But when we are restored to God through faith in Jesus, God gives us a new lens, a Gospel lens, through which to view marriage. Viewing marriage through the lens of the Gospel shows us that the Gospel of Jesus gives us God’s intended pattern, provision, and purpose for marriage.

As we look into the Gospel, how Jesus sacrificially served and loved us by giving his life for us in order to redeem us and make us whole, we see the pattern that husbands are to conform to. Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her (Ephesians 5:25). As we look into the Gospel, how Jesus submitted himself completely, in all things, to the Father, even to the point of death on the cross, in order to redeem us and make us whole, we see the pattern that wives are to conform to. The way husbands and wives live their lives with one another are to be a “re-enactment” of the Gospel. Marriage puts the Gospel on display!

The Gospel also provides what sinners need in order to love, serve, and enjoy one another as husband and wife - forgiveness of sin and freedom from sin. God created husband and wife to live in harmony and unity with one another, but sin caused husband and wife to go into hiding behind the fig leaves of selfishness, pride, and self-protection. But in Christ, our sin was crucified, canceled, and overcome by God’s love and grace. So husband and wife can come out of their sin and love, serve, and enjoy one another.

And finally, the Gospel provides husbands and wives with the purpose of marriage – to know God and become like Him. Marriage has a way of bringing out our sin and depravity like nothing else. As a single guy, my sin went largely undetected. But when I got married and began sharing my life with another person, sin that had previously gone unchecked began to really be exposed. In other words, my wife does not make me impatient. She doesn’t make me frustrated. She doesn’t make me angry. But she does provide the opportunity for my anger and impatience and selfishness and pride to be revealed, which then provides me the opportunity to repent, believe the gospel, and be changed by God from angry, selfish man to a faith-filled, loving man. And, as I am changed in the context of my marriage, I come to know more of the love of God and more joy in God. Knowing God and becoming like him is at the center of the purpose of the Gospel, and is at the center of His purpose for marriage.

For more on viewing marriage through the Gospel-lens, listen to the podcast: Viewing Marriage through a Gospel Lens

This does not mean, however, that we will not encounter obstacles as we seek to live out our identities as missionaries. The greatest obstacles we face are often times our own fears and insecurities. But the same God who has provided all that we need for our salvation also provides us with all that we need for mission.

In Acts 18, the Apostle Paul is apparently fearful and insecure as he engages the city of Corinth with the gospel of Christ. But Paul’s natural fear and insecurity led him into a powerful experience of the presence and promises of Jesus.

And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” – Acts 18:9,10

Although Paul recognized his own weaknesses, fears, and insecurities, Paul was not paralyzed by those things. Instead, as Paul became aware of those fears and weaknesses, he looked to Jesus and his promises for strength and encouragement.

Just as becoming aware of our sin leads us to repentance and faith in our Savior, our insecurities and fear should also lead us to repentance from trying to obey God in our own strength and rely on his presence and promises as we move out on mission with him.

And by missional, we mean that we understand our calling to be God’s sent people to go and make the good news of Jesus known in Bloomington/Normal and beyond.  We believe that who we are as a church is rooted in the very mission of God to reconcile the world to Himself.  We understand that because we are Christians, we are sent on mission by God to be good news and proclaim good news to our community.  In John 17:18, Jesus says to His Father – “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”

In order to more fully realize this vision of being a church surrendered to our calling and mission in the gospel, this Fall we have begun Gospel Communities (GC’s).  GC’s are small groups of people committed to living their shared lives in Christ together on mission with God.  Or, to say it another way, GC’s are small groups within Charis devoted to learning what it means to be a community formed by the gospel, for the gospel, empowered through the gospel.     

Being a community formed by the gospel means that we have been formed by the work of God. The gospel is what has brought us together and united us.  Ephesians 1 says that it is the eternal purpose of God to unite all things in heaven and earth in Jesus, and He has started this process with us, the church.  Therefore, it is not simply preferences and personalities that have brought us together, but it is the plan and purpose of God and the work God has done through His Son that has brought us together.   

Being a community formed for the gospel means that we have been formed for the work of God.  We are a community formed to proclaim the excellencies of the God of the gospel (1 Peter 2:9).  We are a community sent on mission to make known the fact that God sent Jesus into the world (John 17:18-23).  We are a community that is to be the aroma of Christ and to spread the knowledge of God everywhere (2 Cor. 2:14,15).  We are a community that makes known the power and wisdom of God to “the rulers and authorities in heavenly places (Eph. 3:10).”

And being a community empowered through the gospel means that it is the truth of the gospel through the work of the Holy Spirit in us that transforms and empowers us to do the work of God.  Jesus himself continues to minister to us and through us by His presence and power through His Spirit.  We are the means or vehicle through which Jesus continues His ministry in the world.  The gospel continues to work and bear fruit in our lives as we walk by faith in the power of the Spirit.    

We have begun with three GC’s – one the west side of B/N, one on the east side, and one central.  Commitment to a GC is not commitment to a particular meeting (although GC’s will meet).  It is not a commitment to a Bible study (although GC’s will study the Bible).  It is a commitment to the gospel, to the mission, and to community.  We believe that the primary way God advances the gospel is through His people, devoting themselves to God and to one another.  This is the core of what Gospel Communities at Charis are about. 

For more info about GC’s, listen to the sermon A Gospel-Formed Community, or contact jon@charischurch.com.  To join one of our three GC’s, visit our Upcoming Events page for info about a GC near you.      

This is due to some very common misconceptions of what a disciple of Jesus is and what the discipleship process of becoming more like Jesus really looks like.  The following are six common misconceptions of what discipleship is, contrasted with what a gospel-centered disciple is:

Misconception #1:  Successful discipleship is built on discipline, hard work, and dedication:  the self-made disciple.  This is what comes when we separate the gospel from discipleship.  There is a common misconception that although saved by the work of Jesus, we grow and follow Jesus in our own strength, by trying harder and harder to obey the commands of Jesus.  Your motto:  Try harder, do better. 

A Gospel-Centered Disciple:

The way we became Christians is the same way we live as Christians – by faith and repentance.  This is the only way to become disciples, and this is the only way we can live as disciples.  By believing in Jesus, the work he has done for us, and the work he is doing in us and through us.  Good works, bearing fruit, living for God – this is the fruit of DAILY faith in the gospel and DAILY repentance from sin.  (See Galatians 3:1-5).

In order to grow, we need to constantly be confronted with the gospel of Jesus.  We need to constantly hear and meditate on the truth of the gospel.  And we need to constantly discern where we are failing to believe the gospel and live in light of it.  But this seems hard!  You don’t think you can do this.  Well, you can’t do it alone.  This flows into the next common misconception…

Misconception #2: You don’t need community to live as a disciple of Jesus.  All you need is Jesus:  the individualistic disciple.  This is where you think discipleship ought to be something you can do on your own.  You don’t need anyone else.  You don’t need community. You don’t need the church.  You function as if discipleship is a mere self-improvement project, which is nothing more than a way to better your life.  Effectively, you’re the focus rather than Jesus. 

A Gospel-Centered Disciple:

You cannot grow and live as a disciple if you are not in community with other disciples.  If you don’t have people helping you discern your sin and reminding you of the gospel and helping you learn to live by faith in Jesus, you will not grow and bear fruit (See Hebrews 3:12,13 and Hebrews 10:24,25).  And, the very fact that you think you can live as a disciple apart from a community of disciples reveals a lack of living in light of the gospel.  Living apart from community is to deny the reality of the gospel, which places us there.  According to Jesus, the very evidence of our discipleship is our love for those we’re in community with (See John 13:34,35).

But many of us have this individualistic view of discipleship and resist community because we are afraid of letting people into our lives.  So we think it’s just up to us to battle our sin by ourselves because we are afraid of what others will think of us.  This leads to the third misconception…

Misconception #3: You can’t let people know how much you struggle with sin.  What would people think if they knew the “real” you:  the self-protective disciple. – This type of disciple can’t let anybody know what’s really going on in his or her life.  You can’t share your struggles, doubts, and sin with people, because you’re too concerned about what others will think.  So, you only share your successes and are quick to offer advice to others.  Your best face forward hides the real you.

The self-protective disciple never gets to experience the joy of resting in the righteousness of Jesus.  The gospel is not about covering yourself up in self-righteousness, but being covered in the righteousness of Jesus.  Every time a weakness or sin is exposed, it gives us the opportunity to run to the gospel, worship Jesus, and rest in the righteousness of Christ (See Philippians 3). 

A Gospel-Centered Disciple:

Gospel-centered discipleship is about confessing sin and weakness to find help and accountability, while resting in the righteousness of Jesus.  But a lot of times our image of discipleship doesn’t even get into real life stuff, but is only content-focused and information-based.  For some, discipleship is just about acquiring more knowledge and info, not about how to obey Jesus is real life.  This leads to the next misconception…

Misconception #4:  The more I know, the better disciple I’ll be:  the fat-headed disciple. This is where discipleship is just about learning more doctrine, learning more about theology, memorizing more verses, gaining more knowledge, without actually applying it to your life.  This keeps discipleship real clean and neat because you don’t allow what you’re learning to affect your real life.  You just talk theory, not reality. 

A Gospel-Centered Disciple:

Jesus says that to make disciples, we don’t need to just teach people, but teach people how to obey (See Matthew 2818-20).  Gospel-centered discipleship is about helping one another obey Jesus, not just learn more about Jesus.  But the obedience Jesus requires of his disciples is not simply about behavioral change, but rather obedience from the heart.  This leads to the next misconception…

Misconception #5:  Discipleship is about stopping the certain behaviors and starting different behaviors:  the sin-managing disciple.  You’re only concerned about outside appearance.  You’re more concerned about what you’re doing, not what you’re becoming.  The example from Scripture of this kind of disciple is the Pharisee.  These were the religious folks, whose behavior and religious devotion was commendable, but their heart motivations were Satanic, and they ended up being responsible for crucifying Jesus.  They would pray, fast, and give money to the poor.  Sin-managing disciples are full of self-righteousness, pride, and selfishness.  Jesus said in Matthew 23 that the Pharisees would clean up their behavior, but inside their hearts were filled with greed and self-indulgence.  He called them whitewashed tombs – brilliant on the outside, dead on the inside. 

A Gospel-Centered Disciple:

Pharisees only repent of doing bad things or wrong behaviors, while gospel-centered disciples repent of doing good things for wrong motivations.  Many of us accomplish good things or try to do good things, because we want to trust in ourselves, in our own righteousness.  We read our Bibles, pray, give, act right – with the hidden motivation being that we don’t want to rest in the righteousness of God as a sinner.  Gospel-centered disciples repent the “sin beneath the sin”. 

Misconception #6:  Discipleship is something I’m not sure I have time for right now:  the buffet-style disciple.  This is where you see discipleship as something you may or may not be able to add onto your already full and busy life.  Your life hasn’t fundamentally changed because of the gospel.  There are just things you do now as you can find time for them, which you didn’t have to do before you became a Christian.  So, you ask questions like:  “Do I have room in my life for the Word?” or “Do I have room in my life for community?” or “Do I have room right in my life for God’s mission?” or “Do I have room in my life to love my neighbor?”  

A Gospel-Centered Disciple:

Gospel-centered disciples understand they have been given a whole identity, a whole new agenda, a whole new mission, a whole new community, and a whole new life through the gospel.  Gospel-centered discipleship is learning to live your whole life in light of the gospel.  Jesus’ mission becomes your mission, Jesus’ motivations become your motivations, and Jesus’ love becomes your love, because Jesus has given His Spirit to those who believe the gospel.  Therefore, all discipleship is learning to live in light of the gospel, through the power of the Spirit.

In 1 Corinthians 12:27, Paul refers to the church as “the body of Christ.”  Every Christian is a “member” of Christ’s “body”, through which the Spirit of God continues the mission of God for the glory of God.  Every Christian is part of the “body of Christ” the moment they put their faith in Jesus.  Another way to describe this universal body of Christ is the “universal church”.  The universal church includes all Christians, at all times, and in all places.  

But being part of the universal church at-large is only the beginning.  God has also established that we, as Christians, identify ourselves with a particular local church to further develop our spiritual growth.  Local churches are smaller expressions of the universal church, and are the contexts where being a "member of the body of Christ" actually get fleshed out.  The biblical image of Christians being members of one body implies inter-dependence among the members.  This inter-dependence takes place in local churches.

Every member of Christ’s body has been given spiritual gifts specifically suited to serve the rest of the body (1 Cor. 12:4-7).  As Christians live out what it means to be members of Christ’s body in a local church, they mature and are cared for (Eph. 4:7-16; Hebrews 3:12,13), non-Christians are drawn to Christ through the beauty of His body (John 13:34,35; Matthew 5:14-16), and the wisdom and glory of God is revealed throughout the universe (Eph. 3:10). 

The body of Christ, the church, is not merely a theoretical or theological ideal, but a real life community of (sinful) people redeemed by Jesus, on mission with Jesus, and being transformed into the image of Jesus…together.  The local church is a prominent part of the New Testament: Spirit-empowered communities where the gospel is proclaimed, sinners are saved, leaders are established, gifts are expressed, discipline is exercised, people are loved, and lives are transformed.

At Charis, we put a high value on what it practically means to be a member of the body of Christ.  We express this value through covenant membership, where we give Christians the opportunity to commit themselves to help reveal the gospel of Christ through our local expression of Christ’s body.  Members commit themselves to sacrificially love and serve our church, our city, and our world in a variety of ways.  You can see the commitment each member makes to one another here: http://www.charischurch.com/mediafiles/ccc-member-covenant.pdf.  

Charis and the Acts 29 Network

Charis has recently become a full partner with the Acts 29 Church Planting Network (A29).  A29 is a trans-denominational peer-to-peer network of missional church-planting churches.  A29 shares the vision and mission of Charis in that they hope to see gospel-centered, missional churches “litter” the landscape of the U.S. and the rest of the world. 

By gospel-centered, we mean the gospel of Jesus is THE central message of the Bible.  Therefore, the gospel is central to how we read and interpret the Bible and apply God’s truth to our lives and ministry. 

By missional, we mean that we believe that our mission is to bring people into the church so that they can be trained to go out into their culture as effective missionaries, being faithful both to the never-changing Gospel AND the ever-changing culture God has sent us into to reach with the gospel. 

Through our partnership with A29, we have found these primary benefits:

• Pastors for our pastor(s) to learn from and develop friendships with
• Churches that share our vision and values we can learn from and partner with in ministry
• Greater opportunities to fund/support/plant other gospel-centered, missional churches

Below are some generally asked questions/answers about the A29 network you may find helpful.  Please visit http://www.acts29network.org/ for more info.  

Our vision as Charis is to be a church that reveals the whole Gospel to the whole person for the sake of the whole world.  We believe with all of our hearts that we are to be “the aroma of Christ”; spreading the knowledge of God everywhere we go.  But how are we going to do it?  How are we going to live in such a way as to reveal the Gospel?  We must believe the Gospel ourselves.

We need to understand we continually need the Gospel as much as anyone.  Our first priority is not figuring out what we must do.  Our first priority is always realizing what Jesus has done.  The most important thing about us as individuals and as a church is not what we do.  The most important thing about who we are as individuals and as a church is what God has done for us in the Gospel. 

What is the Gospel?  The Gospel is the good news of the good God who came to earth in Jesus Christ.  He came to save His rebellious children from sin and folly, to forgive them, to make them whole by dying for their sin, and to restore them to Himself. 

Through the Gospel,

We’re forgiven. (Eph. 1:7)

We’re made God’s children. (1 John 3:1)

We’re loved by God.  (Romans 5:8)

We’re given the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 1:13)

We have a relationship with God. (1 John 1:3)

We’re promised an inheritance. – (1 Peter 1:3-5)

We’re made dead to sin and alive to God. –(Romans 6:6-8;11)

We’re freed from selfishness to serve God. (2 Cor. 5:15)

We’re promised eternal life in a world without any sin and sorrow one day. (Rev. 21:3-5)

We receive radical grace and kindness from God. (Titus 3:3-5)

We’re sent out into the world as missionaries with the gospel. (John 17:18)

We belong to God’s people, the church. (Eph. 2:13,19)

We’re given gifts to serve the church. (Romans 12:4-8)

All of this is true of us as believers in Christ.  (*Speaking to Charis* this is true about us!)  These aren’t just nice, inspiring thoughts.  This is our reality in Christ.  What would happen in our lives if we lived everyday, through every circumstance, in every relationship – in view of the reality of the Gospel? 

The most important thing for our church to do is to believe the Gospel.  The only way we will live out our vision of being a church that reveals the whole Gospel to the whole person for the sake of the whole world is if we ourselves continually grow in our understanding, belief, joy, and hope in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

The more we preach the Gospel to ourselves, the more we intentionally strive to live in the good of the Gospel, and the more we identify idols in our lives that look to unseat Jesus as our hope, joy, satisfaction, and identity – the more we will bear fruit, reveal the Gospel, and live out God’s vision for us.  

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” – James 5:16

Charis Community Church is a community of people saved by grace, hoping in Christ, battling sin, and pursuing Christ-likeness.  Because we understand these truths about ourselves, Charis ought to be a community of humble transparency in regards to our struggles with sin rather than pridefully putting up fronts and hiding from truly being known. 

Because we’re saved by grace, we no longer need to hide, defend and justify ourselves to one another.  We understand God is our Judge (Romans 8:33-34), and Jesus is our Advocate (1 John 2:1).  Our Judge has removed the guilt of sin from us and has justified us already through the blood of Jesus Christ, our Advocate.  This gives us the freedom to confess our sin to one another, rather than hide it, defend it, or try to justify it. 

Because our hope is in Christ, and not in our performance, we can be honest about our failures and ask one another to pray for us and help us and keep us accountable. 

Because we all battle sin, we can assume others within Charis are struggling with the same or similar weaknesses and sins that we are. We can then encourage and confront one another with the love, hope and humility of knowing we are in this together and wish the best for one another.

And because we are all pursuing Christ-likeness, we can invite brothers and sisters in Charis into our lives to help encourage and confront us in love. 

Because of the cross, our struggle with sin is ALWAYS a struggle with sin that has been canceled, forgiven, paid for, and on its way out.  As we confront sin, confess sin, and repent of sin in our lives – healing, joy, and Christ-likeness come in to replace it. 

May God bring this kind of grace into Charis, where friendships built on the gospel of Jesus would be formed and deepened, where there would be a safe place for sinners to come and honestly assess their hearts, motives, and actions, and confess their sin to one another and be reminded of Christ’s finished work on the cross, and where people’s joy in the grace of God would overflow into love for God and repentance of sin.  It is in this context that healing and wholeness comes.  The church is to be a hospital where sinners can come and find grace to be healed (even sinners who are pastors).  

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.  You are serving the Lord Christ.” - Colossians 3:23,24

 “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him.” – 1 Corinthians 7:17

It is a common (although often unspoken) belief among Christians that God “calls” pastors and missionaries to their work, but not other jobs and professions – like being a teacher, lawyer, mechanic, or stay-at-home mom.  The belief or assumption is that church work is service to the Lord, but not other work.  This is not true!

The Bible teaches that God calls his people to all kinds of work.  Theologians call this the “doctrine of vocation”.  Vocation simply means “calling”.  The doctrine of vocation teaches that every Christian is called to specific work, through which God himself cares for and governs the world.

God protects us through police officers.  God teaches us through teachers.  God provides means of travel for us through auto mechanics and engineers.  God raises and teaches children through parents. 

Martin Luther called our vocations the “masks of God”.  On the surface, we see an ordinary human face—our mother, the doctor, the teacher, the waitress, our pastor—but, beneath the appearances, God is ministering to us through them.  God is hidden in human vocations.

Gene Veith, when speaking of the doctrine of vocation, says, “When God blesses us, He almost always does it through other people.  The ability to read God’s Word is an inexpressibly precious blessing, but reading is an ability that did not spring fully-formed in our young minds.  It required the vocation of teachers.  God protects us through the cop on the beat…He gives us beauty and meaning through artists.  He lets us travel through the ministry of auto workers, mechanics, road crews and car dealers.  He keeps us clean through the work of trash collectors, plumbers, sanitation workers and the sometimes undocumented aliens who clean our hotel rooms.  He heals through doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.  He brings people to salvation through pastors and through anyone else who preaches the gospel.  The fast-food worker, the inventor, the clerical assistant, the scientist, the accountant, the musician—they are all high callings, used by God to bless and serve His people and His creation.”

So all work is important to God, and God calls His people to all kinds of work in order to bless people.  While most of us place ourselves at the center of our work, under the assumption that the work we do is all about ourselves (what we want to do and how we want to prosper), the doctrine of vocation puts God and others at the center of our work (what God calls us to do to help His creation prosper).  

One of the “perceived” benefits to legalism (treating man-made commandments as if they were God-given commandments) and religion (if I obey good enough and perform well enough, then I’ll be accepted by God) is that they, allegedly, offer the most effective motivation to do good works.  Otherwise, how else will people do what’s right apart from a little fear, guilt, and condemnation?  Right?  Wrong.

For Christians, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is too often seen only as being useful for evangelism, and is primarily viewed as merely the entry point to Christianity.  Legalism often suggests for Christian “growth” to take place, that religion and fear must be called back up from the minor leagues—so to speak—and essential doctrines of the Gospel and grace are forced to take a seat on the bench.  None of us are totally immune from the tendency to fall back into works-oriented religion.  As Martin Luther once said, “religion is the default mode of the human heart.”  We must continually be called back to the gospel of grace.  We must understand the Gospel not only in relationship to justification (being saved), but also in relationship to sanctification (growing in Christ-likeness). 

In the Bible, Titus Chapter 3 gives us good teaching on Gospel-motivated good works.  Titus 3:5-8 says that God saved us, “not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy…through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”  The Gospel always serves as a reminder we are saved by grace, not by works.  The Apostle Paul goes on to instruct Titus to, “insist on these things (the gospel of grace), so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works” (3:8).  In essence, Paul is saying that since we’ve been saved by grace, this ought to motivate us to devote ourselves to good works.  The gospel of grace provides authentic motivation for devoting ourselves to good works!  

We must realize we are called to “insist”—as Paul commands—on the Gospel rather than guilt, condemnation, fear, legalism, manipulation, and all the other things we typically lean on to motivate ourselves and others to do good.  We must “insist” on the gospel to ourselves, to our families, and to one another.  Through hearing, knowing, and operating out of the Gospel, we’ll devote ourselves to good works!

One of our callings as the people of God is to be an alternative “city within a city.” Jesus calls us “the light of the world” and “a city on a hill” that is not to be hidden (Matt. 5:14).  As this alternative city within a city, we are to cultivate a culture that honors God, brings joy to people, and does good to the larger city in which we’re contained. 

An important aspect of cultivating this God-honoring “counter-culture” is understanding who Christ has called us–out of the darkness of the world—to be.  The following is a blueprint of what this counter-culture is to look like, in regards to the roles of men, women, singles, and members of a family.  There is of course much more that could be said about all of these areas, but I believe this starts us off in the right direction. 

Men, who…

§ Love God above all things (Matt. 22:36-37). 

§ Read the Bible and pray (Ps. 19:7-14). 

§ Understand and take seriously their calling to be leaders in our church and in their families by serving others and sacrificing themselves for the good of others (Matt. 20:25-28; 1 Tim. 3:1-7; 2 Tim. 2:2; 1 Cor. 11:3).

§ Have a good theology of work and money (Eph. 4:28; Col. 3:23-24; 1 Cor. 10:31; Heb. 13:5-6; 1 Tim. 6:17-19). 

§ Understand their identity in Christ as loved sons of God, called to sacrificially and humbly serve as missionaries in our community (Romans 8:14-17,37; 2 Cor. 5:17-20). 

§ Act responsibly (Eph. 5:15-17). 

§ Use their time, talents, and resources to further God’s mission in the world (Acts 20:24). 

§ Will not lust after women who aren’t their wives (Job 31:1). 

§ Encourage one another regularly to turn from sin and live for Christ (Hebrews 3:13).

§ Protect the purity of their sisters in Christ, rather than attempt to take it away (1 Tim. 5:1-2).

§ Desire the best for one another (1 Cor. 12:12-27). 

§ Train younger men how to obey God (2 Tim. 2:2).

Women, who…  

§ Love God above all things (Matt. 22:36-37). 

§ Love and care for other women in our community, looking for ways to encourage them in their faith (Titus 2:3-5; Heb. 10:24). 

§ Continually seek to grow in the knowledge of God and to understand the fullness of the gospel (Col. 1:9-10; Eph. 3:14-19). 

§ Understand their identity in Christ as beloved daughters of God, called to sacrificially and humbly serve as missionaries in our community (Romans 8:14-17,37; 2 Cor. 5:17-20). 

§ Practice mercy and righteousness (2 Tim. 1:7). 

§ Serve the men in our community well by dressing modestly (1 Tim. 2:9-10; 1 Tim. 5:1-2).

§ Speak only words that help, encourage, and strengthen others (Eph. 4:29). 

§ Are content with what God has given them materially and are not envious of others (Heb. 13:5-6; 1 Tim. 6:6-10). 

§ Set their minds and bodies to serving Christ (Col. 3:1-2; 1 Cor. 6:19-20). 

§ Train younger women how to obey God (Titus 2:3-5).   

Singles, who…

§ Love and serve Jesus above all else (Matt. 22:36-37). 

§ Take advantage of their time as a single to serve God in ways and capacities they would not be able to if they were married (1 Cor. 7:32-35).

§ Serve the church sacrificially (1 John 3:16). 

§ Prepare for marriage in their time as a single - assuming they don’t have the gift of singleness (Prov. 1-8). 

§ Have healthy, God-honoring relationships with the opposite sex (1 Tim. 5:1-2). 

§ Are examples to the rest of the church in holiness, humility, and faith (1 Tim. 4:12; 1 Cor. 7:6-8,32-35).

Husbands/Fathers, who…

§ Love their wives sacrificially as Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:25-29). 

§ Are active in their children’s lives – talking to them, playing with them, spending time with them, teaching them, and disciplining them (Deut. 6:4-9; Prov. 13:24; Eph. 6:4). 

§ Pastor their family and lead them – in word and deed (1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 6:4). 

§ Take responsibility for the spiritual/physical/emotional well being of their family (1 Cor. 11:3; Prov. 20:7). 

§ Pray with their wives (1 Peter 3:7; Eph. 5:28-30). 

§ Study the Bible with their family (Deut. 6:4-9; Prov. 22:6). 

Wives/Mothers, who…

§ Love their husband and their kids (Titus 2:4). 

§ Respect and submit themselves with joy to their husband’s leadership (Titus 2:5; Eph. 5:22-24). 

§ Seek to find ways that they can best help their husbands (Gen. 2:18-25; Prov. 31:10-12). 

§ Do not buy into the cultural lie that working in the marketplace is more important or satisfying than working in the home (Titus 2:4-5; Prov. 31:27). 

§ Teach their children the Bible and how to live it out (Deut. 6:4-9; Prov. 1:8-9; Prov. 22:6; Prov. 31:26).   

Children, who are…

§ Seen as a blessing (Ps. 127:3-5). 

§ Loved and cared for (Prov. 13:24; Titus 2:4; Eph. 6:4). 

§ Taught the Bible (Deut. 6:4-9). 

§ Taught how to pray (Eph. 6:4). 

§ Learning about the gospel and their need for Jesus (2 Tim. 3:14-15). 

§ Learning about what God is like through seeing the examples around them (2 Cor. 2:14). 

§ Growing in wisdom (Prov. 1-8). 

§ Disciplined in love (Prov. 13:24). 

In Acts 17, the Apostle Paul shed some divine light on this question as he shared the gospel with a group of Athenians.  In verse 26 Paul said, “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him.  Yet he is actually not far from each one of us…”

The Bible says here that God has determined the time and place where we live.  We are in Bloomington-Normal by God’s determination, not ours.  Now, don’t give up making wise decisions and become unnecessarily fatalistic.  God uses our reasoning capacities, desires, family and various other things to move us where He wants us.  But, we need to understand we’re here because God has placed us here. 

God has also placed people around us.  He has determined where we live, and He’s also determined where those around us live.  Interesting, eh?  And why would He do that?  “That they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him.”  There are most likely people around you seeking God, or more specifically, God is seeking after them.  And, many may not even realize God is seeking them. 

There are people in your neighborhood, in your family, in your workplace and in your life that God is seeking.  God has purposefully and gloriously put you in their lives to love them, serve them, be their friend, have them into your house, and share the gospel with them, so that they might find Him.  Let us pray and look for opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus with those God has placed around us.

• Jesus never ran from the “mess” of our sin, but rather He layed his life down in order to make us clean. How does this carry over into your life?  Do you run from the messiness of people around you, or do you lay selfish desires down so that they too can become “clean” by the blood of Jesus?

• As we are just beginning our lives together as Charis, what can you do to bring the cleansing power of the gospel into the messiness of our community?

May God remind us that we are to bring His cleansing gospel into the messiness of our world, our relationships, and our church through faith, repentance, forgiveness, and love.  We’ll never have real unity, we’ll never be the church Jesus has called us to be, and we’ll never shine very brightly, without applying the gospel to the messiness of real life.

Jesus was certainly on a mission.  In John 4:34, Jesus said He has been sent to accomplish the work of His Father.  Later, in John 19:30, as Jesus hung on the cross--bloody and beaten--for our sins, Jesus said, “It is finished”.  He had been sent by the Father to do a specific mission, and Jesus completed that mission.  In John 20:21, Jesus told his followers that as the Father had sent Him into the world for a specific mission, so He is sending us: His followers. 

As individuals and as a church we need to ask ourselves...

• What is the mission Jesus has sent us to accomplish?
• What things encompass the mission that Jesus has sent us on? 
• Is it an all-inclusive mission that involves our whole lives? Or, is it like a 9-to-5 mission (or a once-a-year-for-a-week mission)?
• What is the mission Jesus has sent His people on?
• In what specific way(s) is His mission for you re-shaping your life?