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Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone (II Cor. 5:14-The Message). I heard a really great sermon this last Lord’s Day. The title of that sermon was Intimate Enough to Feel Pain. I went away from the Assembly feeling like our collective toes had been stepped on pretty hard. Especially was this true when John closed that part on really serving like the New Testament Church with the thought that perhaps we are just “Into Ourselves” a little too much to really serve others. I’m not quite sure he intended it that way; but that one, along with the other four suggestions (driven by convenience, controlled by selfish ambition, unnerved by stressful circumstances, and consumed by desires) really hit us where we seem to live.
I’ve been waiting intently for this part of John’s lessons that have focused on our mission as the Church Jesus purchased with his blood. Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone (II Cor. 5:14-The Message). John asked us, Who are you going to send? Paul sent Timothy. Why? Because he was 1. Dependable; 2. Trustworthy; 3. Caring, and as he said, I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare (Phil. 2:20).
Why would Paul also send Epaphroditus back to the Philippians (2:25)? As John called him Sunday Morning, The Guy with the Strange Name leaves us some valuable lessons: 1) Serve the vulnerable; 2) Take risks; and, 3) Reshape life in the Church—not to make life better for ourselves, but to serve others in some beneficial way. Epaphrodius certainly did all that.
You will do the same things when you take part in the 9-Week program entitled Dynamic Evangelism! Ask me about it or look forward to September when we plan to get it started. Thanks John, for a great lesson! HDurham