Sermon Notes - Our Vision: Who We Are Becoming

Speaker: Rev. Ho-Ming J. Tsui

Our Vision: “To be a Church for the Whole Person, For the Whole World”

1. “To be a Church…”

What is a church? Let’s examine what Jesus has called the church to be…

“Jesus replied, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

—Matthew 22:37-39 (The Great Commandment)

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”

—Mathew 28: 18 20 (The Great Commission)

By examining these two “great” statements, we can identify five purposes that God calls us to fulfill….

Worship: Love the Lord with all of your being

Ministry: Love your neighbour as yourself

Evangelism: Go and make disciples of all nations

Fellowship: Baptizing them - i.e. incorporating them into the family of God; we’re baptized into the body of Christ

Discipleship: Teaching them to obey what I have commanded

2. “…for the Whole Person…”

(a) We take all dimensions of a person seriously.

Deepen their understanding (mind)

Ignite their passion (heart)

Strengthen their practice (body)

Help heal wounds in any of the above areas (we can offer physical, emotional, mental support)

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

—Matthew 9:36

(b) We minister for the duration of a person’s lifetime

We are a church for the whole person, for their entire life, for their whole family, for generations to come.

We envision RHCCC to be a spiritual home for every generation.

3. “…For the Whole world”

We aim to be a healthy church that nurtures the whole person (internal focus).

We also aim to be a strong one that blesses the whole world (external focus, i.e., carrying the burdens of two).

RHCCC’s enduring calling is to be a church for the unchurched, a spiritual home for all generations, and a missional community that serves the city and reaches the world. We aim to build up the whole person for their whole life so they can become fully who God created them to be. We accomplish this by living out the five biblical purposes: Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry, and Mission based on the Great Commandment and Great Commission. This includes reaching the whole world globally, acknowledging that “the world” has also been brought to our doorstep in the Greater Toronto Area.