“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the Church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate not man. When this age is over and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.” – John Piper
This potent paragraph is how Dr. Piper began his (now 30 year old) classic “Let the Nations Be Glad.” He develops this thesis over 250 pages and 7 chapters … but the ideas are not unique to Piper. God Himself has been authoring this “book” since the beginning of time, and God being exalted among the nations of the earth is the mission that God is still on in our day.
As Tim Dearborn says, “It is insufficient to proclaim that the Church of God has a mission in the world. Rather, the God of mission has a Church in the world … Participation in God’s mission is no longer a somber duty. It becomes a joyous privilege and an adventure of passion and hope.”
The task of proclaiming His glory to the ends of the earth is “A Task Unfinished.” Over the next two Sundays (and throughout the intervening week) at Wildwood, we will be hosting a missions emphasis week, welcoming back to our midst a number of our missionary partners. As a part of this week, we will be taking a two week break from our “Whys of Worship” sermon series in order to focus on Missions … but in light of Dr. Piper’s quote above, isn’t that especially appropriate?
Make plans to join us this Sunday as we kick off “A Task Unfinished” week with Dr. Scott Horrell (career missionary and retired faculty at Dallas Theological Seminary) preaching from John 20:19-22 a message entitled, “The Trinity and the Purpose of Life: A deeper call to mission.” Dr. Horrell will be preaching in our 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 worship services. Make plans to be there … and bring friends!
Then, come back Sunday night at 5PM for a special additional lecture from Dr. Horrell entitled, “How to Talk with Anyone: Basic Questions, Basic Worldviews.” The evening lecture will also be held in the worship center at Wildwood.
For a full list of all the week’s activities, visit our website at wildwoodchurch.org/task