Building Our Best Church for God’s Glory

Matthew 16:13-18
April 14, 2019

Anniversaries are great occasions for reflection and evaluation. They are the yearly milestones that allow a
husband and wife to look back where they’ve been, to look within to see where they are, and then to look
ahead to determine where they’re going—all examined and evaluated against the vows stated at the altar.
The passing of time neither changes nor erases the vows. The years bring challenges and introduce
struggles, but those vows stand firm. They are like marital milestones.
Webster defines erode in simple terms: “To diminish or destroy by degrees. To eat into or away by slow
destruction of substance - to cause to deteriorate or disappear.”
Three things about erosion:
1. Erosion is always slow.
2. Erosion is always silent.
3. Erosion is always subtle.

C. S. Lewis:
Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden
turnings, without milestones, without signposts.

A milestone reveals one of two things:

1. It can reveal how far we’ve come in accomplishment and give cause for celebration.
2. It can expose how far we’ve drifted and urge us to turn around.
Five Year Graphs of Clements Ministry:
Five words of focus in Matthew 16:18
1. I
2. WILL
3. BUILD
4. MY
5. CHURCH
Acts 2:41 (NKJV) Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three
thousand souls were added to them.
Takeaway:
The body of Christ in Jerusalem multiplied twenty-six times, from 120 to 3,120. Suddenly, there are three
thousand brand-new sheep in God’s flock. That was a big "sheep" increase in church history!
Acts 2:42 (NKJV) And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching/doctrine and fellowship, in the
breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Here are the four essentials:
1. Teaching
2. Fellowship
3. Breaking of Bread
4. Prayer
Three timeless truths for today:
1. Clear, biblical thinking must override secular planning and a corporate mentality. Any decisions
we have must be made with a spiritual mindset.
2. Studied, accurate decisions must originate from God’s Word, not human opinions.
3. Wise, essential changes must occur to counteract any sign of erosion.
My dream for the future days at Clements is greater than my memory of the past days at Clements. My
dreams are bigger than my memories. Are yours?