Reading the bible with a mission lens

Reading the bible with a mission lens is about engaging with God and His word, that leads us into being part of His mission in the world.   

A good way to do this is by reflecting on and responding to 5 key questions as you read a passage of scripture.

1. What is this passage saying about who God is?
2. What is this passage saying about who you are?
3. What is this passage saying about God's relationship with you (and others those in and outside His church)?
4. How is this passage encouraging you to be part of the Body of Christ, God's church?
5. How is this passage encouraging you (and others who are part of the Body of Christ) to engage with people who are in your community or you will cross paths with?

Reading the bible with a mission lens, should lead us to engaging with Christians in helping others to connect with God and His mission of grace.    

Book: HINGES - Opening your church's doors to the community

This is one of a number resources that help pastors and congregations who are pursuing God's mission for their church that will assist them in the work of revitalisation.   

In the past, the doors of the church opened inward, but now people are no longer coming in through church doors as they once did. Instead, God is calling the church to open the doors outward as the people of God take the Gospel to their community.

The central theme of this book is based on extensive statistical research, personal pastoral experience, and practical work with over one thousand churches.   From this Transforming Churches Network has found the eight key factors that open the doors of the church outward and empower the church to have an impact upon the community God places it in. 

Read Hinges to discover these eight factors and go beyond mere theories about what might work. Many who have follow these practical steps and have found new life and fruitfulness in their church.

Article: Good governance and mission

Good Governance and Mission

Sometimes in the church and Christian circles, governance as seen as a nuisance to mission and ministry, instead of being supportive to the mission and ministry God has given us.   This arises because of a misunderstanding of what good governance is about. 

One of the biggest mistakes we can make is to limit governance to simply making good financial decisions and making sure that we are meeting all our legal obligations.   Good governance for ministry and mission is more than that.   In fact, just focussing on the financial and legal matters when it comes to governance may actually lead to bad governance.   Why?  Because a key to good governance is ensuring we are focussed on living out why we actually exist.   In a practical sense this means focussing on our objectives, mission and strategic directions as a church or ministry of the church.  Our response to our financial and legal obligations should always be based on why we exist, assisting us to live out our objectives and mission in the environment God has called us to.    

As a result of Covid we have seen good and not so good governance in churches and other organisations.  Covid brought about a number of rules and restrictions for us as church.  Legally we can’t avoid these rules.  Many of the rules and restrictions were brought in to help and care for the community.   

Some churches and organisations applied these rules without considering their mission and objectives.  People relating to such organisations had a sense that all the organisation cared about was keeping out of trouble.  The attitude appeared to be here are the rules, you must do this or that, its not our fault but the governments.  In many cases there was a sense of coldness with little love or care for others.   Other churches and organisations gave some more thought to how they applied the rules and restrictions in the light of their mission and objectives.   Many of them encouraged their community to see how these rules were in place to care for and love others.  They went out of their way to greet people in a welcoming and encouraging way.  They made it easy for people to comply with the rules.  They considered the diverse opinions of their community.  They explored other ways they could serve and care for people and keep engaged with people, considering the restrictions and rules in place.  This later group was not just focussed on their legal obligations, but more importantly on the community God has placed around them to serve.    They were not just concerned about not getting in trouble, but their main focus was on living out who had God called them to be. 

So how might we develop a more missional approach to governance?

1.     Focus continually on who God has called us to be and what has God called us to do. 
2. .    Know our mission, objectives and strategic directions, and view everything through these.
3. .    Spend a significant time at each meeting in listening to God, reflecting on and sharing what God says and prayer.
4. .   Reflect on who has God placed in your organisation’s life to serve and share the Gospel with. 

2.       Understand the financial and legal responsibilities you have, then shape your response to these based on your objectives and mission.   Think about how your response can reflect your mission, objectives and strategic direction.    This may take time, prayer and much discussion. 

Pastor Richard Schwedes

Assistant Bishop LCA NSW and ACT

 This article appeared originally in The Contact magazine - LCA NSW and ACT District 

  

EBook: Renew 52

Renew 52: 50+ Ideas to Revitalize Your Congregation from Leaders under 50 is a free ebook that features 52 short essays from 54 Christian leaders in 15 different traditions. In this 2012 collection, edited by David J. Lose (former Vibrant Congregations Project grant director and Luther Seminary faculty member), authors were guided by the conviction that congregations are the primary place where the Spirit is at work for the renewal of the church.

From the introduction by David J. Lose:
The Spirit is moving in exciting ways. We are on the cusp of exciting, if unpredictable, renewal. In spite of the well-documented story of mainline decline, there is a lot of growth, a lot of potential, and a lot of hope in our congregations as well.

Each of the authors in this ebook has had her or his share of challenges and setbacks, but each has also learned from those and continues to dream, work, plan, and lead. And this book pulls together more than fifty of their best ideas for congregational renewal.

To download the book visit https://www.luthersem.edu/vcp/renew52/default.aspx?m=6411 

Mission bulletin sentences based on the Lectionary

The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod - Texas District Witness and Outreach has developed some Mission Sentences based on the Lectionary Reading for the week...
They are available at:  
Year A
Year B
Year C

Video: Lost at sea (the church is not a pleasure boat but a life boat)

A video to encourage people to see that the church is not a pleasure boat but a life boat

Web page to visit Glocalmission

The vision of Glocal Mission is to raise up one million disciple makers for the task of the Great Commission in USA and around the world by 2031.  So far more than 50 churches being planted in USA and around the world and thousands of pastors and leaders are being trained.

Visit www,glocalmission.org

At the glocalmission web site you will discover:

Downloadable resources including 

• Missional Activity Plan
• 110 Glocal Ways
• 110 Glocal Ways to Reach Your Community 
• 110 Glocal Ways Planning Worksheet
• Strategic Planning
• GM.Strategic Planning.Questions   
• Head, Heart, Hands, Habits Card
• 3 Missional Outcomes Card
• How To Pray For The Lost
• 31 Day Devotional on 12 Disciples
• How to Reach the Unchurched TODAY
• How to Share Christ with Your Friends of Another Faith
• 15 SIGNS YOUR CHURCH IS IN TROUBLE BY Perry Noble
• Start Church step by setp Sequence Book
• Writing a Church-Planting Proposal
• Steps to Planting a church
• Common Objections to Church Planting
• GM Church Planting Manual 
• How to Assess, Empower, and Multiply Missional Leaders
• SERVANT LEADERSHIP The Art of The Basin and the Towel
• Where to find New Leaders
• Local Church Leadership Development
• How to Discover Your Leadership Blind Spots
• Do’s and Don’ts in the community outreach & missions
• Holistic Community Outreach and Transformation
• Healthy Partnership and Community Development
• 101 Ways to Help People in Need by Steve and Janie Sjogren

FREE E BOOKS

• Why God Made Cities- By Tim Keller 
• Romans Commentary
• Transcend by Matt Smay
• Vital Signs by Tony Morgan
• Absolute Surrender by Andrew Murray
• The Mission of God ebook

DISCIPLESHIP

• Finding the lost, mobilizing the saved
• The Lost Art Of Disciple Making by Leroy Eims
• 9 principles of Master plan of Evangelism and Discipleship
• Am I Growing in my Level of Spiritual Maturity?
• Understanding the Great Commission

RECOMMENDED READING

Using instagram for ministry

Instagram is one of the significant social media platforms, a platform that allows users to share photos and videos.    The following articles explore how we can best use Instagram for ministry and mission
The best way to use Instagram for your church - Concordia Technology
How to create an Instagram ministry
How to get your congregation Instagram ready
Praise Pix - An instagram ministry case study
How to set up instagram fro your church - UM Communications
37 ways to use Instagram for church
20 great ways to use instagram for your church 
How to use Instagram stories for connecting with your youth ministry
5 strategic ministry uses for Instagram
Be a hero with Instagram
15 things your church can learn from top Instagram accounts

If you have other suggestions, examples or ideas feel free to leave them in the comment section

Book: The digital cathedral

Rapid cultural and technological changes through the last two decades have changed the context for ministry. The development of digital social media and advances in affordable, mobile technologies have dramatically changed the way most people interact with others, communicate, organize, and participate in communities.

The Digital Cathedral is a warm embrace of the rich traditions of Christianity, especially the recovery of the pre-modern sense of cathedral, which encompassed the depth and breadth of daily life within the physical and imaginative landscape of the church. It is for anyone who seeks to effectively minister in a digitally-integrated world, and who wishes to embody the networked, relational, and incarnational characteristics of that ministry.

Book: Penguins in the pews

We are living in an age of the dechurched, people who have walked away from the church but not from faith.  In Penguins in the Pews, J. Russell Crabtree examines why. 
In his reflection on the responses of nearly 200,000 persons to a variety of questions, he addresses a number of topics including:
• Why is the distinction between quality and quantity both false and unhelpful? 
• What makes the difference between a church that is growing and one that isn't? 
• Why does a church growth "program" seem to work in some churches but not in others?
• What kind of church climate do people need to experience to both join and stay with it over the long term? 
• What is church culture and how does it aid or inhibit church growth? 
• When does a church need to stop focusing on surviving and shift to leaving a legacy for their community?

Book: Digitized - Spiritual implications of technology

There is no one untouched by technology in our modern culture.   Pastors, teachers, and families are looking for ways to understand how technology influences our relationships, our families, our churches, and our faith lives.  Digitized articulates how everyone is affected and what Christians can do in response.

Author Dr. Bernard Bull provides a systematic analysis of 12 characteristics of life in a technological world, 12 challenges that everyone faces, followed by 12 practical next steps for faith and life in this connected and technological world.

The book has two main sections:

1. How is technology affecting us?
2. How do we respond?

Book: Church planting in the secular west

An expert study of church planting in the most secular part of contemporary Europe

In this book Stefan Paas offers thoughtful analysis of reasons and motives for missionary church planting in Europe, and he explores successful and unsuccessful strategies in that post-Christian secularized context.

Drawing in part on his own involvement with planting two churches in the Netherlands, Paas explores confessional motives, growth motives, and innovation motives for church planting in Europe, tracing them back to different traditions and reflecting on them from theological and empirical perspectives. He presents examples from the European context and offers sound advice for improving existing missional practices. Paas also draws out lessons for North America in a chapter coauthored with Darrell Guder and John Franke. Finally, Paas weaves together the various threads in the book with a theological defense of church planting.

Presenting new research as it does, this critical missiological perspective will add significantly to a fuller understanding of church planting in our contemporary context.

Table of Contents

• The roots of Church planting
• The classic paradigm: a three stage process
• Modern evangelical paradigm:  Church planting as an instrument of evanglism
• Late modern evangelical paradigm: Church planting as innovation
• Three motives behind Church planting in Europe
• Mission and Confession
• Terminology
• Christendom divided
• Historical examples of confessional church planting in Europe
• Missional Reflections
• Defining Growth
• The missiological framework
• The logic of Church growth theory
• Evaluating religious marketing theory on three levels
• Empirical evidence
• Planting new churches
• Crisis and renewal
• Complexity of task
• Structures of expectation
• Three biotopes of renewal
• Church planting as an instrument of renewal
• Justification of church planting
• Biblical arguments for church planting in Europe
• Church planting a Theo-logical consequence 

Book: From Surviving to Thriving: A Practical Guide to Revitalize Your Church by John H Krahn

For years, Rev. Dr. John H. Krahn has been one of his denomination's most successful interim pastors whom God has used to save many dying churches. He shares his proven methods for helping churches which are barely surviving to once again thrive. Whether your church is on life support or is doing quite well, this book shares ways and insights which will strengthen your church and its ministry. Unlike other books on church growth, From Surviving to Thriving -- A Practical Guide to Revitalize Your Church, is a hands-on approach that will assist you and your church greatly. Dr. Krahn believes that no church should fail. He has written this book to help your church once again thrive.


Inside you will find a good measure of practical advice, pressed down, shaken together and running over with experience and good sense. There are not many suggestions that cannot immediately be put into practice by pastors and members of congregations alike. Pastor Krahn has done what he recommends and seen the results of intentional missional ministry in more than one context. The book is overflowing with good stories and examples of excellent ministry. He draws richly from the pastoral imagination of other settings. We all know that the current culture does not necessarily support our congregational revitalization, but rather than simply analyze the situation and describe the problem, the author proposes concrete and effective practices in worship, finances, and programs that he has seen work. There are no silver bullets to address our challenges but a comprehensive approach including, among others, getting the church's financial house in order, practicing good stewardship, developing a strategic plan and vision, marketing the church in new and old ways, and developing an evangelism program. 

Here is a book by a veteran pastor who knows how to revitalize a congregation that is long on hope and short on excuses.

Some chapters included: 

• Stop Making Excuses and Start Doing Something 
• Get Your Church's Financial House in Order 
• Reclaim Your Inactive Members 
• Reach the Unchurched in Your Community 
• Remove the Roadblocks That Impede Thriving 
• Expect God's Miracles 

Rev Dr. John H. Krahn has been in the pastoral ministry for forty-eight years. He was pastor of the largest Lutheran church in New York for twelve years with a staff of fifty people.  Dr. Krahn earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia Senior College (Fort Wayne, Indiana), and his Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Seminary (St. Louis, Missouri). He earned his Masters in Education and Theological Studies from Union Theological Seminary, his Masters in Curriculum and Teaching from Columbia University, and his Doctor of Ministry from New York Theological Seminary (all in New York, New York). He has been the Executive Director of the United Lutheran Appeal, the Director of Recruitment at Long Island Lutheran High School, an Army Chaplain, owned a Christian group travel business and traveled all over the world. Krahn is a professional fund raiser, has been a lecturer, taught high school, served as interim pastor at five floundering Lutheran churches, and continues to work as a paid church consultant. He is the go-to-guy in his synod to turn around dying churches, and sometimes refers to himself as the "pastor of lost causes". Dr. Krahn is also a much sought after speaker. In 2016, he will be conducting seminars throughout the church on the subject matter contained in this book. He has been married for forty-nine years, and has two daughters and three grandchildren.

video: What should the church do?

Where Are We Today: What Should The Church Do? from Chris Croghan on Vimeo.

Book/Study: Joining Jesus on His mission

Joining Jesus on His Mission - being an everyday missionary will alter the way you see your life as a follower of Jesus and take you beyond living your life for Jesus to living life with Jesus. 
Simple, powerful and applicable insights show you how to be on mission and recognize where Jesus is already at work in your neighborhoods, workplaces and schools. You will feel both relief and hope. You may even hear yourself say, “I can do this!” as you start responding to the everyday opportunities Jesus is placing in your path.

Contents
What's Jesus up to?
Joining Jesus
The River moved
Are you stalling?
Could it be this simple?
An inefficiently effective strategy
Seeking what's already happening.
The kingdom of God
What does the Kingdom of God look like?
The Mission of God
Getting into position every day
Seeking the Kingdom
Hearing from Jesus
Talking with people
Doing good
Ministering through prayer
The missional party
What will your story be?
With a little help from my friends.

Further resources relating to this book are available at https://dwelling114.org/book/ 

About the author
Rev. Greg Finke is LCMS pastor,  the founder and Executive Director of Dwelling 1:14, a non-profit ministry which seeks to help Jesus-followers connect in their neighborhoods, workplaces and schools for discipling and missional living (www.dwelling114.org). 

Before founding Dwelling 1:14, Greg had been the senior pastor of Messiah Lutheran in Midland, Michigan for 18 years and Gloria Dei Lutheran in Houston, Texas for three years. Greg and his wife, Susan, have three daughters and enjoy life as neighborhood missionaries in League City, Texas.  

Book: The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative

Most Christians would agree that the Bible provides a basis for mission. 
But Christopher Wright boldly maintains that mission is bigger than that--there is in fact a missional basis for the Bible! The entire Bible is generated by and is all about God's mission. 
In order to understand the Bible, we need a missional hermeneutic of the Bible, an interpretive perspective that is in tune with this great missional theme. We need to see the "big picture" of God's mission and how the familiar bits and pieces fit into the grand narrative of Scripture. Beginning with the Old Testament and the groundwork it lays for understanding who God is, what he has called his people to be and do, and how the nations fit into God's mission, Wright gives us a new hermeneutical perspective on Scripture. This new perspective provides a solid and expansive basis for holistic mission. Wright emphasizes throughout a holistic mission as the proper shape of Christian mission. God's mission is to reclaim the world--and that includes the created order--and God's people have a designated role to play in that mission.   Winner, 2007 Christianity Today Missions/Global Affairs Book

CONTENTS
Part I The Bible and Mission 
1 Searching for a Missional Hermeneutic
2 Shaping a Missional Hermeneutic
Part II The God of Mission 
3 The Living God Makes Himself Known in Israel
4 The Living God Makes Himself Known in Jesus Christ
5 The Living God Confronts Idolatry
Part III The People of Mission 
6 God's Elect People: Chosen for Blessing
7 God's Particular People: Chosen for All
8 God's Model of Redemption: The Exodus 
9 God's Model of Restoration: The Jubilee
10 The Span of God's Missional Covenant
11 The Life of God's Missional People
Part IV The Arena of Mission 
12 Mission and God's Earth
13 Mission and God's Image
14 God and the Nations in Old Testament Vision
15 God and the Nations in New Testament Mission

Article: Missional or Attractional. The value of embracing a both/and mentality

Article:  Missional or Attractional? The Value of Embracing a Both/And Mentality
Every Christian should be missional and every church should be attractional. 
by EDDIE COLE
Much has been said and written to help today’s churches become more missional. Organizations, parachurch communities, and conferences abound in trying to move the Church in this direction. This emphasis is certainly justified in light of how many Evangelical churches are not missional and are either in a state of plateau or decline.
Unfortunately, many churches are not trying in any measurable way to reach the people in their community who are unchurched. Too often, churches satisfy themselves with biblical teaching, music, fellowship groups, or any number of good things. They are intoxicated with a sense of church busy-ness and therefore have a sense that they are on mission. The problem is, these things too often become subtle substitutes for the mission of God. We have to be reminded that our mission is to advance His kingdom on a daily basis, being and making disciples who worship and follow Jesus.
My predecessor as Eastern District Superintendent for the EFCA, Dr. Steve Musser, did a great job speaking to the Eastern District churches about transitioning from being teaching centers to missional outposts. He led us to adopt the motto, “Churches without walls.” Some of our churches really benefited from his efforts, but all of our leaders were challenged to keep the mission in front of our churches. I inherited this value and intend to keep it as long as I’m in this role.
If you want to dive into some good reading about what it means for a church to be missional, you can go here and see some well-thought writing from credible evangelical writers and practitioners.
But in saying that we should be missional, does that mean we should completely discard the idea and value of anything attractional?
Before I address that, let me very succinctly address what it means for a church to be attractional. While much more could and should be said, the larger, more effective attractional churches strategically rely heavily upon using their ability to attract large numbers of people to their gatherings in order to accomplish mission. They focus a lot of energy on the worship services and programs and then they work outward from this standpoint. As a model, this approach is still working in many places.
In spite of the growing number of critics, the continued growth of megachurches in America at the very least suggests that the attractional model of ministry has merits worth studying. Here is a good report for further reading.
In 2011, Billy Hornsby, co-founder and president of the Association of Related Churches (ARC), wrote a book entitled The Attractional Church. In it, he revealed that ARC has a 90 percent rate of effectiveness in their church plants, compared to 68 percent rate among other Evangelical groups. As you could guess from the title of the book, ARC trains leaders for church planting using attractional methodology. But it’s certainly not a pure approach.
In the first chapter Hornsby asked the question, “Is the attractional church missional?” He explained that their church planters are trained with these three convictions:

1. Individual members are ‘missional’ (they accept responsibility to share the gospel)
2. Individual members are ‘incarnational’ (they accept responsibility to live like Christ outside church)
3. Churches are ‘attractional’ (they accept responsibility to bring people into a kingdom mindset in their gatherings)

In other words, while ARC’s approach is distinct and different from some leading missional thinkers, there is the shared understanding that the Church is here on mission to make disciples and advance God’s kingdom.
On the surface, it may seem like missional churches are against doing anything representative of the attractional model and attractional churches are too busy focusing on drawing crowds to spend any time or energy on training members for missional living. In truth, this does happen sometimes. But neither actually should be the case.
If missional churches are going to gather at all, shouldn’t they leverage the gathering for all its worth? If attractional churches are going to make disciples, don’t they need to teach them to be disciples who live on mission with Jesus?
Every Christian should be missional and every church should be attractional.
Therefore, every pastor should strive to lead with a both/and mentality.

Dr. Eddie Cole is District Superintendent of the Eastern District of the EFCA.

This article appeared http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2017/august/missional-or-attractional-value-of-embracing-bothand-mental.html 

Book: Changing Lanes, Crossing Cultures

Many countries are now extremely multi-ethnic. People from numerous overseas countries have made their homes in other countries, but they often have very little contact with Christians, and minimal understanding of the gospel. This book is about helping Christians and churches to understand the WHY, WHAT, HOW and WHEN of vibrant cross-cultural ministries, and to get involved.

"Changing Lanes, Crossing Cultures. Equipping Christians and churches for ministry in a culturally diverse society" is a very practical guide to cross-cultural ministry. Its three authors, Choon-Hwa Lim, Andrew Schachtel and Mike Wilson are all cross-cultural practitioners in Australia, with many years of experience between them. Although the book is written from an Australian background, the authors believe that much of it is applicable in a wide range of countries and situations.

Why "Changing Lanes"? There's an urgent need for Christians and churches to learn appropriate and effective new skills, and to change approaches and directions in how we do ministry. This book will help them to undertake the crucial, challenging but very rewarding process of changing lanes in an increasingly multicultural environment.

Changing Lanes, Crossing Cultures includes an examination of the biblical motivation for cross-cultural ministry, steps to overcome obstacles, practical information on how to get involved and many helpful anecdotes and case studies. Each section contains thought-provoking questions for reflection and discussion. It's written so that any person can pick it up and read it, or small-groups can study it over six sessions.

Buy the book 
Amazon
Interserve - Australia

RCL Lectionary Missionary Snippets June 2017

Mission Snippets are short statements for the church (ie.  all who believe in Jesus) to help us live out our calling to make disciples of all nations.   They are based on the Revised Common Lectionary readings for the week, with June 2017's being based on the Gospel Reading.  

Some thing to note in understanding the Mission Snippets, they are written from the perspective:

• The Church is all Christians (not the building, the insitution, the legal identity, etc.)
• That as God's Church we have received His Good News and know that our salvation is totally dependant on what God has done through Jesus Christ.
• That having received God's Good News we are not called to keep it to ourselves, but God has called every Christian to be sharing His Good News.
• They are what they are, snippets to encourage you to ask questions, to explore more, to discuss further....

June 4  Pentecost Sunday
John 20:19-23
Jesus brings peace even when there is fear
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”    John 20:19
What fears do you have in relation to your faith?
What fears might others have in relation to having faith in Jesus?
How does the presence of Jesus help overcome our fears?
How do we be in the presence of Jesus today?
How do we help others to be in the presence of Jesus?

Holy Spirit – the power for forgiveness
22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”   John 20:22-23
In Acts 10:44 we are told that the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message, how are you regularly hearing the Gospel and God’s Word so you are regularly receiving God's Spirit?
How are you helping and encouraging others to hear God’s Word so they can regularly receive the Holy Spirit?
What opportunities exist for you to bring God’s forgiveness, specifically, into the lives of others?
Why might you need the Holy Spirit to do this?

June 11  Trinity Sunday
Matthew 28:16-20
Being active despite doubts
When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.   Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.    
Matthew 28:16-17
What doubts do you have about Jesus?
What doubts do other Christians you know have about Jesus?
What does it mean for Jesus to say to you even though you may have doubts “all authority on heaven and earth has been given to me.  Therefore go……”?
How do we assist others who have doubts to be actively involved in making disciples for Jesus?

Making disciples – baptising, teaching, and being with Jesus
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 
How is your life centred on making disciples?
How are you leading people to baptism?
What are you teaching people about Jesus?
What are the blessings as disciplemakers we receive by always being with Jesus?

June 18 Proper 6
Matthew 9:35-10:8
Jesus ministry involves teaching, proclaiming the Good News and healing.
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.   Matthew 9:35 
How are you regularly receiving teaching from Jesus?
Explain the Good News in your own words.
What does healing from Jesus look like?
Who are the people you are going to meet who you can teach, proclaiming the Good News  and brining healing from Jesus to?

Jesus’ ministry involves having compassion for the majority
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Matthew 10:36 
Who or what do the crowds look like  in your life?
What is harassing them resulting in them being helpless?
What teaching do they need from Jesus?
How might you show Jesus’ compassion to the majority?

Don’t be overwhelmed, rely on God and be part of God’s solution
37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”  10 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.   Matthew 9:37-10:1
What resources do you believe are needed to do God’s work in your environment?
What is God calling you to pray about and for?
How might Jesus be calling you to be part of his ministry solution?

Freely you have received freely give
As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’   Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.   Matthew 10:7-8
What is it that you have received from God?
What does it mean for you to give it freely to others?
How does this affect how you give?


June 25 Proper 7
Matthew 10:24-39
Being like God
“The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters.  Matthew 10:24-25 
What activities and situations are helpful in shaping you to learn from God to be like God?
What does it mean for you to be like God?
How are you helping others be like God?

Fearing God who cares,  more than fearing other things, ideas and people
28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.  29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.  32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.     Matthew 10:28-33
What or who are you fearful of and why?
Why is it more important to fear God than anyone or anything else?
What does it mean to practically acknowledge God before others?
How we can help people with their fears that affect their relationship with God?

Godly peace over worldly peace
34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn “ ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—  36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’    Matthew 10:34-36
What is the difference between Godly peace and worldly peace?
Why is it important to understand the difference between Godly peace and worldly peace?
How do we help people have Godly peace when their life is not peaceful?

Losing our lives to live
39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.   Matthew 10:39
Have you ever encountered someone who appears to live this out, what does it look like?
Why do you think Jesus wants us to lose our life, and what does this mean?
How would you explain this verse to someone exploring God, Jesus and Christianity, in the light of our salvation comes through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus?

Feel free to use these snippets for ministry and mission work in your own life and congregational life.

Prepared by Pastor Richard Schwedes richardschwedes@gmail.com

Article: Sermon content is the most important reasons for church attendance

The Gallup poll recently undertook a survey about why people attend and do not attend church worship services at both Protestant and Catholic churches.

The 5 most important reasons for people attending worship are:

1. Sermons or talks that teach you more about scripture
2. Sermons or lectures that help you connect religion to your own life
3. Spiritual programs geared toward children and teenagers
4. Lots of community outreach and volunteer opportunities
5. Dynamic religious leaders who are interesting and inspiring  

The 5 most important reasons why people don't attend church worship are:

1. You prefer to worship on your own
2. You don't like organized religion
3. You aren't very religious
4. You haven't found a church or other place of worship that you like
5. You don't have the time

To read the article in full and discover more reasons for people attending and not attending, including the percentages visit here