CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 133 (GNT)
In Praise of Living in Peace
1 How wonderful it is, how pleasant,
for God’s people to live together in harmony!
2 It is like the precious anointing oil
running down from Aaron’s head and beard,
down to the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew on Mount Hermon,
falling on the hills of Zion.
That is where the Lord has promised his blessing—
life that never ends.
Good News Translation (GNT) Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society
THEME: “COMMUNITY”
Recap:
Mission Month has been a time of reflection for us about our involvement in the Gospel call to “go to all nations” (Matth. 28:18) and Colossians 2:6-7 – “Since you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, live in union with him. Keep your roots deep in him, build your lives on him, and become stronger in your faith, as you were taught. And be filled with thanksgiving”.
How does your faith reflect these values?
We have also used our Mission and Vision Statement as a guiding principle – “Connecting to God and one another” …We accept, under God’s guidance, our calling to become a link between God and humankind and as an extension of this union, to reach out to all sectors of our church and community.
How does your faith reflect these values?
“We have recommitted to our Mission Pillars, understanding that our mission strategies stand on the pillars of -: Ministry, Spirituality, Training and Community.”
“COMMUNITY” can be defined as ….:
SCRIPTURE PASSAGES TO GUIDE YOUR THOUGHTS:
John 13:34-35: “And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.”
[Good News Translation (GNT) Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society]
Matthew 25:31-40: 31 “When the Son of Man comes as King and all the angels with him, he will sit on his royal throne, 32 and the people of all the nations will be gathered before him. Then he will divide them into two groups, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the righteous people at his right and the others at his left. 34 Then the King will say to the people on his right, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father! Come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world. 35 I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, 36 naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.’ 37 The righteous will then answer him, ‘When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38 When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 The King will reply, ‘I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of mine, you did it for me!’
[Good News Translation (GNT) Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society]
What word(s) or verse(s) stand out for you from the readings above? _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
When it comes to Mission and Outreach we…:
- Establish our priorities: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- Calculate the cost: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Matthew 14:27-30: 27 Those who do not carry their own cross and come after me cannot be my disciples. 28 If one of you is planning to build a tower, you sit down first and figure out what it will cost, to see if you have enough money to finish the job. 29 If you don’t, you will not be able to finish the tower after laying the foundation; and all who see what happened will make fun of you. 30 ‘You began to build but can’t finish the job!’ they will say.
- Knowingly pay the price for following Jesus: _______________________________________________________________________
A Thought for the week from the poet Edward Everett Hale:
I am only one,
but still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something I can do.
May your light shine to the Glory of God this week.
God bless,
Rev. Tim
