Go!
By Greg Lunsford --
At the beginning of February, Caris and I gathered a team of creatives at Greater Portland, and we began to dream for the coming Lent season that leads us to Good Friday and Easter. A recurring theme kept speaking to our collective hearts. That theme was, “GO!”
At GPBC, we always want to be a church that has a heart to go, that is the “helping people” part of our mission statement. But during this season we want to be intentional with our going.
Why?
Jesus set the example for us. Jesus was a goer. Jesus stepped out of heaven to go into his creation. Jesus went into the waters to be baptized. Jesus went into the desert where he was hungry, tired and tempted. Jesus went from town to town to share the news that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Jesus went to the cross to die for us. Jesus went to the grave in his death. And on that glorious third day, Jesus stepped out of the grave.
We go because Jesus went. We go because we follow Jesus.
A study recently showed over 50% of people that do not come from a background of faith and church would come to church if they were invited by a friend or family member. That number goes up even more on Christmas and Easter Sundays. Let this statistic encourage our hearts to go.
For the coming Sunday sermons that lead us to Easter, we are going to make a slight shift in the sermon series title to “Living In The Upside Down Kingdom.” The sermons will challenge us to ask ourselves, “am I a good neighbor? Who will I invite to my table and into my home? Do I have a heart of forgiveness and reconciliation?”
King Jesus does not ask us to do anything that he hasn’t already done for us. Jesus is the good neighbor. Jesus invites us to his table. Jesus is full of grace and mercy and love. These are the rhythms that we are asked to follow.
This season leading up to Easter, let’s follow King Jesus in these rhythms.