Balancing Ministry N' Work

Not too long-ago Pastor Don preached on the Parable of the Lost Son. As we read through the Parable something jumped out at me that I thought would be a good follow up to his message. Most of us have read these verses many times and been taught the meaning behind them many times, so you will be familiar with them as we read. Luke 15:11-24 “ 11  He also said: “A man had two sons. 12  The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate I have coming to me.’ So he distributed the assets to them. 13  Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all he had and traveled to a distant country, where he squandered his estate in foolish living. 14  After he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he had nothing. 15  Then he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16  He longed to eat his fill from the pods that the pigs were eatin...

Let’s start by reading a verse that most of us have probably heard before. Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” These words are the final command given by Jesus before He ascended into heaven. He was telling all believers to go out and be His witnesses. Starting in their local communities and letting it spread from there. I remember reading about Canaan Baptist in St. Louis. They broke down this command from Jesus into segments and focused on each part. For their Jerusalem they focused on the St. Louis area, they had trunk and treats, VBS, egg hunts, and more. They viewed the state of Missouri as their Judea and support the Missouri Baptist Convention and other ministries such as Disaster Relief. For their Samaria they send teams to Mexico and for the end of the Earth they minister in Africa. Now they are a big church with a lot of peopl...