From Pastor Eric
Our Mission: Sharing and celebrating the good news of Jesus Christ so all people may know him.
What has Jesus Called Us to Do?
During the month of May we have had the privilege of hearing both of the Great Commissions read in our services-Luke 24: 44-49 and Matthew 28: 16-20. In both of these commissions Jesus calls the church, all of us together who confess Jesus as Lord, to go out and tell the world what he taught and did.
In the Lukan commission Jesus tells the disciples that repentance and forgiveness should be proclaimed in his name. In the Matthean commission, Jesus tells the disciples to make more disciples by baptizing them and teaching them. So, one might glean from these two passages that Jesus has commissioned the church to do three things-call people to repentance, offer them forgiveness in his name, and teach them what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Some, therefore, would conclude that it is the church's duty only to deal with spiritual issues, and not issues that relate to this world. Some would conclude that Jesus is only interested in peoples' souls and not their bodies, that the good news applies only to getting people away from hell, and that it has nothing to do with what goes on here on earth. But clearly that is wrong thinking. Jesus says that the church should make disciples, and disciples are people who imitate their teacher and master here on earth, not just in heaven. We who are Jesus' disciples are called to live as Jesus did, and to teach people to do the same. Jesus didn't spend his time trying to save people from hell, but rather spent his time trying to get them to see that the kingdom of heaven was right there in front of them if they would only open up their eyes. Jesus believed that he was commissioned by God to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and to bring release to the captive, and all those things apply to life on earth, not just eternal life. So, when the church calls people to repentance, it is not primarily trying to get people to feel bad about themselves, but to see how the kingdom of heaven is very near, and that following Jesus makes the kingdom of heaven available right here on earth. And, when the church offers forgiveness it is not just so people can feel safe about life after death, but so they can find new life in this world. And when the church teaches as Jesus says, it teaches everything that the Scriptures teach-and Jesus says that the message of the Scriptures can be summarized quite simply in these words: "In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and prophets." (Matthew 7:12) The church is called by Jesus to make disciples. We make disciples by telling his story and telling how that story has impacted our lives. We make disciples by imitating what Jesus did for others, so that through our works the light of Christ will shine through us and people will know and experience God and be inspired to follow Jesus as the way to God. We make disciples by showing mercy to others as God has been merciful to us and by working for what is fair and right (justice), because Jesus, like the prophets before him insisted that being a disciple is not about lip service but doing what God desires. (cf. Matthew 23:23) May God renew our commitment to go and out and share and celebrate the good news as Jesus has commissioned us to do.
