‘what would you risk …

… to make a difference?’

“To build a dynamic Christian community

that attracts people to Christ, draws them

deeply into discipleship and equips them to

serve God in the world.”

 Matthew 22:34…But when the Pharisees heard that he had

silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. One of them, an expert in religious law,

tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul,

and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is

equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the

demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

September 30th

October 7th

Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John (though Jesus

himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did). So he left Judea and returned to

Galilee. He had to go through Samaria on the way. Eventually he came to the

Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus

said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because his

disciples had gone into the village to buy some food….

John 4:1

“Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it that you Jews

insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is

here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”

 Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer

matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You

Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about

him, for salvation comes through the Jews.

John 4:19

 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship

the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in

truth.”  The woman said, “I know the Messiah is

coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything

to us.”  Then Jesus told her, “I Am the Messiah!”

  Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a

woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or

“Why are you talking to her?” The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran

back to the village, telling everyone, “Come and see a man who told me

everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” So the people came

streaming from the village to see him.

Rathdrum, County Wicklow

‘the Father is looking’

‘what do you want with her?’

‘come and see a man’

‘the Father is looking’

‘what do you want with her?’

‘come and see a man’

the God of the Bible is a ‘missionary God’

Genesis 3:8-10Genesis 3:8-10

“When Adam and Eve acquiesced to Satan’s temptation in the Garden of Eden, God came searching for them, calling, “Where are you?” This question testifies to the nature of God throughout all generations. … He is always giving, relating, reconciling, redeeming!”[Gailyn Van Rheenen, Missions: Biblical Foundations and Contemporary Strategies]

“When Adam and Eve acquiesced to Satan’s temptation in the Garden of Eden, God came searching for them, calling, “Where are you?” This question testifies to the nature of God throughout all generations. … He is always giving, relating, reconciling, redeeming!”[Gailyn Van Rheenen, Missions: Biblical Foundations and Contemporary Strategies]

“…the divine plan of extending salvation to the ends of the earth is the major thrust of the Scriptures from beginning to end. If the first indications of God’s purposes for the world appear in the creation account of Genesis 1, and subsequently in the call of Abram (Gen. 12) which is profoundly related to God’s dealings with the nations, then the Bible ends with a vision of ‘a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne …. God’s saving plan for the whole world forms a grand frame around the entire story of Scripture.”

“…the divine plan of extending salvation to the ends of the earth is the major thrust of the Scriptures from beginning to end. If the first indications of God’s purposes for the world appear in the creation account of Genesis 1, and subsequently in the call of Abram (Gen. 12) which is profoundly related to God’s dealings with the nations, then the Bible ends with a vision of ‘a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne …. God’s saving plan for the whole world forms a grand frame around the entire story of Scripture.”

Andreas J. Köstenberger

& Peter T. O’Brien,

Salvation to the Ends of the

Earth

god is a seeker

and people are his prize

‘what would you risk …

… to make a difference?’

“There are currently over 30 wars raging throughout the globe. Around the world people continue to fall. Why? What is so important to them that they are willing to die for it? The question becomes personal and circular: what am I willing to die for? What is of such importance to me that I am convinced I would never entertain notions of compromise? For what am I willing to be martyred?”

Geoff Ryan, Sowing Dragons