What is YOUR mission?  July 21, 2023

Where has God called you?  Yes, you!  What is God’ mission for YOU?

I remember when God called me into ministry as a young man in college.  I was feeling distant from God, so I went away to go camping alone in the mountains to pray.  It rained the whole weekend!  There in my little tent, soaking wet, the Holy Spirit began speaking to me about changing the direction of my life and study to ordained ministry.

However, too often we look at the call of God as some special thing only appointed to certain people in the Bible or clergy.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.

There is no child of God that is outside or unequipped for God’s call to ministry and mission.  Like a father or mother who has a special place in their heart for ALL their children, God has called you to serve him in ways that fit your gifting and passion.

When we pray like Jesus taught us we say, “Your Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  This is a beautiful prayer of mission.  Jesus was calling us to pray God’s mission is fulfilled in the earth.  His mission is to make all things new.  He starts with making us new, and then calls us, in our new life, to others.  He calls us, as we spoke about on Sunday, to:

to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent ME to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,

Isaiah 61:1

Do you remember a time God called you to himself and you began a love relationship with him?  Like Peter, and the rest of the disciples, it comes with a call to love others as well.  It comes with a call to “love your neighbor” and to be ‘fishers of men”. 

In Ephesians 4:11 it says leaders in the church are to: 

“Equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,”

As your pastor, this is a key part of what I am called to do: to equip you for ministry and fulfill YOUR mission. No matter your age or what your abilities are, God has something special for you.  It may even be a “Second Mountain”, as writer David Brooks calls it in a book with the same title. You may re-focus your life and find new interests, as you achieve that “second mountain” in your life.

Eph. 4:16 compare us to the body of Christ, who is the head, saying:

The whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Over the next couple weeks you will have opportunities to consider service within the church.  Many of you have already been serving in ushering, altar guild, and outreach for many many years.  Thank you!

For others, this will be the first time for you to have an opportunity to serve at Mariners’ Church.  We challenge you to step outside your comfort zone and serve the body of Christ, perhaps in a new way.  There will be opportunities to sign up for various types of service throughout the next month.

The mission of Mariners’ Church has been clear from the beginning, “To be a house of prayer for all people”.  As you probably know, this is straight from the Scriptures and from Jesus description of the Temple.  

The Holy Calling of God on every christian’s life extends far outside the walls of the church “to all people”.  I can’t wait to see how God uses our heart to serve and bring renewal to Detroit over the next season of ministry.  It starts within our family, then extends beyond us to others.

If God has put a call on your life or a dream in your heart, please come and tell me about it.  As your pastor, and as your church, we want to pray with you on how that dream and call can be realized.  We want to build each other up and equip each other for the work ahead!  

Pray it with me once again; “His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven!” May it be true, Lord Jesus, and may it begin with me.

Amen.

Blessings and Peace,

Rev. Todd