Sent Series Archives - Faith Lutheran Church, Wesley Chapel

Kurt Steinbrueck July 1, 2020

Special Posts evangelism, Mission, Sent Series

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Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 31

Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 31...

What is going on here?

Does Pastor know there’s only 30 days in June?

Why is he still writing these?

Over the past month we have gone over a lot of great things we can be doing to live on mission and share Jesus with people. Just because the month is over, doesn’t mean it ends. People still need Jesus and Jesus still wants them to be forgiven and saved.

My prayer is that you take this past month and use it as a springboard for the rest of your life. You have a wonderful opportunity to speak life into people’s lives. Praise the Lord!

Today and Every Day After: Keep it going!

As a reminder, here’s what we talked about these past 30 days.

1. Realize you are a missionary / ambassador
2. Pray for specific people who need Jesus
3. Pray for opportunities to love others and share the Gospel
4. Read a book on evangelism
5. Team up
6. Connect with people – Who do you already know
7. Love others authentically (don’t just talk about loving them, show it)
8. Share your story, be vulnerable
9. Connect with people – Neighbors
10. Pray with someone
11. Pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ (other church members)
12. Share the victories
13. Schedule margin
14. Ask intentional questions
15. Pray for opportunities to love others and share the Gospel
16. Connect with people – Discover where people already gather
17. Serve others
18. Know the Gospel
19. Listen to people – actively listen
20. Look for the hurt
21. Pray for specific people who need Jesus
22. Read the Word
23. Invite into community (may need to ease into it)
24. Know God is with You
25. Use your various resources (Facebook, Twitter, letters, etc.)
26. Pray for boldness to speak
27. Share the Gospel
28. Faith is God’s Work
29. Surprise someone
30. Pray over your Facebook friends
31. Keep It Going

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck June 30, 2020

Special Posts evangelism, Mission, Sent Series

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Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 30

Pray Over Your Facebook Friends (Or Some Other Group)

If you are on Facebook or some other social media, you probably have a lot of friends, some of whom don’t, yet, know Jesus. Why not spend s few minutes today praying for them?

If your list is really long, break it up into chunks and commit to praying for them over the next several days. Who knows, when you’ve gone through the whole list, you may even decide this is something you enjoyed doing and continue doing it, going through the list again and again.

If you aren’t on social media, make another list. Maybe it could be a list of neighbors or coworkers or the people from your Zumba class.

Today: Pray Over Your Facebook Friends (Or Some Other Group)

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck June 29, 2020

Special Posts evangelism, Mission, Sent Series

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Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 29

Surprise Someone

The other day I received a note from a member encouraging me. It wasn’t an anniversary or my birthday or Pastor Appreciation Month. It was a nice, unexpected surprise (I know that’s redundant).

Surprises like this can be a wonderful thing. They brighten our day and show us that we are truly loved and appreciated.

Today: Surprise someone with a little unexpected gift, note, or act of kindness.

Note – This can be a great thing to do for someone who doesn’t, yet, know Jesus, but also something great to do for a friend, spouse, child, or church member. Give it a try.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck June 28, 2020

Special Posts evangelism, Mission, Sent Series

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Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 28

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9

Faith is God’s Work

I mentioned yesterday that one of the reasons people don’t share the Gospel is they are afraid they will mess it up and the person won’t believe. It’s understandable since so much in our lives either succeeds or fails based on our work. Someone receiving faith, however, is not one of them.

Faith is a gift of God. It isn’t earned. It isn’t chosen. It isn’t reasoned. It is purely the work of the Holy Spirit.

So, you can relax. You aren’t responsible for creating faith in someone’s heart. You couldn’t if you wanted to. That’s totally God’s domain. Simply share the Gospel and pray. Then, leave the results to God.

Today: Rest in the knowledge that faith is God’s work, not yours.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck June 27, 2020

Special Posts evangelism, Mission, Sent Series

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Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 27

Share the Gospel

There are many things involved in evangelism. We need to connect with people who don’t know Jesus. We need to genuinely show love to them and develop a relationship. We need to pray for them and for us.

We can do all these things up to this point and we’ll have a really great friend. At some point, though, if we want them to believe in Jesus, we have to talk about Jesus.

You may have heard the following quote,

“Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words”

Supposedly, this was said by Francis of Assisi, except there’s no record of that. Whether it was or not, it’s not really Biblical either. Yes, we should demonstrate the Gospel in our lives, but words are always necessary. As it says in Romans,

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” – Romans 10:14

Today: Realize that while actions are good, you must at some point speak up and share the Gospel.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck June 26, 2020

Special Posts evangelism, Mission, Sent Series

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Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 26

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” – Romans 1:16

Pray for the Boldness to Speak

Probably the biggest reason people don’t talk to others about Jesus is fear. We fear being rejected. We fear messing it up. We fear damaging the relationship.

We need, however, to remember the full situation. No one comes to the Father except by Jesus Christ. We’re talking eternal life or condemnation, here.

We also need to remember we aren’t selling something or convincing someone of something, we are sharing with them the good news of forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus. The Gospel is the power of God that brings salvation.

In addition, we simply need to pray for boldness. We can ask the Holy Spirit to give us the words to say. We can ask God to give us strength and boldness.

“for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” – 2 Timothy 1:7

Today: Pray that God would give you the words to say and the boldness to say them.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck June 25, 2020

Special Posts evangelism, Mission, Sent Series

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Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 25

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” – Matthew 10:16

Use Your Various Resources

We live in an age when we have many ways of connecting with people and communicating. When it comes to mission, be creative.

How can you use Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Youtube, and other social media?
What connections do you have which may open doors which are closed to others?
What skills and interests do you have which may help connect with people or share the Gospel?

When I was in middle school I went on a mission trip to Honduras. None of us spoke Spanish and we were primarily going to help a deaf school anyway. Since we couldn’t speak the Gospel, we created a wordless drama that used music and pantomime to tell the story from the Fall to the Resurrection.

We are living through a pandemic right now and are limited in some of the ways we can connect with people and interact with them. We need to be creative. Even when the pandemic is over, we can still be creative.

Today: Think about what resources you have and how you can use them to reach people for Jesus.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck June 24, 2020

Special Posts evangelism, Mission, Sent Series

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Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 24

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.‘” – Matthew 28:18-20

Know God is with You

I love how Jesus ends this command. Jesus doesn’t just say, “Go out there and do it!” He doesn’t say, “You go try to make disciples. Good luck!” He says, “Go make disciples and I’m going to go with you. I won’t leave you.”

The Great Commission is the mission of the church, but the church is Christ’s church. So, it’s His mission, too, and He is going to work to see it accomplished.

You aren’t out there alone. Jesus is with you. The one who has “all authority in heaven and on earth” is with you all the way. Jesus is the one who saved us. He is the one who sent us. His Spirit is the one at work in people’s hearts.

Today: Take great comfort and courage knowing that Jesus is with you and will not leave you.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck June 23, 2020

Special Posts evangelism, Mission, Sent Series

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Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 23

Invite Into Community

It’s not uncommon for someone to need to hear the Gospel multiple times before they receive faith. Those multiple times can come from one person, but usually, they come from several people.

You are a part of the church and it’s the mission of the full church to make disciples of all nations. So, as you live on mission, including others with you only makes sense. It creates more relationships and gives more opportunities for deeper connections, showing love, and sharing the Gospel.

Ultimately, if/when a person does receive faith, they need the church to help them learn and grow as well.

As you minister to people outside the church, begin inviting them into the community of the church.

Not Just Worship
The first thing most people think of when I saw something like that last sentence is, “Invite people to church. (meaning worship)” While that is something you can do, it’s not the only way you can invite someone into community.

I’ve known committed Christians whose first foray into church community was through a church cookout or a group of Christians going to a water park. Some people’s first experience might be a service project, a Bible study, or playing on the church softball team (I’d like to have a church softball team).

All of these are ways people can start to form relationships with Christians, hear the Gospel, and see the love of Christ lived out.

Today: As you reach out to people who don’t, yet, know Jesus, look for ways to invite them into the church community.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck June 22, 2020

Special Posts evangelism, Mission, Sent Series

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Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 22

“Jesus answered, ‘It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’‘” – Matthew 4:4

Read God’s Word

God’s Word is living and active. It changes us. It helps us to learn more about God and grow closer to Him. It tunes us in to God’s voice.

As we spend more time in God’s Word, we tend to get a greater sense of His presence and walk in the Spirit. Like bread for the body, God’s Word is food for our mind and spirit. This is great for life, including our life on mission. We also may find that we are more prepared to answer some of those questions people have about God.

Today: Spend time reading the Bible.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Sent Series

Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 31...

Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 30

Pray Over Your Facebook Friends (Or Some Other Group)

Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 29

Surprise Someone

Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 28

Faith is God’s Work

Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 27

Share the Gospel

Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 26

Pray for the Boldness to Speak

Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 25

Use Your Various Resources

Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 24

Know God is with You

Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 23

Invite Into Community

Sent: A Month of Mission – Day 22

Read God’s Word

Faith Lutheran Church in Wesley Chapel, FL serving Lutz, Zephyrhills, Land O’ Lakes, and New Tampa, FL