Launching the summer series, Noel Heikkinen revisits Riverview Church's vision and mission statement. What is a sacrificial follower of Christ?

7. RIVERVIEW’S VISION IS TO:
sacrificial
MAKE
followers of christ
WHO MAKE sacrificial
followers of christ
WHO GO.

8. [ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
FOLLOWER? ]

9. “Those who are dedicated get im-
mensely more out of life than those
who are not. The day he had
described had been my life and
that of most of my old comrades.
It was a day in the life of a
dedicated man, a normal day in the
life of a hardcore Communist Party
member.
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
FOLLOWER? ]

10. It is not surprising that he looked
back at that life from the waste-
land of his present purposeless
existence with considerable degree
of nostalgia.”
DOUGLAS HYDE
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
FOLLOWER? ]

11. [ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
FOLLOWER? ]

12. Oh, how great are God’s riches and
wisdom and knowledge! How
impossible it is for us to
understand his decisions and his
ways!
For who can know the LORD’s
thoughts? Who knows enough to
give him advice? And who has
given him so much that he needs
to pay it back?
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
For everything comes from him
and exists by his power and is
FOLLOWER? ]

13. For everything comes from him
and exists by his power and is
intended for his glory. All glory to
him forever! Amen.
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
FOLLOWER? ]

14. And so, dear brothers and sisters, I
plead with you to give your bodies
to God because of all he has done
for you. Let them be a living and
holy sacrifice—the kind he will find
acceptable. This is truly the way to
worship him.
ROMANS 11:33-12:1
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
FOLLOWER? ]

15. “What makes you think I want all
your sacrifices?” says the LORD.
“I am sick of your burnt offerings of
rams and the fat of fattened cattle. I
get no pleasure from the blood of
bulls and lambs and goats. When
you come to worship me, who asked
you to parade through my courts
with all your ceremony?
the incense of your offerings
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
disgusts me!
As for your celebrations of the new
FOLLOWER? ]

16. Stop bringing me your meaningless
gifts; the incense of your offerings
disgusts me!
As for your celebrations of the new
moon and the Sabbath and your
special days for fasting— they are all
sinful and false. I want no more of
your pious meetings. I hate your new
moon celebrations and your annual
festivals.
They are a burden to me. I cannot
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
stand them!
When you lift up your hands in
FOLLOWER? ]

17. They are a burden to me. I cannot
stand them! When you lift up your
hands in prayer, I will not look.
Though you offer many prayers, I will
not listen, for your hands are
covered with the blood of innocent
victims.
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
FOLLOWER? ]

18. Wash yourselves and be clean!
Get your sins out of my sight.
Give up your evil ways.
Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
Defend the cause of orphans.
Fight for the rights of widows.
ISAIAH 1:11-17
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
FOLLOWER? ]

19. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill
and destroy. [Jesus’] purpose is to
give life in all its fullness.”
JOHN 10:10
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
FOLLOWER? ]

20. Don’t copy the behavior and
customs of this world, but let God
transform you into a new person by
changing the way you think. Then
you will learn to know God’s will for
you, which is good and pleasing and
perfect.
ROMANS 12:2
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
FOLLOWER? ]

21. Do not merely listen to the word, and
so deceive yourselves. Do what it
says.
JAMES 1:22
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
FOLLOWER? ]

22. That very night the believers sent
Paul and Silas to Berea. When they
arrived there, they went to the
Jewish synagogue. And the
people of Berea were more open-
minded than those in Thessalonica,
and they listened eagerly to Paul's
message. They searched the
Scriptures day after day to see if
Paul and Silas were teaching the
truth.
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
FOLLOWER? ]

23. As a result, many Jews believed,
as did many of the prominent
Greek women and men.
ACTS 17:10-12
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
FOLLOWER? ]

24. Jesus came and told his disciples, quot;I
have been given complete authority
in heaven and on earth. Therefore,
go and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father and the Son and the
Holy Spirit. Teach these new dis-
ciples to obey all the commands I
have given you. And be sure of this:
I am with you always, even to the
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
end of the age.quot;
JAMES 1:22
FOLLOWER? ]

25. I am with you always, even to the
end of the age.
MATTHEW 28:18-20
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
FOLLOWER? ]

26. I will write down all these things as
a testimony of what the LORD
will do. I will entrust it to my
disciples, who will pass it down to
future generations.
ISAIAH 8:16
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
FOLLOWER? ]

27. You have heard me teach things that
have been confirmed by many
reliable witnesses. Now teach these
truths to other trustworthy people
who will be able to pass them on to
others.
2 TIMOTHY 2:2
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
FOLLOWER? ]

28. Jesus traveled through all the cities
and villages of that area, teaching in
the synagogues and announcing the
Good News about the Kingdom.
And wherever he went, he healed
people of every sort of disease and
illness. He felt great pity for the
crowds that came, because their
problems were so great and they
didn’t know where to go for help.
They were like sheep without a
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
shepherd. 37 He said to his
FOLLOWER? ]
disciples, quot;The harvest is so great,

29. They were like sheep without a
shepherd. He said to his disciples,
“The harvest is so great, but the
workers are so few. So pray to the
Lord who is in charge of the harvest;
ask him to send out more workers
for his fields.”
MATTHEW 9:35-38
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
FOLLOWER? ]

31. They were like sheep without a
shepherd. He said to his disciples,
“The harvest is so great, but the
workers are so few. So pray to the
Lord who is in charge of the harvest;
ask him to send out more workers
for his fields.”
MATTHEW 9:35-38
[ WHAT IS A SACRIFICIAL
FOLLOWER? ]

32. GO ------------------->

33. Then Jesus explained: “My
nourishment comes from doing the
will of God, who sent me, and from
finishing his work. You know the
saying, ‘Four months between
planting and harvest.’ But I say,
wake up and look around. The fields
are already ripe for harvest.
JOHN 4:34-35
GO ------------------->

34. “The Pharisees’ evangelism strategy
sounds eerily familiar. Their
approach to sharing God was,
‘Come and get it!’ In addition, they
had contorted God’s message to
moralism: ‘You people “out there”
need to straighten up!” The
Pharisees had developed a very
insular culture. They did business as
much as possible only with other
Pharisees (lest they be contaminated
by the unclean). When they traveled
GO ------------------->
they stayed with other Pharisees.

35. by the unclean). When they traveled
they stayed with other Pharisees.
They lived inside the Pharisee
bubble (they had little Pharisee
insignias on their burro bumper and
listened only to Pharisee radio
stations). Their message to people
outside the bubble was: ‘Become
like us (translated: believe like us,
dress like us, vote like us, act like us,
like what we like, don’t like what we
don’t like). If you become like us
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(jump through cultural hoops and

36. don’t like). If you become like us
(jump through cultural hoops and
adopt ours), we will consider you for
club membership.’ Does any of this
sound familiar yet?”
REGGIE MCNEAL
GO ------------------->

37. Tax collectors and other notorious
sinners often came to listen to Jesus
teach.
LUKE 15:1
GO ------------------->

38. This made the Pharisees and
teachers of religious law complain
that he was associating with such
despicable people – even eating
with them!
LUKE 15:2
GO ------------------->

39. While Paul and Barnabas were at
Antioch of Syria, some men from
Judea arrived and began to teach
the Christians, “Unless you keep the
ancient Jewish custom of cir-
cumcision taught by Moses, you
cannot be saved.”
ACTS 15:1
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40. GO ------------------->