Read John 20:19-23
The Blues Brothers are famous for this phrase, but God has been sending people on missions from the beginning. At the end of worship each week, we are sent to share what God alone gives where we live, work, and play. Gathering in worship, God’s promised presence equips us to share our faith. At our gatherings, we rally with the ‘team’ built into the word, “WE”: “WE live to know Christ … and make Christ known!” Few of us feel up to the task of leading others to Christ. God sends people like us on His mission precisely because we are NOT up to the task. For example:
God sent Moses. (Exodus 4:14) Moses was terrified to enter hazardous duty in God’s name. He wanted God to send someone else. God obliged and sent Aaron … with Moses as a team.
God sent Isaiah. (Isaiah 6:8) Isaiah the prophet confessed painful awareness of verbal sin that he felt disqualified him from being God’s agent. But God cauterized the wound in his soul and sent him to speak God’s Word.
God sent His apostles. (John 20:21) They were not the sharpest hooks in the tackle box, but Jesus sent them—as fishers of people—to make disciples of the entire world.
God sends us. Like the people listed throughout the Bible, when we consider God’s mission, we tend to self‐disqualify. But God enables us through His real presence (Exodus 3:12). God qualifies us through the forgiveness of sins (Isaiah 6:7). God teams us up with others (Exodus 4:10 & Romans 12:4‐8). And God does it all to rescue people from a world of hurt. Connecting people with Christ—this is our mission from God.
The Blues Brothers are famous for this phrase, but God has been sending people on missions from the beginning. At the end of worship each week, we are sent to share what God alone gives where we live, work, and play. Gathering in worship, God’s promised presence equips us to share our faith. At our gatherings, we rally with the ‘team’ built into the word, “WE”: “WE live to know Christ … and make Christ known!” Few of us feel up to the task of leading others to Christ. God sends people like us on His mission precisely because we are NOT up to the task. For example:
God sent Moses. (Exodus 4:14) Moses was terrified to enter hazardous duty in God’s name. He wanted God to send someone else. God obliged and sent Aaron … with Moses as a team.
God sent Isaiah. (Isaiah 6:8) Isaiah the prophet confessed painful awareness of verbal sin that he felt disqualified him from being God’s agent. But God cauterized the wound in his soul and sent him to speak God’s Word.
God sent His apostles. (John 20:21) They were not the sharpest hooks in the tackle box, but Jesus sent them—as fishers of people—to make disciples of the entire world.
God sends us. Like the people listed throughout the Bible, when we consider God’s mission, we tend to self‐disqualify. But God enables us through His real presence (Exodus 3:12). God qualifies us through the forgiveness of sins (Isaiah 6:7). God teams us up with others (Exodus 4:10 & Romans 12:4‐8). And God does it all to rescue people from a world of hurt. Connecting people with Christ—this is our mission from God.