Missions - It's Not An Option

     Missions! When you hear that word from others, what comes to mind? It is an important word, but more importantly, it is a work that we, as God's church, must be engaged in. God has not left missions as an option to us.

     I have often thought of the passage in Acts 1:6-8 when thinking of the purpose of missions for the church. Jesus told His disciples that they would receive power from the Holy Spirit in order to be a witness of Him (Jesus) and His message of life in His death and resurrection. He said that they would be a witness of Him locally and to extreme locals of the earth.

     I have defined missions, along with many, many others more by the process rather than the purpose that Jesus had in mind. You might ask then what that is. Think about this idea. Why did Jesus Christ want these disciples to be witnesses of Him? Missions begins and ends in worship! Worship of God is the key truth behind missions. God wants people's worhip of Him. Listen to the writer of Revelations as he writes:

         "Great and amazing are Your deeds, O Lord God the almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed."  Revelation 15:3-4

     John Piper says it well, "Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church, worship is. Missions exists because worship of God does not."

     We are entering the month of May with a focus on missions and the current partners we are involved with. I am asking you to pray for this month as we teach so that we truly can renew our passion to understand missions!

Worshipping Him

Pastor Steve