Week 4

Mission in the New Testament (Church)

“Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name?For you alone are holy.All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed”.

Revelation 15:3b - 4

Read Chapters 1 and 6 from John Piper’s book, LET THE NATIONS BE GLAD! As you read the chapters, work through the questions below. [If you have extra time, skim through any Bible references cited that are unfamiliar to you.]

To the Nations

Refer to Chapter 1 – The Supremacy of God in Missions through Worship

  1. Piper states, “Missions exists because worship doesn’t”. (page 35)
  2. Explain this statement.
  3. Why does he say, “Worship is ultimate”?
  4. How is worship both:
  5. the goal of missions?
  6. the fuel of missions?
  7. Piper states, “The most passionate heart for the glorification of God is God’s heart. God’s ultimate goal is to uphold and display the glory of his name”. (page 41)
  8. Is this surprising to you? Why or why not?
  9. How do the Scriptures listed on pages 40–46 demonstrate this view?
  10. How can we reconcile God’s passion for his own glory and Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 that “Love...does not seek its own”? (pages 47–52)
  11. Piper states, “The connection between missions and the supremacy of God is found in this sentence: The glory God seeks to magnify is supremely the glory of his mercy”, and cites Romans 15:8-9 as a key text. Summarize the three interlocking truths in these great missionary verses. (pages 52–54)
  12. What does “Mercy is the apex of God’s glorymean”, and why should we view his mercy as such? (page 53)
  13. Piper states, “This remarkable vision of God as one who ‘exalts himself to show mercy’ (Isa. 30:18) impels world missions in more ways than one”. Summarize the two ways noted by Piper. (pages 54–57)

Refer to Chapter 6 – A Passion for God’s Supremacy and Compassion for Man’s Soul

  1. How does Piper define worship? (pages 231–232)
  2. What is the first and ultimate goal of missions? (page 232)
  3. Why does love for the glory of God necessarily include love for missions? (pages 232–233)
  4. What is the relationship between our passion for the supremacy of God – the glory of God, the honor of God, and of his Son among the nations – and our compassion for perishing sinners whose end is everlasting misery if they do not hear the gospel and believe? (pages 233–238)

To Our Neighbors

  1. How is our Christian witness affected when we do not have a proper view of God and passion for the supremacy of God? (pages 36–38 and 59–63)
  2. If reading the above chapters has helped exalt your view of God, how will this affect how you interact with your neighbors?

Looking Ahead

  1. Review the homework you’ve just completed and identify one question/answer or a thought from last week’s lecture that you would like to discuss with your small group.