Yesterday, I attended Church with Colin, Jennifer and Paul Burton. The emphasis was on Missions, locally and globally. The Church showed a video about Ethiopia. I was particularly interested in the video, because I just signed up with Compassion International to sponsor a little Ethiopian five-year-old girl.
The sermon was convicting and uplifting. The Bible passage was from Philemon and discussed how, as Christians, we should go beyond the typical. So, if we are given a task to do, we should not only complete it, but do the job well. Likewise, we should serve others more than than what is usually required or anticipated. The apostle Paul exemplified this way of living while in prison and that's one reason why we even have the book of Philemon.
Living an exemplary should not be done out of duty, but rather, delight! It is the grace and power of Jesus Christ in and through us that makes it possible for us to accomplish anything successfully, let alone going above and beyond the normal human expectations.
The pastor also challenged us to do at least one thing a day (in addition to praying, of course) to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At first that might seem like a hard thing to do, considering the circumstances and lifestyles the Lord has placed before us. It's sometimes easier to think of missionaries, because we "know" their job description. So, the pastor gave an example from "daily life" of his six year old daughter who drew a picture for her daddy.
The pastor told us, "I thought that picture was nice. It was a gesture of love". What he didn't realize until later was that his wife had been talking with their daughter about advancing the Gospel, even at the "cost" of ourselves (whether it be time, money, possessions, convenience, etc). His daughter decided that the "one thing" she would do on that particular day to advance the Gospel was to draw a picture for her Daddy that showed him how much she loved and appreciated him. She served her Dad, but went above and beyond by drawing a picture "as unto Christ".
I cannot do justice to the sermon I heard yesterday. My heart, though, was spurred to worship the Lord for even choosing and using me despite my many flaws. May the verse below encourage all of us, including myself, to practice exemplary lives:
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:24-25
The sermon was convicting and uplifting. The Bible passage was from Philemon and discussed how, as Christians, we should go beyond the typical. So, if we are given a task to do, we should not only complete it, but do the job well. Likewise, we should serve others more than than what is usually required or anticipated. The apostle Paul exemplified this way of living while in prison and that's one reason why we even have the book of Philemon.
Living an exemplary should not be done out of duty, but rather, delight! It is the grace and power of Jesus Christ in and through us that makes it possible for us to accomplish anything successfully, let alone going above and beyond the normal human expectations.
The pastor also challenged us to do at least one thing a day (in addition to praying, of course) to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At first that might seem like a hard thing to do, considering the circumstances and lifestyles the Lord has placed before us. It's sometimes easier to think of missionaries, because we "know" their job description. So, the pastor gave an example from "daily life" of his six year old daughter who drew a picture for her daddy.
The pastor told us, "I thought that picture was nice. It was a gesture of love". What he didn't realize until later was that his wife had been talking with their daughter about advancing the Gospel, even at the "cost" of ourselves (whether it be time, money, possessions, convenience, etc). His daughter decided that the "one thing" she would do on that particular day to advance the Gospel was to draw a picture for her Daddy that showed him how much she loved and appreciated him. She served her Dad, but went above and beyond by drawing a picture "as unto Christ".
I cannot do justice to the sermon I heard yesterday. My heart, though, was spurred to worship the Lord for even choosing and using me despite my many flaws. May the verse below encourage all of us, including myself, to practice exemplary lives:
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:24-25
