-F-
“Go home
to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he
has had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus
had done for him, and everyone marveled.
Mark 5:19-20 with Luke 8:39 (ESV)
Here’s
the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends.
Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an
eternal home.
Luke 16:9 (NLT)
As we are “incorporated”
(literally meaning put into the body of Christ) into the church, one of our First
Steps is to encourage our friends, co-workers, family, and acquaintances to
come with us. Numerous times Jesus told us to go to the “highways and hedges,
and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled” (Luke 14:23). See also
Matthew 22:9-10, Acts 1:8, 4:20, and 26:20.
In John 17:14-18, Jesus called
us to be in the world but not of it. This is a delicate balance of
not having friendship with the world’s system and worldly ways and yet being
relevant to it. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 5:10 that the only way we could
refrain from associating with those who are worldly would be “if you were to
leave this world”.
We are to be light to the
world and salt of the earth, Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. “You are
the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people
light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to
all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that
they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (See
Matthew 5:14-16.)
It has been said “Never send a
light to China that won’t shine at home.” We are to take the gospel message
around the world, but also around the corner. We are to be witnesses across the
globe, but also across the street. As members of the First Baptist Church of
Killeen, our first step in corporate membership is to grow in our relationships
with friends and bring them to a saving relationship with Christ. We call that
first step as connecting with others.
As members, we should look for
ways to connect with those who are coming into the church. We should reach out
to those in the worship service whom we do not know. We should prioritize
others over ourselves. For instance, if we come into the worship service and
someone is sitting where we normally sit, we should never say, “That’s my
seat!” Instead, we should look for ways to make a guest to become a regular
attender and ultimately a member.
Another area of ministry is
being a part of the greeters’ ministry, welcoming people from the parking lot
to the pew. We as a church never get a second chance to make a great first
impression, so volunteer at the Welcome Center or serve with our Fellowship
Committee or at our Wednesday Evening meals.
Being active in LifeGroups is
also a way to take the first step in friendship and connecting with
others. As part of our POINT ministry
strategy, you can serve as part of the Prayer Team and lift up the needs of
others in prayer. You can serve as part of the OutReach or InReach ministry and
keep our connectivity a vital part of our ministry. You can serve in
Need-meeting ministry within a LifeGroup or even serve as a Teacher in our
preschool, children, youth, or adult ministry.
We also generally try to visit
those who have visited us, taking them cookies on Sunday afternoon. This
ministry is not to go inside the home, but just be that first connection after
their visit to the church.
Our focal passage this week is
1 Corinthians 12, which says in verses 12-13, “For just as the body is one
and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one
body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one
body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”
Prayerfully consider how you
can take the first step in connecting to others in friendship, both in bringing
your friends to church, and being a friend to others at church.
Day 2, Investigate
Day 2, Investigate
No comments:
Post a Comment