Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO A 'mission' mindset Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA June 4, 2006 Pentecost Sunday Main Scripture texts: Acts 1:4-9; 2:1-13, 41 In Act 1, Jesus said two things result from full participation in Pentecost: 1) We receive power; 2) We become witnesses. When we are fully participating in Pentecost we develop a "mission" mindset. We start acting like what we are: people who have been sent on a mission. We the term "missionary" to describe those who commit themselves to full-time Christian work in foreign nations. It is perfectly right to call them that. But it is perfectly wrong to limit the term to those who serve on foreign soil. Everyone who has received Jesus as Savior and Lord has been commissioned by Jesus -- sent on a mission to be witnesses to what God has offered us in Jesus Christ. Where are we to witness? Jesus gives the pattern in Acts 1:8: 1) Jerusalem -- which is our home, where we are; 2) Judea -- representing our state or country.; 3) Samaria -- representing neighboring states or countries; 4) Ends of the Earth -- the whole planet. This is all part of a whole. Through our personal witness, through our local church, through our Conference, through the foreign missionaries we support, the overall mission -- the advancement of the Kingdom of God -- goes forward. The sermon is titled, "A 'Mission' Mindset." According to the dictionary, a mindset is "a fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines one's responses to, and interpretations of, situations." Note that a mindset is "fixed." It is firm, determined, established. Second, it "predetermines" how we respond to whatever circumstances or situations we encounter. Your mindset will affect how you spend your time and your money. It will determine what you focus your life on. The power of Pentecost is "going power" -- power to go into the world as witnesses to what God has done in Jesus Christ. If we maintain a "mission" mindset, we will receive God's power, and we will go and make disciples -- first in Athens, then Georgia, the U.S.A, and even to the ends of the earth. This is what it means to fully participate in Pentecost. Supporting texts: Matthew 28:18-20 | 2 Corinthians 5:16-19 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here (22 min.). (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of the sermon summarized above is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 060604a: A 'Mission' Mindset © 2006 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us