We are a people who are about prayer.  As Paul writes in

1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray without ceasing,18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.19 Do not quench the Spirit.

We pray in all circumstances!  Prayer is about communication with God through talking and listening.  Prayer is an integral part of everything we do, both at church with the people of God and with and for the world.

Matthew 9 reminds us we are to be out in the world, praying that God’s kingdom would come to its fullness and we would be out in the world doing God’s work.

35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

We are sent out into the world with prayer as our foundation in our relationship with God!

We are called to love and pray for everyone, even our enemies.

Matthew 5:43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Prayer is both an internal and external vision.  We pray in all circumstances!

As we are loving God and all people, prayer is our foundation of how we do that.  Prayer is central to following God.

Worship is formal and informal praising God for God’s mighty deeds and Jesus’ redemption of us and the world!

Isaiah 19:23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.

Isaiah writes that God’s intended reality is that all people worship God together.  Even lifelong swore enemies like the Egyptians and Assyrians would worship together.  Worshiping God with all people is a central tenet of God’s plans for God’s people.  Worship isn’t for just the people we like, but for all believers in Jesus Christ.

Matthew 28:

 16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Worship can be formal on Saturday evening or Sunday morning.  However, as we see with the disciples, it can also be spontaneous praising God for what God has done, even when we don’t fully understand what that is.  Worship is part of the great commission that leads us to share the good news of Jesus with all nations.

This vision is all about sanctification.  Paul says in 1 Thessalians 5:23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul reminds us that providing opportunities and encouraging people to grow in Christ can simply mean to be imitators of God, as beloved children.” Ephesians 5:1 Paul says this in multiple places in multiple letters to the Church he started. 

An essential vision of the early Church was to provide opportunities and encourage people to grow in Christ.  It makes great sense to make it one of ours too!

In ways we are doing this also.  Recent events like Parents Night Out and Parents Morning Out are designed to attract young people and provide what they need.  When Jesus encounters people in need of help the instructs his disciples in Matthew 14:16 Jesus said, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." Just provided for people’s needs, As he traveled Constantly looked to the needs of others, even when the imposed themselves on him!  Jesus knows that people, including young people, are lost and looking for help for physical and spiritual needs. In Mark 6:34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. 

As followers of Christ, we need to have compassion on our young people and see they really are like sheep without a shepherd tossed about by so many elements of our culture. 

We use our spiritual gifts to build each other up. Likewise, God has expectations about the sharing of our God given material gifts too.

1 Corinthians 1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.

Our gifts are very different from each other given, to us for the building up of the body of Christ, the Church.  The sharing doesn’t stop with our spiritual gifts, but extends into our material gifts given to us by God. 

The very thought that we get our material gifts from God can be a foreign concept to us.  Our culture teaches that we have worked for and earned what we have.  James’ book calls into question that line of thinking.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, Theses good gifts come to us from God not to horde, but to share with others. 1 Peter 4:10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.

This vision statement is the about providing sanctuary.  A place to seek refuge from the world and all its problems and values.

Psalms 18:2

2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

God provides a refuge for us because of God’s great love and mercy for all people.

Psalms 36:7

7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

It is because of God’s great love and offer of refuge for all people, that makes this statement so important.   God provides refuge to all who seek it. As God’s people we follow God’s example of giving sanctuary to all people.

Psalms 46:1

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

God provides a refuge for us in our time of need, and God expects us to do the same for others.  We are God’s instruments of providing refuge for everyone and is an essential part of loving God and all people.

Ephesians 2:4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

At St. Mark Lutheran, we believe we are justified by God’s grace by faith.  Because of God’s great love for us. God sent his only Son who pays for our sins, and that reality changes us.  We are made right through Christ and not of our own merit. We believe and have faith.

Philippians 3:9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith--

It is this faith combined with our relationship with God and one another that allows us to be loving to God and all people.  Christ has provided our model for all relationships with each other. Philippians 2:5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.

Our faith and relationship with God through Christ changes everything, including our relationships with others.   Romans 1:12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine.  Our relationships build each other up.

We live in the world that has values and norms that infringe upon our lives every day.  But we don’t follow the values of the world!  Jesus prays in John 17:16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  In fact, when we follow Jesus and imitate him, we are hated by the world. John 17:14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

As we follow our mission statement and our vision statements our last vision statement reminds us that we are separated from the world’s value.  Our mission and vision are centered on a God who does mighty works in our midst.

John 18:36

36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world."