Genesis 12:1-3

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

2 “I will make you into a great nation,
    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.”

Sermon Recap

After spending 8 chapters showing us just how broken the world is, Genesis 12 acts as a turning point: the beginning of God’s grand rescue plan. Throughout the Bible you’re going to see this theme repeated: a “Family on Mission.” God takes a man, Abram, out of Babylon and calls him to a new land, promises to make his family great, and says that his family will be used to bless all the other families of the earth.

God’s been using “families on mission” and will continue to do so through out the Bible. We’ve already seen Adam and Eve, the first family on mission with God in the world. Then there was Noah’s family. Now there’s Abram’s (later called Abraham) family, which becomes the nation of Israel, which produces the family line of David the King, which produces Jesus. This is what God means when he tells Abram that his family will bless all the other families of the earth. He’s referring to the fact that Jesus, the Savior, will come from Abram’s line.

And of course, what does Jesus do when he comes to Earth? He starts his own family. He recruits disciples to follow him and calls them his family (Matthew 12:49). Jesus’ disciples, later called “the church” (that’s you and me!) are the new family of God on mission with him.

At New City, we see ourselves as a family on mission joining God for the renewal of the city. This year we are doubling down on family and mission. For our purposes this week, we’re going to focus on mission. Last Sunday we introduced a new initiative we’re calling, “Who’s Your One More?” This is our collective effort to reach the lost and make disciples, not as a fringe addition to what we do as a church, but as a regular and central rhythm of our church. The idea is that every one of us has at least one person in our life that God is calling us to invite to church and/or share the gospel with. If everyone in our church reached just one person every year, we’d reach 3,200 people in just 5 years. Crazy!!!! And completely within the realm of possibilities. Use the questions below to discuss with your Community how you can work together to reach out to those God is sending you to.

Application Questions