a sent person? Like, are you living sent? Like where you live, where you work and where you play? Like, do you view yourself as intentionally put somewhere

by God so you wanna live with intentionality? Whether it's at John Deere or that nice Charles Schwab or you're a stay-at-home mom, or you've worked for American Airlines, like, are you someone who lives sent? Because listen, you don't gotta move across the country and plant a church to be a sent person. No, I would actually argue most people, most Christians, will not move across the country to plant a church, but you are called to walk across the street to share the gospel with your neighbors, to build relationships. So are you living sent? Because if 121 is gonna remain a sending church, it's gotta be filled with sent people. And so are you sent? Do you live like it? That's the first mark of the early church here and of this church, but not just a sent people. Let's keep going into the text because our next mark is right around the corner. Go back to verse one, halfway through it. Let's push forward. It says, they came to Thessalonica where there was a synagogue of the Jews. Verse two, and Paul went in as was his custom. And on three Sabbath days, he reasoned with them from the scriptures. Okay, if you read the book of Acts, which you guys have here,

you know this was his pattern, right? He rolls into a city, he finds the synagogue and he goes in and he preaches about Jesus. And here it says, for three days, he reasoned with them. And notice what it says, from the scriptures. Can you see that? I would just underline that because we're gonna move quickly through the second mark, but this one is our second mark that we see in the early church. You got a sent people and now, point two, an open Bible. Okay, that this church in Thessalonica was founded with a Bible open. You can see it here. Paul goes into the synagogue and it says, he reasoned with them, or he debated, he discussed and he dialogued from the scriptures, or in other words, from the word of God. And so if you just zoom out from Acts 17, again, and you think about this church and church planting and all these things, this church here in North Greece and this church here in North Texas is founded with an open Bible. Like they came to their convictions about the world, about Jesus, who God was from the book. Not from culture, not from their own hearts, but they found their convictions from the Bible. Their authority came from the word. And likewise, if you wanna plant a church,

you need to be committed, like Ross has been, to preaching and teaching and living according to the word of God. We wanna be a Bible church here. We wanna be a Bible church up the road at King's Church, one that's committed to not just speaking from our hearts, but speaking from the word. And that's been true here at 121 Community Church. Okay, if you're new here, first time, welcome. I'm not the pastor here, but I do commend, I do wanna commend this church to you because I did some digging online. And while I couldn't find pictures of Ross, I did find something better, okay? What I looked at online on your website is this book, this church rather, over the last 13 years, that's the available database online, this church has been committed to opening the Bible and preaching the Bible, okay? Over the last 13 years, this is what this church has done. You preach through the whole book of Esther, spent multiple seasons in Acts, this book that we're in now. You dove into Isaiah 40, Romans 8, the book of Genesis. You walked all the way through Hebrews. It took you some time to get through Hebrews. Ross must love that one. You spent time in Psalms. You've gone verse by verse through Joshua, Titus. You taught the 10 commandments in 11 weeks, classic, Ross. You preach the entire gospel of Mark.

And most recently, you guys know this, you preach through the book of James. Here's why I share this, you think about the scriptures, the whole story, the whole counsel of God. You preach through the law, the history, the prophets, the gospels, the wisdom, and the letters, why? Because this church has been committed to the whole counsel of God and building this whole church anchored in the whole book. Okay, that's something to commend. Okay, that's something to celebrate. And Ross, if he was here, sit in front row, he would chuckle because that's only like half the lifetime of this church. And that's because, Ross, I don't have the copies of the tapes or the CDs or the papyrus that you wrote those sermons on, bro. I should say, this church, it's a church with its Bible open. But again, you're gonna have to bring this down to you because what's most important in this room, arguably, is not Ross had the Bible open up here, but you had the Bible open in your home, that you had the Bible open to your heart, that your family knows the word, that you open the Bible every day with your family, with your kids, that you would live according to it. Because this is not gonna be a Bible church if only Ross and Kevin and Eric open the Bible on Sundays. A Bible church is full of Bible people

because the church is not a building with screens and an LED board and some like fake stained glass windows. That look beautiful. But no, no, no, the church is a people. It's a people. That's what the Bible says. Are you, the question you gotta ask is, am I living sent and do I have the Bible open? Because the only way this church is gonna be committed to the scriptures is if it has people who are committed to the scriptures. So do you have it open? And when's the last time you've committed to reading it? Today's a great time to jump into the word, okay? Now, let's keep going because what's most interesting in Acts is yeah, the Bible's open. And there's a message that Paul is committed to, but it's a unique message. Like Paul, he walks into the synagogue and there's some great stories in the Bible. You know, David and Goliath, Noah's Ark, all this stuff. But that's not the story that Paul focuses on primarily. No, there's a center story. There's a main story. There's a story under all stories that Paul was especially committed to teaching. And it's very powerful, okay? Let's keep going. Verse two.

So Paul went in, Acts was his custom, three Sabbath days. He's reasoning from the scriptures. Verse three. explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead and saying, this Jesus, whom I proclaim to you is the Christ. And then the response, verse four, and some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women, must be a lot. Okay, so Paul here, he's clear about his message in the synagogue, and we too at 121 Church, we wanna be clear about the message that we hold to. Okay, the third mark of this church, a third mark of healthy church planting, a sent people, an open Bible, and a clear message, a clear gospel message. You see our third point here, a clear message, like there's three parts of this message that Paul shared for three weeks, okay? He's walking that synagogue and he's sharing a message that's got these three parts, very simple. Jesus died, Jesus rose, and Jesus reigns. That's the message here that he's sharing over and over and over again. And guys, that's good news, right? First, Jesus died, like a real death on a real cross. Didn't we just do this? Good Friday, right? Bad news for Jesus, but good news for us.

Like he died on a real cross. Why? It says it was necessary for him to suffer. Well, it wasn't necessary because he sinned, it was necessary because we sinned. We needed forgiveness. Okay, I can hear Paul saying in the scriptures or in that synagogue, he made him who knew no sin to what? Be sin, why? So that we might have the righteousness of God. Jesus died a real death, he had to die. But part two of his message is very good news for us because Jesus didn't stay dead. Sunday is coming, right? Easter is coming. And guys, I know it's only 10, 11 in the morning, but isn't that good news for us, that Jesus rose from the dead? Don't we celebrate that? Because guys, listen, this is what Paul is gonna say. Like on the third at break of dawn, the son of heaven rose again. Or maybe my old, my favorite song from a long time ago, up from the grave he arose with a mighty triumph over his foes. He arose a victor of the dark domain, didn't he? That's good news for us, okay? Paul's gonna go in here and say he rose from the dead. And I can hear him saying in the synagogue, hey, yeah, if Christ didn't rise from the dead,

you should pity us, but praise God, he did. Indeed, he did rise from the dead. And guys, listen, you just did this Easter, right? This wasn't a resuscitation, this was a resurrection. It wasn't a metaphorical resurrection, it wasn't just a spiritual resurrection, no, a physical bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Or in other words, a heart that was still started beating again. Lungs that were collapsed started filling. Veins that were empty started flowing with the very precious blood that saved you from your sins. Hands that were once closed are now open. Feet that were once pierced are now standing there, why? Because the good news that Paul would have shared is this, Jesus didn't just escape death, he defeated death. And that's the good news here. And then he's gonna go forward and say this, he didn't just die and he didn't just rise, but now he reigns. He is the good and happy king of heaven and earth and joy and life is found in him. That's what he says, he is the what? The Christ. He is the what? The Messiah. He is the anointed one. Or in other words, he is the king. He is the promised king of 2 Samuel 7 to David. He is the rejected yet chosen king in Psalm 2.

Jesus is the good and happy king. That's the message from Paul. Jesus Christ died, Jesus rose and Jesus reigns. And it's a very clear message. And look what happens next. Because of a clear gospel message being preached, people believed. It says some people were persuaded. Men and women, Jews and Greeks. And that's gonna be a big deal in the book of Acts, right? Because when you preach a clear gospel message, it always demands a response. And here's why I do all that. 121 church has the same message, doesn't it? They've been 2000 years. And yet hopefully every Sunday, Ross and the gang here have been preaching this same message. It's the message this church was built on. And it's a message you're banking your life on. A church that shares the same clear gospel message. Jesus lived, he died, he rose and he reigns. And we preach that message to the king of our hearts, but also to the world that he is the king. And here's the thing about the gospel. You never graduate from this. Some of you about to graduate high school soon, congrats. Some of you about to graduate college soon, congrats. But listen, you never graduate from this one. You never graduate from the gospel.

You never water it down. You don't abandon it. Okay, there are some popular teachers today in some very influential Christian subcultures that are trying to undercut and diminish the gospel. message. People who wanna take out penal substitutionary atonement, or in other words, Jesus in my place for the forgiveness of my sins. Guys, that's the heart of the gospel. That's the heart of Paul's gospel here. And so my charge to you 121 Church is this, no, no, no, no, friends, that's all we got. All we have is the gospel. You might be tempted to change it to try to reach young people, a new generation, because you think it doesn't work. But listen, I'm here to tell you, you're wrong. Young people love the gospel, and God is changing hearts. Okay, we've been in Denton for just eight months since we launched, and we've already seen God do a unique work at UNT, caw, caw, the campuses that we're on, and TWU, go Pioneers, and NCTC, go Lions, okay, I can do a little bit. But guys, since launching the church, just in the past six months, actually, we baptized 25 college students. Yeah, let's go, celebrate. And actually, next Sunday, I think there's five more who are gonna get baptized before they go home

and commissioned for the summer. Guys, God is doing something, okay? These are testimonies, okay, of people who are in addiction, who are now free, who are dead and now alive, people whose entire family trees are being changed by the gospel message, generations, okay? And I've been doing college ministry for 12 years, and I can confidently say they don't want watered-down teaching. They don't want dumbed-down theology. No, they want serious teaching, serious discipleship, okay? If you're someone who came in this morning pessimistic about the next generation, let me tell you, the reports of the death of their faith are greatly exaggerated. Okay, 121 Church, if you wanna stay effective like you have been in reaching the city for the lost, be committed to an open Bible, but also to a clear gospel message. Now, we could stop there in Acts 17 and be pretty encouraged, right? Like a church is started, verse four, like a lot of people believe, it's great. But if you know church planting, honestly, if you know starting anything, a family, a business, you know that it's not always sunshine and rainbows as it were. No, you know this, anywhere God's doing a great work, the enemy loves to do a great attack. And don't we see that like very quickly,

like in the next verse? Keep reading, look at verse five. I'm actually oddly encouraged by what happens next. I'll explain it. Verse five, but the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, they set the city in an uproar, and they attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. Okay, so what just happened, picture it. While some of the Jews come to faith, another part of the Jews get ticked, okay? And they come to the party, not alone. It seems like they went and got agents of chaos, whatever this means, men of the rabble, and they form a mob, and they attack the house church, right, like that little video of Ross with his friends, like they roll up on a house like that, Jason's house. Poor Jason, we don't know anything about Jason, we're faithful. But they don't find what they're looking for. They get the house, you know, oh, Jason, we're looking for Paul. Look at verse six. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason, and some of the, he was just hosting the house, and some of the brothers before the city and authority shouting this, these men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them.

And they're all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king, Jesus. And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things, and when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. And that is the end of the story in Thessalonica for now. Now, I said this part was encouragement to me, and I think it should be for you as well, because there's a couple of things we learn here about church sharding or church planting. First, if you're gonna plant a church, you can expect some pushback. But number two, it's actually through that pushback, through the fire, that deep faith is forged. You know, you look back at the text, you can see it here. Like, why are the Jews so ticked? Like, what caused the friction in the city that led to the fire? What's actually in the accusation of the Jews that we learn something about the life of the disciples? Right, look at verse six again. I love it. These men who have turned the world upside down, isn't that something? I don't know why they turned the world upside down. I hope that's true here. Have come here also, and Jason has received them, and here it is. They're all acting, underline that word acting or living,

contrary to Caesar's decrees. And they're not just acting, what are they doing? Saying, underline that, talking, saying there is another king and his name is Jesus. It's said you can learn a lot about someone based on what their enemies say about them. And this is a good one right here. We actually learn why the Jews are so upset, the Christians, two things, right? because how they're acting and what they're saying. Or in other words, how they're living and the message they're sharing. It says they're living what? Against the decrees of Caesar. And literally they turn the world upside down. Or in other words, they're living in a way that's different than the culture around them. Can you see it? That culture values pride, they're living humbly. That culture is accumulating wealth, they're being generous with their wealth. This culture is violent, they're being gentle. Can you see it? They're living contrary to the decrees of Caesar, but also, they're not just living a quiet life, but they're saying something, aren't they? They're not just living like Caesar ain't king, they're saying he's not king. It says there is another king, and his name is Jesus. And here's the deal, to say Jesus is king

is to say Caesar is not. Isn't that what you're just singing to your own heart? Let the king of my heart, king of kings. Every time you declare that in our culture, when you're saying Jesus is king, you're saying money is not my king. Status is not my king. Sexual pleasure, not my king. Career, not my king. Jesus is the king of heaven and earth. This is what they're preaching, and here's the deal, you guys know this, if you live long enough like this, and you speak loud enough like this, Jesus says what? Expect some trouble. Are you gonna have great trouble in this life? And that's what happens here. Okay, if we're faithfully preaching the gospel in Denton, in Colleyville, or Grapevine, wherever we're at, you should expect some pushback. Like, I wish Ross was here, because I'd ask him, like, hey, 26 years, you ever get pushback? People leave, he's gonna start laughing. I guarantee you he has. We've already tasted it. I'm only eight months in to this thing in Denton, and guys, people are already frustrated. UNT is already upset that we're there. Like, there's a lot of things I could share,

because when you wanna do a great work for God, expect something to come against it. But again, the reason why I'm encouraged by this is because it's actually through the trials that something happens, right? Didn't you just study the book of James here? What's it say about trials? Consider it pure joy. When you go through trials, why? Because the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, steadfast faith. And if you're gonna be part of a church plant, nay, any church, you're gonna need steadfast faith, which is the final mark of the early church here. Not just assent people on the move, not just an open Bible, sunshine and rainbows, preaching a clear message. No, but this church had a steadfast faith. Steadfast, like it lasts, it endures. How do I know that? Because here's what's fun about this adventure you're about to go on in 1 Thessalonians. You're about to see this steadfast faith on full display. Because think about it, like Acts 17, the end of this story that we just read, like this baby church, it kind of has a question mark, doesn't it? Like, yeah, verse four, people believed, that's good news. But verse five, there's a riot. Verse eight, there's anger.

Verse nine, they get stolen their money. And so you keep reading Acts 17 thinking, Paul leaves, the next verse, you can see it. But you wonder, there's a question, like, I wonder if they made it. Like, I wonder if the church in Thessalonica made that little baby church that got punked really early, like day four, like what happened? Like violence came upon that church. Like, I wonder what happened to that church. And then you keep turning your Bible, and you keep turning, and you get to this book that's called 1 Thessalonians, which means what? There's a second Thessalonians. And then you read that verse that we just read earlier, verse one of the whole book, and it says what? Does it say to the cowards in Thessalonica? Does it say to the ones who abandoned Thessalonica, like to the former Thessalonians? No, what does it say to the church in Thessalonica, to the church? They made it long enough to get a letter. Like God wrote beautiful letters to a church that had a violent start. This little church that started in chaos, you're gonna see it all summer. It's a church that's marked by faith, and love, and endurance, and mission, and holiness, and hope. And so what's so fun about this letter is that these, like, what you're gonna see

as you study it, if you pay attention, is the same things that the church was founded on, you're gonna see it as it matures. Or in other words, what the church was built on is what affects how it becomes. And you're gonna see, but like in seed form, it's gonna grow, and here's what I mean by that. We talk about the church being founded on ascent people. Like it started with ascent people. Guys, you're gonna see in 1 Thessalonians, ascent people became ascending church. You're gonna see this in verse eight of the whole book. It's gonna say, hey, in that church, Thessalonica, the word of God rained out from that church. Like it bursted forth from this, from Jason's house, it bursted forth to the entire region. This little church, because it was started as a church on the move, it stayed a church on the move. Can you see it? And an open Bible here in Thessalonica, it's gonna become a Bible-anchored church. You're gonna see it in chapter two of the book. Like Paul, he writes, "'Hey, when the word of God came to you, "'it didn't come in just word or deed, it came in power.' And he received it, not just as the words of man, but as the word of God. They received it. They anchored their life in the Bible. And we see a clear message being preached there,

and it leads to transformed lives. Okay, the gospel came in power. And it says, the gospel has transformed this church, that they've turned from their idols to serve the living God, and they await his savior, the Son, coming. This clear message changed lives. And also their faith, a steadfast faith, led to a thriving church. Or in other words, this small church lived on and became a thriving church, so much so, you know what Paul writes about the church in Thessalonica? You know, you read the New Testament, all these letters he writes, he loves the Philippians, he hates the Galatians, you know, all these things, he doesn't hate them. He's frustrated with them. But the church in Thessalonica, he says something that almost sounds blasphemous to people. This is what he writes at the end of one of his chapters. He says, "'For who is our hope, and who is our joy, "'and who is our crown of boasting?' And you'd think he'd say Jesus, right? What does he say? "'Is it not you? "'Is it not you our joy and our crown of boasting?' He loves this church because this church was steadfast, and it thrived, and it made an impact. And yes, Jesus is the King and his crown, but he saw him in the church.

This church, Thessalonica, changed the world. And I'll end it like this. What I'm trying to say is this, what started in Acts 17, it didn't stay in Acts 17, like what this church was built on impacted what it became. And I guess my final charge to you guys this morning, as a dude that's leading a church that's only eight months in, like if I could say something to a church that's 27 years in is this, just keep going. Like don't drift. Stay assent people, always sharing the gospel. Keep your Bibles open, not just on Sundays, but every day. Cling to the word. Like hold the message of the gospel clear. And when opposition comes, truly it has, don't flinch. Stay steadfast. And if you'll do that, my hope is that you won't just be a great church with a great past, but one with a great future. That you'd be a part of sending and planting churches and impacting cities like Denton, Texas, and that the fruit of your labor would grow on trees up the road in 35 and around the world. And so let me do that. Let me pray for you guys that God would bless you. And maybe before I do that, why don't you take a couple of minutes where you're at and try to respond to this. And I'm just thinking about a few ways

maybe God is speaking to your heart. Same about those four things. I just wanna do clearly. Ascent people, are you living sent? And I'm just wondering, and maybe you would think through, where has God placed you? Your job, your neighborhood, that you need to be a light in that area. An open Bible. Like when's the last time you meditated on the word? Will you commit and ask God to commit yourself to that? What about the gospel message? When's the last time you shared the gospel message with a non-believer? If you haven't in a while, ask God to help give you boldness to do it today. And then if you're somebody who needs more faith, why don't you ask God to produce some steadfastness in you? So right now, why don't you take 90 seconds and then I'll end this by praying. Lord, we just studied the book of James. We don't wanna just be hearers of the word, but doers. Lord, thanks for the book of Acts. Thanks for the book of 1 Thessalonians. And for the people there that displayed incredible faith. God, I pray that you would use 121 Church like you did in Thessalonica. God, use these people to continue sending. I'm just thinking about this little missions market that's going on.

God, I pray that people in this room would consider going, whether to the nations or church planting, or for empty nesters in the room who feel blessed with resources and wisdom. God, would they travel up those stairs and go look the young people in the eyes and say, I'll help get you there. God, would you help leverage us to be ascending people? God, keep this book open, the Bible on our hearts in this church. Let it ring out from grapevine to the ends of the earth. God, would the gospel message change lives? Help us never leave it. Help us to preach it clearly. And God, would you give us a steadfast faith? God, thank you for 121 Church, for their partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. Keep doing it. It's in Jesus' name I pray, amen. Well, guys, thanks for being here. If you want prayer, my understanding is there's gonna be some prayer partners at the front. You can drop your tithes and offering in the back, but again, go up to the missions market. Say hi to Kevin and the gang. Thank you so much. We'll see you next week. You