week 1 devotions - can U hear me now?

An Old Message for a New Generation

Day 1
We just heard the Easter message of Christ's resurrection and we are filled with gratitude for God’s extravagant love for us. As we read in the scriptures, the last words Jesus spoke on earth were to his disciples, and they reflected the very heart of his mission. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations….teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28: 19-20) Today, as followers of Christ, we are called to pass on the good news of life in Christ to others as well.

Reflect on Matthew 28: 16-20, Luke 24: 36-53 and Acts 1: 3-9
Jesus' charge to go and make disciples is called the Great Commission, and it was directed to each of his followers. Prayerfully consider how you are fulfilling the Great Commission within your family, at work, or in your neighborhood.

Day 2
In worship this weekend we heard that "It's up to the current generation (older generation) to figure out how to pass on the faith to the next (younger) generation. It’s up to the insiders to learn how best to pass on the faith to the outsiders. To commit to do whatever needs to be done to help the next generation come to know God." And we also heard that we are living in a culture that is increasingly open to Jesus, yet people are increasingly suspicious and untrusting of Christians and the church. One of the ways we can change this trend is to ask ourselves if we are obeying Jesus' prayer to be in the world or whether we are living isolated lives in the Christian subculture. (Dan Kimball)

Read Matthew 9:36–38. What was Jesus’ response when he saw the crowds of people?
Read Luke 19:10. What does Jesus come to do?

Jesus described himself as coming to seek and save the lost, and he was confident that he had passed this passion on to his followers. The definition of seek demonstrates that this is an active word…to "look for" to "go toward" to "endeavor".

Who are you currently seeking?

Day 3
As missional people, we are not supposed to keep this abundance of life to ourselves. Like Jesus, we are to seek the lost. But this is so big. So, how do we do this?

1. With protection. Read John 17:15 What did Jesus pray for us?
2. With the power of the Holy Spirit. Read Luke 12: 8-11.
3. With reverence and respect. Read 1 Peter 3:13-16.

Day 4
We have read that we are to be missional people – to be "ambassadors" of Jesus in our communities, to serve, to build relationships in our culture. But what about our church, which is supposed to be the expression of Jesus and his body. What can we do here? What if we teach our church to be salt and light?

Read 2 Corinthians 5:11-20 and Colossians 4:5-6 and consider how our attitudes impact others, and how we could begin within these walls.

Day 5
We are called to go out, to pass on the story, to bridge the gap of generations, culture and communication. Pray this week that God will give you a heart for the Great Commission, and an open mind to walk in someone else’s shoes, to begin having these conversations. This week we learned that the Holy Spirit empowers us to tell others about Jesus and bring glory to God. We do this with our words and with our lives. Go back and read Acts 1:4-14 and John 17:1-11 and consider that in John 17, we have Jesus' prayer on the night before his crucifixion, and in Acts 1, we find Jesus’ followers in prayer before the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost. Pray for a fresh outpouring of the Spirit on your life.