Sunday, May 24, 2009

Accomplishing the Mission

I began a short preaching series this morning outlining spiritual gifts. In my intro, I emphasized "the mission." Not to be confused with the Blues Brothers, Christ-followers really are, "...on a mission from God." Jesus introduced this mission to us, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." - Matthew 4:17. He preached to the world that the kingdom of heaven was here, with us, in our midst. We have the responsibility to continue the mission. God has gifted us to play a part in accomplishing the mission.

So what is the mission - I believe it's 3-fold,
-Reach those who do not profess Christ as Savior - do whatever it takes
-Preach the Gospel - the message of salvation, forgiveness and redemption
-Promote unity - if the church can't get along, no one will want to be a part of it

God has given us spiritual gifts - teaching, serving, giving, mercy, exhortation, hospitality, gifts of healing, prophecy - in order to accomplish this mission. This elicits a few questions -

Do you know your gift?
If so, are you playing your role in accomplishing the mission?
How does your church community enable/empower you to play your part?

Thoughts?

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