Here, There & Everywhere

What happens when comfort becomes the mission? Romans 15 gives us a sobering look at what it costs to follow Jesus beyond the boundaries of our own comfort zones, and what becomes possible when we do.

Paul closes his letter to the church in Rome by mapping out a ministry that stretched roughly 1,400 miles on foot, from Jerusalem to Illyricum, through beatings, imprisonments, and hardship. He was not boasting out of pride. He was putting on display what God accomplished through his willingness to be uncomfortable. And he invites the church in Rome, and us, to join him in that same mission.

This message explores what the Bible says about holy ambition, the Great Commission, and what it looks like to carry the gospel to people who have never heard it. Whether you are wrestling with spiritual complacency, looking for your purpose as a Christian, or trying to understand what it means to live on mission, this message speaks directly to those questions.

Topics covered include: the danger of comfort in the Christian life, Paul's missionary journey and what drove him, the meaning of holy ambition and the Greek word philotimeomai, the Great Commission in Matthew 28 and Acts 1, reaching unreached people groups and unreached neighbors, the stories of Onesimus and Phoebe as examples of ordinary people on mission, Isaiah's response to God's call in Isaiah 6, and practical steps for living on mission this week.

Key questions explored: When your life is over, what will exist because you were here? Have you let comfort quietly turn your focus inward? Who within 15 minutes of your front door has never heard the gospel?

Whether you are a longtime believer or just beginning to explore faith, this message is a call to pick up the baton and carry it one street further down the road.