‘But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.
1 Peter 2:9-10 (The Message)
Be Holy, Be a Blessing!
As God’s people, followers of Christ, we recognise that we have been saved, forgiven, redeemed and accepted by God exclusively and completely because of his grace, which he made available to us by his Son’s, our Lord Jesus Christ, sacrifice of himself on the cross. In response to God’s mercy, as individuals and as a church, we are called by Christ, as Living Sacrifices, to obey the two great commandments; to love the Lord our God with all that we are, and to love our neighbours as ourselves.
We look to obey the first by setting ourselves apart as God’s people seeking to Be Holy; being shaped by his word and transformed by his Spirit. We seek to live lives that are being conformed to his good, pleasing and perfect will, which in obedience to the second great commandment includes Being a Blessing. We want to be a blessing to others in the Body of Christ; in SMB, in our city and across the world.
A blessing to the communities we live in, work in and are called to.
A blessing to the marginalised, poor and disenfranchised.
A blessing to young and old.
A blessing to those who are near and to those who are far off.
As a church and as members of the church we long to be a blessing to all we encounter, loving our neighbour as ourselves. In this we acknowledge that the greatest blessing we can be to someone is be those who share with them the Good News of Jesus Christ. We are committed to this so that they, too, may come to know Christ and come into a saving relationship with Him; being welcomed in as members of his people, his household, his family. This great message of love and hope, this message of salvation, this great Good News is something we seek to declare in all we do, not only proclaiming the Good News but being Good News.
Proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ through Word and action.