Advent means “the arrival of a notable thing, event, or person.” Christians celebrate the arrival of Christ – and that requires us humans to get ready during the weeks before Christmas.
The church has five major purposes: discipleship & education, worship & music, care & service, and outreach & missions. Many churches plan their budgets, staffing, and programming around these emphases. These areas can also be a focus during Advent.
Fourth Sunday of Advent: Outreach and Missions
On this Sunday we celebrate the role of the church in telling the Good News of Jesus to the people of the world. God loves all of humanity, whether you consider yourself a saint or a sinner. You are created in the image of God and you have God’s-breath (aka, a soul) in you. The earth has over 7 billion images of God and every single one of them is God-loved. At the end of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells his followers to go to “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.” These very places are represented in the Christmas story.
- Jerusalem – where Mary, Joseph, and the Magi passed through; where Herod lived in his palace; and where Simeon and Anna worked and worshipped in the temple waiting to see the Messiah. What are you doing in your own city to share the Good News? What needs are there which you and your church can meet?
- Bethlehem – a city in Judea where Jesus was born and where the shepherds were tending flocks of sheep. What are you doing in your own state or regional area to share the Good News? What needs are there which you and your church can meet?
- Nazareth – a city in Samaria where Mary & Joseph were living when God announced to them that Jesus was coming and the city to which they returned after fleeing to Egypt. What are you doing in the section of the country where you live to share the Good News? What needs are there which you and your church can meet?
- Babylon – where the Magi came from. It was a distant land with peoples and customs beyond the comprehension of the average person living in Palestine. What are you doing in your world to share the Good News? What needs are there which you and your church can meet?
Travel has made your world much more compact. You can get to distant lands quickly. But people from around the world are coming to your city, too. How can you welcome the strangers in your town or even neighborhood so that they see a model of Christ in you? How can you share the Good News with the world whether you stay in your city, state, region, or intentionally go on a mission trip?
Lead On!