Weekly Update – April 21st, 2022
The Great Commission is a well-known and popular call that many Christians are familiar with in the New Testament. It says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I (Jesus) have commanded you….” (Matt. 28:19-20) Typically when we read that verse, the first thought that comes to our minds is missions. The imperative, “Go” is clear and we often interpret this very literally as “Go” in the sense that we need to go out to all the nations and share the good news of Christ. This is very true. But I would argue, as would many others, that the word “Go” is not simply a command that tells us to only “Go”. No, this command is better interpreted to mean, “as you go”, or “when you go.” So then, if The Great Commission is given to us beginning with the phrase, “As you go” instead of merely “Go” then we have an entirely new dynamic to consider.
If the opening command of The Great Commission is meant to say, “as you go” instead of merely “go”, then this commission is not only an overseas, far away, different country, jungle reaching call. That means that The Great Commission is not fulfilled through merely encouraging overseas missions, giving a few dollars to mission’s campaigns and praying for missionaries. Now, don’t get me wrong here, we should be doing all of these things. But, if that is all that you do, then you may not be helping fulfill The Great Commission. I would argue that The Great Commission is a call given to all Christians and is to be fulfilled by all Christians in a very active way. Yes, we should be active in sending missionaries and even potentially serving as missionaries in far away places. But at the same time, we should be looking for ways to fulfill The Great Commission in very personal ways, right within the very contexts that the Lord has placed us.
Let’s go back to The Great Commission as a whole then. “As you go, make disciples of all nations….” First, what this means is someone else, in fulfillment of The Great Commission, came to us and shared the good news of Christ and we, by God’s grace, became a disciple. But then second, in fulfillment of The Great Commission, we have not only become a disciple, but we are called to be disciple-makers. Essentially that is what a disciple is anyway. A disciple is a disciple-maker. So then in obedience to The Great Commission, we cannot merely offer our support to others who are striving to make disciples, but we ourselves must be involved in making disciples. And if we are to make disciples, “as you go,” then we cannot use our context or lack of context as an excuse to not fulfill this call.
The mandate is clear, we are all called to make disciples. The context is clear, we are all called to make disciples wherever the Lord places us. I hope and pray that together, we can seek to fulfill this call.
Serving Him with You,
Pastor Michael Nelson
Written by Pastor
Michael Nelson
Announcements:
Sunday Night Bible Study: Join us on Sunday evenings at 6:00pm for a 6 week study titled Follow Me. This will be a video based study, but companion books are available for $10 for those who would like to go deeper. We will meet in the sanctuary. You can find an introduction to this study HERE.
Ladies Bible Study: Ladies, join us on Tuesday evenings at 6:30pm, for a Bible study through the book of Exodus. The study is a video based study led by Sheryl Nelson. There is a sign up sheet in the hallway, or sign up by contacting the church office. You can learn more about this 10 week Bible Study HERE
Worship Leader: In January, the Personnel Committee began meeting to determine who the next worship leader at First Baptist Church would be. Martin Maharas graciously offered to fill in for us during that interim time. Two weeks ago, it was agreed upon by the Personnel Committee to ask Martin to stay on a permanent basis, in this non-ministerial position, and lead our church in worship. Martin accepted and will now officially be the “worship leader” for our church. Let me know that you are thankful he is here and welcome him back to our church.
Home Groups: On Sunday evening, May 15th, there will be 3 brand new home groups starting. Each will meet in a different home on Sunday nights throughout the summer. Be on the lookout for more details in the upcoming week.
Harry’s Hay Days: On Saturday, May 7th, from 10:00am-4:00pm, First Baptist Church will be participating in the citywide festival called, “Harry’s Hay Days.” We will be hosting carnival games, face painters, balloon artists, Chick-fil-A, Life 88.5 and more, right here in our parking lot. We need volunteers to help with this event, so sign up in the hallway this Sunday.
"And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Deuteronomy 6:6-7
Awana
Every Sunday at 5:45pm, children ages 3 years to 6th grade are invited to join us for Awana.
Bible Study
Join us in the Sanctuary at 9:15am on Sunday mornings for a study in the book of 1 John. A women’s Bible Study meets at the same time at then end of the hall near the nursery.
Giving
To Give Online, Go HERE.
You can also mail your offering to: 1416 Main Street, Grandview, MO. 64030
Prayer
An updated Prayer Guide can be accessed HERE.
Prepare for Sunday
Guide for Worship can be found HERE.
Young Adult Home Group: Starting on March 9th, there will be a new home group called, “The Young and Relentless.” Single, married, or engaged, 18-30ish are welcome to join. The group will be going through “Adulting” by Jonathan Pokluda. You can find a preview of the study HERE.
Annie Armstrong Easter Offering: Every year at this time, we raise funds to support missionaries all over North America who are serving with the North American Mission Board (NAMB). This year, our goal at First Baptist Church is to raise $7500. So far we have raised $6115. You can give on Sunday mornings through one of our offering boxes located in the foyer or the welcome center. Just mark your envelop as “missions” or “Annie.” Or you can give online HERE and choose “missions” under the Fund tab. You can find more information about this offering HERE.
Secret Church: Join on us on Friday, April 29th at 6:00pm, as we listen to David Platt via simulcast for an intense evening of Bible study and prayer. The goal of this event is to simulate the experiences of churches who are persecuted for the Word of God, but yet hungry for it at the same time. We will join with thousands of other people from all over the world as we study the theme, Who Am I? Come and join us, in homes this year, for some or all of this 6 hour night as we study together and pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. There is a sign up sheet in the foyer. You can find out more about this study HERE.
First Wednesday Prayer: Join us on Wednesday, May 4th at 7:00-8:00pm in the sanctuary for an hour of prayer. On these evenings, we will have a mixture of structured and less structured times of prayer as we seek the Lord to move for our sake, the sake of our church, as well as the sake of our community and world.
Worship Service
Worship Service begins at 10:30am on Sunday mornings. Nursery care for children ages 0-3 years is available during the worship hour.
Livestream
Continue to join us at 10:30am on Sunday mornings.
Facebook live: HERE.
YouTube: HERE.
Guide for Worship can be found HERE.
Join us and invite a friend or family member to watch with you.
Sunday School
Children and Youth Sunday School take place at 9:15am on Sunday mornings.
Pre-K and Kindergarten meet in the nursery suite.
Grades 1st – 5th meet upstairs in U-5.
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