MOVE | Week 1 | Bill Bush · Rewind

MOVE | Week 1 | Bill Bush · Rewind

Pastor Bill Bush · Mar 6, 2022

Big Idea

Faith moves: because Christ already moved toward us in love, genuine faith now moves us toward Christ, into community, and out on mission.

Jesus already paid for our seat in the story by dying for us and drawing us to faith. Now that we're in, He asks us to move — toward Him in a growing relationship, into real biblical community, and out intentionally with our time, talent, treasure, and testimony to reach others.

Key points

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1Faith doesn't earn God's love, it responds to it — and it moves
Pastor Bill opens Romans 15 by noting that the first eleven chapters show Christ moving toward us first, dying for us and drawing us to faith before we ever looked for Him. Because He already moved, our faith now moves toward the things God has for us; we're not moving to earn love, but because we've already received it.
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2We move toward Christ by knowing Him personally
Pastor Bill explains that the goal of following Jesus isn't comfort but becoming like Him — pursuing holiness over happiness. He points to the Greek word for 'know' as meaning intimacy, not just information, and says this happens through daily time in the Word (reading, letting it read you, then praying) and through gathering to worship together, not choosing one over the other.
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3We move into biblical community, not just rows of seats
Using Galatians 6:1-3, Pastor Bill lays out that real community means being known, accepted, supported, and developed — not just a comfortable 'fluffy middle' without the 'crunchy sides' of accountability. He challenges small group leaders to check whether their groups actually do this, and challenges men specifically to step up and lead the way into community.
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4We move out intentionally with our time, talent, treasure, and testimony
Pastor Bill argues discipleship and evangelism are not competing priorities — discipleship is evangelism, because Jesus said 'follow me and I will make you fishers of men,' not fishers of convenience. He pushes the congregation to serve, give, and even give up a convenient service time to make room for others, pointing to the church's food-bag outreach as an example of small inconvenience producing real blessing.
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5God's will is not a mystery to hunt for — it's the bullseye we already know
Pastor Bill describes a Venn diagram of know, grow, go and says decisions about jobs, relationships, or schools should be measured against whether they keep us moving toward Christ, into community, and out on mission — not treated as isolated puzzles. If an option doesn't block that center, he says, we're free to choose what we want.

Application

Pastor Bill frames the whole call as three moves: move toward, move in, move out.

Move toward Christ daily
Set aside time each day to actually be in the Word, let it examine your life, and pray through what it shows you, and commit to gathering with the church to worship rather than treating it as optional.
Find or build real community
Ask whether you have a few people who truly know you, accept you, support you, and will push you to grow, and if not, seek it out this week, including guys stepping up to lead a group.
Give up your convenient service time
If you're a mature believer with flexibility, consider shifting to a less full service time so newcomers have room, unless you're serving at 9 a.m. already.
Engage time, talent, treasure, and testimony
Serve, give, and get involved in outreach like the food-bag ministry rather than keeping your time and money to yourself, trusting God with the inconvenience.
Test decisions against the bullseye
When facing a hard choice, check whether an option blocks you from moving toward Christ, into community, or out in mission — if it doesn't, feel free to choose what you want.

Take it into your week

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7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

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Day 1

There is a kind of faith that stays still — grateful, even sincere, but essentially motionless. Pastor Bill challenged that picture directly. In Romans 15, Paul is drawing the great theological arc of the first 11 chapters to a landing point: because Jesus moved first, our faith must move in response. He did not wait for us to get it together. He died for us while we were still far off, and His Spirit drew us to Himself. That is the engine behind everything Paul is asking of us here. The strong bear the burdens of the weak. We do not live to please ourselves. This is not a guilt trip — it is a portrait of what a life shaped by the gospel actually looks like in motion. Think about what it means that you were saved not just from something but for something. Saved from sin, yes — but saved for purpose, for community, for mission. The grace that rescued you was never meant to be the end of the story. It was meant to be the beginning of a whole new direction. That direction starts with a question worth sitting with honestly: is my faith moving? Not perfectly, not dramatically — but genuinely moving toward the things Jesus gave His life to accomplish?

For reflection

Where do you sense your faith is most stationary right now, and what might one honest step forward look like?

Pray

Pray for an honest, undefended look at where your faith has been standing still.

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

This message lands on a simple but arresting idea: Jesus moved first — and genuine faith moves in response. Before we dig in, what's one word that comes to mind when you hear the phrase 'faith that moves'?

Discussion questions

1
In Romans 15:1–3, Paul points to Jesus as the model — One who did not please Himself but bore the burdens of others. What do you think Paul wants his readers to understand about the connection between what Jesus did and what followers of Jesus are called to do?
2
Romans 15:4 ties the Scriptures directly to hope. Pastor Bill described the goal of time in the Word not just as gaining information about Christ, but as growing in intimacy with Him. What's the difference between those two things, and why might that distinction matter?
3
Pastor Bill described biblical community using four words: known, accepted, supported, and developed. Looking at Galatians 6:1–3, which of those four do you think is hardest for most people to give to someone else — and why?
4
Pastor Bill drew a contrast between a community that looks inward and one that locks arms facing outward toward a lost world. In Romans 15:9–12, Paul points to the nations as part of God's long plan of redemption. How does that vision change the way we might think about what a healthy small group or friendship circle is for?
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Pastor Bill said that the outward movement — giving our time, talents, treasure, and testimony to the mission — is 'the one part of our calling with a shelf life.' What do you think he meant by that, and how does it reframe the sense of urgency around reaching people?
6
Pastor Bill wrapped up by suggesting a simple next move: show up, sign up to serve, join a group, or shift a service time to make room for someone new. As a group, how might we encourage one another to actually take that one step rather than just think about it?

Pray together

Ask God to show each person in the group where their next movement is — toward Christ, into community, or outward on mission — and for the courage to take one concrete step.

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Topics

Biblical Community Discipleship and Mission Evangelism Intimacy with Christ Practical Faith

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