e·piph·a·ny: noun-a moment of sudden revelation or insight
Throughout the Protestant church, the season of Epiphany begins on January 6th and ends on Ash Wednesday. Depending on the timing of Easter, this season of the church year can last from four to nine Sundays, and in some churches, the final Sunday of Epiphany is celebrated as Transfiguration Sunday. This is a time in which we remember the wise men coming to visit the Christ child with their gifts, who by so doing “reveal” Jesus to the world as Lord and King.
Outreach is a forthright directive from Christ Himself, as qualified by His words at the end of Matthew 28. The question is, how do we ‘reveal’ Jesus to the world as the wise men did? A tremendous question indeed, but here are a few simple thoughts:
- We ought to ask His direction in our daily prayers and Scripture reading.
- ‘All the nations’ includes our little corner of the world around Crabtree Creek.
- ‘Evangelism’, our witness for Christ to others, may often be in the way they see us living and treating those around us.
- History repeatedly shows that those who are an effective voice of Christ understand that they have to go be His hands and feet first.
- We ought to remain open-minded and willing to the idea of trying new ways to share the Gospel we haven’t tried before.
Earlier in my career in ministry, I was charged with helping start a new church with a launch team of members from surrounding congregations. It was tough to wrap our minds around the idea that this launch team wasn’t “the church”, but that “the church” hadn’t shown up yet. We had to wait on the LORD for that one.
Once upon a time, circa 1970, Crabtree Valley Baptist Church was in that same position. And no one knew how to reach out to that community any better than those original members.
Today, no one knows how to reach this community any better than we do. We have the advantage of 40+ years of experience in doing it. How shall we renew our commitment to being Christ’s hands and feet in the Crabtree community this year?
Let’s ponder and pray on this throughout the week.
Looking forward to seeing each of you Sunday!
In His grip, Chris Reed
