DNA of PMC: Restoring All Things

Our DNA: God, Growth, Gravity
God is calling us to Celebrate Him, Cultivate Faith in one another and restore the world.
As those passions are expressed, you can expect to see…
1. We are here to Celebrate God.
Devote ourselves to knowing and enjoying the triune God as our great Treasure, resisting all idols that compete with Him for our hearts’ affection;
Embrace God and His will for us by grace through faith in Jesus, resisting both religious and irreligious deeds as the means of our acceptance;
Accept the cost of discipleship, believing that Jesus Christ is better than anything else the world has to offer;
Express our worship of God authentically in spirit and truth, resisting all pretence in our corporate and private worship;
Make God’s glory the ultimate purpose of all we do.
2. We exist to Cultivate Faith. Pharisee & Tax collector: Gospel-centred lifestyle, distinction between religion and faith.
Never stop repenting – for evil deeds and for good deeds done for the wrong reasons.
Surrender all our ambitions, hopes, and plans to the One whose will is good, pleasing, and perfect.
Allow God’s Spirit to transform us by His Word, prayer, and other spiritual disciplines, being teachable, humble, and open to His correction.
Know, develop, and use our unique gifts for the health of the Body of Christ.
Trust God, even when pain and difficulty cause us to doubt that He is working all things together for our good.

Today…
3. We are here to Restore the world.
a. Story: Good Samaritan: rescuing, healing, protecting the broken
PWPT Luke 10
“And by chance a certain priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
“But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him, and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
“And on the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.’ “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.””

Personal Intervention of the alien traveler, when the physical neighbours avoided the victim.
1. Intervention and hands on care
2. Transport to a safe place
3. Provision for longer-term care
b. THIS IS NOT NEW:
i. Social Gospel—left out Jesus and lost their vitality
ii. Fundamentalists left out the care of neighbours and lost our hearts
c. THIS IS NOW: What about us, here?
i. External Justice: The broken man was left with resources.
ii. Internal Restoration: needs to happen here as well—reconciliation.

d. The Word gets us started in the right direction, Jesus promises to finish it.
i. We can make a difference and will.
ii. We won’t change the course of history; Jesus will.
iii. Jesus will complete the Restoration at the end of History.
iv. Jesus is doing this work now BY His Gospel, the Gospel of Grace.
e. How:
PWPNT [use photos to illustrate, five minutes distance from our site
i. At the nexus of so much that’s going on in the city core, please see the need and the opportunities we have.
ii. WHAT IF:
1. We were to begin right here, seeking to restore all those who have been wounded, alienated by our own behaviours. TAKE OWNERSHIP
2. We were to begin a movement among congregations to prepare people for family life, in order to
a. strengthen their marriages and families, and
b. grow intimate marriages and
c. nurture families and
d. enfold single adults into true fellowship as ‘family’.
3. We were to work in the marketplace with a view to serving those we work with, work for, and sell to, with Christ as the One we keep in focus?
4. We were to restore Justice in our community by standing with the poor; with the poorest of the poor, New Canadians, such that…
a. We helped them settle.
b. We found them adequate housing.
c. We started businesses that employed them.
5. We were to cultivate a public education environment where children were in focus, rather than administrations and unions, such that our city’s children would learn to read, think and work; radically reducing poverty in our city
6. We were to deepen our love of beauty, so that we are sharing God’s joy in creation.
7. We were to savour and celebrate the work of artists ...bringing meaning to our chaotic space, and all who use their gifts, talents and abilities to “make something of the world”
8. We were to engage in managing the physical environment, such that the deterioration of our environment were reversed.

Love the unlovely, share with the needy, comfort the oppressed, and accept the marginalized, since Jesus identified with the least of these…
Commitment Cards: We will Our Restoration Pledge:
Our church family exists for the restoration of our community, the city, and the nations. Therefore, as a Community of Grace, rooted in the Gospel, we will:
• Love the unlovable, share with the needy, comfort the oppressed, and accept the marginalized, since Jesus identified with the least;
• Bless the city and invest ourselves in its well-being;
• Seek to resolve conflict, to be reconciled with those we’ve wronged, and to quickly forgive those who’ve wronged us;
• Pursue and embrace God’s missionary call on our lives, whether as those who send or as those who go, into our community, our city, and the nations.
• Persevere in our call to restoration until the Lord returns and completes it finally, ultimately, and triumphantly.



KIDS SERMON
Kids: the world is a hurting place—bandaids to help people who are hurting on the outside; Jesus also helps us when we hurt on the inside.
Heb. 2:18 “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.
Hebrews 4:15--For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”
Jesus heals and comforts us so that we can heal and comfort others.