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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This last week, we explored our identity through the 4-H framework, who we are as hope, heart, hospital, and hub.
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.
Well, good morning, everyone.
How many of you have been on a boat at sea before?
Show of hands.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
And he gives us, Christ gives us who he is.
And we are to follow in the way, the truth, and the life.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Bless this time together as we are gathered today in your holy name.
And it is in the name of Jesus that we pray.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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?
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.
Well, we can find fulfillment, purpose, and direction from the Lord.
With God's instruction and following that divine vision, right?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
All right.
You can use your ESVP Bible or your Bible of choice.
Are we all there, church, pretty much?
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
It provides divine direction for our lives,
not only individually, but for us as a church.
Remember Proverbs when we were going over that?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
Not just our salvation,
but transformation,
ongoing transformation that exists in our life.
That we are continually being molded by the Lord.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
And my son on the way home said,
Jesus died.
And it really hit him.
I said,
yeah,
Jesus died.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
And so think of encouraging words,
right?
Not forcing people,
but through presence,
through encouragement,
through meeting people where they are at.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We also live this out,
going back,
to encourage
is to welcome.
It is to invite people.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
You really think about it.
How many of you have gone on social media
or turned on the news recently?
It's okay.
Yeah.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
To have your mind
and your heart
changed and transformed.
There are some people
who you know
God is really working
in and through.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
And Jesus came
that we may have life abundantly.
An abundant life
does not remain hidden.
It flows from inward transformation
into outward expression.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
The life everlasting.
When Christ is at the center,
then,
of our own lives
and our church life,
the mission then
becomes clear.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
May we all
be encouraged,
equipped,
and may we
engage lives
for Christ.
How thankful
we are for who
you are.
May we remain
in you
our constant,
our foundation,
our anchor.
May this proverb
and may
this description
of Christ
guide our lives.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Engagement
without
encouragement
then becomes
empty activism.
So,
the three
all belong
together.
For this
is our
mission,
flowing from
our identity
in Christ.
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.
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.
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.
It is a
calling that
we fulfill
together as
the body of
Christ.
You can find
all of today's
resources at
ontariocommunitychurch.org.
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.
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.
God bless you
and thank you.
God bless you and
Thank you.