Pastor Jonah Sage preached on mission in the “Your Sojourn” series. He said that our mission is to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ, build them up as his church, and send them to follow him.
Pastor Jonah Sage preached on mission in the “Your Sojourn” series. He said that our mission is to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ, build them up as his church, and send them to follow him.
For the month of January, we are going to talk about who we are as a church
This includes what we're doing: our mission
What we love: our core values
How we live: our core rhythms
There's a lot we will discuss, so I encourage you to read the "Orientation Workbook" and/or listen through these sermons wherever you get podcasts.
Hard copy workbooks available at the welcome table, digitally in the app.
This is important for any group to discuss, but particularly for a church like ours during a time like this.
Every Sunday, this room is filled with three kinds of people
The Curious: those coming with questions FOR or ABOUT Jesus
We live in a place where everyone has heard of Jesus
Some are here today desperate, looking for help, and they want to give Jesus a try
Some feel a stirring and want to hear more...maybe you visited a church on Christmas Eve and found yourself, well, curious. We have the curious here.
The Critical: those cynical and skeptical about Jesus or his church
We might call these people hurt, or disillusioned.
Some of you are "deconstructing"...heard that before?
You've been hurt by the church or by life, but you're here for one reason or the other...
Not exactly open, not quite curious. But you're here.
The Committed: those striving to follow Jesus
These people are in. This gathering is a normal part of their regular lives.
And what's so interesting is that some of us are all three of these.
Some of you have been here for 20 years. Raising your children here.
You've been committed, but all the changes, shifting landscapes, have made you more critical.
Some of you have been here for 20 minutes...tired of being critical, wanting to become curious.
The point is...we're all showing up with something going on
We're all showing up with some version of Jesus floating in our minds
We all show up looking for something.
We all come with different preferences and expectations...and more than ever, we are a people who do not know how to hold differences and not get our way.
These problems are compounded when it comes to the church, all the different expectations and preferences filled with moral, religious language.
And yet, Jesus said we were one. His last prayer was that we would be unified.
How do we do this? How do the curious, critical, and committed find a home with each other? How do we live and love together? How do we lay down preferences and learn which opinions don't matter that much?
We will do this by unifying around a great mission and a great love.
Only when we learn to sojourn together, side by side, moving towards something, will we learn how to live and love as a unified people. So maybe that's a good place to begin...that word sojourn.
SEW-JERN. Say it with me: sew-jern. Not soul-Jurn, Sahl jarn, sew jern. OT word.
Sojourn: a temporary stay on a long journey home
Sojourner: a temporary resident on a long journey home
Our great mission reminds us of where we are heading together.
We have a shared destination, which allows us to hold things more loosely
When we know our stay is temporary, little things matter less.
You're less picky about what a hotel room looks like than your own living room.
And when you know your stay is temporary, you can become more curious.
When you visit a town knowing you're there for a day or two, don't you naturally become more curious? Where's a good coffee shop? Where's a nice place to hike?
You spend less time evaluating a place and more time exploring it.
So, we are sojourners, temporary residents on a long journey home.
And our great mission is what unifies us on that journey home.
So what is our mission?
REACH people with the gospel
BUILD them up as Jesus' church
SEND them to follow Jesus
REACH BUILD SEND. Now, depending on where you are between critical and committed, those words bring up something, don't they.
Some of you come from places where REACH means increase attendance and baptisms
More. Bigger. Faster. GO GO GO. Many of us have lived.
When we say REACH, that's not what we are talking.
Let me show you again:
Sojourn exists to reach PEOPLE with the gospel of Jesus.
We believe that everything exists for the purpose of relationships.
God's fundamental orientation is relational.
His first priority for us is how relate to him and each other.
Jesus puts this so simply for us:
“ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
-Matthew 22:37-40
This is what it all comes down to, God's great desire: love god and love each other.
The essence of our mission is relationships.
When we say we want to "reach people" we mean we want to cultivate deep, meaningful, satisfying, transforming RELATIONSHIPS.
When you hear mission here, think "people." The mission is never bigger than people.
When we say "reach" these people, we mean with good news.
"Gospel" is an English way of saying a Greek word that means GOOD NEWS.
"Gospel" is an announcement of something that had already happened.
It was gospel when word came the war was over.
Gospel when dad comes into the waiting room and shouts "IT'S A GIRL!"
Gospel when the doctor calls and says "the cancer is gone."
The gospel of Jesus is the good news of who he is and what he's done for us.
If God's fundamental mission is about relationships, then somehow his gospel must be good news for our relationships. Let's play a game together...Bible trivia time.
What did Adam and Eve do when they saw they were naked? First response?
They hid!
Then they covered themselves with leaves
And then Adam blamed eve.
They hid in FEAR
They covered in SHAME
They blamed in GUILT
Fear, shame, and guilt. We think of sin as us getting in trouble, but it's more so us becoming less than human
We think of sin as getting in trouble with the law...but it's more bringing destruction to our relationships.
Think about what these words mean:
Fear is pain over what might happen
Guilt is pain over what has happened
Shame is pain over who I am
Fear, shame, and guilt are the satanic poison for relationships.
We are not made for fear, shame, and guilt.
Some of you know what it's like trying to be close with someone suffering under fear, shame, or guilt. These are relational realities, inhibiting our ability to relate to ourselves, our God, and each other.
These are the primary effects of sin and the fall.
This means that a gospel is only good news if it's somehow good news for our RELATIONSHIPS.
The gospel is good news that we can come home to the family of God
Adoption is the primary metaphor the Bible uses to describe salvation.
It is a privileged RELATIONSHIP with God.
God adopts Israel in Deut. 14, says he is there father in Jeremiah 31, they are his sons in Hosea
God adopts believers through Jesus, John 1:12, he is the father of believers, 2 Cor 6
He chose us in love to be adopted, Eph 1
The result of our redemption is adoption, Gal 4
The result of our justification is adoption, Gal 3
He adopts us by grace because he loves us, Eph 1
The result of the final resurrection is our adoption, Romans 8
Could do this ALL DAY
When you think of the GOSPEL, think ADOPTION, when you think of salvation, think RELATIONSHIP.
So...how is the gospel good news for adoption and relationship?
Three questions: what, how, why.
What is the gospel?
The gospel is the good news that the KINGDOM of God is at hand
Kingdom of God, life in the family of God, a new reality, new home, new family.
How is this possible?
We are adopted into the Kingdom of God through the CROSS of Jesus Christ: his life, death, and resurrection
Jesus made a way for us to be adopted.
Why would God do this?
God adopts us because of his extravagant love for us. Is is by GRACE we are saved.
Kingdom, cross, grace: the good news of the gospel.
Think about this in terms of our relationships:
The Kingdom of God is the good news that you don't have to be afraid anymore. Life with God quiets our fears born from sin and suffering.
The Cross of Christ is the good news that your sins are forgiven. Your guilt has been wiped away, separated from you as far as the East is from the West.
The Grace of God is the good news that you are passionately, forever loved. Your shame is healed through the unconditional, relentless love of God.
The gospel HEALS our fear, shame, and guilt through restored relationship with God and each other.
This is the tip of the spear of our mission: reaching PEOPLE with good news.
As a church, we are making the commitment to prioritize healthy relationships with God and each other. This is the core of our mission.
But what does it mean to actually reach people? For what purpose?
Healing their shame, quieting their fears, forgiving their guilt.
In other words,
Sojourn exists to build people up as the Church
We are sojourning to a far off home, and part of that home is our true selves in Christ
There is a version of ourselves, the one God intended, the one Jesus saved, that is free from fear, shame, and guilt. To be built up as the church is to become that person together, as part of God's family.
What makes this so difficult, especially in our church like ours with such diverse religious backgrounds, is we all come with 2 kinds of beliefs.
Big "B" beliefs are what you say you believe.
These are the beliefs you're aware of, front of your mind thoughts.
Some call this doctrine, the right answers.
In our spiritual formation classes we call this your "explicit" world.
Big B beliefs are learned in classrooms, reading books, stuff we are in control of
Think of it like the tip of an iceberg floating above the water.
Little "B" beliefs are how we instinctively relate to others.
These beliefs reveal themselves when we react to something without thinking
Sudden tears seeing your daughter in her wedding dress
Unexpected outburst of anger to your spouse...
Big B beliefs are taught, but little "b" beliefs are caught.
They are learned in unscripted moments, absorbed through relational systems.
So your Big "B" beliefs tell you to love everyone. You affirm that and believe that.
But you get so angry around Republicans, you can't stand them.
You feel disgust well up in your chest when you see a homeless person holding a sign.
Little "b" beliefs are far less obvious to us, but far more powerful. They live below the water line, like that much larger part of the iceberg, outside the realm of our awareness.
Little "b" beliefs hide under the surface...and they roll right over our Big "B" beliefs.
When you see yourself acting irrational, or when you see other Christian's behaving in such unexpected, un-Christian ways, it's often little "b" beliefs screaming to the surface and steamrolling over all of our doctrine.
What we really believe about God, ourselves, and others, is revealed in our little b beliefs
Why do you get so angry when someone doesn't use their turn signal?
Why did you say that to your husband in an unguarded moment?
Why do you keep sinning in those ways you hate?
When we say "build one another up as Jesus' Church," we mean healing and wholeness.
Build one another up means healing and wholeness
We don't simply want right answers, we want transformed souls.
Sojourn does not settle for the right big "B" beliefs.
We want healing and wholeness to the core of who we are.
We want to live lives where our heads and our hearts are deeply connected.
And our church is structured in such a way that our little b beliefs will be forced to the surface.
You have to know that saying the right thing is not enough here.
Our mission is relational, and so when we say discipleship, growth, building up, we're talking transformed ways of relating to God, ourselves, and each other.
Some of us come from traditions where the goal was right answers
You're used to sitting in a bible study being told what to believe in clear, logical ways
You're used to efficient, measurable results.
But Sojourn prioritizes relational health.
Relationships develop in slow, unscripted moments.
Like Jesus, we sometimes leave questions unanswered.
You need to cultivate a posture of openness and curiosity to thrive here.
We have to acquaint ourselves with the ordinariness of Jesus' teachings and learn to bring all we are, even the parts that don't make sense, to him.
Others come from traditions where no answers are provided.
You're used to sitting in living rooms having open ended conversations
You love "deconstructing" into messy lives, comfortable with ambiguity, uninterested in any kind of results.
But Sojourn is a creedal church. We believe the Scriptures provide guardrails for the soul.
We study the scriptures in a classroom setting, we strive to grow in doctrinal clarity.
We think some answers help and others hurt! We think Truth exists
We have to pay attention here to the demanding invitations of Jesus.
He often draws with straight lines, sets clear expectations, urging his followers towards maturity.
And still others come from traditions where following Jesus is a 1-1 on affair
"Life-on-life" discipleship, where we learn and study from our favorite podcasts and theologians.
We prefer our faith to be a matter of discussion, especially over coffee, especially 1-1
But one of the primary metaphors the Bible uses to describe the church is a family.
Let me give you one example:
"So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family"
-Ephesians 2:19
God doesn't just save you, he saves US!
Jesus saves me so I can become a we.
This is emphasized by the other great metaphor the Bible uses to describe the church: a BODY
"The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ"
-1 Corinthians 12:12
So, we have curious, committed, and critical, all with different histories and perspectives, united together as a family, as one body.
We are a BODY, not a building or organization or program.
We are a family, we need one another, differences and all.
When we talk about being built up as a church, healing and wholeness, we mean finding our place in the body of Christ, the family of God.
So, culturally, we commit to being with each other.
We give Sundays to the Lord, because here is the reality of discipleship:
We were broken in and through relationships.
We will be healed in and through relationships.
Sin and suffering sever relationships. The Gospel restores and heals them.
If a family member is never around, something is wrong, amen?
If a body part is severed, something is wrong, amen?
We want to see all we are, big B and little b, healed and restored, built up as the church, and this can only happen in and through relationships.
And from this place of healing and wholeness, we take the good news of Jesus everywhere we go.
Sojourn exists to send people to follow Jesus
We are a sending church, not a static one.
We send people around the world:
Daniel and Kristyn Wainright, Lyon France (add picture)
Dr. Nick and Carrie Walburn, Oaxaca Mexico (add picture)
Harold and Justine Bradley, ??? (Add picture)
This is what most people think of when we think being "sent."
We thank God for these women and men, the important, beautiful work they're doing.
We thank God for the men and women we support through Harbor Network
Harbor Network picture??
We partner with 150 churches to start new, thriving churches and care for their pastors and staff teams, all across the United States.
Harbor Network is our primary domestic affiliation, a portion of every week's giving goes to support this work to launch, lead, and multiply thriving churches.
These are beautiful, important works.
But, as a local church, they are not our most important work.
YOU ARE! We are!
Because every week, we. Send. You. And we send you locally.
Every week, we pursue healing and wholeness so we can re-enter the world to live and love more like JEsus.
Most of us have baggage with words like "the mission field" or "evangelism."
But they're good words, even if they're sometimes misunderstood.
For Jesus, the mission field was wherever he found himself in that moment.
The mission field for us as Sojourn New Albany is where're we find ourselves in a given moment.
Every Sunday, we send people to the mission field of Wild Eggs, their neighborhood, their home, their school, their job.
Wherever there are people who need to hear the good news of Jesus, God sends Christians to tell them.
He sends his children to the grocery store, to the YMCA, to the post office, to Kohls, and even to Chick-Fil-A because there are people there who need to be reached with the gospel of Jesus and built up as his church.
Consider what the "mission field" looked like for Jesus' disciples:
I could do this all day...the point is the MISSION FIELD IS WIDE OPEN
It's less about finding something new and radical to do, though some will be called to that, and more about doing the things you already do in Jesus' name.
Sometimes we will say words like Jesus did.
Sometimes performing acts of mercy like Jesus did.
Sometimes letting people go away sad like Jesus did.
Sometimes leaving questions unanswered like Jesus did.
For most Christian's throughout most of history, the mission field has been the place of their ordinary, everyday lives.
Every Sunday, most of us are sent right back into our homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces.
And the most important thing any of us bring to the mission field is our transformed and transforming presence.
Our own presence, transformed by Jesus, is our most important asset. Why?
Listen to what Jesus said about his mission:
“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
-Matthew 28:18-20
It begins with the authority of Jesus. He has all of it everywhere.
So, we go everywhere, tell everyone. We are all sent.
And finally, he tells us he is with us always.
If this is true, do you know who you bring with you EVERYWHERE YOU GO?
JESUS! Is that not incredible?
He's with you when you go into the hospital, the middle school, the gas station, EVERYWHERE!
Which means everywhere you go, you have all you need to do all God would have you.
Reach people with the good news of who Jesus is and what he has done for them.
Build one another up as his church, finding our place in the family of God,
Send one another to follow Jesus.
This is our great mission.
This is what unifies us, curious, critical, and committed.
This is what enables us to hold our preferences loosely as we hold on to our promised destination, the Kingdom of God.
And so every week we gather as the family of God to remember the presence of Christ with us.