We don't sing very many songs about our mission as a church.  It's not our fault--there aren't too many good songs out there on that topic.  And, we certainly want our worship to be centered on what God has done, not what we are to do.  But, if part of the purpose of singing is to teach and admonish one another (as Colossians 3:16 tells us it is), then we certainly should sing songs that remind us of our Great Commission.

So, this Sunday we plan to introduce a new song:  "Go and Send and Pray."  To read the lyrics and listen to a demo, click here.  What I like about this song is that, even as it does remind us of our work for the kingdom, the emphasis is on God's work.  The song is actually a prayer that God would move us to "join this cause," meaning His cause--God's work to seek and save the lost. 

This is God's work, but He does His work through us.  He works through us, the song says, in three ways.  First, we go.  "Go and make disciples of all nations," says our commission.  Some will go overseas, but we don't all need to go that far.  There are disciples to be made in the nation around us.  And, second, we are to send others to go and make disciples.  We do this as a church by supporting our missionaries.  Third, and perhaps most importantly, God works through us as we pray.  We regularly pray for our missionaries and our community on Sunday mornings.  May we all be faithful to pray individually as well.  Pray for opportunities to sow the seed, pray for boldness to seize those opportunities, pray that the seed would take root and produce fruit.

In the past two sermons (Mark 4:1-20, Mark 4:21-34), we have seen the Gospel compared to a seed.  This past Sunday we saw how God is at work to grow the seed, even when we can't see it.  The final verse of "Go and Send and Pray" reminds us of this truth.  The mission field often "looks barren."  But that does not mean God is not at work, nor that the seed has been "sown in vain."  God is at work.  We may not always see it, but we walk by faith, not by sight.  May we not be discouraged, but "press on in faithfulness and trust what You ordain."