“TUNING OUR HEARTS TO SING GOD’S GRACE”
January 20‐22, 2012
Ardmore Presbyterian Church
Ask church folks about mission, and they will tell you about a recent mission trip or the missionaries that they support, or even the work of the mission committee. Each of these things is mission, but they don’t tell the whole story. Mission is not simply another program of the church. It is at the heart of who we are as Christians. When Jesus ascended into heaven, he gave his disciples work to be done: “[Y]ou will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Jesus sent all of us, not just a select few, into the world.
We know the broad story of the Scriptures. The world was created good, but something went wrong. Our relationship to God became broken. Most of the rest of the Bible describes God’s efforts to redeem and rescue his creation. God sends individuals like Abraham and Moses, but he also sends collectively the nation of Israel to bring the world back to God. These efforts culminate in the life, sacrifice, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His disciples are now sent into the world to show others the way to Christ. As one missionary stated, “Christianity is one beggar telling another beggar where there is food.”
Practically, that will look different for different people. We all have differing talents, temperaments, and treasures. A violin sounds different from a saxophone or a tuba. One person may get excited as they work with young people. Another may be passionate about the poor of Philadelphia. A third may love to fix things. Each of these can be our witness to God in the world. Our mission begins where we are—our families, our jobs, and our neighborhoods. Mission is learning to play our song right where we are and in harmony with God’s song.
The focus of the 2012 Spiritual Enrichment Retreat is moving beyond talking about faith. We want to live it. The Ardmore Presbyterian Church’s annual retreat will be like the orchestra tuning before the beginning of a concert. We practice our scales listening to God and ourselves not so we may remain silent. Instead, we are tuning our hearts to sing God’s grace in the world.
For more information about this year's retreat, follow this link, or if you would like to register, follow this link.
Please join us January 20‐22 as we sing God’s song together.
Grace & Peace,
James Hodsden
