Mission Sunday Sermon

By Pastor Gopinathan

The celebration of Mission Sunday with churches across NLF was an occasion to recommit ourselves to Church’s vision i.e. Establishment of Christ centered churches, built in Holy Spirit and on words of God. Wherever we might be in the journey of our lives, we can still choose to be part of this vision by praying for people & places we have never known & witnessing the work of Spirit amongst them to make God known to them. Hence, it becomes important to re-commit our lives to God & local churches, without which, we can’t fulfill this plan of God’s in our lives.
It is obvious to think that why we should celebrate mission Sunday year After year? It’s a remembrance of our church’s mission which was summed up by Ps. V M Samuel in his last words- “Our Church should not become nominal church- conducting ceremonies & services- but be aligned to focus given by Christ- i.e. Great Commission.”
We tend to overlook this important responsibility that Christ Has assigned us. In this regard, Luke 24:44-49 is a good point of reflection. Here, we see that Christ death disappointed many of his disciples (expectance of a kingdom and a king). But after his resurrection, Christ reminded his disciples, that he had spoken about his death, resurrection and establishment of Kingdom of God consistently during his few years of ministry on earth. This remained as mere information with Apostles, rather than a way of life. It’s only when God opened Apostle’s understanding and enlightened them, that they understood the implication of knowledge with them. This revelation became Apostle’s mission & so it should be for us. It should be beyond paper, but in action, like how being a witness to the flaming fire in bush changed Moses’s mission in his life. Christ death & resurrection was necessary for forgiveness of sin & salvation of people. The message through this death & resurrection was proclamation of God’s vision, put in Apostle’s heart, & now to be done by us. This proclamation of Gospel is a divine mission, which could be done only through holy spirit’s support.
The spiritual fasting & praying that preceded Mission Sunday was just beginning of our re-commitment to God’s vision-To be one in God’s accord for his plan. Praying & supporting mission is an ongoing process. We need to pray for Pentecost like event in our life and in our community – to fill us with Holy Spirit. Prayers continues to remain the most powerful tool which has helped church to grow strong despite opposition. Our churches must be like Church of Antioch- filled with spirit and a launching site for several missionary journeys.