Welcoming well begins by finding
your role
in
God’s story…
What is the story you live in?
What’s the goal?
What’s going to make you happy?
Who are the heroes… and the enemies?
How do you make sense of pain?
Can you feel the pressure to live in a small story?
Our culture lives in short moments… the size of a screen or the space of a headline.
Our spiritual enemies push us to forget about the future (Matthew 4:1-11).
Our sin nature focuses on today (“the passing pleasures of sin” Hebrews 11:25).
So it’s easy to focus our story on
a toy or a thrill,
a date or a mate
a career or kids,
or just trying to be comfortable in retirement before our body shuts down.
But these things – as good as they are – were not designed to satisfy us.
God’s story is more…
In John 17 we learn that God’s story is before and after all our little stories. And His story is about love, glory, and intimacy among the members of the Trinity (John 17:5, 22, 24). What is more, God invites us into the amazing life He had before He made us (John 17:23-24).
But what about this time right now between eternity past and eternity future? After our cosmic rebellion, God chose to become a missionary God (John 17:3, 8, 18, 21, 23, 25) in order to die the death we should have died and live the life we could not live. And while we breathe He calls us to join with Him on His rescue mission to get those others who will believe through our word (John 17:20).
But what is this mission?
And can it really be joyful for you?
Be informed by starting with the foundation of God’s word as we see how His mission to make a people for Himself from every nation is a theme from beginning to end of scripture.
Be encouraged by seeing how much God has already done so much to gather this family for Himself. Be challenged by seeing what remains to be done.
Be inspired by seeing the many creative ways that God is growing His family and how your unique gifting and experience fit into His story.
Be informed by starting with the foundation of God’s word as we see how His mission to make a people for Himself from every nation is a theme from beginning to end of scripture.
Be encouraged by seeing how much God has already done so much to gather this family for Himself. Be challenged by seeing what remains to be done.
Be inspired by seeing the many creative ways that God is growing His family and how your unique gifting and experience fit into His story.