Honoring our Graduates

05/23/07 09:41 AM
Grad_07
Congratulations to our two high school graduates! We'll be honoring them this Sunday with a special multimedia tribute. We'll also be taking a break from our current series in the Old Testament. I'll be preaching from Hebrews 11, looking at three issues that Moses had to settle in order to personalize God's purposes for his life:
  • The issue of identity – Who am I?
  • The issue of responsibility – What am I going to do with my life?
  • The issue of priority – What's going to be the most important thing in my life?
This is not just a message to our graduates, it is a message for anybody who is interested in living their life with a clear sense of their God-given mission and purpose.

Think about Jesus for just a second. In John 17:4, near the end of His earthly life, He was able to pray, "I have brought You glory by completing the work You gave Me to do." Obviously, as a believer, we're all interested in bringing God glory. How do we do that? By completing whatever work, whatever mission He has given us to do.

The Apostle Paul was driven by this same sense of focus and mission. To the elders in Ephesus, he said, "my life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about God’s wonderful kindness and love." (Acts 20:24)

Now. . . is that something that's only true of the big guns like Paul and Jesus? I mean, Paul was an Apostle and Jesus was the Messiah. Clearly they had a mission. Jesus gave His life as the Savior of the world and God used Paul to pen most of the New Testament.

Is that how it works? Is having a God-given purpose or mission in life reserved just for a special few? Or were Jesus and Paul modeling something that is true of every believer? That's what I'll be answering in the message this Sunday. Invite a friend to come with you!