“We cannot all do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa.

Christianity was never meant to be a classroom experience. That’s not to say that studies and formation can’t happen behind walls, but that for Christianity to work, Christians have to “go,” as in “go and make disciples” (Matthew 28:20). How often, when we hear that GREAT commission*, we plug in the thought “go evangelize” (and then our knees start knocking!)? What if Jesus intended something very different than a propositional sharing of the Gospel? Here’s how Eugene Peterson paraphrased Paul’s words in Romans 12:1 . . .

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.”

What if the heart of “going” is simply to live lives of blessing everywhere we go?

For Pastor Stan’s last worship series with Community, he’d like to end where he started – talking about what it would look like for our church to go full missional – to explore the simple habits which can change us and change our neighbors. Remember the Tangible Kingdom? What would it take to make God’s Kingdom “tangible” (real and touchable), as we bless the people in our circles – the people in our neighborhoods and work places?

Michael Frost, whose book, Surprise the World!” is one of the resources we’ll be using for this series, talks about five habits that if practiced, could change the world. He spells these out in the acronym “BELLS.” Ours is “BLESS.” We doggedly believe that IF we build these five tiny habits into our weekly routine, we will be changed, and the people around us will be changed. And as we BLESS our neighbors, God’s Kingdom will come on earth as in heaven. If Pastor Stan could leave any legacy for our church, it would be this. Go and bless – spread the Gospel organically, graciously, and surprisingly – do small things in the great love of Christ and change your world.

Here are the weekly messages . . . .

April 11 – B.L.E.S.S.(ed) Be the Bonds that Bridge
April 18 – The Habit of Blessing Others
April 25 – The Habit of Listening for God
May 2 – The Habit of Eating Together
May 9 – The Habit of Serving Like Jesus
May 16 – The Habit of Sharing Yourself
May 23 – Thanks for the Blessings

*Jesus, after his resurrection, commissioned his disciples, and by extension – all Christ followers, to make more Christ-followers. This is the foundational mission of the church in every age and culture. It is called the “Great Commission.”