It’s a regular debate on the appropriate time to start decorating for Christmas. For some it’s November 1st – for others it’s important to wait until after Thanksgiving. This year, my wife and I decided to take the boxes down and started decorating the first week of November. Yes, we are that family.
One of my favorite Christmas traditions at Wildwood takes place in our Christmas Eve candlelight services. At the end of the service the lights dim, Pastor Mark begins with one candle and lights another as he remarks about how the gospel hope of our resurrected Lord has passed from one person to the next, just as each candle is lit by another candle.
This Sunday, we are wrapping up our SHINE series, and during this series we have been talking about the various ways that God has called Wildwood Community Church to shine. Pastor Mark has talked about how as we shine and our purpose is not private but public, and that pure religion comes from a right relationship as we talked about our opportunity to care for widows and orphans.
My name is Kevin Choate, and I serve as the College Pastor at Wildwood Community Church. This Sunday, we will talk about how we can Shine, specifically in God’s Strategy to Reach the Nations.
It’s a danger we are all tempted with – it is the danger of contentment. If you’re sitting in a chair today, it is likely that you have heard of the name “Jesus Christ”. You’re also probably familiar with His death, burial and resurrection. We all have a tendency in our thoughts or actions to be content where Christ is already known.
In Sunday’s passage in Romans 15:14-24, we will see a strategic mission by the Apostle Paul to shine the light of Jesus Christ to those who have never heard of who He is or what He has done. Is Paul’s strategy possible today? If Paul was a member at Wildwood Community Church, what would he do?
Paul didn’t preach everywhere. He targeted one kind of place. The place where the nations passed through: metropolises, trade centers, places of influence. Is there that kind of place in Norman? Yes. The University of Oklahoma! Because Paul lit the match in places of influence, we light the campus to reach the world. God has placed Wildwood in a unique location. We can reach the world by reaching the campus!