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Sermons on Mission


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Preaching on Mission? Browse these sermons to find fresh ideas.

Global Thing Locally
Global Thing Locally

Introduction

The gospel of Jesus’ grace leads us into mission. It leads us out into others’ lives and into the world. To begin there, ...


To do a global thing, God does it in local ways.


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The Point of the Power
The Point of the Power

Introduction

I want to talk about the whole point of power here in Mark 4. What does Jesus’ power over the world, which comes from the fact that ...


We should use our power for the deepest benefit of the outsider and God can be at work even when our power doesn’t seem to accomplish anything.


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Taken Up Into Glory
Taken Up Into Glory

Introduction

In this series we have been walking in the footsteps of Jesus during his final days on earth. I have sought to employ the metaphor of being ...


We are to fulfill the mission God has called each of us to complete.


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Sent to Sacrifice
Sent to Sacrifice

Introduction

I was gathered around a huge bonfire many years ago in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I was part of a larger Christian camp and I had students ...


The sacrificial life is connected to Jesus sending you.


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Christmas Stories: A Mission Story
Christmas Stories: A Mission Story

This sermon is part of the “Christmas Stories” sermon series. See the whole series here.

Introduction

(Read Jonah 3:1-4:1)

It was a dark, stormy ...


Taking the gospel to the world reflects Christ coming to earth.


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Running to the Lost
Running to the Lost

Introduction

Should God have any enemies?

The popular answer these days is basically this: "No, God shouldn't have any enemies … if there is a God, ...


Often, we're like Jonah—but we belong to Jesus.


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"You, Moses!"

A long beginning

Try to look at this thing from Moses' point of view: it was all just so, well, implausible. Oh, yes, there had been the dramatic circumstances ...


God's unexpected interruptions lead to his burning call.


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Guidelines for a Constructive Church
Guidelines for a Constructive Church

Note from PreachingToday.com: We asked a handful of preachers the following question: What aspect of Dr. King's life and work has had the greatest ...


Too many churches are concerned with a cushion than following Jesus on the way of the cross.


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The Gift of Celibacy

The Story behind the sermon (an interview with Stewart Ruch III)

Preaching Today.com: Why did you choose to preach on "celibacy" and not "singleness"?

Stewart ...


What makes humans truly human is union with God, not union with another human.


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The Harvest

Introduction

In the stories of Jesus' ministry, he's giving us a preview of the kingdom of God. What would it look like on this broken planet full of broken ...


Jesus' ministry offered a preview of God's kingdom, and we are invited to participate in this ministry.


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Good Music

A few years ago I read a story in the Chicago Tribune with the headline, "City Tries to Pump Up Its Crews Down Under." There was a new guy in charge of ...


Worshiping together is vital for our souls and for the world.


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Hungry World

Story behind the sermon (from Mark Buchanan)

"Hungry World" is part of series our church's preaching team did in the fall of 2010. The series was called ...


Jesus is looking for people who are willing to say, "Here I am, God. Send me."


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Brother, Interrupted

Introduction: A tale of two brothers

In 1989, two brothers from Boston started a T-shirt business. For five years Bert and John traveled the East Coast, ...


Jesus called us to his kingdom so we may do good for the world.


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Consequential Strangers

Introduction: Everyday people

So who have you bumped into lately? Think for a minute about the multitude of people—strangers or acquaintances—whose ...


Seeing others as Jesus sees them


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A Hard Saying

Introduction: A hard saying

This morning we come to one of the hard sayings of Jesus. There are quite a few of them, actually. I have a book on my shelf ...


Doing good to the least of these


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No Strings Attached

Introduction

For the last several weeks, we've been sowing the seeds of a revolution around here. Being in Massachusetts, this area is familiar with ...


Doing good for the kingdom of God


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What Can One Person Do?

Introduction: What now?

For five weeks we have been teaching ourselves to see what Jesus sees and feel what Jesus feels, as we make our way through our ...


Giving what we have for Jesus


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WWJS?

Introduction: Shouldn't we be saying something?

There are certain words or phrases that are almost guaranteed to make people really uncomfortable: root ...


Communicating the Good News as Jesus would


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The Greatest of These
The Greatest of These

The story behind the sermon (from Mark Buchanan)

This was the second-to-last sermon of one of the longest series we've ever done at our church—20 ...


Nothing is more transforming—and commissioning—than the love of Christ.


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A Heart for Service

Introduction

Once upon a time there was a wonderful church that suddenly found itself in trouble. After an exciting season of growth, things just didn't ...


Discovering your gifts for ministry


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The Shared Life

Introduction

For the last few weeks, we've been turning to the Book of Acts, the place where we hear about the stories of the early church, to learn something ...


Living in community


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Right on the Money

"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." That thought from Psalm 24:1 captures the core of our thinking on ...



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The Eyes of a Doctor

From the editor:

Here's a sermon from Donald Sunukjian on what we ought to do when we encounter someone who has yet to know God. We've mentioned before ...


We must have the eyes of a doctor, not the eyes of a judge.


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The Sermon That Inspired Murder
The Sermon That Inspired Murder

From the editor:

We feel that this featured sermon from regular contributor Kevin Miller can inspire ideas for two different sermons: a sermon on the divinity ...


God is on a rescue mission to deliver this world—a mission that was started in Christ and continues with us.


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Brothers, Interrupted

The story behind the sermon (from Bryan Wilkerson):

This sermon was preached early in September to launch our ministry focus for the year, which we're ...


Jesus called us to his kingdom so we may do good for the world.


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Purpose
Purpose

Introduction

What would you do if you suddenly won $34.5 million? It happened to a family from Hauppauge, New York, this week. Dad spent $5 on a winning ...


Living as a Servant


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To Live Is Christ

From the editor

In this sermon Ed Rowell looks to tackle the tricky issue of joy and happiness. Most would agree that the two words have become synonymous, ...


You must give your life to the purpose God has for you, no matter the cost.


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Stop Witnessing, Start Working

Introduction

A few months ago, I came across an article in The Boston Globe about religion in the workplace. The columnist, who is one of the few Jewish ...


Why the quality of our work matters


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Good to Great

Introduction

Suppose someone were to show up at your workplace tomorrow, shove a microphone in your face, and ask, "How do you think your work affects ...


How our work continues to shape God's creation


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The Job

Introduction

One of the most talked-about shows on television today is called, The Office. The Office gives us a glimpse into the cubicles and consciousness ...


Work done as for the Lord is good.


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What Do Christians Think About the Holy Spirit?

From the editor

Tim Peck acknowledges that any discussion of the Holy Spirit has a certain mystery to it. After all, Jesus himself compared the Spirit ...


Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is the freedom of salvation, security, spiritual growth, and service.


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Gone Fishin'

From the editor

John 21 is a powerful story of a fallen disciple, Peter, being restored by Christ. Many a sermon has been preached on the varying uses ...


If we love Christ, we will care about what he cares about.


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Fighting Well

Introduction

The movie Cinderella Man is based on the true story of a boxer named James J. Braddock. Braddock was a good boxer who lost his passion and ...


Fight well for the right things, in the right way and with the right motive.


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A Crop Is A Crop

Introduction

We've been considering what it means to be jars of clay—ordinary, fragile people living in a difficult and dangerous world. The message ...


You harvest as much as you sow, and never more.


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Don't Go To Church!

Introduction

D. L. Moody was visiting a prominent Chicago citizen when the idea of church membership and involvement came up.

"I believe I can be just as ...


Being the church demands more than attendance.


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Costly, Messy, Beautiful Obedience

Introduction

The key word in the title of this message is "obedience." When I did a Google search on obedience, the most popular sites fell into two categories: ...


Finding favor in the eyes of the Lord


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Jesus Uncensored

Introduction

I want you to replay a video in your head about coming to chapel this morning. You leave your room, checking your watch to make sure you have ...


Jesus didn't just bring love and peace—he brought a sword, too.


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My Favorite Heroes: Esther

Introduction

Some time ago I went on a retreat, and one of the topics at this retreat was how we're all created for a mission; everybody was made for a ...


Why we all need to watch out for shadow missions


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Don't Ask Me, I'm Only Visiting This Planet

Introduction

Have you ever put down the newspaper—after reading about genocide in Sudan and beheadings in Iraq and shootings in Dorchester and sexual ...


Figuring out who we are and why we're here


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The Church in a Non-Christian Culture
The Church in a Non-Christian Culture

A significant event takes place in Acts 7, marking a trend in church history that unfortunately continues to this day: persecution. In this text, Stephen, ...


Our mission is to change the world by changing lives in humble, merciful love.


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What Makes a Great Church

Three pastors were having lunch together and learned that all had been facing the same problem: all three churches had bats in the attic. One pastor tried ...


If our church today can be like the early church was on the day of Pentecost, then our church can be powerful and dynamic, too.


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How to Avoid Becoming Obsolete

On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks were frequent, a group of concerned citizens decided to build a rescue station. The building was just a hut, ...


Jesus calls us to a life of purpose.


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How We Can Be a Holy Church

In response to the religious leaders challenging Jesus' authority, he told them three parables. Last time we looked at the parable of the two sons; ...


If we want to experience God's blessing, we need to focus on doing his work his way for his glory.


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Keeping the Right Company

It is often said that you can tell what a person is like by the company he keeps. Look at his friends, and from them you can deduce what his character ...


Jesus' example of befriending sinners is the model for Christian mission.


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Because
Because

It was his first day on the job. He was a new clerk in the green goods department of a supermarket. A lady came up to him and said she wanted to buy half ...


There is no rational reason God loves us; he loves us just because.


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