Articles
“Teach us to pray.” This simple request from Jesus’ disciples is also one of their most profound. Prayer is absolutely fundamental to the life of a Christian. As the puritan preacher J.C. Ryle said, “Just as the first sign of the life of an infant when born into the world is the act of breathing, so the first act of men and women when they are born again is praying.”
If you read through the gospels, you will see just how often Jesus shared a meal with people. And at the end of the bible, Jesus’ return is characterized as a great feast. Far from being a cultural habit or a church tradition, sharing a meal is a great way to practice relationship like Jesus did. And when we consider that all of life is worship, even our cooking can (and should) be done for the glory of God.
Every church on the planet ought to have something about making disciples as part of their mission statement. However, what often gets forgotten is the last part of Jesus’ words: “and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Before we get to work making disciples, we must first remember to remain connected to Jesus as disciples ourselves. The making of disciples flows out of first being disciples.
A mission statement is a rallying cry, a purpose to exist, something to call the people of the church to. Why then did we choose to put something that seems passive in our mission statement? It was certainly not because we wanted to be novel or original. Instead, this part of the mission statement was born out of the realization that all of the Christian life is one of grace.
In part 2 of this series, we said that our mission as a church begins with God’s glory. Anything and everything else we do serves that ultimate goal and purpose. God’s glory is displayed in a variety of ways – in nature, in beauty, in wisdom, in truth. But, as we saw in the previous post, the ultimate display of God’s glory is in the person and work of Jesus.
