Acts 2:42-47; John 13:34-35
SERMON OUTLINE
“Every day they continued to meet together… They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:46-47)
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)
I. We are made to experience great joy in local missions!
- What is the mission?
- You are a local missionary!
- What is the difference between joy and happiness in local missions?
II. The key ingredients for experiencing great joy in local missions
- Devoted to the gospel
- Devoted to the community
- Devoted to prayer
- Living on mission together
III. Loving one another: A “must have” for a joyful local missions experience
- Loving one another results in great joy for us!
- Loving one another results in great joy for our city!
- What does it look like to love one another?
- Begin with Prayer
- Listen
- Eat Together
- Serve Together
- Share Your Story
DIGGING DEEPER
- What are the first few feelings or emotions that come to mind when we start to talk about missions and our duty to join God in His work to reach the world? (What starts to bubble up in your heart?) Would you say that you are highly “motivated” to participate in the mission of God right now? What does motivate you to participate in the mission of God the reach the world?
- Do you think of yourself as a missionary in your everyday life? Why or why not?
- This week, as we conclude our “Both / And” Missions Conference, we want to be a church that is engaged in BOTH Local Missions AND Global Missions! Begin by reading Matthew 28:16-20 and Acts 1:6-10 and ask the Lord to help you understand His great desire to use us to reach people BOTH here AND abroad with the gospel.
- Read through Acts 2:29-42. Pay special attention to verses 42-47. What seemed to motivate this group of believers to live like this?
- Have you ever thought about your desire to experience great joy as a motivation for missions? Why or why not?
- In Acts 2:42-47, this group of believers was: devoted to the gospel, devoted to the community, devoted to prayer, and living on mission together. As we think of these key ingredients to experiencing joy in our local missions efforts, which of these would you like to experience more of here at Eastbrook Church? What steps can you take to make those things more of a regular, everyday experience for yourself and for the people of our church?
- Read John 13:34-35. Why is our love for one another in the church so important to our effectiveness in local missions? What are the benefits of loving one another? How does this benefit us? How does this benefit those we are trying to reach with the gospel?
- Take some time to think and pray about your current local missionary activity. Take some time to pray for the needs in the city of Milwaukee. What next steps do you feel called to take? Ask the Lord to lead you to what he has for you in the future.
- Together with you community group, talk about some specific ways that you can BLESS each other and how you can BLESS those you are trying to reach with the gospel, as part of the regular rhythm of your week.