Why a military Chapel?
Chapel communities are strategically located in a place where civilian churches can never reach.
Our hope is that AGAPE would be a contemporary military chapel service that is centered and focused on Jesus.
We hope to be authentic, genuine people who live in community and on mission. We long to be a family on Jesus' mission of making disciples, sent by God to serve our world, continually learning how to walk in his ways.
We focus on three pillars: biblical community, biblical proclamation and biblical worship. Agape is about Jesus. We hope to live as a Family of Missionary Servants toward Fort Carson, the THE MILITARY, and the WORLD.
The Gospel
The Gospel is central to the life of every believer but few people can articulate a clear understanding of the Gospel. We often hear people state that the Gospel is nothing more than a set of moral codes that we must adhere to in order to be saved. However, this is simply not an accurate picture of 'good news'.
The good news, 'Gospel' is that God, in and through the work of Jesus Christ (death, burial, and resurrection) and by the power of the Holy Spirit saves us from the presence and power of sin. He does this by his merit and work and not our own! (Ephesians 2:8-9; Colossians 1:27-29; 2:6-7;
A Story
God sent his Son to redeem the world and create a new humanity. One day all of humanity will be renewed and death, decay, injustice, and suffering will be no more. When we look at God's Story we understand with more clarity our story.
Creation: God created the world. He is the creator and the originator of all things. We exist because of God. Genesis 1-3
Fall: We rebelled against God and what God says is true. We will really die. Genesis 3
Redemption: Jesus saves us by His work and we put our faith in Him and He will save by grace. Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8; Romans 6:23; Romans 11:6; Romans 4:5; Romans 10:13
Restoration: God saves us to himself and to do that which he has called us to. God has a place for you to work, find purpose and have meaning. He actually predestined you for it. This work is to participate in His ultimate work of restoration. Ephesians 2: 10-11
What do I do next?
In the explanation of the gospel, we start and understand that we are “fallen creatures” affected by “Satan, sin and its effects.” This condition corresponds to all of us. All mankind is sinful, afflicted with and enslaved to sin and as such subject to its curses and consequences. Of these consequences, death is the most vivid as it depicts spiritual death – separation from our Creator, the fount of all life and joy.
Sin has separated us from all that is good and lovely in this world and has replaced it with a mirage. It promises pleasure but never truly satisfies. It is insatiable. Yet, there is a way out, and it is found in the gospel. God has provided reconciliation and redemption – freedom for those who respond appropriately to the gospel.
The proper response to this gospel is two-fold: faith and repentance. These are not two distinct responses but rather two views of the same response.
Imagine standing on a beach with your back to the sea. In turning around, you only turn once, but there are two ways to describe it. You could say that you turned toward the ocean, or you could say that you turned away from the beach. In the same way, faith and repentance are akin to two ways of describing the same turn. Repentance is turning away from sin, while faith is turning toward God.
God has provided everything that is necessary for your reconciliation, redemption and restoration. He has done so in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Turn to Him. Trust in Him.
What is next?
The gospel is the historical narrative of the triune God orchestrating the reconciliation and redemption of a broken creation and fallen creatures from Satan, sin and its effects to the Father and each other through the life, death, resurrection and future return of the substitutionary Son by the power of the Spirit for God’s glory and the Church’s joy.
If you feel a prompting to respond to this message, to turn from sin and to the Savior, or simply have questions to discuss, we would love to talk to you. Below are three options:
Come forward during response time.
Stop by Connection Central before or after service.
Contact a staff member at chapel or a chaplain in your unit.
Jesus
Jesus was born in a small rural town roughly 2000 years ago. He was born into a lower-class family, to a teenage virgin mother and lived a relatively quiet life until the age of 30. At this time, Jesus began his public ministry.
Throughout the next three years, Jesus performed miracles, preached messages and proclaimed He was God by His word and His works. As promised, Jesus was crucified on a Roman cross to save humanity from sin, Satan and death. On the third day, Jesus rose from death and appeared to hundreds before ascending into the clouds to join His heavenly Father.
THE MISSION
Jesus arrived on the stage of human history on a mission — to reveal who God is, to show His reign as King and to reconcile men and women to God.
In reconciling us to God, Jesus lived and died as a sacrificial substitute, living perfectly in the place of sinners, and dying gruesomely in the place of the guilty. Jesus is, therefore, the savior of the world, the only way for sinners to be saved from the righteous wrath of God. Jesus accomplished His mission through His death, atoning for our sin, and through His resurrection, rising in victory over Satan, sin, and death.
THE MESSAGE
Throughout His ministry, Jesus preached a consistent message. Jesus proclaimed that true life consisted of following him. Jesus calls us to repent of our rebellion, and believe in Him. We are to believe that Jesus is our all-satisfying savior and that He accomplished His mission in the place of our failure.
For those who believe in Him, Jesus promises them eternal life, abundant joy, the help of the Holy Spirit and reconciliation with God the Father. Those who believe in Jesus are freed from their sin, guilt, and shame, and commissioned to continue His mission in sacrificially serving the world and proclaiming the good news of Jesus.
One day Jesus will return, and all things will be restored to the praise of His glorious grace.
Baptism
In following the example of Christ, baptism is an act of obedience following a believer’s faith as an identification with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. It is a pledge to Christ out of a redeemed heart through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism serves as a means of initiation into the church of Jesus Christ as a public identification with Christ and his body.
Anyone may be baptized following repentance and a confession of faith in Jesus Christ. Scripture does not restrict the age of a baptismal candidate but is clear that each baptismal candidate understands their sin, their need for salvation, and for baptism.
Baptism is to be conducted in the presence of the church and by those within the church for the flourishing of the body of Christ and the new life of the believer. In Acts 2:37-47 it is clear those who were brought into the life of the church contribute to its flourishing. The baptismal candidate should be fully immersed in the water, in the presence of his new community, this initiates the believer into the life of the church and serves as a public proclamation of Jesus’ saving work by His resurrection.
Lord's Supper
What is the Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper is ordained by Jesus and is a critical aspect of what it means to be his church. Jesus instructed his disciples, “do this” without any ambiguity or figurative language. Therefore, we understand the Lord’s Supper to be an ordinance of the Lord. The Lord’s Supper spiritually desired result is remembrance and nourishment. Jesus says, “do this in remembrance of me’ to keep his work and person central to the life and worship of the church. We encounter him at the Table and he nourishes our souls.
Who Can Take the Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper is a meal for the gathered church of baptized believers. It is a family meal that gives identity and definition to the new covenant people of God. To take communion in isolation or outside the context of the gathered body is to ignore the intent of Scripture. The Lord’s Supper is for baptized believers, by the sacred use of bread and wine, preceded by self-examination, to commemorate together Christ’s death and resurrection.
We cannot emphasize enough the sacred seriousness of the Lord's Supper. It must be taken in a ‘worthy manner,’ through self-examination, judging ourselves, and discerning the body. The physical, mental, and spiritual act of taking the Lord's Supper is formative for the body of Christ and shapes our community around the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. We currently take the Lord's Supper on the first Sunday of the month. When we take the Lord's Supper everyone comes forward to receive the bread and the juice. Once seated we take the Supper together at the same time signifying our unity and equal dependence on the grace of Jesus Christ.