Posts with the category “missio-dei”

MISSIO DEI | WEEK 5 - Until He ReturnsINTRODUCTION: The following is a guide to help facilitate discussion between you and the person you’re studying with or with your Connect Group. Feel free to add, subtract, or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.OPEN:  How do you imagine the return of Jesus to this earth? Use your imagination. What do you see...  Read More

NOW IT’S YOUR MOVERevelation 22:12-13, 20 (NLT) “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me... I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” ... “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!The last book of the Bible ends with a longing. Come, Lord Jesus. It is the oldest prayer in the Christian tradition, the prayer of people who have understood what...  Read More

FAITHFUL UNTILMicah 6:8 / James 2:14-17 (NLT) “This is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” / “Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, ‘Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well’ , but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?”James has no patience for fai...  Read More

AMBASSADORS IN BETWEEN2 Corinthians 5:17-20 (NLT) “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him... So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us.”Remember the middle ...  Read More

THE END PICTURE SHAPES THE PRESENTRevelation 7:9-10 (NLT) “After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great shout, ‘Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lam...  Read More

THE MISSION HAS AN ENDPOINTMatthew 24:14 (NLT) “And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.”Somewhere in the economy of God, the mission has a finish line.Jesus says it plainly: the gospel of the kingdom will be preached to all nations, and then , not before, but then , the end will come. This is not...  Read More

MISSIO DEI | WEEK 4 - The church as the sent communityINTRODUCTION: The following is a guide to help facilitate discussion between you and the person you’re studying with or with your Connect Group. Feel free to add, subtract, or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.OPEN:  Think of something in your life that was a big deal to you, something that ...  Read More

CHOSEN TO DECLARE1 Peter 2:9-10 (NLT) “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s me...  Read More

EQUIPPED TO GOEphesians 4:11-13 (NLT) “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, fully devel...  Read More

THE COMMUNITY THAT WITNESSES BY LIVINGActs 2:42, 44-47 (NLT) “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals, and to prayer... And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had... They worshiped together, met in homes, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity , all the while praising God and enjoyi...  Read More

SENT OUTWARD IN CIRCLESActs 1:8 (NLT) “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere , in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”A few years ago, a friend of mine confessed something incredibly honest. He said, "I realized it’s a lot easier for me to love 'the world' than it is to lov...  Read More

THE COMMISSION BELONGS TO ALL OF USMatthew 28:18-20 (NLT) “Jesus came and told his disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to th...  Read More

MISSIO DEI | WEEK 3 - Jesus as the sent OneINTRODUCTION: The following is a guide to help facilitate discussion between you and the person you’re studying with or with your Connect Group. Feel free to add, subtract, or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.OPEN:  What is one of the most precious finds you’ve ever had? Maybe it was a home, car, an i...  Read More

THE SERVANT SHAPE OF THE MISSIONMark 10:45 (NLT) “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”Mark 10:45 is only one sentence long, but it contains the entire direction of Jesus’s life. He speaks it in the middle of an argument about status. James and John are maneuvering for the best seats in the kingdom, the other disciples are ang...  Read More

PRESENCE ACROSS THE LINEJohn 4:7, 9-10 (NLT) “Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ She said to Jesus, ‘You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?’... Jesus replied, ‘If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.’”I grew up playing r...  Read More

THE GOD WHO GOES LOOKINGLuke 15:4-6 (NLT) “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the lost one until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I...  Read More

THE DIRECTION OF THE MISSIONPhilippians 2:5-8 (NLT) “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s dea...  Read More

THE WORD THAT MOVED INJohn 1:1, 14 (NLT) “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God... So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”John doesn’t ease you into the incarnation. He drops you in at the beginning of everything and ...  Read More

MISSIO DEI | WEEK 2 - The Broken World God LovesINTRODUCTION: The following is a guide to help facilitate discussion between you and the person you’re studying with or with your Connect Group. Feel free to add, subtract, or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.OPEN:  If you had just moments left to live, what is a piece or two of wisdom that you w...  Read More

GOD’S ANSWER TO THE BROKEN WORLDIsaiah 65:17-19 (NLT) “Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore. Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation! And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness. Her people will be a source of joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and delight in my people. And the sound of weeping and crying will be heard...  Read More

JESUS READS THE ROOMLuke 4:18-19 (NLT) “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”Early on in my ministry, right around the time I got my first job, I went through a very formative ex...  Read More

JUSTICE IS NOT OPTIONALMicah 6:8 (NLT) “No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”Micah 6:8 gets quoted so often it has started to feel like a bumper sticker. That is a tragedy, because it is actually one of the most demanding verses in the entire Bible. God is speaking to a people go...  Read More

THE WHOLE CREATION IS GROANINGRomans 8:19-22 (NLT) “For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning...  Read More

WHAT GOODNESS LOOKED LIKE BEFORE WE BROKE ITGenesis 1:31, 3:6-7 (NLT) “Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!... The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it... At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at t...  Read More

MISSIO DEI | WEEK 1 - God is a sending GodINTRODUCTION: The following is a guide to help facilitate discussion between you and the person you’re studying with or with your Connect Group. Feel free to add, subtract, or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.OPEN:  Either share with the group one of the best gifts you’ve ever received, or the one of t...  Read More

SENT THE SAME WAYJohn 20:21 (NLT) “Again he said, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.’”About ten years ago, a close friend of mine lost her husband very suddenly. He left behind two young children and as you can imagine, his wife was in pieces. Her sister, who lived on the other side of the world, got on a plane as quickly as she could. She came for the funeral with...  Read More

THE MOMENT BEFORE THE SENDINGIsaiah 6:1, 8 (NLT) “It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple... Then I heard the Lord asking, ‘Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?’ I said, ‘Here I am. Send me.’”Isaiah’s commissioning is one of the most dramatic scenes in all of Scripture. A...  Read More

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THE GOD WHO TALKS TO HIMSELFJohn 17:20-23 (NLT) “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one, as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.”Before there was a world, there was a conversation. This is one of the ...  Read More

GOD IS A SENDING GODDAY 1 - THE MISSION THAT STARTED BEFORE YOUJohn 3:16-17 (NLT) “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”We had been visiting the Crosswalk community in Jakarta and were heading home via S...  Read More

Most of us have heard the word “mission” and felt one of two things: a quiet guilt that we’re not doing enough of it, or a vague sense that it’s something other people do. The particularly bold, the cross-culturally gifted, the ones who pack up and move overseas. Either way, mission tends to feel like something outside our ordinary lives rather than something woven into the fabric of them. If that...  Read More