OUR MISSION: Encourage • Equip • Engage | John 14:6

[0:00] Welcome to Ontario Community Church. I'm Pastor Patrick Daly and you're listening to the Sermon Podcast from January 18th, 2026. Today, we are exploring a foundational question. What is our mission as a local church?

[0:17] Not just our activities, programs, or the things that we do, but the divine direction Christ has given to us. Our mission is simple. Encouraging, equipping, and engaging lives for Christ.

[0:30] Today, we're looking at John chapter 14 verses 1-6 with supporting texts from Proverbs chapter 29 verse 18 and many other verses throughout scripture.

[0:44] Before we begin, I want you to consider something. Proverbs 29 verse 18 tells us where there is no vision, the people perish. Without clear direction, we drift off. Without a God-given mission, we become scattered and ineffective.

[1:02] But when Christ gives us His direction, when He says, I am the way, the truth, and the life, everything changes. That's exactly what we're unpacking today.

[1:14] Our mission flows directly from Christ's declaration in the Gospel of John chapter 14 verse 6. We encourage people to follow the way in Christ.

[1:26] We equip people with the truth that is found in Jesus Christ and in the Word of God. We engage culture through new life that comes abundantly through Jesus Christ.

[1:39] Now, this isn't just a clever framework. This is Christ's direction that was established for the disciples, but also for us today, for His Church.

[1:50] This last week, we explored our identity through the 4-H framework, who we are as hope, heart, hospital, and hub.

[2:00] Today, we're discovering what we do because of who we are. In other words, our mission flows from our identity in Christ. Now, come join me as we dive into God's Word together.

[2:15] Well, good morning, everyone. How many of you have been on a boat at sea before? Show of hands.

[2:27] Maybe you've been on a boat on a lake, right? You can raise your hand on that. You know, it's very interesting in your notes today. We have been going through, it's kind of a pivot, some time off from our time from Revelation.

[2:42] The beginning of the year, we talked about blessed are the peacemakers and how important it is for us to follow God's calling for this church body this year.

[2:56] And last week, we went over who we are as a congregation, who we are as the church, this local church body. And I bring up this example of a boat that's out on sea.

[3:14] You know, if you're going from one direction, from point A to point B, you have to constantly pay attention to where you're going. Otherwise, you can end up going completely in a different direction.

[3:29] It is said that even if you go one degree off, you'll end up in a completely different place. And it's so important to be intentional, to be focused on the task at hand, to focus on steering that boat in the right direction.

[3:45] And what's so beautiful is this imagery we can think of, of a boat at sea, the chaotic waters, and Christ represented as a lighthouse.

[4:00] I always love those kind of images. And like I was mentioning in your notes, you have this picture of a boat at sea that's heading towards a lighthouse. And it's a great representation of when we are going into different territory, sometimes even unknown territory, how much hope there is when you see a lighthouse.

[4:24] That beacon of hope, as it were. That light that is shining out into foreign waters. And if there's ever a chaotic storm or if it's completely dark, you're like, where is my destination?

[4:36] Where is it? And you see the light and you head towards it because that's where you want to end up. And today we'll go into the importance of that image. But today we are talking about this idea of divine vision.

[4:52] We find within the pages of Scripture, there is a famous verse within Scripture. We can go to this next slide here. How important it is.

[5:04] You know, we will pray. Then we'll go into it. What's so important is God gives us vision. Not only for our lives, but for churches as well.

[5:18] And we as Christians are to follow in that divine direction in our life. God has given us divine vision in Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life.

[5:29] And he gives us, Christ gives us who he is. And we are to follow in the way, the truth, and the life.

[5:40] And Father God, we thank you for this opportunity for us to gather as we've been going through who we are as a church, our mission and vision. And in the coming weeks, we'll be going over how does someone belong?

[5:53] And how does someone grow? It is so important for us as a church body to be united in you. And to focus as you as the source of life, the giver of life, the creator of the heavens and the earth.

[6:10] We ask that your Holy Spirit is with us, convicting us, stirring our hearts, leading and guiding us. May our minds and our hearts be focused on you.

[6:21] May we cast our burdens to you. May there be a sense of unity and divine direction that comes from you. And we're so grateful that you give us direction in this life.

[6:33] You show us a better way. You show us a way that is very different than what the world has to offer. When the world offers darkness, you offer light.

[6:44] When the world offers lies and confusion, you offer truth and clarity. And when the world says there are so many different paths that potentially lead to nowhere, you offer the way that leads to salvation.

[7:00] Bless this time together as we are gathered today in your holy name. And it is in the name of Jesus that we pray.

[7:11] And we all say together, can I get an amen, church? And so, how many of you have seen this proverb before? This is from Proverbs 29, 18.

[7:23] Show of hands, anybody has ever read or seen? Maybe you've heard this before. That proverb, Proverbs 29, 18 says, Where there is no vision, the people perish.

[7:37] And in Proverbs, you know, you have a lot. It is wisdom that is used and it's directly applicable for our life. And this verse is typically used for businesses, for organizations, and for nonprofits and whatnot.

[7:51] And how it typically works is you've got to have vision in your life. You've got to know where you want to end up, right? Your organization, if you're a, well, I think of Nora right over here, a food pantry, your vision and your mission is to feed the hungry, right?

[8:06] And you have to focus in on that. You don't deviate from the mission. You don't deviate from the vision. We can think about that in our own personal life when we think of goals and plannings and these kind of things.

[8:18] And this is a truth that is directly applicable to us today when we think of business and life planning and all these kind of things. But there is something that is much more to this proverb than meets the eye.

[8:32] And so it is true, business, people, organizations, we all need vision. Amen. We certainly need that. But there's something much deeper that is going on specifically in this proverb.

[8:44] When it is speaking about vision, it is referring not just having direction and planning and execution, but it is talking about divine vision or, in other words, divine direction.

[8:57] And I don't know about you. I want to have God's direction in my life. I want to follow in his path and in his ways. So this vision then, right, where there is no divine vision, where there's no divine revelation, the King James, I like this particular version where it says the people perish.

[9:17] There's other translations that say things to the effect of the people will go crazy. The people will run wild, right? The people are out of control. And all of that is true.

[9:28] And I think for the King James, though, it's more of a seriousness that you can be so out of control that you could end up perishing, right? And we certainly know that there are a lot of instances in life where people go off the deep end, right?

[9:45] Where people go, they end up so lost and out of control, they end up in a really bad place. And I think there's a lot of seriousness. And although we use the English Standard Version here at Ontario Community, it is important sometimes to look at the different translations in here.

[10:03] If you don't have vision, there will be disorder. There will be chaos, right? Confusion or even collapse. And certainly, in the same way that we need to plan and think of how we're going to live our lives and how we're going to carry out our businesses and all these things, we certainly need to remember that we are to focus on divine direction that comes from the Lord.

[10:25] Amen? It's so important for us. And this type of vision, right, is, as I was mentioning, this ship that's out in sea, right?

[10:37] You have all of the tools, right? You have your compasses and all the dials and things that's telling you where you need to go. And we have to think that God gives us responsibility, our ability to respond to him by receiving salvation, and certainly thinking of God as the one that guides us as we are on this boat in the open sea.

[11:03] Now, every time you go on the water, it's going to be different, right? If you're a surfer, you know there's going to be different seasons and there's going to be high tide and low tide.

[11:15] There's going to be times where it's just lots of things, lots of variables to consider. And we have to think about that as we are navigating through life.

[11:25] So a ship needs to constantly steer in the right direction towards its destination. And in the same way, as we journey, may we journey to Christ.

[11:36] And when we receive Christ, may we journey in Christ. Does that make sense, church? There's a lot of people out there. They focus on, they search all over the world and they're thinking, there's something that's empty in my life.

[11:50] So I'm going to go to alcohol and I'm going to get drunk. There's other people. They search, there's something missing in my life and I'm going to gamble, right? All these different things, fame, fortune, notoriety, right?

[12:03] Becoming famous. All these different things that there is emptiness that still exists. You would think that if money and fame and all these things, if that was really the thing that fulfills you, aren't there famous people that, or rich people that have everything they could have ever wanted and yet they still feel an emptiness?

[12:26] Absolutely. You hear about it all the time. What do you mean? You're famous. You're beautiful. You're healthy. You have all of this and yet there's something that's still missing in your life.

[12:37] Well, we can find fulfillment, purpose, and direction from the Lord. With God's instruction and following that divine vision, right?

[12:50] Following something that is higher than man's vision. There is blessing by following the ways of the Lord. And scripture is not just calling us to have vision, again, in our own personal, in our businesses, in all the things, but to follow his vision for our very lives.

[13:07] And not only does that apply to us individually, that applies to us as a church body. And so it applies to individuals, families, right?

[13:20] Having God at the center of your life. Where is God in your life? Do you put him on a list or do you center him around your life? There's a big difference when you think about that.

[13:33] When we put God on a list, we like to check off lists. But when we incorporate God at the center of our lives, having God in every aspect in our life is so important.

[13:45] And when God's people lose sight of this divine revelation, right? They end up drifting, right? Just when we think of this image of someone who is at sea, well, if a storm happens or if you're not paying attention, are you going to be on the correct course?

[14:04] Well, there's the chance that you might deviate from the course and you might get lost, right? It's no different than when you're hiking on a new trail that you haven't been on before. And you end up not having a map or you realize your cell phone service is completely gone.

[14:19] And well, now you got to really follow directions or you're going to get lost in the mountains. Whatever that may. There's lots of examples that we can think of in the real, in our everyday lives, when we're thinking about from the physical to the spiritual.

[14:35] And so our vision then comes from Christ. And I want to take a moment. I want us to go to our scripture reading. This actually leads us to turning to the pages of scripture.

[14:47] Let's turn our Bibles to the Gospel of John, chapter 14. It's going to be on page 1070 in your ESVP Bible. And we're just going to read the first six verses.

[15:11] All right. You can use your ESVP Bible or your Bible of choice. Are we all there, church, pretty much?

[15:22] All right. So, Gospel of John, chapter 14, where Christ is saying, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Let's start with verse 1. Let's read all six verses.

[15:32] Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

[15:47] And I go and prepare a place for you. I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.

[16:00] Well, what has Thomas said? Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way? And this is the important verse, verse 6, right?

[16:11] Where Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life, right? And we even go into verse 7. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.

[16:24] From now on, you do know him and have seen him. Talking about the triune God, right? The Father and the Son and the Spirit, right? And it's very important when we're reading this.

[16:36] We have this verse up here, right? And this is the thing that's very interesting. I've always been, I don't know about you, I've always been very interested in when Scripture is saying, when Jesus is saying here, the way, the truth, and the life.

[16:51] You think about that. Why specifically those words? The way, the implication of it is that there is a path that leads to Christ. And there is a path that exists in Christ, right?

[17:05] Well, we also know the truth. Well, the truth, that one's pretty easy, right? Jesus Christ is the truth, right? He is the way to salvation, right? Well, we can also realize that Jesus being the Word is the truth.

[17:18] So not only do we think of Christ being the truth, being the Savior of the world, we can also see how the truth of Christ being the Word, and not only do we have Christ as the Logos, but we have the Word of God with us that we can open, use, study, read, and allow for the Word to transform our very lives.

[17:45] And then finally, you have the life. When you receive salvation, when you believe in the Lord, you're receiving eternal salvation. And that's, not only are we, do we receive salvation to be in the presence of the Lord forever, but we are forever changed.

[18:06] And we begin on this journey, this path in Christ, to be transformed and to never be the same. And so Jesus is speaking these words on the night before the cross.

[18:21] And you have to think of this scene where the disciples, they're anxious, they're afraid, they're uncertain, right? And you have Thomas that's on the scene, he's asking this very real question.

[18:32] And Jesus is offering himself in those three different ways, way, truth, and life. And not only is this a description of who Christ is, but it provides a framework for our very lives.

[18:47] It provides divine direction for our lives, not only individually, but for us as a church. Remember Proverbs when we were going over that?

[18:59] Without vision, the people perish, right? Well, we have divine revelation, right? The mystery of Christ being revealed. We have divine revelation and divine vision that comes from Christ.

[19:15] And what an amazing verse that actually gives us an understanding of what our mission is to be. Let's go to that next slide then.

[19:28] And I want you to think, well, what is happening here? And in a single sentence then, Jesus is identifying that he is the way, he is the truth, and he is the life.

[19:41] So what can we learn from this? This divine direction, it's not vague, it's not abstract, it is specific. And it's not surprising then that the mission of the church, it flows out of who Christ is.

[19:58] I want us to go, yeah, let's go one more in here. When I first came here to Ontario Community Church, I provided this framework to encourage people to follow the way.

[20:14] To equip people with the truth and to engage culture through new life. In the past, I have worked with other churches, and the Lord, through people, tasked me with providing mission and vision.

[20:32] There's two other churches that I've worked with in creating something like this, but it all flows from what we find in the Gospel of John, the way, the truth, and the life. We encourage people to come to know Christ.

[20:46] Part of that is through invitation. We invite people to church. We invite people to come and to see that the Lord is good. And so it's in direct alignment with John 14, 6.

[20:59] And then the equipping, a lot of you who have been raised in the church, you know about the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry. The equipping then is to know what it is to be a follower of Christ, to follow in the footsteps of Christ, to know Scripture, and to be able with the ability to discern.

[21:18] That third one, then, to engage culture through new life, then, is the fact that we are a new creation. Right? We are to put on the new self.

[21:29] We are to continually to be transformed. And this salvation that we receive, if you were given a check to pay off all of your debts, your credit cards, your student loans, your mortgages, or if any of us own a Tesla or a Chevy truck, whatever, you would want to celebrate that.

[21:51] And so in receiving the greatest gift that has been given from God to us is that gift of salvation. And why wouldn't we want to share that with other people?

[22:02] Why wouldn't we want to tell the world that Jesus lives? The good news of the gospel. And so when we have that third point, then, the engaging culture through new life, it is that God gives us life and he gives it abundantly.

[22:15] Not just our salvation, but transformation, ongoing transformation that exists in our life. That we are continually being molded by the Lord.

[22:26] And what a wonderful and powerful journey it is for us to be on. To know that when you are a baby Christian, how you grow.

[22:38] And we should all grow. We shouldn't resist growth. You wouldn't want to remain an infant, would you? I mean, I hope none of us here answers that as a resounding yes. We are all growing.

[22:49] We see physical growth from children, right? From children who can't even walk or talk. And then there's crawling. Then they're running around. I would know nothing about this, right?

[23:02] And then they grow in understanding. My favorite part right now as a dad is when my son asks me, why? And at first you don't mind answering why.

[23:14] And then eventually you get to a point. You're like, Hey, I, I don't know. I don't know the answer. Or you get a little frustrated. Let's admit we've all gotten a little frustrated with questions. But the thing is, his understanding, our children and their understanding, it grows, right?

[23:31] They start asking questions. They start beginning to understand. I remember distinctly when I was in Hawaii, there was, we went, we were at a church and it was a good Friday service we went to.

[23:48] And my son on the way home said, Jesus died. And it really hit him. I said, yeah, Jesus died.

[24:01] And it kind of, the look on his eyes was like, he understood at least the death of Christ. And then come around with Easter. Explaining to him, not only did he die, but he's alive.

[24:17] And it's just such a powerful moment. Like a moment I'll cherish forever. We think about that for children, but let us also think about that in our spiritual walk and journey in Christ.

[24:30] Don't remain an infant. Remember when we went over Hebrews, right? We're talking about the needing milk, but not solid food, right? You got to start off with a baby bottle.

[24:40] You got to start off with milk and you grow into solid food of the word. And so in this, then our mission, then, as we have on here is, and it's been this way since first beginning here is encouraging, equipping, and engaging lives for Christ.

[24:58] In everything we do, we do in excellence for the glory of God. And that's very, very powerful. It's to remind all of us how important it is.

[25:11] I want to go to, let's go to that next slide. This is the application then. And so how do we live this out? This connection with the Proverbs 29, 18 and John 14, six is a really remarkable connection.

[25:27] Talking about the importance of having divine vision, divine revelation that comes from God. And if you think about it, if you don't have it, how wild and crazy things can get.

[25:38] But when you have divine vision, you have direction for where you're going to go. And how much more better your life will be in following in the footsteps of Christ.

[25:49] And so how we live this out is to encourage people to come to Christ. It begins with relationships. I'm reminded of how, you know, yesterday when my wife gave, when she gave that slideshow presentation of our community partnerships, it's about presence.

[26:06] It's about building relationships with people. I have a praise to tell you that through our partnerships, very recently, my wife told me of someone who made a decision for Christ.

[26:20] Someone who had no real connection with the Lord and was kind of like, yeah, I know Christians. Yeah, I know Jesus, but I believe in him.

[26:31] And that was through partnerships, through just being present. When we have all of this community outreach with our church, we are representing Christ by being present.

[26:44] Just as in the same way, we are all called to go out into the world, representing Christ as a peacemaker, as an ambassador, as someone who represents Christ.

[26:58] And you have to think of the words that you say, the actions that you do. How do you represent Christ? How can your life be a living testimony for other people?

[27:09] And so think of encouraging words, right? Not forcing people, but through presence, through encouragement, through meeting people where they are at.

[27:21] Are we all sinners? There are a bunch of sinners in the house. The answer is yes, right? We're all sinners and we're in the need of Christ as our Savior and our Lord.

[27:34] We all need Christ. And as we receive Christ, we got to share in the good news of the gospel. And what better way to meet people where they are at instead of forcing people.

[27:47] Something that I want you to think about is, God gives us a choice in how we are to respond, saying yes or no to Christ.

[28:00] So what are we doing forcing people to respond? You give people the opportunity and the choice through presence, through your own testimony, through sharing 1 Corinthians 15, verses 1 through 4, believing in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

[28:20] We also live this out, going back, to encourage is to welcome. It is to invite people.

[28:30] It is to walk alongside people as they take steps towards Christ. This person, this individual who made a decision for Christ, it's been over the course of a year.

[28:41] And we praise God for that. Every conversation mattered. Every step in people asking questions. What do you believe in? Oh, I believe in this.

[28:52] What is your church doing? Why do you do this? These kind of things we have to think about. And encouragement, it creates a space for trust, for healing, and for hope. How important it is for people to feel welcomed and to feel safe in building those relationships.

[29:11] Ask yourself that question. Is there someone that God is calling for you to encourage to, towards Christ, towards inviting them to church? This ties into who we are, right?

[29:24] When we've talked about hope, heart, hospital, and hub. We want people to come to Christ, but also to belong something that is very different than what the world has to offer.

[29:36] You really think about it. How many of you have gone on social media or turned on the news recently? It's okay. Yeah.

[29:47] It's icky, right? It's not a lot of good things going on. With all these bad things that are happening, we could be here all day talking about all the bad that's going on.

[29:58] With all of the bad, it seems hopeless. What an opportunity for us to speak to people who are without hope. What an opportunity for us to say, Christ offers a different way.

[30:12] Hope in healing instead of the world that doesn't forgive or doesn't forget. That's the problem with the internet. That's the problem with social media. And that's the problem even with artificial intelligence.

[30:25] When people are placing all of their trust in AI, it remembers, it doesn't forget. You think about these things. God offers a much better way than what the world has to offer.

[30:39] And man, I don't even know why I have a TV anymore. I really don't. I can't think of the last time I've seen a positive.

[30:51] You got to really seek it out anymore. Right? You got to really search to find good news in the news. But, let us be reminded of the greatest news in Jesus Christ.

[31:04] The hope that exists for Him. The peace that surpasses all understanding. The inexpressible and inexhaustible joy. And even in that, when we get wounded, when we get hurt, not only is God there for you, but we should be there for one another.

[31:23] Being present, praying for one another. Whenever something, a medical complication happens, whenever we feel alone, just a simple phone call to somebody, you'd be amazed at just giving someone, sending someone a text, hey, I've been thinking about you.

[31:40] Hey, I heard about this transition, good or bad. It is our responsibility as the church to continue the mission of Christ. And that's just encouragement, right?

[31:53] Equipping then is, what does it mean to be a follower of Christ? What does it mean to be more like Him? Well, we think of Christ as the greatest example, right? As our Savior who's providing a way for us to live and love like Him.

[32:08] Is it easy to love like Christ? It's a little harder, right? But that's what we're called to do. To follow in the footsteps of Christ.

[32:19] To have your mind and your heart changed and transformed. There are some people who you know God is really working in and through.

[32:31] And it's remarkable, especially if they came from a dark and broken place. And even if they haven't, it's still remarkable to see the tremendous amount of change that happens.

[32:44] So equipping to know the truth. Not just that Jesus is the truth, but the truth of the Word of God. To be equipped then.

[32:55] To be trained, right? As I've talked about the importance of knowing discernment and ongoing transformation. To be formed, to prepare believers to live faithfully.

[33:07] We think of spiritual formation and discipleship, how it shapes us and how we become more like the Lord. There's a few verses in Scripture, all Scripture being God-breathed and equipping us for good works.

[33:26] The equipping of the saints for ministry, right? And as I've talked about milk from solid food, there's all kinds of verses. Right? We even think of the parables, the seed that gets planted and grows so that we can bear what?

[33:40] Fruit. Right? All these kind of... Why is it repeated throughout Scripture unless it's important? And it's explained in so many different ways. The importance of us to grow spiritually, the importance for us to be equipped then.

[33:53] And that third one then is to engage culture, church, and community. To have a servant's heart. to serve the Lord and to serve others as well.

[34:06] And Jesus came that we may have life abundantly. An abundant life does not remain hidden. It flows from inward transformation into outward expression.

[34:18] To engage then is to serve others, right? Serving in the church, serving within the community. If you don't know where or how to serve, ask God for direction.

[34:31] But also talk to people if you ever feel moved to serve. Step into responsibility. And I want you to think when we went over our interactive reading, many of us know Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 through 9, for it is by grace that you are saved, not by work so that no one may boast.

[34:52] Some of you can quote that verbatim, right? It's that following verse that we are made for good works. We're not saved by what we do, but we are saved so that we can do good things in the name of Christ.

[35:08] It's not to remain stagnant. It's to be active and to journey and to navigate through life. Engagement is actively looking into how to serve the Lord.

[35:21] And when we think about it, this is our mission then. It is encouraging, equipping, and engaging lives for Christ. And this comes from Christ himself.

[35:34] I always want, personally, as your pastor, I always want to teach from Scripture. And asking the question, where in Scripture can God guide us?

[35:46] Where can God guide me? Where can God guide you? And where can God guide us through his word? And what a powerful, powerful directive that we have from Christ just explaining who he is.

[35:59] The way, the truth, and the life. In that order, the path that leads to salvation, to grow in him, in the truth, in the knowledge of who he is, and to live that life abundantly.

[36:13] It's beautiful. It is something that is divine. It forms a pathway, and this pathway is how our identity becomes visible in everyday life.

[36:29] This image here, to follow Christ's divine direction, as I've mentioned, without vision, the people perish. Certainly, we need vision in our life.

[36:42] Vision of, you know, how am I going to be a good student in college, right? How am I going to be a good employee? How am I going to grow my business? But we have to think much beyond that.

[36:54] God's divine direction for our lives. And we are to follow his way, because he is the truth, and he gives us life abundantly.

[37:07] Without divine revelation, without divine vision, people drift. But God has not left us without direction. Jesus is our Savior, he is our Shepherd, and he is our Lord.

[37:22] Essentially, he will walk with us along the way. As I always mention to people, when I go to Grace Assisted Living, or when I need to go to the hospital and be present, I always think of that verse.

[37:38] Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For you, God, are with me. Throughout all of Scripture, there's so many times that question, where is God when this happens?

[37:57] God is there with us in every season of our life, even when we don't realize it, even when we don't see it. And not only should that give us comfort regarding the Lord, it should also give us comfort that it's our responsibility to be there for one another, to love one another just as the Lord has loved each and every one of us.

[38:21] And so, Jesus is the way that we follow. Jesus is the truth that forms us, molds us, and transforms us. And Jesus is the life.

[38:34] The life everlasting. When Christ is at the center, then, of our own lives and our church life, the mission then becomes clear.

[38:46] If you need encouragement, may you receive it. And may you offer it to someone else. If you need to be equipped, be ready. Be open to being molded by the word, by the Lord, by the leading of the Holy Spirit.

[39:02] And if you're ready to engage, may you step into serving with humility and with trust representing Christ. Follow Christ's divine direction one step at a time.

[39:17] May you be on this journey faithfully following Christ, the way, the truth, and the life. Let's pray together. And Father, we thank you for this time and this opportunity to go through our mission and vision that comes from your Son, Jesus Christ, and who he is, the way, the truth, and the life.

[39:39] And how wonderful it is to have not just vision for this church, but divine vision that comes from you. May we follow it. May we receive it. May we follow it. May you transform each and every one of us and Father God, I pray that everyone who is here in this place may know your Son, Jesus Christ.

[40:01] Pray for everyone that is online that they may know who Christ is and that you provide a better way through him, that you give us new life in him.

[40:15] May we all be encouraged, equipped, and may we engage lives for Christ. How thankful we are for who you are.

[40:27] May we remain in you our constant, our foundation, our anchor. May this proverb and may this description of Christ guide our lives.

[40:42] it is in Jesus' name that we pray and we all say together, Amen, Church. Amen. Thank you for joining us from this message from Ontario Community Church.

[40:55] Today we have reflected on our mission as the Church, not just what we hope to accomplish someday, but it is the divine direction that Christ has given to us right now.

[41:05] Jesus declared, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Our entire mission flows from this declaration.

[41:19] Let me remind you of the 3E framework, that we encourage people to follow the way, inviting them to come and see that the Lord is good, to love God and to love others.

[41:31] We equip people with the truth that is found in Jesus Christ by training them in God's word so that they are rooted, built up, and established in Christ. And we engage culture through this new life, this new identity in Him, serving one another as faithful stewards, going in His name to live and to love as His people.

[41:54] These three elements, these three aspects, encourage, equip, and engage, they belong together. You cannot encourage without equipping, you cannot equip without engaging, and all of this is interconnected.

[42:06] Engagement without encouragement then becomes empty activism. So, the three all belong together. For this is our mission, flowing from our identity in Christ.

[42:19] As we concluded last week, we are a church with a clear identity, hope, heart, hospital, and hub. And today, we see that identity expressed through this clear mission, encourage, equip, and engage.

[42:36] And this is how we live out who we are. This is how we cross the bridges that we have been building together. May you be encouraged to follow Christ's way with confidence.

[42:47] May you be equipped with His truth for every good work. And may you engage your world with the life and love of Jesus Christ. May you remember that this mission is not a burden to carry alone.

[43:00] It is a calling that we fulfill together as the body of Christ. You can find all of today's resources at ontariocommunitychurch.org.

[43:11] There you will find slides, sermon notes, Bible studies, the interactive reading, and other resources. You can also find us on YouTube, Rumble, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[43:26] May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he make his face shine upon you and give you peace. May the Lord direct your paths as you encourage, equip, and engage lives for Christ.

[43:38] God bless you and thank you. God bless you and Thank you.

[44:30] Thank you.