Series: Why
Message: Why Global
Passage: Luke 10:1-12
Why Global? The answer can be found in many places. It can be found in the faces of the children receiving meals and medicine in Africa. It is evident in the teary eyes of the father who watches his family enter a new home in Mexico - when all he was able to provide was a cardboard lean-to previously. The answer is found in the laughing children who get to play for the first time in months when VBS is brought to their village. The answer is found in the smile of an orphan as he is being cuddled and sung to. The answer is in the grateful looks of someone in Peru who has been dragging themselves from place to place when they are given their freedom in the form of a wheelchair. The answer is found in the local churches in many distant lands when they receive supplies and resources to bring the gospel to thousands who need to hear it.
Why Global? The answer can be found in the Bible. God commands his followers on many occasions from the very beginning of time to take the message of His grace and love to the world. In Matthew 22:37-39 when Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment he replied: "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself."
And then in Matthew 28, Jesus told them how to express that love in the "Great Commission" when he said, "Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."
Why Global? The answer can be found in those who have served."My curiosity about Chinese "house church" was answered by God in a big way. Two ladies, Eleanor and Hong, from my business break out session, asked me if they could use my hotel room for a prayer meeting after dinner. Nothing more than just 5-6 of us to pray for seekers at the conference. Well, 6 became 12, turning into 24, then 30, and finally 38 people packed into my 10 by 18 size room! These two amazing ladies had recruited a pastor for the message, a lay pastor to give the invitation, two others to lead worship, and 9 seekers to hear the gospel message! My Beijing hotel room became house church for the night! God's holy presence filled that room as all 9 accepted Jesus as their personal Savior and our new house church rejoiced! No language barrier, no government oversight, no cultural divide was going to stop these two courageous ladies from reaching the lost. And the next day, it was our privilege to witness their baptism in the hotel's private indoor swimming pool. God is Good ALL THE TIME!" (by Janice Munemitsu who has served several times in China - as quoted on the Mariners Church website)
Why Global? Hopefully by this time next year you will have found your answer.
1.Introduction: Where did you go on your last vacation (or your favorite vacation)?
Tip:Spend about 5 minutes on this question.
Leader note: This should be an easy and fun question for your group. Have them spend a little time talking about their most recent vacation - or perhaps a vacation that they really loved. Where did they go? What was their favorite part of that trip?
2.Observation: Read Luke 10:1-12. What do you learn about missions?
Tip: Spend about 7-10 minutes on this question.
Commentary from the passage:
Go out in teams/pairs.
Pray for more workers
Have faith
Won't always be welcome where you go, don't let that bother you
Accept hospitality
Workers are few
You are sent by the Lord
Travel light
Missions can be dangerous
Bless people and their homes
Be thankful
3a.Understanding: What keeps people from going on missions?
Tip: Spend about 10 minutes on these questions. You can ask this question a different way by saying "Why are mission so hard?"
Leader note:Have people consider missions all over the world. Suggest locations such as Mexico, Uganda, Peru, China, Vietnam, Egypt, and New Orleans. What keeps people from going on Missions to these locations?
Commentary: Missions are hard for people to even consider sometimes. They worry about the money aspects - how will they raise the money for the trip, they worry about the time they are away from their jobs. Sometimes people are travelling to areas where Christianity is not only despised but against the law making the mission dangerous. Sometimes the language barrier seems insurmountable, and other times it is just that people don't understand the culture and feel the trip will be too far outside their comfort zone.
3b. What are the benefits of missions?
Leader note: Again consider those countries you talked about in 3a. Ask your group what are some of the stories about mission trips they've heard about these locations. Consider the mosquito nets delivered to areas of Africa where malaria is out of control. Talk about the medicine that has been delivered and dispensed in countries where millions are affected by AIDS. Have your group think about the wheelchairs that have been given away, the medical and dental clinics, food distribution centers, homes being built, orphanages being built, children being sponsored who will receive support to attend schools and be fed and clothed. Besides the practical and tangible good, there is the spiritual element that people bring to these desperate locations. There is also a benefit to the person going on the mission.
4a.Application: Ask anyone in your group that has gone on a mission trip to share their experience and how it changed their life.
Leader tip:Ask them to be brief - stick to about 3 minutes per story. Where did they go? What was the main focus of their trip?
4b. What has kept you from going on a mission?
Leader note:So many people want to go on a mission but there are one or two things that they just can't overcome to do it. Have them talk about it with the group, let your group address their concerns either from personal experience or from the words in the passage in Luke.
4c. How has what you learned in this passage and your small group changed your mind about missions? Where will you go on your first/next mission?
Leader note: As your group discusses the various locations where there are such huge needs, have them think about any that tug at their heart - that is where they should go. Maybe it is helping orphans in Africa; perhaps it is delivering medical and dental supplies and services to Peru. Maybe they have seen the ongoing struggles in Mexico where people are living in boxes and would love to provide them with a real home. Any of those stories that your group identify with are the places God is calling them.
Leader note:Spend some time helping each other overcome the objections to missions that inevitably get in the way of going. If it is leaving their animals while they are gone maybe your group can pitch in to take care of them, possibly you can help draft a letter to raise funds for a trip, offer to go to the doctor's to get necessary shots together. You may even want to consider a mission trip as a group - encouraging each other all along the way. To find available mission trips through Mariners Church visit the website at
Leader note: You may have group members that for one reason or another cannot travel on missions at this time in their lives. Think of other ways they can participate. Perhaps they can support a missionary financially. Maybe they can provide items for the missions others are going on.
Pray: Thank God for the person that delivered the gospel to you. Pray that He will put it on your heart to serve the poor and needy of other nations/cultures. Ask that if he calls you he will also equip you for the work as he has promised. Pray that worry and fear will not overcome your desire to go. Pray for the missionaries already in the field, that their harvest will be plenty and that they will have the workers necessary.