missions: home & world Many people who have just returned from missions trips and have walked closely with the Lord to seek His ways so that various forms of service can be done to bring glory to Him and joy among people. Find a friend who served or read below about what ir is that motivates people on a mission here in Nashville or around the world experiencing first hand what God is doing. Enjoy two recent articles on Missions at CPC:
Only through the supernatural calling from our Father can a Christian have a heart for missionary work. Sure, people are missions focused for many reasons: guilt, duty, earning points, self righteousness, etc. There are also many excuses a Christian can find for avoiding the call of God: life is too busy, someone else will do it , someone else can do it better, I will get to it later, God has not called me or provided me with something I want to do. Many people do not see that missions is simply being available to serve others. Missions does not consist only of moving to a foreign land or going on an outreach trip. Mission work can be as simple as giving up an afternoon to encourage the lonely or forgotten (Cream Team), joining a weekly international play group (Nations at Play), or picking up extra items at the store for the needy and writing a letter of encouragement (Gift Bags for Soldiers). There are many ways to serve God that are easy and already organized by people who have a heart for serving others. All someone has to do is show up and ask, “How can I help?” There are many people who quietly serve and thrive on loving others as God has loved them. God has given these people a passion for serving, and His “power is at work within [them]” (Eph. 3:20). As people participate, many times they are surprised to find they are more than willing to go out of their comfort zone to answer His call to serve His children. These people have a passion for missions that comes to them supernaturally. They have been called by God to work for Him, and they have answered God’s call. When we fully encounter the depth of God’s love and catch even a glimpse of the immeasurable power of His love, it ignites in us a desire to share this incredible, powerful gift, this love, with others. It is empowering to know in our hearts “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love surpasses knowledge” (Eph. 3:19). As we become aware of how immeasurable His love is, we will be “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19). It is at this point that one cannot help wanting to scream from the rooftops of God’s overwhelming love for us. When we suddenly become aware that everything we have is ours only because of God and his generous, merciful spirit, we cannot help but want to give back to Him. What a summer it has been for missions! God has ignited fires throughout our congregation. Members of all ages have experienced the unfettered joy and love of serving God. They heard God’s call and answered it in many different ways. Through sharing with Sunday school classes and other venues, we have heard from many of our members about their experiences. We have seen how their eyes light up when they talk about serving God. Many of us who have served understand how their words cannot even begin to tell of what God has done in their hearts. On Sunday, August 19th during the Sunday school hour, we will hear more from some of these servants. We will see how excited they are about answering God’s call to missions and see His power at work within them. Hopefully we will say to ourselves, “God is calling me to serve Him”. There are many opportunities. Seek out an opportunity on your own, or if you want direction, contact Diane Baker in the Missions department at church (301-3581 or dbaker@christpres.org). Be intentional. Start small, and see where God leads you. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us… Ephesians 3:16-20
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