Missio Dei Communities

The first step in rebuilding a city is to get at the foundations.  Every city has a cultural foundation.  We might call these the Cultural Idols.  The Cultural Idols tell the story that the people in the city are living in.  Think of it this way.  If you want to understand the person, you need to understand the water they are swimming in.  After you see what the false foundations of the city are you need to smash them and replace them with Jesus.  Having a gospel foundation is the only way to see a city rebuilt.  

The second thing that needs to be done is that you need to have the right motivations for rebuilding, namely declaring and demonstrating the amazing worth of our sovereign God - the one who truly reigns.  As the city is rebuilt, it isn’t constructed with the works of your hands, but rather by building with bricks of gospel grace.  We don’t just look to Jesus to be the foundation, but to inform all the bricks that are stacked up to rebuild the city.  Finally, we don’t live in the city alone, but need to be living alongside and in deep gospel community with others who are being changed by the power or the gospel.


Overview
One of the most potent ways to see a city transformed is to bask in the glory of God’s sovereignty, be overwhelmed with His grace, and regularly be praying for the city you are reaching and the people you are rebuilding with.  This is not a solo effort, we live by the grace of God with the community of God.

Carve out some time and read through these chunks of Scripture with someone else who is seeking to live out the gospel in a similar situation as you.  Don’t freak out this can be someone in your Missional Community, the person you are married to, another single dude aligning his life to build a marriage, or another human being living their life to the glory of God.  Yes- you have a connection with everyone in this room.  As you read write down some of the implications of the truths that you read for your situation, then spend time praying for each other to be continuously overwhelmed and informed by the reality that Jesus is Lord, Artemis is not.  Jesus has to be both the foundations of the city and the building blocks of it and our preferences are not.  


Implications vs. Applications
An application is something that I do to put a new rule in my life.  But we are convinced that the gospel does not just give new rules.  Rather it tells me an alternate story that we are living by. We are implicated by the reality of what is true. So, in this guide you are going to ask the questions, “What truths come out in this passage?  How am I implicated by this passage?  Will I live in line with what is true or by a lie?







God’s Glorious Sovereignty

Ephesians 1.1-14





Ephesians 2.14-20









Build with bricks of gospel grace.

Ephesians 2.1-10






Ephesians 2.11-21








Live in relationships that are centered on the gospel.

Ephesians 5.1-21