1 Corinthians 5:17-21

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

 

Matthew 22:34-40

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

 

If you’ve been around Mercy Hill for any length of time, you’ve heard me use our tagline, “We are not BUILDING a church- we are BEING the Church.”  This is really the heart of the leadership here at Mercy Hill, but what does it mean?  Simply put, we hope to be a community of faith that is:

 

-Consumed with the glory and magnification of Christ (Hebrews 1).

-Strong in loving service of Christ, His Church, and our community (Matthew 22:34-40)

-Actively engaging in the Ministry of Reconciliation- to the Glory of God (1 Corinthians 5:17-21).

 

The ministries at Mercy Hill, the programs, the things we DO, are simply designed to help facilitate the BEING.  If the ministries of the Church become about growth or about having more ‘amenities’ at church, we’ve lost sight of our mission and what it is to BE.

 

Today, let’s pray that the ministries at Mercy Hill Church, that WE as His Church would: 

-Continually exalt and magnify God, giving Him the Glory that is due Him.

-Love and serve His Church with the many gifts and talents that He has given.

-In light of have been reconciled to God because of Christ’s loving work, we would love and serve our community, so that others might also be reconciled to Him- to the Glory of God.