Bringing People to Jesus and Heaven to Earth Sundays September 8, 15, and 22 This month, as we kickoff off the new school year, with all our programs and groups starting back up, we will be exploring an expression of our God-given mission as "bringing people to Jesus and heaven to earth." "Bringing people to Jesus and heaven to earth" is a statement that captures our evangelistic and missional heart. The first half captures the essence of John 1:41–42 where Andrew tells Simon, "We have found the Messiah!" and he brought him to Jesus. The second half captures the heart of the Lord's prayer from Matthew 6 where Jesus teaches us to pray "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven". We want all people to know that Jesus is our only hope. Trusting in him brings healing to our hurting lives and hope to all of humanity. By trusting Jesus, keeping his commands, and following his example, we can find freedom, healing, peace, and unity in the kingdom of God. This is the meaning of God’s “will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” There IS hope for humanity, but it only comes through Jesus. When we come to Jesus, heaven comes to earth. This is our mission. Bringing people to Jesus requires that we actively share the gospel with those who don’t have faith in Jesus. This includes publicly sharing the gospel during our Sunday services and messages and giving people an opportunity to respond. It also includes each of us personally sharing the gospel with others in our own lives—whether they be family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, etc. Bringing heaven to earth requires intentional discipleship of those who have put their faith in Jesus on what it means to be a follower of Jesus in the kingdom of God so that His will would be done “on earth as it is in heaven.” It includes living in community with one another and actively serving each other with love and compassion through missional ministries and partnerships both inside and outside our church. And, it reflects the beauty of heaven when we gather together to worship God. I'll be preaching about this statement over three Sundays, September 8, 15, and 22. As I do, I encourage you to explore the following resources. VIDEOS
HEAVEN AND EARTH PODCAST SERIES This podcast series from the Bible Project does a great job of explaining further what this means. SERMONS BOOKS Here are a few books you could read for more consideration of our mission as the church. Each of these are available for Kindle but we'll also have some paperback copies available at church.
"The King Jesus Gospel" by Scot McNight "Surprised by Hope," by N.T. Wright "The Divine Conspiracy," by Dallas Willard "Bringing Heaven to Earth," by Josh Ross and Jonathan Storment (an entry-level, easy to read book, capturing the heart of this statement for the average person) Note: Every book we read, video we watch, or podcast we listen to will likely contain various statements that are either confusing or with which you or I might disagree. Biblical study always requires personal, Spirit-led discernment, careful analysis and discussion, as well as humility to learn and the granting of charity for different perspectives.
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RIVER CITY DAYS PARADE SUNDAY, AUGUST 4, 1:00PM It's been a while since our church entered a float in a Red Wing parade, so it's exciting to see us enter one this year! Several people have been involved with planning, constructing, and decorating a float that represents the joy and hope of the people of First Covenant Church.
Embellished with the colors of our church's logo (gold, purple, green, and orange), this float is a symbol of new life that can be found in Christ, the diversity of the kingdom of God and it's unity around Christ, and the brightness of its light in a darkened world because of Christ. Standing on the float will be a team of talented musicians from the church band singing and playing their hearts out for the glory of God. They'll be singing "let me tell you about My Jesus." They'll be proclaiming that "The Church is Alive!" And, they'll be calling all Christians to be "a little more like Jesus and Less Like Me." Walking alongside the float will be a few of us wearing t-shirts saying "GOD LOVED FIRST LOVE GOD." We want people to know the great love with which God has first loved us, then call them to first love God in their lives. Only when we discover the joy of loving God first will our souls be restored with hope. As we toss candy to the families watching the parade, we want people to know that we see them, care about them, and invite them to taste and see that the Lord is good—even better than the sweet taste of the treats we're sharing. Those of you who will be along the parade route, watching the floats go by will also be representing, not only First Covenant Church but, Jesus Christ himself. Some of you will be wearing the same shirt as those who are in the parade. But all of you are called to "clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 13:14), to let the "message of Christ dwell among you richly" (Colossians 3:16), and bearing the Spirit's fruit of "love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:23). We participate in this parade for three reasons. First, we want to proclaim the good news of the kingdom that comes in Jesus Christ. Second, we want to invite the people of Red Wing into our church community. And third, we just want to participate with our neighbors in our neighborhood activities to show our love for our neighbors. Though we are not of this world, we are still in this world and we choose to walk alongside the people of this world, sharing the hope of Jesus with all as we go. Please be praying for all those involved with the float and that the Holy Spirit would work through our presence in the River City Days Parade. |
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