We know, as a church, our purpose is to most importantly Glorify God, then, to equip saints, and to share the gospel. Last week we started a new sermon series on being equipped saints. To be equipped means to have the things that you need, to be fixed - repaired - and positioned for the purpose that is set before you. Our purpose, as it says in Ephesians 4, is to be equipped for the ministry - the application of - the gospel. We are to be prepared correctly for - giving out and applying the gospel. We want to have the tools for the doing of the things that God calls us to do. And the approach that I am taking to this is one like what a person would experience when joining the military and going through basic training - because of the similarities between becoming and growing as a christian and going through that process as a citizen becoming a soldier. And so I could share that lovely photo of myself last week from the end of my own basic training experience. As a disclaimer, I am using this as an illustration - because it works, not because I need everyone to know that this was something I did or anything like that. It just works for this purpose.
