Mission
SABBATH AFTERNOON Read for This Week's Study:
Mark 16:15, 16; Luke 24:46, 47; John 14:6; Eph. 4:11-15; 2 Pet. 2:1-3; Rev. 14:6-12.
Memory Text:
"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15, NIV). |
| | Mission is not an old-fashioned word associated with tropical helmets and six-year terms in isolated places around the world. The term mission refers to a core aspect of the Christian life. "The words mission and missionary come from Latin words meaning send and one sent. . . . The English Bible usually uses the noun apostle, which also comes from the Greek word that means one sent. . . . Thirty-nine times the Gospel of John says that Jesus was sent by God. Thirty-nine times, then, Jesus is defined in that book alone as a missionary or apostle."—Jon L. Dybdahl,"Missionary God—Missionary Church" in Erich W. Baumgartner, ed., Re-Visioning Adventist Mission in Europe, (Berrien Springs, Mich.: Andrews University Press, 1998), p. 8. We, as followers of Christ, are fellow-missionaries with Jesus. As He was sent to this world, so we are sent to represent Him and to preach the three angels' messages to every person. The longer we are here, however, the greater the danger of our becoming inward-focused, seeking to maintain our structures and institutions at the expense of what we are called to do, which is to preach to the world the present-truth message that God has given us. |
The Week at a Glance:
Mission is the heart of the church. The destiny of people, far and near, is at stake. Mission is not one among many programs of the church. It is the very reason for its existence. Each Christian is called to be a missionary. |
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 27.
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