Saturday, November 21, 2009

The Nations Are In Our Basement

The call to go to the nations is clear. There are oodles of verses in the Bible that command us (Christians) to go "into all the world to preach the gospel" (Mt 28) or to be His witnesses "to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1) This is a command that should effect the ministry goals and plans of EVERY church.

One of the great advantages of living in a global society is that the call to go to the nations no longer requires you to get on a boat or an airplane. You do not have to look far to reach the nations because the nations have come to us. Within just a few miles of our Kingshighway building, there are dozens of languages spoken by people all over the globe. In recent years, south St. Louis city has experienced the biggest influx of people from Bosnia, Iraq, Vietnam and Eastern African countries. Some of you may or may not know that there is a food pantry in Jubilee Church St. Louis City Location's basement that primarily serves these new Americans.

My Action Track served there this morning by giving away donuts and coffee to nearly 100 people as they waited in line to receive their food. Everyone in my group was blown away by this experience to interact and befriend others from a different countries, listen to their stories and even pray for a few.

If you are a part of Jubilee, I would encourage you to check it out one Saturday morning. If you're in an Action Track in the city, encourage your track to serve there as a group.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Sharing the Gospel

Every Sunday, it's my aim as a communicator/preacher to shed light on the gospel. It may not be as direct as the "Roman Road" (Romans 3:23; 5:8; 6:23; 10:9-10; 10:13), but my hope is that everyone (Christian or non-Christian) walks away with a better understanding of the gospel.

However, this Sunday my hope is to be direct and take dead aim at explaining how God makes knowing Him possible. The friends you bring along with you (you are bringing a friend right?) will receive about a 35-40 minute explanation of the gospel of grace, and in doing so, my hope is also to provide you with a model of how you can also explain the gospel. Here's rough outline of my message that you can use:

1. "...(God) took on flesh and dwelt among us..." (John 1:14)
a. God became one of us to identify with our lives
b. He dwells among us to so we can really know Him
2. The invitation of salvation is for everyone (John 3:16)
a. People no one else wants to relate to
i. Samaritan woman (John 4)
ii. Woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11)
iii. Mary of Bethany (John 12:1-8)
b. People who are low on the totem poll (Peter, James and John - Luke 5)
3. Jesus came to show us truth and grace (John 1:14)
a. He is THE way, THE truth, and THE life (John 14:6)
b. We don't earn anything it's grace
i. unmerited favor
ii. through the death of Jesus
4. Sin deserves death (Rom 6:23), but by trusting in Jesus we get life
a. Why did Jesus die if he didn't sin?
b. He took our sin and we get his perfection! (2 Cor 5:21)
5. Now what?
a. We don't walk with a swagger as if we did anything (humility - Eph 2:8)
b. We don't loathe life as if we are still under condemnation (Rom 8:1)
c. We worship with our whole lives (Eph 2:10; Rom 12:1)

I'll see you and your friends on Sunday!

What is an Elder?

Read this great post about eldership by Rick Hein.