17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:17-20, NIV)
Before we begin IT’S TIME this Sunday, consider these verses (they will come up again on Sunday night), give the following questions some time to take root in your mind and heart:
- In what ways has God made you a new creation?
- How does that change or define your purpose and identity?
- What does it mean for you and for us to be given “the minsitry of reconciliation”?
- What’s the weight of the statement “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.”?
- What are you personally doing to act as an ambassador of Christ?
- What are we doing as a congregation to act as ambassadors of Christ?
I am happy to be on this journey with you, and to wrestle with deep questions of mission and calling alongside together.
