Lecture Kueker Unit 1 Faith Communities, Discipleship Systems and Healthy Core Groups
Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore…
Next week we will be entering a strange, almost magical foreign land, where it will seem that everything is marvelous and new. Where it will seem that there are no limits to what God can do, where sanctuaries are overflowing and crowded, where there are prayer meetings twenty-four hours a day, where thousands and thousands of people praise God and are dropping by their neighbors with the hope of the gospel. I’m reminded of what Jesus said in Matthew 21:42-43: "Have you never read in the scriptures: 'The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it." In this marvelous country, Jesus is the cornerstone and it will seem like the kingdom of God has come to earth. All this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. It’s not perfect, but because it’s different, it will seem marvelous. And you are here to look and learn and bring home what you’ve learned from this Oz to whatever sort of Kansas you would call home.
This week we are looking at some common threads so that you can see links between Oz and Kansas in your travels. And they are our old friends: faith communities, discipleship systems and healthy core groups. Next week we will arrive in Oz. Fasten your seatbelts!