Nurture
[Session 16]
Church and Mission into all the world and preach “Go the good news to all creation.” (Mark 16:15)
[Session 16] Introduction A life of worship involves serving God in the home, workplace, school/college, community and church. We’re now going to look at mission: expressing our worship as we share God’s glory with others. If you had the cure to a life-threatening disease, you wouldn’t keep it to yourself: you’d pass it on so that anyone with the disease could live. As Christians, we have something far better, the ‘Good News’ (Gospel) about Jesus Christ. Mission is about sharing this ‘Good News’ with others (Cf. 2 Kings 7:9).
What is mission? -
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Mission is about God’s glory: making His name known across the world (Psalm 72:19) (Acts 1:8) (Philippians 2:9-11). Mission is commanded by God and is the responsibility and privilege of every Christian (Mart 28:18-20) (Luke 24:46-49) (Acts 10:42). Mission is the heartbeat of God and is vital in His redemption plan (Luke 19:10) (1 Tim 2:4-6) (2 Peter 3:9). Mission must be the heartbeat of the church too (2 Cor. 5:18-20) (Acts 2:3841) (Acts 13:2-5). Mission is a key theme in the Old and New Testament (Gen 12:1-3) (Isaiah 49:6) (Psalm 67:1-2) (Acts 8:26-40).
do we, as the church, engage in mission? How -
We make God’s name known:
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By preaching the Good News (Gospel) of Jesus Christ, (Rom 10:14-15) (2 Cor. 4:5-6). By praying for sick people to be healed, (Acts 3:1-10) (Acts 9:36-42). By sharing God’s love in practical ways, (Matt 25:34-40) (James 2:14-17) (Luke 4:18-19).
lifechurch
Nurture
[Session 16]
Prayer -
[Session 16]
Church and Mission
We engage in mission: • In our communities, (Acts 2:14) (Luke 9:1-6). • In our nation (Acts 9:32-35) (Luke 10:1-2). • In the nations (Acts 8:4-8) (Acts 16:6-10) (Acts 1:8).
How do we, as individuals, engage in mission? -
We make God’s name known through our words: • We are ‘witnesses’ to what God has done in our lives through Jesus Christ (John 9:25) (Acts 4:12, 20) (Rom 1:16-17). This is sometimes referred to as your ‘testimony’ (1 Peter 3:15). • We share this Good News with our friends, family and work colleagues (John 4:28-30, 39-42). • We are ‘witnesses’ to God’s ongoing blessing and provision in our lives (Philippians 4:19) (Psalm 23). • Sharing our faith also increases our own understanding of the Gospel (Philemon 6).
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We glorify God through our actions: • We make God’s name known by the way we live our lives (1 Peter 2:1112) (Eph 4:1). • We show God’s love through actions (Luke10:30-37) (Jam 1:27) (Acts 4:32-35).
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Rely on the Holy Spirit to help you (John 14:26) (Luke 12:12) (Acts 4:8). Pray for opportunities to graciously share the Good News (Col 4:2-6). Believe in the Gospel’s power to change lives (Romans 1:16).
Conclusion Telling people about Jesus brings incredible joy, as we obey God and see His power at work in people’s lives. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you, and take every opportunity that God provides. If you want to find out more about how Life Church is engaging in mission in the local community, nation and nations then ask your course leader or one of the other church leaders.
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