Manuscript Monday: Popping the Christian Bubble

Every Monday I try and post a portion of my manuscript for Tuesday night so that you can provide feedback - maybe you can make into the manuscript!

... Let's be honest with ourselves, Christians tend to flock together in weird ways.  In Fact, we've built industries on this "Christian Only" model!  There's a Christian music industry that puts more assurance in the "Christian's will buy it" revenue than the actual quality of their music.  Clothing lines have been developed with obnoxious says like, "Hold- Him: Jesus went 'all-in' for you!"   And somehow it's even cooler when the message is somehow hidden, like in secret images or a verse secretly placed around the inside collar as if a wearer may  be tricked into salvation by buying a cool looking Jesus shirt, without even knowing it. 

If we are not careful we can end up turning God's community into something about us, and not about Him.  Something about our comforts, not about His mission to redeem the world from sin.

This is the last message in a series we are doing on Community.  We began by recognizing that community begins with the Image of God and because we are created in that image, we crave it.  I challenged you to make it a priority to participate in the Full community that comes together on Sunday mornings.  And last week I challenged you to invest into a Constant Community - those who know most about you and can be a part of the major transitions in your life.

Today, I want to challenge this community of Young Adults, each one of you, to participate in the mission of God.  For the brevity of this message you'll have to understand two things, First - God is on Mission.  Second, that mission is to bring people into community with Himself.  He is Redeeming  his people.  So you will hear me often refer to God's "Redemptive Mission."  And guess what, God has equipped you to participate in his Redemptive Mission as well.

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That is what excites me! Let's pray that God would clearly show us who we are sent to, who he is sending to us, and even more, how we can participate in His redemptive mission. 

-Phil