Speaker: Dan Buraga

How Christ’s Church Pursues Christ’s Mission

How Christ’s Church Pursues Christ’s Mission

Discovering Jesus Christ’s Mission of Peace for the World. www.harvestfairfax.org

Christmas is about peace. We know this because Christmas is about Jesus. Peace was the mission of Jesus back then and it is his mission still today. As Pastor Dan shares from Isaiah 9, may we sense the peace of Jesus in our lives and be inspired to share that peace to those around us. 

In Acts chapter 4 we see a group of people united by their belief in Jesus Christ. This belief led to living selfless lives that were committed to the welfare of the whole of their community. The world had never seen anything like this. And while their Christian community was astounding, their Christian community was not the goal. It was the bi-product of being committed to the mission of Jesus. 

This week we move on to Acts chapter 5. The dramatic events in chapter 5 show us that when mission is not the goal, and community, which should be a byproduct, takes center stage community gets harmed and the mission gets jeopardized. 

Names are pretty significant aren’t they? Your name represents all of who you are. When pastor Dan married his now wife Jaime he used his name in his vows, “I, Dan, take you, Jaime, to be my wife.” By doing this Dan was saying that all of who he was in that moment, all of who he would be in his 30’s, 40’s and beyond belonged to her. Our name, who we are, is a big deal.

More significant than any other name is the name of Jesus. His name represents all of who Jesus is, all he has done, and all that he will do. In Acts 3 we see what the name of Jesus meant to the Apostle Peter, a lame man and what the name of Jesus means to you and I today. 

Muslims have mosques, Jews have synagogues, and Christians have churches – right? If a coworker or neighbor asked you tomorrow what you did today and followed it with “What makes a church anyway?” What would you say?

Is it 3 Moms getting together at Panera for coffee and prayer? Is it 2 families meeting in a living room for Bible study? Where 2 or 3 are gathered right? We look to the scriptures to see who we are as a church and what we do as a church.

The book of Acts begins with an astounding statement that Jesus is still at work. He is at work in your life. He is at work in the city of Fairfax. As we see Christ working we are to be witnesses to his work in us. We need to be telling others what Christ has done and what he will do in the future. This Sunday we asked ourselves some very important questions. What does it mean to be a witness? What makes a good witness? What kind of witness has Jesus called us to be? The answers are found in the Scriptures. 

Fill in the blank: “I can’t live without ______.” How you answer this question can be telling of what you truly value in life. Answering this question helps us to cherish those things that are most important to us.

Our message today comes from Acts 2, the beginning of the New Testament church. As we imagine the world without a church may we come away with wonder and gratitude for the church that Jesus Christ is building.