"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3.16)
Genesis 1-3 — The story of creation and rebellion
The first Gospel promise: 3.15b "he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." God curses the serpent and gives the Gospel promise; then, God places a curse upon woman and the man.
Adam and Eve break relationship with God, but God promises to restore that relationship before he reveals the consequences of their actions. Their actions are not irreversible.
Genesis 12.1-4
Genesis 12 is the foundation of world evangelism — God promises to bless all people through Abraham. There are a number of blessings that Abraham is promised, but the one of most concern today is that of being in relationship with God. Genesis 15 records God making covenant with Abraham, promising to be his God.
Acts 16.6-10 — Paul’s vision of the man from Macedonia
Macedonia was beyond familiar territory for Paul. It was this journey that spread the Gospel westward, ultimately to Europe where most of our ancestral roots lie.
Matthew 28.16-20
Go (Greek, poreuthentes) means “to depart, to leave, to cross boundaries.” Boundaries can be sociological, racial, cultural, geographic, or the boundaries of our comfort zone.
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1.8)
Another way to view this is with the words: local, regional, national, and world.
Action Steps
- Pray
- Give
- Be Aware (news)
- Get involved in ministry
Rwanda
In 1994, Hutu attempted to wipe out the Tutsi. The world stood by and watched. In 100 days 80,000 people were killed. Recently, I heard and African minister, Claude from Burundi; he said the Church failed Rwanda. Prior to the massacre 92% were Christian, but afterward, adherents to Islam has tripled. Christians participated in the slaughter, while muslims did not. The recent movie, "Hotel Rwanda" did a superb job of communicating this story.
Matthew 9.35-38
"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." (Matthew 24.14)