Dear Lutheran School Partners in Ministry,
Greetings to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! On this National Lutheran Schools Week,
The Christian Church often talks about the importance of outreach. But what does outreach mean?
Intentional outreach is one of the four tenets of the MN South District Go First initiative. It’s acting upon the conviction that Christ has called us to be light bearers and hope mongers in a broken and dysfunctional world.
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Every year Advent prepares us to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. This sacred church season cries out, “The King is coming!” It reminds us that Jesus came first by way of the womb and manger.
You might say Advent is a reminder that Jesus goes first - of how He went first from heaven to earth. That He might save us, Jesus goes first in a very profound way. He humbled Himself and became human, walked around in our flesh, and bore our sin.
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Jesus calls Christians into a community of life together. That community is a part of the Holy Christian Church that we confess in the Apostles’ Creed. At the core of this life together is the message of the justification of humankind through the shed blood of Jesus. The local expression of this life together
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Lutherans have a robust two-kingdom theology. It’s the understanding that God governs civil affairs in the left-hand kingdom through the law and governs the church (the gathering of believers) in the right-hand kingdom through the gospel. This understanding highlights the life of the Christian to God and to neighbor in both the temporal and eternal realms. It also affirms the importance of Christian citizens exercising civic duty regardless of the specific government. Two-kingdom theology recognizes obedience to divinely appointed authority is obedience to God himself.
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Last month I introduced the Go First! initiative. It’s based upon the Gospel joy that since Jesus goes first to the cross to win for us forgiveness, life, and salvation, we can trust Him. And because we trust Him, He inspires us to go first and inspire others in His name. I offer this as a building block for our work together in our district this triennium. Going first helps us unleash the potential of our congregations and schools in the name of Jesus.
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