God's Word for Me Today
Saturday, October 6, 2001
Focus: Our Mission: Equipping Christians in Western Pennsylvania
A note about online study
Introduction to God's Word for Me Today
Introduction to: Our Vision
Tomorrow we will move from a month-long focus on our Mission: Sharing the new life of Jesus Christ with the world—one person at a time, to a six-week focus on our Vision. Our vision is
New Life Christian Ministries is committed to equipping Christians in western Pennsylvania to change the world through irresistible lifestyles and influential works of service. Irresistible lifestyles include being:
Passionately committed to Jesus Christ,
Biblically defined,
Morally pure,
Evangelistically bold, and
Socially responsible.
This will be accomplished through an integrated system of discipleship that incorporates worship, nurture, training, equipping, mentoring and living the teachings and actions of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ into our lives as individuals and as a faith community.
While the statement is rather extensive the key components are EQUIPPING, the five components of an irresistible lifestyle, and an integrated system of discipleship. At New Life Christian Ministries everything we do has a reason, a purpose. We are intentional in becoming fully-devoted, and fully-developing disciples of Jesus Christ, who share his new life with the world! These daily Bible studies are an important component of that intentionality. I want to thank each one of you who continues to use “God’s Word For Me Today,” and those who are just getting started, because your participation gives you the best possible opportunity to understand exactly how you fit in God’s work here in western Pennsylvania, through NLCM. May God continue to empower us by His Holy Spirit to live boldly and passionately in Jesus’ name!
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, as I study Your word today equip me to receive it, to understand it and to live it. Empower me by Your Holy Spirit to live out the plan You have for building up Your body, the church, in the world. Give me new courage to live out Your vision for my life and Your vision for all of us together to change the world in Jesus name! Amen.
God's Word for Me Today: Ephesians 4:11-16
11He [Jesus] is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, 13until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.
14Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. 15Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
Questions for Reflection
If you could give one gift to the church what would it be?
What would a person be like who is “mature and full grown in the Lord”?
Questions for Exploration
What gifts did Jesus gift to the church according to this text? (4:11)
What is the purpose of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers? (4:12-13) KEY VERSES
What is the evidence that we have become mature? (4:14-16)
Questions for Understanding
What is Paul’s process for equipping the church?
What is the connection between “growing up in Christ” and the way we understand Christian doctrine or teaching?
Questions for Application
Which of the roles do you have in the whole equipping process: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher or one of God’s people being equipped. Pray for God to make that clear and to participate in the process whole-heartedly.
To whom do you need to “speak the truth in love” about something today? Commit to the Lord to do it.
Equipping the Saints!
In the New Living Translation of the Bible we’re told that the apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors and teachers are given to equip “God’s people,” but in many translations the word used is “saints.” Many time we think of saints as stained-glass figures from long ago whose lives were lived above our capacity to attain. The reality is that the Bible calls each believer a saint. You and I are saints—we have been set apart by God to live out his purposes. The process of equipping is for EVERY believer, not just for a select few. The Church of Jesus Christ is NOT the Marines, who are looking for “a few good men.” We are a collection of men, women and children who have gifts and abilities that span the spectrum. The equipping process involves each one of us starting where we are at this moment and growing. It is a training process. We discipline ourselves together to become a people who can do things tomorrow that we can’t do today, in Jesus’ name. The church’s call is to grow up into the full stature of Jesus Christ. When it’s all said and done each of us is to look like Jesus. We’re to live as He lived among us, and love one another as He first love us. The challenge is great (impossible without the Holy Spirit), but Jesus, Himself, is the one who set this process into motion, and He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it in us. While we may or may not feel much like saints—we ARE all saints—and together Jesus is forging us into that body of folks who are living out irresistible lifestyles and influential works of service, so that the world may see and know the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord!
To view the studies for other days, visit the God's Word for Me Today calendar.