Unit 1
DRIVE
God’s Mission In The World
Lesson 1: God’s Global Mission Day 1: DRIVE Introduction What is your mission? If you are a Christ-follower, the more important question might be, “What is God’s mission?” This six-week study of Drive is all about understanding God’s mission. God’s mission in this world is pretty profound. God’s mission is to reconcile the world to Himself and to make His glory known. Pretty amazing stuff. As you prepare to begin this study, look up the definition of the word mission. Then, get ready to see how God’s mission is like a rolling wave, a powerful, majestic force unleashed in the world. God has called us to join His mission . . . Are you ready?
Day 2: God’s Global Mission One of the things we know about God is this: He blesses us with His love and forgiveness. God does this so that through us, He might bless people all over the world. The Bible contains the huge story of God’s plan of blessing all people with His love, grace, and mercy. Read Genesis 1:26-28. Notice that humans were always in God’s plan, although sin wasn’t. But God’s plan to redeem people from sin started in the Garden. Read Genesis 12:1-3. God called Abram to be the father of a great nation. This nation would become the Israelites, or the Jews, and would be the pathway for God’s great blessings. Read Exodus 24:4-8. God gave the Jews His laws so they would live like their Father. The Israelites promised to obey, and then sealed the promise, or covenant, with blood from a sacrifice. How do you see God’s plan unfolding as you read through these verses?
Day 3: God’s Blessings The passages you read yesterday looked at how God blessed His people. Isaiah recorded that God’s people turned away from Him and God allowed them to be punished. The nation of Israel was divided in two, and eventually taken over by other nations. Yet God continued to promise to bless His people. Read Jeremiah 23:5-6 and Luke 1:26-33. God promised His people He would not leave them, even though they had left Him. He promised to send a king. That King was Jesus, the Son of God, sent to save the world from its sins.
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Day 4: God’s Plan Jesus is the Way to receiving God’s Blessings. Read John 14:6 and Ephesians 1:3. Before the world was created, before Adam and Eve, before Abraham . . . Jesus existed. He was at God’s side from the beginning of time. And, He was God’s plan to bring peace, love, mercy, and forgiveness to the world. So now you know the plotline of God’s great story. And you are a part of it. God has chosen you, one of His children, to spread the story of Jesus to the world, so that everyone might hear and believe and be blessed. What are you waiting on? You know the story . . . Who can you tell today?
Day 5: Seeing the Big Picture Read Psalm 67:1-7. The psalmist was thankful for God’s blessing. This psalm seems to be more of a prayer than a hymn, and it has a deeper message. A good summary for verse 1 might read something like, “The psalmist was praying for God’s good favor, or blessing.” Simple enough. Now, read verse 2. A summary for this verse could be, “The psalmist wants all the people of the world to know of God and His ways.” Put these two verses together and an awesome picture appears. The psalmist wanted God to bless him and his people. But this petition for blessing was not out of a selfish desire. It was so that others might see the blessings God had poured out, give God glory for those blessings, and desire to be similarly blessed. The goal of the psalmist’s prayer was so God would be glorified. How do you see God glorified in the lives of others?
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Lesson 2: The Great Commission Day 1: The Heart of Jesus’ Great Commission Read Matthew 28:18-20. This is an important passage. One Bible scholar has even called it the key to understanding the entire Gospel! Do you really get what Jesus was saying to His disciples? Take a closer look at verse 19 and identify the word you think is the key word––the most important word in the passage. Did you choose “go”? A lot of people use the Great Commission as motivation for traveling to go on mission trips. And that’s okay. Jesus definitely calls us to leave our comfort zones to tell the world about Him. But the word “go” is not the main focus of the command. The key word in the sentence is really the phrase “make disciples.” Look up the definition of the word disciples. Does the definition you found describe you? Why? What does it mean to you to be a disciple of Christ?
Day 2: The Imperative Task The Greek word mathetuo is what’s called an “imperative verb.” An imperative verb is used to give orders or commands. You’ll recognize the use of an imperative because the word “you” is assumed in the command, such as, “Go clean your room.” So, the phrase “make disciples” is the important and imperative command in the Great Commission. How does the meaning of the Great Commission change if Jesus was not necessarily putting the emphasis on the “going,” but instead was emphasizing “making disciples”? How does this change the way you are living your day-to-day life for Christ? Read verse 20. Jesus gave a big clue into how we are supposed to make disciples. What did He say we are to do? What did He say about the power we have to teach people about Him? Now that you know what you are called to do, what’s keeping you from doing it? How are you going to join God on His mission of making disciples for Christ?
Day 3: Seeing Others as They Are There was a homeless man on the street that people passed by every day. He was cold, hungry, and homeless. People crossed the street to avoid him or looked at their phones so they didn’t have to make eye contact. But a teenaged girl saw him one morning. She realized he was hungry, and alone, and hopeless. She returned the next day with a blanket she had brought from home. Even though her own life was far from perfect, she recognized the man suffered far more than she ever had. So she now prays that God will keep the man safe and that the man will know that Jesus cares for him. This teenaged girl showed that she cares for the lost, the sick, the lonely, the outcast, the broken-hearted, and the forgotten. Why? Because she loves Jesus. And Jesus cares for the forgotten, too. How do you show Jesus’ love for those who feel forgotten by others?
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Day 4: Serving with Actions Read Matthew 9:35-38. Then, go back and underline all the words that are action verbs. You should have underlined: went, teaching, preaching, healing. Each of these words described actions Jesus used to meet the needs of others. And Jesus did these things because He felt compassion for the people He met, people who had been harassed, and who were helpless. Now, read verse 38 again. This statement sums up Jesus’ desire. He saw thousands of people who needed to know of the love and grace of God. But there weren’t enough people available who were willing or ready to show this love to others. Are you ready to take that step? How can you show God’s love and grace to those who are hurting.
Day 5: Commission Accepted The Great commission is the ultimate expression of Christ’s call to embrace the purpose of God and to declare His glory to all nations. Why? Because God’s desire is for all people to know Him and His love for them. Do an on-line search to find a map that shows the spread of Christianity during the 1st century. The original disciples spread Christ’s message to India, Africa, and throughout Europe, even to England. Now, search on-line for a map that shows the spread of Christianity during 300-400 AD, and then 400-600 AD. Think about how the message of Christ spread so far . . . without phones or the Internet, and without any form of mass communication. Jesus’ amazing plan was for His disciples to spread His message by word-of-mouth. And it is still spread that way today. When was the last time you told someone Jesus’ story?
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