Catalyst 09 :: Matt Chandler

Matt Chandler serves as Lead Pastor of The Village Church in Highland Village, Texas. He describes his six-year tenure at The Village as a re-planting effort where he was involved in changing the theological and philosophical culture of the congregation. The church has witnesses a tremendous response growing from 160 people to over 6,000 including satellite campuses in Dallas and Denton. Alongside his current role as lead Pastor, Matt is involved in church planting efforts both locally and internationally through The Village and various strategic partnerships. Prior to accepting the pastorate at The Village, Matt had a vibrant itinerant ministry for over 10 years where he spoke to thousands of people in America and abroad about the glory of God and beauty of Jesus. His greatest joy outside of Jesus is being married to Lauren and being a dad to their three children: Audrey, Reid and Norah.

• History is a weird animal.
• History is a double-edged sword.
• It can haunt you.
• Matt shared the story of trying to dispel the mystery of Bloody Mary to his daughter.
• We’ve been doing this to kids in church for years.
• There are times you need to forget what lies behind you.
• History can be a life-giving reality check.
• When you clue into it, things can make sense.
• There’s a lot of things going on… good and bad.
• Some are successful others are struggling.
• What have we been caught up in?
• God created everything.
• Wisdom cries aloud in the streets; she’s been with God since the beginning.
• Everything God creates worship for the Creator.
• Everything leads to worship.
• But then the fall happened.
• The fall made us disregard the creator and made us look to creation.
• God is preparing mankind for reconciliation.
• God’s promise to Israel has global implications.
• The Pslamist sings about all the nations being glad.
• Christ shows up, the great exchange takes place.
• He made Him who knew no sin to be made sin for us …
• His righteousness makes us holy and blameless.
• It’s not by our own merit, but by the merit of Jesus Christ alone.
• He gathered the disciples and said, “it’s go time.”
• God made a way.
• Acts 2 is the most unseeker friendly message of all time.
• Thousands were added; 5,000 later; this thing begins to happen.
• Men and women are being saved, reconciled to God.
• God help us and save us from taking the narratives and making them into children’s stories.
• Peter was called to Cornelius’ house.
• Cornelius is saved in the middle of the message.
• Then the church gathers to decide if Gentiles can really be saved.
• Then it blows up… the Gospel spreads to all people around the globe.
• What God said He was going to do is HAPPENING NOW.
• It has been happening, it is working, it is moving.
• The next 20-30 years a “global Christendom” is coming soon.
• We’re caught up in something bigger than we can even imagine.
• Hebrews 11
• The gauntlet we will run through is uncertain.
• We might survive the edge of the sword, or maybe we will die against it.
• There will be seasons where the dead will be raised and times when there will be death.
• Hebrews 12, THEREFORE… let us throw off every weight and the sin which clings so closely.
• We need to redeem and reclaim some words that have been hijacked.
• Somehow the idea of confession and repentance has a negative connotation.
• It seems to be put away in the dusty corner of the believer’s world as if we believe the longer we are Christians, the lesser we will need to repent.
• We look at it as something that only certain people need to do or that fundamentalists scream we have to do.
• Luther nailed his thesis to the door… “the entire life of a believer must be repentance.”
• I John 5
• If we say we have no sin we’ve made him a liar and there is no truth in us.
• If we live and we walk as if we are sinless, we are a liar.
• We’ve created “bad” sins and sins Christ is cool with.
• Repentance works is a continuing ethic.
• There’s times our heart is going to give us a hitch.
• There’s two ways to handle it: ignore it (you’ll be self-deceived) or you can dig deep (confess, repent and grow).
• Every bit of hesitantcy in obedience is God beckoning you to deeper waters.
• Get up, repent and mature.
• Run with endurance the race set before us.
• No one wants the ministry of Moses, his ministry was wandering in the wilderness with whiny people (Church people have always been whiny!).
• Some of us will spend our whole lives with stiff-necked people.
• The day is coming when history will be rewritten as it really is.
• Your role is bigger than you think.
• Play your part well.
• Look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.
• Jesus is the founder of our faith.
• Without Him, His cross and His shed blood there is no reconciliation.
• By this Gospel we will be saved… past, present and future.
• Don’t grow weary.
• God has invited us to play a part.
• THEREFORE, let us throw off our sin.
• Let confession and repentance be a continuing ethic for us.
• It will prevent pride from happening and make us thankful for all that God does.
• Fix your eyes on Jesus Christ.
• Jesus makes intercession for us.
• May we not get distracted with historical silliness.
• May we remember what we’re caught up in and the significance of it.
• May we run well.

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