Living On Mission

Matthew 19:14 -  Jesus said,  Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven. Children accept the things of Jesus more readily than adults. They are less jaded, carry less baggage, and are more open to belief. This also often extends to sharing their faith with others. Kids have not learned the self consciousness that comes from being disagreed with or rejection. Everything is taken at face value - if Jesus says do it then you do it. On Sunday a mom in our church (Theresa) noticed her seven year old son DeShawn was going around to all the chairs and collecting the extra church invitation cards. She stopped him after he took six or seven and asked him why he wanted so many. His response was “because I have so many friends at school to give them to.” A little while later they went to the grocery store.  Theresa keeps a close eye on her kids, so she noticed when DeShawn went down the aisle and approached a woman who ...

I’ve been reading through Deuteronomy. It is one of my favorite books of the Bible. It has so much promise for Israel’s future. If they are obedient to the vision and plan of God, they will take possession of the land. It is something they can not do on their own. The enemy is stronger and has fortified themselves with walls. Last fall we celebrated forty years for our church and prophetically declared we had passed “through the Jordan.” That was not the crossing of the finish line, it was the beginning of the mission. In the Quad Cities we are facing a Jericho situation. The land we want to claim for God’s people is strongly opposed to what we believe. Our region is the 15th post-Christian community in the United States. Most of the population has moved on from Christianity, been influenced by progressive institutions, and has little interest in religion. There are huge walls that have been built up by secularism, pluralism, and bad experiences with people mishandling the name of Jesu...