Gospel

Talking practically about evangelism

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The Apostle John does not include the “Great Commission” in his Gospel, as reported in the other Gospels and the Book of Acts (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16; Lk. 24:47-48; Acts 1:8). However, if we wanted to point to a single text that serves as a Great Commission in John’s Gospel, it would be this: “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (Jn. 20:21).

Jesus says that just as His Father sent Him into the world to seek and save the lost, so He has sent us into the world to make disciples and be His witnesses (cf. Jn. 17:18). This is why we’re here, my friends. This is our mission, plain and simple.

Two weeks ago, our church studied this “Great Commission” from John 20:19-23. But rather than doing a full exposition, I taught briefly through the passage and then led a discussion panel on evangelism with three church members: Jerry, Janet, and Marty. It was a fun and instructive time. You can listen to the audio here.

Here are the questions I posed during the interview. We didn’t get through all of them, but you get a sense of what kinds of issues determine whether we’re obeying the Great Commission. I think each of you would benefit from answering these for yourself:

  • The fact that you’re here today is because of someone else’s obedience to the Great Commission. How did you come to know the Lord?
  • The Great Commission that Christ gave His apostles applies to each of us as well. Who are one or two unbelievers the Lord has brought into your life? How are you trying to reach them with the gospel, and what struggles have you faced?
  • If someone in our church doesn’t know any unbelievers, or is not developing relationships with them, how could they begin to change?
  • The mission of our church is to “make disciples of Jesus Christ who love God and love people, by reaching and teaching everyone.” Love is an important mark of a true disciple of Christ. What are some ways people are hurting in our community, and how could we show greater Christian love?
  • Young people are the next generation of Christian leaders. What are some issues we need to think through if we’re going to reach young people in our community?
Shepherding

Christians persecuted in Iran

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From Voice of the Martyrs:

Maryam, 27, and Marzieh, 30, were arrested and sent to Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran. The two women did not rob a bank, kill a man or beat up someone.

Their crime? Loving Jesus. And it is for this reason alone they are still imprisoned.

In August during a court hearing, the two were questioned repeatedly about their faith.

They were told to return to Islam.

“We love Jesus,” was their reply. Prosecutors asked the women, who had already spent five months in prison, if they regretted being Christians.

“We have no regrets,” they said. “We will not deny our faith.”

The judge sent them back to Evin Prison – notorious for its brutality – to “think about” their decision.

“We have already done our thinking,” they told him.

Maryam and Marzieh are among dozens of Iranian Christians arrested, detained or interrogated in Iran in recent months. The harassment is the radical Islamic government’s response to an Iranian revival that has thousands of Iranians coming to Christ each month.

Please pray for these two sisters and millions more across the globe who face daily threats and violence for their Christian faith.

“Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.” (Hebrews 13:3)

Shepherding

Making an eternal difference

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I believe we all want to be part of something greater than ourselves, to touch lives and make an impact that will outlast our short lives under the sun.

One of the greatest ways to do this is to be committed and involved in a local church. Those who think they are doing great and noble things for God’s kingdom apart from His church are driving down a dead-end street. Ray Ortlund writes…

Suppose I said, “My passion isn’t to build up my marriage. My passion is for Marriage. I want the institution of Marriage to be revered again. I’ll work for that. I’ll pray for that. I’ll sacrifice for that. But don’t expect me to hunker down in the humble daily realities of building a great marriage with my wife Jani. I’m aiming at something grander.”

If I said that, would you think, “Wow, Ray is so committed”? Or would you wonder if I had lost my mind?

If you care about the Kingdom, be the kind of person who can be counted on in your own church. Join your church, pray for your church, tithe to your church, participate in your church every Sunday with wholehearted passion.

We build great churches the same way we build great marriages — real commitment that makes a positive difference every day.

HT: Justin Taylor

Uncategorized

Coronary Christians

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Are you growing weary in well-doing? John Piper gives us great encouragement to persevere…

As I write this Preface I have just preached to my people several messages in which I pleaded with them to be ‘coronary Christians,’ not ‘adrenal Christians.’ Not that adrenaline is bad, I said; it gets me through lots of Sundays. But it lets you down on Mondays. The heart is another kind of friend. It just keeps on serving – very quietly, through good days and bad days, happy and sad, high and low, appreciated and unappreciated. It never says, ‘I don’t like your attitude, Piper, I’m taking a day off.’ It just keeps humbly lub-dubbing along. It endures the way adrenaline doesn’t.

Coronary Christians are like the heart in the causes they serve. Adrenal Christians are like adrenaline – a spurt of energy and then fatigue. What we need in the cause of social justice (for example, against racism and abortion), and the cause of world missions (to plant churches among the unreached peoples of the world), and the cause of personal holiness and evangelism (to lead people to Christ and love them no matter what) is not spurts of energy, but people who endure for the long haul. Marathoners, not sprinters. (John Piper, The Roots of Endurance: Invincible Perseverance in the Lives of John Newton, Charles Simeon, and William Wilberforce), pp. 11-12)

Are you a coronary Christian?

Thoughts on Life and Leadership