Missions – Page 3 – What Does This Mean?

God’s Mission is to Seek and Save the Lost

What do you think of when you hear the word missions? Preachers hacking their way through the jungle? Doctors and nurses caring for the sick in India? People in white searches and ties knocking on doors? Yes, these romantic images are a part of the way God’s church has sought to bring the good news to those who have never heard it. (although reality rarely squared with the romance of the Mission Festival sermons!) But the truth is really seeking and saving the lost is not our work — it is God’s work.

Theologians call God’s mission the missio Dei — the mission of God. The word is from the Latin for “sending.” You already know one passage that describes that mission. “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 — my translation) He sent his Son because he is not willing that anyone should perish (Ezekiel 33:11, 2 Peter 3:9), but that all be saved. (1 Timothy 2:4) He sent him to seek and to save the lost. (Luke 19:9-10) Like a shepherd, he seeks out his lost sheep. Like a woman who has lost a denarii, he sweeps out the house to find it. Like a Father whose son has forsaken him, he watches day and night for his return. (Luke 15) He did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom. (Matthew 20:27-28)

So, how do we fit in? First of all, he wants us to rejoice with him when he saves the lost. (Luke 15) But more than that, he invites us to join him in his mission. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you,” Jesus says to us. (John 20:21) He sends his Church to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them. (Matthew 28:19-20) He chooses to work through us to accomplish his mission — not only around the world but where we live and work at the jobs he has called us to do.

A Shepherd for Christ’s Sheep

Sermon on Matthew 9:35-38
The Ordination of Michael Brent Keller
July 29, 2018
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, South Dakota

Introduction: Last fall you said goodbye to Pastor Pay. You began pray to the Lord that he send to you a faithful shepherd. Today he has answered your prayers. Pastor Keller begins his Ministry here today. Brent, you have been praying for a chance to help people—really help them. And God has given you that opportunity. Here is is the harvest, ready to be brought in. At your side are a wonderful gathering of God’s people. It would be good to see them as Jesus does… he has compassion for them because:

I. We are harassed and helpless

A. The world sends conflicting messages that lure us away from God.
B. Our sinful desires cause us to seek the things we think will please us.
C. The devil uses both to extinguish our trust in God.
D. Tragedies big and small wound us, crush us and wear us down.

II. He came to seek and to save.
A. Jesus became a man to seek and save the lost
B. As the Good Shepherd, he laid down his life for his sheep.
C. Through his word and the Sacraments, he still gathers his sheep, binds up the wounds and leads them home.

III. He sends pastors – and you
A. He does this by sending you pastor Keller to lead you, feed you and make you clean.
B. He sends you, Brent, to tend this flock.
C. Together he sends you all to gather the souls now ready to harvest.

Send us a Faithful Shepherd

180 years ago in late May, Pastor Jesse Hoover died. In the frontier town of Fort Wayne, Indiana, his congregations mourned. Along with them, the whole community missed him, too. Lutheran pastors were rare in the dark forest. Elder Adam Wesel of St. Paul’s congregation wrote to the Mission Committee of the Pennsylvania Ministerium for help. Among other things he pleaded:

“Have pity, honored fathers and brothers and send us a Pastor… If you canvas the northern part of Indiana you will soon see how important it is that you send us a faithful Shepherd. The harvest is great but unfortunately there are no workers. If it is not possible to send us a Pastor, dear brothers, then send us a circuit rider. We hunger and thirst for the Word of God.”
Adam Wesel
St. Paul Lutheran Church
Fort Wayne, Indiana
4 June 1838

The letter arrived in Pennsylvania at a perfect time. The committee had planned to send a survey missionary West in September. But their candidate could not go. They we’re without a man to send.

Yet as they pondered, a young pastor had just arrived in Baltimore. His name was Friedrich Wyneken. In late August they dispatched him to Indiana, to gather scattered Protestants into congregations. This he did — and more!

More about this story in later posts. For now, thank God for the prayer the people of Ft. Wayne prayed and add your prayer to theirs that God might send faithful shepherds to gather his people into the fold of their great Shepherd.