Hey everyone, a week until school is back in session. If you're like us, your kids are trying out for sports teams, you're buying back-to-school clothes and supplies, getting schedules straight, and getting in those last couple trips to the pool. Speaking of getting things in, now that we're done with our sermon series in Jeremiah and looking to delve into the Gospel of Mark starting Sept. 1, we've put together a dynamic three week sermon series talking about the Mission of the Church.  Frank spoke about the actual mission of the church last week, differentiating between our corporate and individual missions. 

This Sunday I will be talking about the outward mission of the church. When we read the Old Testament, we see that God's people were called out to be separate from pagan nations, to avoid intermingling with the surrounding tribes.  The New Testament, however, shows a Savior who brought salvation for all nations, and who sends His people to all parts of the earth, abolishing the walls between Jew and Gentile. So how do we live as "a chosen race... a holy nation... sojourners and exiles" (1 Peter 2) while not loving "the world or the things in the world" (1 John 2:15) yet "if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1 John 4:11)?  Is it enough for us to worship and follow Jesus, but keep it to ourselves and stay in our Christian community?  I don't know if I'll answer all these questions, but I look forward to diving into some Scripture texts and talking through how we can love and represent Jesus to our neighbors and community. See you then,

-Dave