Read: Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 13:1-3
Watch: https://bibleproject.com/videos/bible-basics-jesus-nazareth/
The Missio Dei, or the Mission of God, is simple yet profound: to rescue, redeem, and restore broken humanity. The Bible, God’s Word, serves as our history, plan, love letter, and guide for this incredible restoration. Even before creation, God had a meticulously designed plan!
Our Sovereign Creator-Father loved us so deeply that He created us with genuine freedom. God knew that when He placed the tree in the Garden (Genesis 2:17), Adam and Eve would disobey and eat from it, ushering sin and brokenness into the world. Yet, even as He declared the consequences of their rebellion, He foretold the day when sin and death would be broken (Genesis 3:15).
From the very beginning, God’s Missio Dei has been to call people into a relationship with Him. God is relentlessly calling, always working, and consistently inviting! His ultimate desire is for everyone to accept the free gift of salvation offered through Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:4-6, Romans 10:13).
While God has dramatically revealed Himself through events like appearing to Abram in a flaming torch (Genesis 15:17) and Moses in a burning bush (Exodus 3:2), and continues to reveal Himself through dreams, visions, and His Word, He most often reveals Himself through people.
God not only invites us into a Trinitarian Fellowship with Himself, but He also invites us to partner with Him in His grand plan. This is the very essence of the Mission of God. Through you, He desires to invite everyone you know—and even those you don’t know yet—into His Kingdom! He has strategically placed you exactly where you are and with the people you’re with, all so you can share the most incredible news: they can experience rescue, redemption, and restoration in Jesus!
So, who are you inviting to the party?
Pray: Jesus, who do you want me to introduce you to?
Discussion Questions:
1. “Who are you inviting to the party?” Beyond just thinking of names, deeply reflect on what obstacles (internal or external) might prevent you from inviting someone to experience “rescue, redemption, and restoration in Jesus.” What steps can you take to overcome these barriers and genuinely engage in God’s mission?
2. The “Missio Dei” is rescuing, redeeming, and restoring broken human beings. In what specific ways do you personally experience or observe “brokenness” in yourself, in others, or in the world around you?
How does the idea of God’s mission to address this resonate with your own life?
3. “Even before creation, God had a meticulously designed plan!” How does knowing that God had a plan for humanity’s redemption before the world even began impact your understanding of His character, love, and sovereignty, especially in the face of current challenges or uncertainties?
4. “God is relentlessly calling, always working, and consistently inviting!” and that His desire is for “everyone to accept the free gift of salvation.” How does this active, ongoing invitation from God challenge or affirm your own understanding of evangelism and sharing your faith?
What does “consistently inviting” look like in your own life?
5. God “most often reveals Himself through people,” and invites us to “partner with Him in His grand plan.” What does it genuinely mean for you to be a vehicle for God’s revelation and to “partner” with Him?
In what concrete ways can you intentionally live out this partnership in your daily interactions and relationships?