Weekly messages from Central Baptist, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. We are a community aiming to follow Jesus together. Growing in worship. Deepening in community. Moving on mission. More at followingtogether.com.
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Paul calls us to practice three spiritual disciplines that keep us centred on Jesus and effective in our mission. Paul calls us to continually 1) rejoice, 2) pray and 3) give thanks. As we practice these disciplines, God promises to keep our hearts at peace and our lives centred in His will.
In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 the Apostle Paul gives us an outline of what his approach is to sharing Jesus with others. Rather than something formulaic, Paul is describing to us a way of being as it relates to sharing with others the hope we have in Christ. This message looks at what such a way of being in sharing Jesus can actually look like in our day-to-day so that we can be part of God's amazing…
What does it look like to live on mission when life is difficult, discouraging, or just plain ordinary? In 2 Corinthians, Paul gives us four pictures of what it means to be sent by God—and four practices that help us keep going. Our weakness doesn’t have to put God’s mission on pause; it can become the very place where his power is seen most clearly.
Jesus reveals that the table is more than a place for a meal, it is a place where God’s Kingdom is made visible. At the table, Jesus brings transformation by extending mercy, challenges the pursuit of status by teaching humility, and calls His followers to practice hospitality that reflects God’s grace. The Kingdom of Jesus is seen when we welcome those who cannot repay us and create spaces where…
Sometimes life does not go according to our plans. Difficulties come and we’re disoriented. We don’t know what to do or how to go forward from here. But God provides so we can keep going in life and mission even during disorienting times.
Summer interruptions, travel, gatherings, and ordinary conversations can become unexpected opportunities to encounter Jesus and share his good news. In John 4, Jesus shows us that what we might sometimes see as inconveniences could actually be divine appointments. As we learn to see interruptions through the eyes of Jesus, the Holy Spirit can transform everyday moments into opportunities for…
Don’t want to sound crazy but if I were your enemy, I think my tactic would be to make sure that you were living your life always in a hurry and never in rest. I would take something neutral and not even sinful like work, family, stress, success, and technology and let a hurried pace steal, kill, or even destroy your soul; a soul that requires rest. Our hurried pace is affecting our spiritual…
As we allow the peace of Christ to rule our hearts and the word of Christ to dwell richly within us, our everyday lives become opportunities to reflect the reign of King Jesus. Whether in our relationships, conversations, work, or service, we are called to do everything in His name. Living on mission begins with a heart surrendered to Christ's rule, allowing His Kingdom values to shape how we…
What does it mean to be saved by Jesus—and then sent by Him? Paul’s life was completely interrupted by the risen Christ, but his conversion was never meant to end with him. As Acts comes to its final chapter, we see that Jesus is still moving His mission forward through ordinary people in unexpected places. Could the places and people already in your life be part of where Jesus is sending you?
Paul reminds the Ephesian elders that his life among them was a display of humility through proclaiming the truth and investing deeply in people's lives, even through hardship and opposition. Though he knows suffering and danger await him in Jerusalem, he remains surrendered to the Spirit’s leading and refuses to let fear or uncertainty determine his path. The mission of sharing the Gospel of…
When you read Paul's bio at this point in his ministry and what follows, it's easy to see how costly faithfulness was for Paul. Yes, he accomplished so much but he also paid a heavy cost and, in light of his life, it can feel like our faithfulness seems pretty cheap and our part in God's mission small and almost insignificant. How can a stay at home parent, a nurse, student, or lawyer feel in…
God calls for costly faithfulness, and making room means surrendering our lives to his purposes. In Acts 20, Paul instructs the church to look back on a life marked by costly faithfulness, look ahead to the reality of future suffering, and make the bold declaration that the cost of following Jesus is worth it.