Mission of the Church
Teachers
Lesson Summary
In the July 21, 2024 class titled “Mission of the Church,” Richard Sutton opened with a heartfelt welcome, celebrating the recent youth camp and inviting newcomers into the fellowship. He pivoted to a biblical exposition of the church’s mission, focusing on Acts 1:1‑11 where Jesus commissioned the apostles to be witnesses from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. Sutton connected this passage to the Great Commission in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, emphasizing that the same call persists for believers today. He highlighted the early church’s confidence, rooted in the resurrection’s proof, referencing 1 Corinthians 15:6 and the many post‑resurrection appearances. Sutton also reminded the congregation of the practical outworking of this mandate, mentioning the upcoming congregational retreat and the “Soul to Soul” evangelism theme. By drawing parallels between the early disciples’ boldness, the resurrection’s empowering presence, and the church’s current outreach in Kenya, he urged members to embrace their role as missionaries in everyday life. The lesson concluded with a call to rely on the Holy Spirit’s power, as promised in Acts, to fulfill the Great Commission across the globe.
Key Scriptures
The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and to teach, until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, you heard from me. John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, is it at this time that you are restoring the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or seasons, which the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and to all Judea and Samaria, even to the remotest part of the earth. And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were looking intently heavenward, as he was going, behold, two men stood by them in white clothing, and said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and to all Judea and Samaria, even to the remotest part of the earth.