Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Faith Takes Risks
On Sunday, September 21st a group of us from Faith went up to St. John's Lutheran church in Oxnard to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Centro Cristiano Hispano. It was a wonderful service full of memories and music in three languages (Spanish, Mixteco, and English)! It was a great day to look and see what the Lord has done through Centro Cristiano in the past. But for those of us from Faith, it was exciting to see what God could do through our church in the future! I truly believe that the Lord is going to open some new and exciting doors for us in the next few months and years!
But as we were there, the pastor of St. John's, Mark Beyer, made two very interesting points in his talk. He said that "faith takes risks" and "institutions don't do ministry, people do ministry." In light of our recent sermon series on Talking About Jesus I found these to be very helpful insights. Certainly as we start this Hispanic outreach, we are going to be taking risks and stepping outside of the box (no one ever said God would call us to something easy!) and we will be developing relationships with new people in our community. But as I thought about these comments, I wondered about how they apply to us in our own mission fields (home, work, school, etc). Do we take risks in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ? Are we working through life's hardships with our loved ones? Or, are we waiting for the church to do this for us?
Now, don't get me wrong, we as the "institution" need to be equipping you and preparing you to talk about Jesus, absolutely. But God uses your presence and your mouth to deliver the good news! The same faith He has placed in your heart He draws from your lips to bring the faith giving message of salvation to your friends and loved ones. He gives you the car to pick them up and bring them to church where they will hear about Jesus' love for them. And, as you take risks in sharing Jesus with those struggling through this world of sin, you will always have the church here to love, support, and encourage you along the way. For Christ is always present in His Word and sacraments to forgive and encourage. It is my prayer that we would trust Christ to carry us through as we take risks and present Jesus to our friends and neighbors!
But as we were there, the pastor of St. John's, Mark Beyer, made two very interesting points in his talk. He said that "faith takes risks" and "institutions don't do ministry, people do ministry." In light of our recent sermon series on Talking About Jesus I found these to be very helpful insights. Certainly as we start this Hispanic outreach, we are going to be taking risks and stepping outside of the box (no one ever said God would call us to something easy!) and we will be developing relationships with new people in our community. But as I thought about these comments, I wondered about how they apply to us in our own mission fields (home, work, school, etc). Do we take risks in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ? Are we working through life's hardships with our loved ones? Or, are we waiting for the church to do this for us?
Now, don't get me wrong, we as the "institution" need to be equipping you and preparing you to talk about Jesus, absolutely. But God uses your presence and your mouth to deliver the good news! The same faith He has placed in your heart He draws from your lips to bring the faith giving message of salvation to your friends and loved ones. He gives you the car to pick them up and bring them to church where they will hear about Jesus' love for them. And, as you take risks in sharing Jesus with those struggling through this world of sin, you will always have the church here to love, support, and encourage you along the way. For Christ is always present in His Word and sacraments to forgive and encourage. It is my prayer that we would trust Christ to carry us through as we take risks and present Jesus to our friends and neighbors!
posted by Faith Moorpark
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7:19 AM
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