Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 5:16-21All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.— 2 Corinthians 5:18My wife and I stood silently together, staring up at a small window in the top corner of a large and ominous residential school bu
Scripture Reading — Hebrews 13:1-8Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.— Hebrews 13:2Krystal entered our lives many years ago when her life was at rock bottom. With nowhere else to turn, she came to our church
Scripture Reading — Mark 10:35-45“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. . . .”— Mark 10:45Last year I took a course with mission leaders from around the world. On the first day, we were asked this question: How would you describe the central, gospel message of the Bible? I
Scripture Reading — Matthew 4:23-25Jesus went throughout Galilee . . . healing every disease and sickness among the people.— Matthew 4:23This week let’s reflect on a word we might not hear very often: holistic. In mission work we generally define holistic in terms of people’s whole lives. We ministe
Scripture Reading — Psalm 131:1-3Like a weaned child I am content.— Psalm 131:2The actor Jim Carrey once introduced himself at a Golden Globe awards show as a two-time winner of the award. Half-joking, he made a big deal of winning the award twice. Then he said, with a big smile, “When I go to sleep
Scripture Reading — Psalm 71:1-18My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long.— Psalm 71:15This week we have reflected on what it means to be a witness to God’s saving work. To be a witness is to simply tell about what you have seen and heard. As Christians, we believ
Scripture Reading — Matthew 10:16-20“At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”— Matthew 10:19-20Someone told me recently about an illustration that I used in a sermon several years ago. They said it made a helpfu
Scripture Reading — Luke 14:15-24“The master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.’”— Luke 14:23Let’s return to a parable we looked at last week (Sept. 6). We can reflect on this story through the lens of our call to witne
Scripture Reading — John 1:1-8[John] himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.— John 1:8When we think about sharing our faith, we are often nervous about having the right words to say. What if I say something wrong? What if someone asks me a question I don’t know how to answ
Scripture Reading — John 4:1-26When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”— John 4:7Many Christians are uneasy about sharing the gospel message. We don’t want to say the wrong thing or offend people or push them away. I remember how scared I was the one
Scripture Reading — Acts 4:8-20“As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”— Acts 4:20When we see or experience something extraordinary, usually we can’t help telling people about it. Whether it is an encounter with a celebrity or a wonderful vacation or a life-changing ev
Scripture Reading — Matthew 11:25-30“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”— Matthew 11:28Today is Sunday, so let’s pause our focus on mission themes and take some time out for worship and rest. This is important, because missions can easily focus on all the thing
