Becoming a Missional Church
Jerry Watts
Acts 1:6-8
Billy Graham is a name most everyone knows. Today, his name carries a note of authority, authenticity, and integrity. What you may not know or do not remember is that Dr. Graham was not always popular. The story is told about him being scheduled for a meeting in one community and one of the ''highly educated'' pastors in that community was heard to say, ''He'd set our churches back 20 years.'' When Dr. Graham heard this, his comment was, ''If I set the church back 20 years, I have missed my mark! I desire to set it back 2000'' years!'' In our modern day, an argument can be made that no one has influenced more people toward Jesus than has Dr. Graham. Why did he have such a passion and drive to see people come to Christ? What was in him that kept him going? To read his history one comes to understand that he came to a crisis of faith about the word of God and made the determination that the Bible was true and should be taken literally at face value. The anointing of God which followed is chronicled by the mass of people he spoke to and the thongs which responded. To believe God's word will change your life!
Today we have read the last recorded words of Jesus before He ascended to heaven and what I would like to do is to read all 5 places where these words are recorded. (Read Matt 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20, and Acts 1)
Reading these verses, can we agree that Jesus had something in mind for His church? In every recorded instance of His last words, Jesus called those who believe in Him to action, to service, and to mission.
For years, as Southern Baptist we have identified ourselves as mission-minded. Basically this has meant that we support the Cooperative Program we do and should do. Through our gifts, we support mission in North America and around the world. (OMC). In recent years, we have taken another step in our mission's involvement with Mission Trips.
In the last 5 years, we have sent peo ...
Jerry Watts
Acts 1:6-8
Billy Graham is a name most everyone knows. Today, his name carries a note of authority, authenticity, and integrity. What you may not know or do not remember is that Dr. Graham was not always popular. The story is told about him being scheduled for a meeting in one community and one of the ''highly educated'' pastors in that community was heard to say, ''He'd set our churches back 20 years.'' When Dr. Graham heard this, his comment was, ''If I set the church back 20 years, I have missed my mark! I desire to set it back 2000'' years!'' In our modern day, an argument can be made that no one has influenced more people toward Jesus than has Dr. Graham. Why did he have such a passion and drive to see people come to Christ? What was in him that kept him going? To read his history one comes to understand that he came to a crisis of faith about the word of God and made the determination that the Bible was true and should be taken literally at face value. The anointing of God which followed is chronicled by the mass of people he spoke to and the thongs which responded. To believe God's word will change your life!
Today we have read the last recorded words of Jesus before He ascended to heaven and what I would like to do is to read all 5 places where these words are recorded. (Read Matt 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20, and Acts 1)
Reading these verses, can we agree that Jesus had something in mind for His church? In every recorded instance of His last words, Jesus called those who believe in Him to action, to service, and to mission.
For years, as Southern Baptist we have identified ourselves as mission-minded. Basically this has meant that we support the Cooperative Program we do and should do. Through our gifts, we support mission in North America and around the world. (OMC). In recent years, we have taken another step in our mission's involvement with Mission Trips.
In the last 5 years, we have sent peo ...
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