Further Study: Read Ellen G. White, "The First Evangelists," pp. 349-358, in The Desire of Ages.
"Men's hearts are no softer today than when Christ was upon the earth. They will do all in their power to aid the great adversary in making it as hard as possible for the servants of Christ, just as the people did with Christ when He was upon the earth. They will scourge with the tongue of slander and falsehood. They will criticize, and turn against the servant of God the very efforts he is leading them to make. They will, with their evil surmisings, see fraud and dishonesty where all is right and where perfect integrity exists. They lay selfish motives to the charge of God's servants, when He Himself is leading them, and when they would give even their lives if God required, if by so doing they could advance His cause."—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 234.
Discussion Questions:
In what ways does our mission field today differ from the one Jesus' disciples went into? What are the similarities? 
As a class, talk about what it means to be living in the "kingdom of heaven" now. What, if anything, do we have to show for it; that is, if someone were to look at us as a whole, what would they see different than what they would see in any other voluntary organization working together for a common cause? 
How involved are you and your local church in evangelism, in witnessing? How are you working to relieve the suffering of those around you? How can your local church do better in that area? Why is that aspect of our work so crucial? Why, though, is ministering to the physical needs of those around us not enough? At the same time, what happens when we emphasize preaching and ignore the social dimension of the gospel? Summary:
The greatest Teacher the world has ever seen took time to give specific instructions to His disciples before He sent them out into their mission field. The principles He outlined to them are timeless; and we must not ignore them today. |
| I N S I D E Story | ||
| Homes of Hope: Part 1 by LESLEY DAVIDSON Two years ago I met Robin, an outgoing, witty, and friendly woman. She had come to my church, she said, "for the company." She was lonely and wanted an outlet. But she made it clear that she didn't believe what Adventists teach. This might have intimidated me, except our church in Australia had begun a new program called "Homes of Hope." And Robin fit right into this program. I decided to prayerfully make Robin my Homes of Hope project. Homes of Hope is a program designed to help church members befriend visitors and those in the community who are searching for something better. Jesus befriended people before He taught them, and we were trying to follow His pattern when we inaugurated Homes of Hope. It seemed easy to just be friends and answer questions if they came up. I invited Robin to tea to get acquainted. We talked for two hours. She shared her troubled past, her pain, and the issues she was dealing with. Several times she reminded me that she was not attending church because she believed but because she wanted company. That was fine with me. She was welcome to come. Because I did not have to try to "save" her, I was free to be Robin's friend, to love her for Jesus, to encourage her to taste and see that God was for real. Soon Robin and I were spending hours talking by phone and visiting. We shared so much, and I found in her a real friend. Robin enjoyed church and wanted more to do, so I introduced her to Adventurers. She adored the children and often brought them treats or visited them during the week. Then Robin began feeling tired. She decided to visit a health spa, hoping that the mineral baths would help her feel better. I went along, looking forward to four days alone with my friend, sharing my faith without interruption. By the end of the second day she began asking questions, hard questions. She told me she believed in reincarnation. How can I answer that one, God? I prayed silently. And God gave me the words to say to her. Before I realized it, I was quoting scripture and explaining theology that I had never uttered before. To my amazement, she understood and accepted it. (Continued next week)
LESLEY DAVIDSON met Robin in the Central Coast Community Church in Wyong, New South Wales, Australia. She now lives in Kariong, New South Wales. | ||
| Produced by the General Conference Office of Mission Awareness. email: info@adventistmission.org website: www.adventistmission.org |
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