* The 4th Great Awakening & The Falling Away **

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. We just had our annual meeting this past Wednesday, so I thought this would be a good time for the beginning of a new fiscal year to speak on what is our vision?

What is our vision? What is our mission? What's the church all about? Why are we here? What are we looking to accomplish? So if you would, please turn to Matthew chapter 28, and I've titled the message, Your Purpose as a Christian.

The Great Commission and the Church’s Mission

Your Purpose as a Christian. Of course, we'll go through what the scripture says, but we're also going to be looking at the church mission statement. Why are we here? What is the church all about? What are we trying to do?

And hopefully you'll walk away with a very clear idea of what your job is as a member of the body of Christ. So let's let's open in prayer. Lord, we thank you and ask you, Lord, that you would bless your word this morning.

We also pray that you would reignite the fire in our hearts. Give us a clear vision for the future and how we can make a difference, not just in our own lives, but in the lives of others. And Lord, bring purpose into our life.

This is our purpose. Lord, stir up our hearts. Bless your people as we move forward with this mission. And Lord, may you bring in more people to get on board as we seek to do your will and to do your work.

And it's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Look at Matthew chapter 28, starting in verse 18. Jesus speaking to his disciples, says he came and spoke to them, saying, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you in low and with you always, even to the end of the age.

Amen. All right. So the first and primary purpose of the church is what? So, yeah, if you look at our church mission statement and compare it to Matthew 28 in the Great Commission, the two should line up and they do line up.

So the church's mission, our primary purpose is to make disciples. And if the church is making disciples, then the church will grow. That's just a natural process. If we make disciples, the church will grow.

So if churches are not growing and let's face it, the overwhelming majority of them in the United States are not growing. What does that mean? Well, it means we're not really making many disciples. So in order to fix a problem, this is true with anything in order to fix a problem, you have to first recognize the problem.

And there is a problem. So we need to recognize and kind of diagnose the issue. Here's one thing. And I want you to know this. I'm not trying to blame everything on the previous generation because ultimately now it's us.

So we're not blaming others. But starting, I think, in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, churches saw an influx of people coming in during this time period that some have labeled the fourth great awakening. We've all heard, I think, or most of us have heard of the first great awakening, the second great awakening, the third great awakening.

Well, some people would identify 1960 through the 1980s as the fourth great awakening here in the United States. And saw all sorts of different people coming into churches. Churches were expanding during that time period.

Some of you can remember that, right? 60s, 70s, 80s, churches were expanding. Starting in the 1990s, things started to shift. Things started going in a different direction. And it's been on a downward trajectory ever since.

So as time goes on, the younger generation isn't coming in at the same rate that the older generation is going out. Also, many of the nominal Christians, nominal means in name only. Many of the nominal Christians of the baby boomer generation started to fall away during this time in the 1990s and early 2000s.

And then their children, which is labeled Generation X, they were less interested in Jesus than their parents. And now you have the millennial generation and what is known as Gen Z. They are probably the first generations where the majority don't even identify with any faith tradition.

So that's what we are up against. I remember there was that poll that came out last year for the first time in the history of the United States. Less than 50 of Americans attended a house of worship.

The first time in American history. So that's what is happening. That's what has been happening. So 60s, 70s, and 80s, churches were growing. The pews were full starting in the 90s. People started falling away.

The next generation isn't as interested. The older generation is going out. The newer generation just isn't, just don't really care. And of course these are general statements. Over the past generation or two, I think it's safe to say, the generation before me, that is when churches started to adopt the world's mindset and the world's practices.

I remember hearing a controversy that happened around here back in the 1970s. There was a pastor, some of you would know the name. He was very troubled by what he saw. What did he see? Well, he saw that Christians were starting to treat Sunday like it was just any other day.

Now, I don't know all the details, so I'm not going to comment on who is right and who is wrong, because I don't know all the details. But this idea of the Christian Sabbath, that is what was believed.

For 1 ,900 years, whether you call it the Christian Sabbath or the Lord's Day, for 1 ,900 years in Christianity, Christians recognized Sunday as set apart. Sunday was different. And the way you treated Sunday was different.

But again, starting sometime in the 1970s, this pastor saw that Christians' attitude was totally different. Sunday was just like any other day. And he preached against that. Now, on the other hand, we know that the Jews got into a lot of trouble by adding rules.

There are certain things you can't do on the Sabbath, and it just turned into a list of rules. And that's one potential problem. But over the past generation, we've seen the other problem, that Sunday is, hey, no big deal.

Church is optional. I can do what I want on Sunday. It's like any other day. That is completely new in the history of the Christian church. And it started in the generation before me. So whatever I could say about that pastor and the concerns he had back in the 1970s, you know, as soon as Christians start treating Sunday like any other day, that's going to devastate churches.

And it has. And some churches have not survived it. A fellow pastor sent me these statistics this week. Each year in this country, 4 ,000 new churches are opened. You say, well, wow, praise God for that.

Yeah, well, until you read the next stat. You say, well, that sounds pretty good, 4 ,000 new churches are opened every year. Yeah, but 7 ,000 each year close. So every year, do the math, 3 ,000 less churches in the United States.

So these are some of the problems. Okay, now what's the solution? Just kind of remaining relaxed and okay, it is what it is, and not doing anything. That's not an option, amen? That is not an option. So what is the solution?

A renewed commitment to the mission. A renewed commitment to Christ and his church. That is the only solution. So let's look at the church mission statement. Line A, this is number one, seeking to lead people to a personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, or as Savior and Lord.

This is in line with Matthew chapter 28. So this is the Great Commission, Matthew 28, we've heard it many, many times. So Jesus in the Great Commission, what is he doing? He's giving the church her marching orders.

Why are we here? What is your purpose? What is our purpose? This is it, to make disciples, to lead people to that personal acceptance of Christ as Lord and Savior. So if you're not a Christian, or if you're not certain, if there's somebody listening this morning and you're not sure, how do I become a Christian?

Well, it's by personally, there has to be a personal conversion of the heart. So you start by putting your full faith and trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ for the remission of sin.

How can you do that? And I know that some of you have already done this before. But maybe it's time for that renewed commitment. So a prayer can go something like this. If somebody doesn't know Christ, or if you're not sure that you're going to heaven, you can pray something like this.

Lord, I believe that you are God. I believe that you are the creator of heaven and earth. And I know that I'm a sinner. And Lord, I ask for your forgiveness. I believe Jesus died for my sins and rose from the dead.

I want to trust you and follow Jesus as my Savior and Lord. In his name I pray, amen. See, if somebody doesn't believe in Jesus, that's step number one. And that's the message we need to share with people who are not Christians to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Again, you can do that right where you are at any time. Pray that prayer. Lord, I believe you're God. I'm a sinner. I fully trust in you. I want to follow Christ in my life. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, rose again the third day.

Please forgive me. In Jesus' name, amen. Something like that prayer. And then once a person does that, the next step is baptism. So if somebody has prayed that prayer and you've committed your life to Christ in that prayer, the next step is baptism.

Come and talk to me later on or during the week. Here's what we don't want to do. Here's what people shouldn't do. You don't say that prayer and then continue living life the same way you did before. This is what?

A new life in Christ. When you talk to someone about giving their life to the Lord, that's what it is. I'm giving the Lord my all. I'm giving him my life. I'm going to start serving him. So the purpose for you as a Christian, this is your purpose to go and spread that message or to help the church, empower the church, strengthen the church to go and share that message.

So that's number one. A, seeking to lead people to a personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Cornick Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, MorrisCornickChurch .com.

And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, with the grace of God be with you.