We want to hear stories from you all about what God is doing during the week and how he is using you all to minister to others, what he is speaking by the Holy Spirit to you and through you and how the gospel is forming, reforming and transforming your lives. 

This requires two things, both of them simple yet neither of them necessarily easy:

1) You need stories – We have to continually be reminded and come to the deep understanding that we are the sent people of God. Are you mindful of this today? Even as you work, are you asking the Holy Spirit to speak? Are you seeking the glory of God and asking for opportunities to serve, bless, encourage and exhort people around you. Are you being self centered or others centered? Are you concerned for your reputation, ease, comfort, success, or the reputation of Christ, the success and comfort of others? Are you asking God how you can best represent and image him today in the place and to the people he has sent you? If we are to have stories to share with each other, we have to purpose to live in light of the reality of the much larger story we are caught up in. Look for opportunities. Pray for wisdom. Seek the good of others. Remember who you are and whose you are. Live out of that identity. God is on a mission today and his invitation is for your partnership on that mission. God is active and moving around you, your workplace, your neighborhood, your family… ask God to open your eyes to see these things so that you might join in what he is doing. You need stories to tell.

2) You have to tell them – Don’t do this in isolation. Do this in community. Share these stories with your home group, your pastors, your church family. Tell us the names of the people God is putting in your path and on your heart to minister to, to become friends with, to be hospitable towards. Having an occasional conversation with a non-believer or a weary follower of Christ who needs encouragement is good and beneficial. But we need you to share these stories. Talk about your struggles in serving Jesus boldly as well as your successes as he uses your witness effectively. Talk about what you are learning or how you felt as you engaged people. You will challenge, encourage and teach each other as well as motivate each other and bolster faith in one another.

Remember that any impact of your actions, words and efforts are dependent on the work of the Holy Spirit. Are you praying before, during or after interactions for the Holy Spirit to use you, for the power of the gospel to take root in people’s lives? Are you working with your knowledge and skill set, and putting on yourself and your efforts the weight of the results? Or are you begging the Holy Spirit to work through your flawed, limited efforts to transform hearts and lives as only he is able? Mission can’t effectively be done in isolation. You need encouragement from the body of Christ, the prayers of the people of God, both for you and for those to whom you are sent. This should be regularly a part of our conversations with each other. When my efforts don’t seem to be “working” I need reminders of God using you effectively. When I feel like I am failing, I need reminders that God is sovereign and the gospel is the source of power not my best efforts. If God is opening doors and doing incredible things, I need to be reminded that it’s God’s grace working and his Spirit moving and the gospel changing lives, not my compelling arguments or superior wit and guile. I need you guys. You all need each other. We should be saturating our daily mission with prayer and intercession that reflect our dependency upon and confidence in our resurrected Lord and the indwelling Spirit.

Is your life demanding attention and questions from people who don’t know Jesus? The Gospel is the greatest story ever told and it is still being told to us and through us. Is your story good news for others today? Is your story good news for each other today? May we heed today the admonition of Hebrews 10:24 which tells us to “consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” This is one of the tasks we have before us… May the Holy Spirit be a seal upon your hearts of your gospel identity today. May the Spirit move you in that identity to be about his business. May the Holy Spirit use you and your lives as stories within The Story. And may we tell these stories and celebrate them whenever we come together.