The Mission of the Church
After Jesus’ death and resurrection, he spent 40 days on earth ministering to people and preparing His disciples for life without Him. Jesus planned on leaving earth and ascending to heaven, but before doing so, He gave His disciples a mission found in Matthew 28:19-20. We often call this mission The Great Commission.
The Great Commission begins with getting up and going to places where people need to hear about the good news of Jesus. This doesn’t mean you have to leave your country—there are people in your own neighborhood and workplace that need to hear the hope of Jesus.
The ultimate goal of the Great Commission is to make followers of Jesus. So as we go about sharing the good news of Jesus with people, we're to show people how Jesus has changed our lives, and invite them to discover Jesus for themselves.
Jesus also instructs us to baptize new believers. Baptism is a symbol of someone’s incorporation into the family of God. It is their public display of their new faith in Jesus. Baptism is such an important part of the Christian life that Jesus made sure to include it in our mission.
It can be easy to think that making disciples and baptizing believers is the responsibility of our church pastors and ministry leaders. While those things certainly are part of every church’s mission, Jesus intended for every believer to be making disciples.
So take a moment to think about someone in your own life who helped you grow spiritually. Ask God to bring to mind someone you can help and disciple. Then, allow God to give you the courage to share the hope of Jesus with those around you.
The Good Life
Everyone on earth is searching for a good and meaningful life. We all want our lives to matter—to be filled with purpose and fulfillment. But we often search for fulfillment and meaning through things that cannot fulfill us.
Many people try to find purpose in fame and admiration from other people. Others try to find fulfillment through material possessions. Still others pursue a good life through working hard and building security through wealth.
Unfortunately, none of those methods will bring true happiness or fulfillment in life. There will come a time when fame and fortune fades, when material possessions lose their charm, and when our security is no longer there.
Jesus says this is the way the enemy works. The thief tries to steal our attention away from what truly matters by distracting us with earthly things that we think will satisfy. But this way only ends in death and destruction. Jesus says there's another way to find the good life...
In John 10, Jesus compares Himself...