WHEN WORSHIP SENDS US OUT

"Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  (Matthew 5:16)

Worship doesn’t end when we leave the sanctuary. In many ways, it begins there.

John R. W. Stott once wrote, “The loving service which God sends His people into the world to render includes both evangelism and social action, for each is in itself an authentic expression of love, and neither needs the other to justify it.”

That truth reminds us that worship is not confined to singing, praying, or listening. Worship becomes real when it shapes the way we live once we walk out the door of the church.

 Worship Sends Us to Speak the Good News

Evangelism is not a task for experts -- it is the natural overflow of a heart that has encountered God. When we leave worship, we carry the story of grace with us. We carry hope. We carry the name of Jesus into conversations, workplaces, neighborhoods, and ordinary moments.

Love speaks. Love shares. Love invites.

Worship Sends Us to Serve with Compassion

Social action is not an optional add‑on to faith -- it is an expression of God’s heart. Jesus healed, fed, lifted, and restored. When we leave worship, we step into a world aching for kindness, justice, and mercy.

Love acts. Love helps. Love restores.

Two Expressions, One Love

Stott reminds us that evangelism and social action are not competing priorities. They are two sides of the same love -- the love that first met us in Christ. One proclaims the gospel of grace; the other demonstrates it. Together they form a life that reflects the God we worship.  

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™

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THE WORDS WE CHOOSE

“Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.”  (Ephesians 4:29)

The word is one of the most precious moral choices we individuals make, and if you really want to know what a man or woman believes, thinks, and how that person has made moral choices, you want to look at the words they choose. 

-- Bill Moyers

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THE WORDS WE SPEAK

"Let my words and my thoughts be pleasing to you, LORD, because you are my mighty rock and my protector.”  (Psalm 19:14 CEV)

When Abraham Lincoln got angry with someone, he would fire off what he called a “hot letter.” He would set aside the letter until his emotions cooled off. Then, he would read the letter with a cool head. He left many letters unsigned and unsent.

While Abraham Lincoln wrote letters instead of posts on social media, his practice provides a worthy example for us today. If your post deals with a particularly sensitive topic, can it wait until tomorrow? If it can wait a day, save it as a draft and revisit it tomorrow. You may find that you read it with fresh eyes and see that you shouldn’t post it. Or you may see that it would be helpful to people and click “post.” Either way, the longer you can wait before inserting yourself into a conversation, the better.

Christians, we need to remember that we are Christians first. We represent King Jesus and His church. When we speak, it should reflect the priorities and character of our King and His Kingdom. This concern means that we need to take extra care to consider the words we speak online. 

-- Scott Slayton, from his blog “One Degree to Another”

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WHAT SHOULD I SAY?

“Your own soul is nourished when you are kind, but you destroy yourself when you are cruel.”  (Proverbs 11:17)

Words are so important.   A word can excite or depress.  A word can make us glad or sad or mad.  Words can inspire and lift our spirits or defeat and deflate our souls.  Words can motivate and encourage, or they can crush and kill.  Words can convince us to stand tall for what is right, or they can destroy hope and blast reputations.  Words can offer a beautiful prayer and preach a powerful sermon, or they can incite a riot or tell a dirty joke.

The words we choose -- and the way we use them -- communicate more about us and our faith than we can possibly imagine.  Profane words, bigoted words, hateful words, cruel words do not promote the cause of Christ or represent the spirit of Christ.  They never have and never will.  We dupe ourselves by calling our dirty talk mature, adult, realistic.  Come on, now!  What could be more immature, childish, and unrealistic?  If you want to be a good witness for Jesus Christ today, clean up your act and clean up your speech.  Speak the words of faith, hope, and love in a tone of compassion, kindness, and respect. 

--  James W. Moore in “When You're a Christian, the Whole World is from Missouri”  

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LISTEN TO UNDERSTAND

"You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger;…" (James 1:19)

Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.

-- Stephen R. Covey


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