Finding our purpose as individuals and as a church takes thought and effort. Working our way together through the forty days of purpose program is a great way to do it. As we work our way through this 40 days we need to try to put the five purposes together as well as consider them separately so we can better understand God's will for our lives.

Our first purpose is Worship: We were planned for God's pleasure. Being planned for God makes us sound like some kind of toy and I believe that many people have some sort of picture as a cosmic people watcher. High above in the clouds God looks at our joys and struggles and is entertained by what goes on. That makes our lives seem like some sort of cosmic aquarium. Worship in this context is pretty meaningless. But this is far from true. God sent Jesus so we would know how much we were loved and cared for.

That brings us to the second purpose: Fellowship: You were formed for God's family. Jesus tells us we are his brothers and sisters, the children of God. And while it is true I love to watch not only my children but also children in general, it is not at all like watching tropical fish. When you watch your children there is genuine love and concern involved. Watching them struggle to take their first step, learning to spell their name or walking down the isle at their wedding, each one of these triumphs and hundreds of smaller ones that go alongside them bring true joy into my life. It is also part of the joy in our lives to spend time with our brother's and sister's in Christ. That is what fellowship at our church is all about. We were definitely not created to be alone.

God, like any good parent doesn't want their children to be infants all of their lives. That brings us to our third purpose; Discipleship: You were created to become like Christ. Children learn by imitation. It begins in our infancy when we begin to return our mother's smiles and associate happiness with her loving, smiling face. To come to Christian maturity we need to be around more mature Christians and to study the Word of God so we can begin to imitate Jesus.

Discipleship is immersing yourself in the teaching of your master and taking the responsibility for helping others follow the same path.

Our fourth purpose is Ministry: You were shaped for serving God. Once a disciple begins to understand the teaching of the master there are a lot of opportunities to share their maturity within the family of God. This is the beginning of truly being able to share in God's work. It is the joy of every parent when they see their children become productive members of the community. We serve God by serving one another; unless the members contribute to the welfare of the family there is no family. Many Churches in decline are precisely in this position; no one cares enough to do the chores.

God's greatest desire is to bring all people into this relationship, into the family of God. An that brings us to our final purpose; Mission: you were made for a mission. Jesus was sent to proclaim the Good news that we could be forgiven and restored into the family of God. He entrusted this mission to us when he returned to the Father. Often people and churches get stuck in the first four parts of this pathway to Christian Maturity. It isn't until we get involved in reaching out to those who don't know Jesus that we finally become involved in the fullness of God's purpose.

The forty days we are sharing together now are not designed to bring us to full maturity in Christ. They are designed to give us an understanding of the pathway God has laid out for each of our lives. What we need to do during this forty days is look at the whole pathway that God has laid out before us. Then we need to find where we fit in, what task God has set aside for us in this ministry and commit ourselves to God's purposes.

Pastor Jim Bliss

Contact Pastor Jim:
Email: jbliss@resluthdublin.org
Phone: (925) 828-1580.

Pastor's Notes Archive