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

through the proclamation of the Gospel, the promise of eternal life is offered freely to the nations through the preaching of the cross.

Now is the time for you to discuss with your fellow students your questions about the motifs and frameworks covered in this lesson. What particular questions do you have in light of the material you have just studied? Maybe some of the questions below might help you form your own, more specific and critical questions. * What has been your experience in your church with the subject of “mission?” How has mission typically been portrayed in your experience? * Have you ever met any missionaries? Where were they serving? What were the kinds of issues, themes, and concepts they emphasized while you spent time with them? In light of your experience, what observations did you make regarding the work that missionaries do and the motives that drive them? * Why do you think it is important to begin discussions about mission with what the Scriptures teach, and not with the experiences and histories of various missionaries down through history? Explain. * Have you ever considered full-time missionary service? What were the things that made you think about it as a possibility for your own life? * How well can you reproduce from memory (without notes) the story of God as laid out in the outline of From Before to Beyond Time ? Why is such an outline helpful to summarize mission as the current proclamation of God’s story, i.e., his offer of salvation and redemption in the person and work of Jesus Christ? * Complete the following sentence: “The one thing that moves me and challenges me most in discussing mission in terms of God’s story in From Before to Beyond Time is . . .” * Without the use of notes or a Bible, trace the covenant promise of God from the Seed of the woman in Genesis 3.15 to the fulfillment of the covenant in Jesus Christ. Include God’s promise in the Garden, to Shem, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to Judah, to David, and finally to Christ. (How did you do? Were you able to include the verse references, too?)

Student Application and Implications

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