Foundations for Christian Mission, Mentor's Guide, MG04

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F O U N D A T I O N S F O R C H R I S T I A N M I S S I O N

poor, he likewise is concerned about the American inner city because of its staggering number of underclass and poor families. The Bible clearly shows how the city is the picture and symbol of our spiritual destiny and inheritance. The hope of the saints is to dwell with God in the New Jerusalem, not a place where God is absent and where arrogance rules, but rather the home of the righteous where God is present, and Jesus is adored as Lord of all. The explicit goal of mission is to rob the cities of the world in order to fill up and populate the New Jerusalem, the true mother of all believers ( God’s final urban renewal project ). Because of the significance of the city both in Scripture and in the modern world, the city must remain at the hub of all missionary enterprise. Our praying, giving, and sending of laborers must focus on reaching unreached cities; we must recruit more missionaries to serve in the city, strategize how to affect unreached cities with the Gospel, and pray for the city and seek its safety, finding our safety in its preservation. Now is the time for you to discuss with your fellow students your questions about the city and its place in mission today. Here is your opportunity to discuss your own ideas about the city, and the particular issues that you have about mission and the city in light of the material you have just studied. The priority here is on your questions; use the questions below to discover your own list of issues and concerns. * What is your opinion of the city–where did you grow up, and how did your family and the people who lived in your community view the city? How would you characterize your feeling about the city today? * Is it easy for you to see the links between human rebellion, idolatry, independence, and arrogance and the modern American city? Do you think that God will judge the modern American city even as he did the ancient cities on account of their sinfulness and hardness of heart? Explain. * Do you associate any city with the sense that we discovered in our lesson today, that is, as a symbol of God’s dwelling place and blessing? Can this be said only of the New Jerusalem, or are we to strive to see our cities today in this way? Explain.

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Student Application and Implications