Who is God sending you to? What is God sending you out to do? If God sends us all out to do his work in the world, what might that look like in our lives?

God sent his only son into the world for the purpose of our salvation, redemption, and restoration. Jesus was sent to us on a mission from the Father.

God sent Jesus on mission in the world, and God sends us on mission in the world.

In John’s gospel account, Jesus said to his disciples, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (John 20:21, ESV).

What does it mean that Jesus is our ascended High Priest?

Because Jesus ascended to the right hand of God in heaven, we can be assured that he is interceding on our behalf. We have an advocate with God. We have a priest who has lived in this world and who has experienced what we have experienced and who can identify with us and advocate for us. We can come before God with confidence and expect to receive grace and mercy because of Jesus’ ascension.

The author of the book of Hebrews proclaimed, “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14, 16, ESV).

How does God view children? What do children possess that we should aspire to?

God views children as his beloved who are close to God and to the kingdom of God.

Jesus spoke about children and the kingdom of God in Matthew’s Gospel, saying, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ‘Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.’” (Matthew 18:3-5, ESV).

What good gift of work has God given you? How are you gifted and skilled to impact the world with your labor, productivity, and creativity for the glory of God?

God has given us the good gift of work. We can cultivate creation to produce a fruitful abundance. We can impact this world to be better. We can make an impact and a difference through our labors.

The Apostle Paul instructed the Thessalonian Church, saying, “aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.” (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, ESV).

What does God want for us to do, and to look forward to, in anticipation of his leaving and his returning again?

When God called his people out of slavery in Egypt and used his servant Moses to lead them to the promised land—their new home of blessing, peace, and provision—Moses sinned against God and was told he would not enter the land of promise. At the end of Moses’ life, he gave a final speech to the Israelites, God’s chosen people, encouraging them to love God and to keep his commandments.

In Moses’s last speech, the Book of Deuteronomy, he spoke to the people of God in several places, saying:

Have you ever been homesick? Have you ever longed for home—to be in a familiar place of comfort and security with the people you love?

God desires to dwell with his people. From the very beginning of time when God set a garden in the middle of his creation and placed humanity in the middle of the garden, God walked with Adam and Eve in the paradise of the Garden of Eden.

Since the fall of humanity, all of scripture reveals to us God’s pursuit of humanity, to rescue them, to restore them to himself, and to make his home with his people once again.

If you were going away, what would be your final speech to those whom you love? What would you want your loved ones to know? What would you want them to be? What would you want them to do?

Our last words reflect what we value and what we see as essential and of utmost importance.

In John’s Gospel, in chapter fourteen, Jesus was leaving his disciples to be crucified, to die, to raise again, and to ascend. Jesus was going away and he wanted to exhort his disciples to love God and to keep his commandments. Jesus wanted to comfort his disciples with the hope and assurance of the presence of the Holy Spirit who the Father would send in his name to help them, to comfort them, to dwell with them, to be in them, and to give them life.

What does God think of injustice? How should we treat our neighbors—those who are different from us, and those who are in need? What does it look like for us to do justice and to exercise kindness in the world?

This life is filled with injustice, inequities, prideful arrogance, and self-supremacy.

God spoke through the Prophet Micah, saying, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8, ESV).

Are you at peace? When are you most at peace? Where does your peace come from? What is the difference between the peace the world gives and the peace God gives?

When we are troubled and afraid, the world offers limited and insufficient means to alleviate our anxieties. However, Jesus desires to give us his peace when we are troubled and afraid. Unlike the insufficiencies the world offers us, Jesus gives us his true peace.

In John’s gospel account, Jesus spoke to his disciples of his promised peace, saying, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” (John 14:27, ESV).

When you look at the world, what do you see? What message does creation send us?

The earth is full of the knowledge of God and the glory of God. This world communicates the understanding of God and God’s glory.

The Prophet Habakkuk wrote of the knowledge of the Lord in creation, saying, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14, ESV).

Where do you find goodness? Where do you find refuge? Where is your security and shelter in times of trouble?

God promises that he sees us and knows us when we take refuge in him. God is good to us and is our stronghold when we take refuge in him.

The prophet Nahum spoke the words of God, saying, “The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.” (Nahum 1:7, ESV).

What are you worried and anxious about? Does it matter? Does it REALLY matter? Is what you are worried and anxious over the sum-total of your life?

We can be anxious about many details of our lives, but anxieties and the details we are anxious over to not compromise the entirety of our life. Our life is more than what we are anxious about.

In Matthew’s gospel account, Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25, ESV).

What are the areas of your life, the branches, that are dead and fruitless and in need of care and pruning? Are there activities or habits that you are doing that are not producing good?

We can cut back on so much busyness in our lives which is not bearing good fruit. We can prune the areas of our lives which are dead and fruitless and sucking up valuable energy and time without producing.

In the gospel of John, Jesus said to his disciples, “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:2, ESV).

What do you treasure? Does your treasure have real value? Where is your treasure located? Is your treasure safe and secure? Will your treasure outlast your earthly lifetime?

Jesus spoke of the temporary nature of earthly treasures and the importance of valuing treasures of eternal significance and value.

In Matthew’s gospel account, Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19, ESV).

What do your words produce in the people around you? How do your words impact the world? Do your words impact the world for life, or do your words produce death in the world?

Wisdom tells us our words matter. Our words carry the weight of life and death.

The wisdom of the Proverbs tells us, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” (Proverbs 18:21, ESV).

What keeps you in a state of fear? What releases you from fear?

Doubting God’s provision and presence can lead us to fear. Recognizing God’s presence can battle our fear and give us great courage. When we realize that God is with us, that he will strengthen us, help us, and uphold us, our fear subsides.

God spoke through the Prophet Isaiah saying, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10, ESV).

We are called out of fear by God. We are not alone. God will strengthen us. God is with us and God will help us. God will hold us in the palm of his hand.

How do you hold up under the weight of hardship? How do you keep the faith and believe? What gives you the hope you need? What enables you to endure difficulties?

We all face heaviness and weighty loads that we have to bear at some point in our lives. We all face challenges to our faith and have doubts in our relationships from time to time. We all need hope in the face of life’s broken hopelessness. Each of us encounter periods of trying and difficult times that require us to endure.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:7, ESV).

What is the commandment with a promise from God? How can we honor our fathers and mothers? What does it look like “that it may go well with us and that we may live long in the land”?

God takes honoring our parents seriously. It is the fifth commandment to honor our father and mother, and it is the only commandment with a promise of blessing.

Th the Apostle Paul wrote the church in Ephesus, saying, “‘Honor your father and mother’ (this is the first commandment with a promise), ‘that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.’” (Ephesians 6:2-3, ESV).

Who has your best interest in mind? Who advocates and mediates on your behalf for your best interest and good? Who comes before God for you and mediates and advocates for what is best?

We have many advocates and champions who mediate on our behalf for our well being. However, there is only one mediator between God and each of us who is advocating on our behalf. Our only mediator and advocate is Jesus.

The Apostle Paul instructed his young disciple, Timothy, with this truth, saying, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5, ESV).

How did Jesus view his love, responsibility, and duty towards his mother? How do we view our love, responsibility, and duty towards our mothers? How do we love, honor, and care for our mothers?

Jesus loved and cared for his mother Mary throughout his life and ministry. We see Jesus turning water into wine, his first miracle, at his mother’s request in John chapter 2. And one of Jesus’ last acts before his death on the cross—literally from the cross—was ensuring that his mother was taken care of.

John’s gospel account tells us, “Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.” (John 19:25-27, ESV).