Written by Stephen Cox
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. You have already heard about this hope in the message of truth, the gospel that has come to you. It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and recognised God’s grace in all its truth. Colossians 1: 3 – 6
In Colossians Chapter 1, Paul shows us that God is working through the proclamation of the gospel. This gospel is bearing fruit and growing around the world. This growth is seen in the Colossians through their faith in Jesus, their love for other Christians and their hope in heaven. This gospel growth comes through God and his people as they bring the gospel to others. Later in Col 4:2 – 6, Paul expects the Christians at Colossae to be involved in gospel growth in three ways:
- Praying for gospel preachers
- Being thoughtful about relationships with unbelievers
- Speaking graciously but firmly of their Christian belief.
Just think of the people you meet each day. Your family. Your work colleagues. The man at the petrol station. The old friend you catch up with after work. The parents at the school gate. Your school mates. Your hairdresser. Your golf buddy. The guy sitting beside you at the park. Of all the countless people who cross your path – some well known to you, some hardly known at all – is there a single one of them who shouldn’t be following Jesus? Is there a single one of them who doesn’t need Jesus?
Of course the answer is “No” (to both questions)! But sharing the hope that we have in Jesus can be a little intimidating. Many Christians feel overwhelmed and inadequate when it comes to reaching out to those around us. We’re unsure where to start and what to say, and more than a little fearful that we will make fools of ourselves. But the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is good news. And good news is always worth sharing. In the gospel God has demonstrated his love and mercy towards us by sending his Son to die for sinners. The loving sacrifice of Christ not only saves us, but motivates us to seek the salvation of others.
It’s a great thing to know God’s salvation in Jesus. It’s wonderful to be assured of his love, and it’s the greatest privilege in the world to bring this message of new life to others.
Just a Quick Question…
Over the next few weeks Wagga Evangelical Church is looking to ask as many of our neighbours, friends, family, work colleagues as we can this question:
If you could ask God one question and you knew that he would answer it, what would it be?
The purpose of this short questionnaire is to try and understand what our community thinks about God and engage with them where they’re at. It’s designed to promote our sermon series and our church, change people’s views of what Christians are like, but it also gives all of us an opportunity to talk about Jesus with those we know.
The questionnaire not only gives us a chance to talk with others about the hope that we have in Jesus, it also gives the people of Wagga Wagga a chance to have their say. We want to know what the people of Wagga think. We’d love to know. We’ll take the top responses and address them in a series of talks at church later in the year. Our friends, neighbours, work mates can actually choose our talk topics for the series!
We will collate the answers and the top three or four will be the topics spoken in our sermon series in the Springtime. A postcard for the series will be developed and distributed for us to invite those same neighbours to come along with us and hear the talks.
As we use the questionnaires, members of WWEC will have a minimum of 100 conversations with our neighbours in which we will have engaged in some way with their view of Christianity.
Our prayer is that we might be motivated and encouraged to make a start – even a small one – in sharing the gospel and talking to people about Jesus. Our prayer is that God’s Kingdom continues to grow in Wagga, and we are all part of his amazing work.
In Christ
Stephen Cox
