A Church on Mission -- Pastor Ed

I have been spending a lot of time in the book of Acts as our small group on Sunday night has been studying this book. We have concentrated on the early church and how the church today has been shaped by the events that happened then.  I love to read about and study the movement of Christianity in the 1st century.  We see a Jerusalem church that struggled and was self-centered and we see the church at Antioch that began the movement of world missions. Many great men and women sacrificed to spread the news of the resurrected Christ across the world at that time.  Many important decisions were made and men stood up for the truth of the gospel, both inside and outside of the church.  We see common people passionately sharing their faith with those around them.  Peter and Paul play major roles in the book of Acts, but it is the work of others, often people whose names are never mentioned, who have contributed great things to the spreading of Christianity.  Acts, often called the Acts of the Apostles, is the story of God working through His people to spread the gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.

Since I have been spending so much time in Acts, I began to think, what would be written about the Acts of Boyd Avenue?  If someone wrote down the history of our church, what would be said?   I wonder what our church would be known for.  Missions?  Evangelism?  Loving and caring for others?  A church that was committed to the truth of the gospel?  A church that lived out the gospel?  The history of our church is being written every day.  In our COVID world, the decisions are tougher. We have to continuously figure out who God wants us to be.  We have the ability to determine what our church is known for.  My prayer is that we strive to be more like the church at Antioch.  That we are a church that proclaims the gospel, loves others, and is actively involved in missions and ministry, both local and worldwide. This may look different, but ministry must continue.

What about us as individuals?  I must ask myself the question, what would it look like if someone wrote my story. What would the Acts of Ed look like?  Each of us should ask that question.  We should evaluate what part we play in God’s ministry in the world we live in.  Not all of us are going to be Peter or Paul, the main people in Acts. Most of us won’t even be like Barnabas and Philip, important men who get their share of ink.  Hopefully, though, we are like those great men and women of Antioch, whose names aren’t mentioned, but are praised for their work.  Praised because they were actively serving God.  What would the Acts of our lives look like?  If recorded for history, would our lives show that we are devoted to God and the furthering of His kingdom or would it show that our lives our lived for us and the furthering of our own interest and desires.  Tough to think about, but important to evaluate.  Most Christians will say that they desire to live for and serve God.  This is what we say.  What do our actions show?