Evangelism

So I preached last night. You can download it here

In the midst of the sermon, I realized that I have done a disservice to people around me who don't know Jesus, and that sucks. I have presented a truth claim to them without presenting Jesus; a way of thought without Jesus. It has been about being right, and not about the way of reconciliation.

In that process, I have begun to realize this morning that what has been missing is love. Do I truly care about those around me who are hurting and desperately need Jesus, or am I more concerned about adherence to a thought system?

It is my hope to show people the love that Christ has for me. And to be filled with compassion.

So, here is my aim: to live in such a way that my encounter with the love of Jesus is evident to all. I must sacrifice my ideology for love. And I must sacrifice my feelings of comfort for the reconciliation of others.

I must publicly live out the love of Christ for me.

"Another picture that our Lord loves to use is that of the shepherd who goes out to look for the sheep that is lost (Mt. 18:12). So long as we imagine that it is we who have to look for God, then we must often lose heart. But it is the other way about: he is looking for us. And so we can afford to recognise that very often we are not looking for God; far from it, we are in full flight from him, in high rebellion against him. And he knows that and ahs taken it into account. He has followed us into our own darkness; there where we thought finally to escape him, we run straight into his arms."