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“Building a Sending Church” I heard a story many years ago that when God was trying to decide which people he would choose as his own, he went first to the Greeks. He asked, "If I choose you for my people, what will you do?" The Greeks responded, "We will create great philosophies that will communicate your eternal truth to the world." God went next to the Romans and asked the same question. The Romans replied, "We will build huge temples with our beautiful architecture to inspire the world to worship you." God went third to the Chinese. The Chinese responded, "We will create calligraphy manuscripts of your words that inspire the world to know your beauty." Finally God went to the Jews, and asked, "If I choose you for my people, what will you do?" and the Jews responded, "We will tell all kinds of stories about you." So God chose the Jews to be his own people.
Telling stories is an incredibly powerful way to connect us to God. In this devotional you can read faith stories from many people from Central. As you read the devotions and stories for each day, I hope you find ways to be connected to the work God has been doing at Central. As we grow deep into the Bible's stories, especially the stories of Jesus, we begin to see that God is still at work. These devotions go along with a simple plan of reading the New Testament books of Luke and Acts through the next nine weeks. In those books, we read the stories of Jesus and all God did for us by sending Jesus, and the church, which God sent into the world so that all people might come to know Jesus. God continues the work of "building a sending church" here at Central today and that work impacts each of our lives in a slightly different way. But we are all called to be sent and to be part of a church that is sending us and others into the world. We go knowing that we are a part of God's great story!
May God's Spirit bless you and connect you to his body here at Central as you use this devotional, read these stories, and grow into his mission of building a sending church! Yours in Jesus Christ, Jeff |
