Cedar Rapids Trinity UMC - It's ALL about Jesus!!

Brothers and Sisters in Christ -

"He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.' "

Mark 16: 15 - 16

And so, Jesus issued His "marching orders" to His disciples, and from this humble beginning, the world would start to change for all time. By the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, His disciples took the Good News of the Gospel to the world - first, to Jerusalem, where at Pentecost the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, and as Peter presented the Gospel to those gathered, we are told in Acts 2:41 that 3000 were saved that day! 

Disciples continued to take the message of Christ to the world around them - Peter to Rome, James in Jerusalem, Phillip to the Ethiopian, Stephen to those who ended up killing him, Barnabas on his mission, and certainly Paul to many countries. And as the years went on, more and more disciples carried the message of love to others, to the point where the Body of Christ is what it is today!  And all this was done by disciples (of no unique talent or ability of their own) who did nothing more than allow God to use them to share His love.

So, my question is this - are you a disciple of Jesus Christ?

Too often, church people will sit on the sidelines, believing Satan's lies that they don't have a story to tell, and if they did, no one would listen, anyway. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth - the world is hungry for something other than the spiritual "junk food" that is offered today in the form of cultural philosophy and lifestyles - they want the TRUTH! Many WANT, and all NEED, one of Jesus' disciples to love them enough to share the Good News! By God's grace, if you are a disciple you already have everything you need to share the Good News - namely, the Holy Spirit to guide you! Here's a few suggestions:

1. Include God in your conversations with others - say things like "God sure has blessed you (or is challenging you!)"

2. Tell people how God is blessing YOUR life (but make sure to give God the credit!)

3. PRAY for others - specifically, that God touch their lives and that they come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior!

4. Invite people ON A REGULAR BASIS to join you at Sunday services/Bible Study/or any other place and time that you gather to grow in your Christian faith!

5. Remember that everywhere you go and whatever you do, you are a "Christian missionary" to someone - use your time and gifts for God!

6. PROVE the truth of the Gospel to someone else by how you live your own life and how you love your neighbor!

The list could go on and on - there is no shortage of ways to be an "evangelist" without standing on a soapbox in the town square (but if God leads you to doing THAT, that's a good way to share Christ with others, too!)  And there is no pressure on us for results, because any growth from the "seeds" we plant are totally up to God!

This continues to be a year at Trinity in which we are going to be making a concerted effort to fulfill the commission God has given us, and reach out to others with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us that the "harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few" (Luke 10:2). Trust Him to show you how - He is looking not for our ABILITY to do so - just our AVAILABILITY!    

Are you on board?

All God's blessings to you and yours,  

Pastor Bob