Global Week - Part 2
Readings for this week September 11 - 17
Click here for a pdf of this week’s readings.
Day 1 – Missio Dei
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – John 3:16-17
As Rosie Fyfe (NZCMS) mentioned in her sermon last week, we are called to take part in the Missio Dei – the mission of God. For much of its history, the church saw mission in many ways: as bringing salvation to individuals (winning souls); as expanding the church; as the gradual coming of the kingdom; even as bringing the three Cs to the world (Christianity, Civilisation and Commerce). But many people came to see these definitions as too worldly, dependent on, and defined by, us. People have begun to realise that mission is an activity of God himself. Mission is derived from the very nature of God himself.
Neither the church nor any human being, or any human agency, is the creator or originator of mission. The deepest source of mission is the heart of God himself. Mission is ultimately the work of the Triune God – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier – undertaken for the sake of the world. Mission originates with God, who sends his church. The mission of the Father, Son and Spirit is not a creation of the church. It is not that we have invented a great task for ourselves that we must fulfil, that is: the task of bringing salvation and restoration to all. We are not the inventors of this mission. Mission is a movement from God to the world, a movement in which the church is an instrument of that movement, and of God’s love. When we participate in mission, we are participating in the movement of God’s love – and there is no other source of love – towards the world.
Question to Consider
What do you dream of God doing in the world? What do you dream of him doing through you?
Prayer
Lord God, help me be a pathway for your power and love into the lives of others. Nothing is too great for you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 2 – An Entire Life Posture for the Poor
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Isaiah 1:17
Hopefully it is obvious to see that however we are involved in God’s mission, it requires an entire life ‘posture’ shaped towards living in solidarity with the poor, praying for the unreached, the forgotten and the marginalised, and making decisions, both large and small, which show this stance to be a lived reality, empowered and directed by God. Our prayer rhythms need to involve time praying for the people of the world, the poor and oppressed, the places where God’s love is lacking and where his light needs to shine; praying for our people overseas, the communities we are walking with, and we need to financially support God’s work.
Our advocacy on behalf of those whose voices are ignored by the world at large, or who have no voice at all, needs to be constant, it needs to be loud, and it needs to be informed by the people on whose behalf we are advocating. We need to remind people of the global nature of God’s family and the global reach of God’s justice and love. Such advocacy also needs to be congruent with the shape of our lives – the way we live, the way we consume, the economic and environmental decisions that we make. How we live, what we buy, how we consume and the consequences of our consumption, are all things that we can no longer afford to think about only in terms of our own needs and comfort. Our globe is now global; our lives are now lived with all others, and God’s call is for every aspect of our lives to reflect his love for all.
Question to Consider
“The globe is now global.” How are your decisions shaped by the plight of the poor and disadvantaged? Why is this important for the kingdom?
Prayer
Gracious God, show me how I can do better – live better – here, in solidarity with those there. Create in me a heart for the globe and all its people and show me how to love in all I say and do. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 3 – A Reason for Joy
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Acts 2:1-13
It is not wrong to see the mission of the church as being obedient to the command of God, or to talk of our ‘mandate’ to share the gospel. There is some justification for this view. But it is not the whole story. When mission is only seen in this light – as an obligation, as a command to be obeyed and executed – we miss one of the central aspects of mission that we see in the New Testament accounts. For us, so often mission becomes a burden, something we have to do, a task we must labour at. But in the New Testament, mission begins in joy, in the explosion of something new and alive and exciting. The early followers of Jesus share the good news of the gospel because it is GOOD NEWS. How could they possibly keep quiet about the risen Christ? How could they stay silent about a rejected, despised and crucified man now raised to life, and the earth-shaking new reality that this event heralds for the entire world and every person in it?
Such was the joy and excitement that this created in the new community uniting in worship around the risen Jesus, that many of the New Testament accounts of the proclamation of the gospel begin with a question from someone outside this new community. They saw something in the followers of Jesus, some kind of new reality, that required explanation, that made them ask what was going on, what did it all meant. The gospel wasn’t a burden to be shared, but an overflowing spring of joy and new life that others could see manifested in Jesus’ followers. It was a joy that could be seen and that others were to be invited to join in with.
Question to Consider
If people saw your church community gathered, what would they say? How would they react? What questions might they have?
Prayer
Lord God, help us be a distinctive community, a community that reflects you to those around us, whose love attracts and inspires others. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 4 – The Global Gospel
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Acts 13:1-5
The gospel is for the whole world. No one is outside the scope of those invited to respond to the good news of Jesus. It is for everyone, wherever they are, all over the world. Paul and his many companions spent much of their time travelling around the Mediterranean preaching the gospel and serving those in need. They didn’t just focus on their home towns or on Jerusalem and the surrounding areas – although these places were obviously included too. Why did Paul and others go where they did? They were listening to God’s heartbeat for the lost and they went where God wanted them to go. Wherever God called them, that’s where they went. Paul had his own plans (never realised) to head to Spain, as far West as was known of at the time. But their only concern was to share the good news of Jesus, and to live out the love of God with those who had never heard of Jesus, no matter where they were.
Moving in mission is not necessarily from West to East or North to South, but from everywhere to anywhere as God leads by his Spirit. Distance is no object to God and it should not be to us either. Because we know the whole world is the target of God’s good gospel, because we know that every single person is beloved by God, we know that playing our role in the spread of the gospel involves all people everywhere – and potentially involves us anywhere and everywhere too. Our ‘destination’ may be far away or very near – but we must be listening to know where to go.
Question to Consider
Where is God calling you to at the moment? How do you know?
Prayer
Loving Father, send me wherever you would send me to spread your gospel. May I always follow your call. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 5 – Where the Spirit Speaks and Acts
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – John 10:36-39
One of the ways we can keep at the forefront of our lives the fact that mission is ultimately God’s and not our own, is to continually remind ourselves of what Jesus said and did. If we overemphasise the idea of mission as the church’s mandate, then the temptation is to see what we do as a ‘work’ – even if a good one – and to see ourselves as justified to the extent that we are doing this work. We see our contribution as the most important one; we see unbelievers as perishing unless we do something to save them. We end up relying on our own efforts and ideas, at the same time as thinking that these efforts are what makes us acceptable to God.
But the New Testament shows us otherwise. Time and again we see Jesus telling people that he is doing the work of his Father. He does what he sees his Father doing, and the words he speaks are the words of his Father too. His teaching is his Father’s teaching and the miracles and mighty works that people see him performing are the works of God’s Spirit. Even Jesus ascribes all that he is doing to his Father. It is to be the same with us. The Spirit will give us power and will bear witness through us, if we are faithful and make ourselves available to be conduits for God’s love to others. Yes, we can ask the Spirit for inspiration and guidance, but even more than this, if we are faithful to Jesus, then we will become the place where the Spirit speaks and acts.
Question to Consider
How are you aware of the Holy Spirit strengthening you, uniting you with others and enabling you to follow where he leads?
Prayer
Almighty Father, may my faithfulness match your faithfulness to me, so that I can be a place where your Spirit speaks and acts into the lives of all those I come across. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)