This Sunday is set apart for our reaffirmation of these objectives. These objectives are the focal points of our ministry. We experienced God’s faithfulness, provision and protection through the Red Sea, and we continue to trust Him to light our way with them by His Spirit as we move forward.
1. Know Christ Better.
Jeremiah 9:23 -24 (Amplified Classic)
23 Thus says the Lord: Let not the wise and skillful person glory and boast in his wisdom and skill; let not the mighty and powerful person glory and boast in his strength and power; let not the person who is rich [in physical gratification and earthly wealth] glory and boast in his [temporal satisfactions and earthly] riches; 24 But let him who glories glory in this: that he understands and knows Me [personally and practically, directly discerning and recognizing My character], that I am the Lord, Who practices loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord.
We faced a ministry crisis that was larger than our own wisdom, power and resources.
Hot Date! (Terri Nash)
You know that feeling, when you’re waiting for that person, THAT person, to come pick you up? And you hear a car, you see what you think are headlights, your heart beats a little faster and you find yourself smiling, you pull back the curtain or you pull up or peep through the blinds. . . You open the door and stand on the porch. . .you look down the street . . .you look up the street. Then you walk back in the house and look out the window again. You try to distract yourself. Then you try to calm yourself. Then you smile again in anticipation. . . Just in case you were wondering why I am so anxiously looking out of the window and down the street . . . He’s coming! . . .
“I will come again and receive you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.” John 14:3
Ephesians 1:17 (NIV) 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
- Because there is no better thing on earth than to fall in love every day with Jesus.
2. Love Each Other Deeply and Sincerely.
1 Peter 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
Galatians 6:2 (NIV) 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
John 13:34-35 (NASB77) 34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 ” By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Hebrews 13:17 (NASB77) Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.
Our primary mission for God on this earth is our love for one another.
3. Share our gifts with each other and the world.
Ephesians 4:16 (NI) From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
1 Corinthians 12:18-20 (NIV) 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
1 Peter 4:10 (NIV) 10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.
Nobody has everything we need. But everyone can have something we need.
Conclusion
God doesn’t ask us to measure up; He asks us to lean in. To lean on the everlasting arms. To trust!
From Him, through Him, to Him are all things.
We serve because He inspires.
We lead because He empowers.
We endure because He sustains.
We love because He first loved us.
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