New Name, New Mission (Part I)

Once, I mentored youth who willingly lived stagnant lives dependent on welfare and disability checks. The Church offered them productive and healthy alternatives, but many rejected them, feeling unworthy and preferring the idleness to which they were accustomed.

God’s mission has always been to unite people to Himself and one another through love. Though His mission never changes, His methods often do. For example, God led Peter to reach out to a Roman, breaking Jewish customs. Later, missionaries in Antioch followed Peter’s lead. In ancient times, cities were strictly segregated to prevent intercultural violence, yet these missionaries crossed those boundaries. Empowered by God, they converted thousands (Acts 11:19-26), forming a diverse community whose only unifying factor was Jesus Christ. People began calling them “Christians” for that very reason.

As Christians today, our identity is still rooted in following Jesus. We are united by our love for God and one another. We allow the Spirit to transform us from within, and we share the Gospel even when we don’t, and may never, fit into the culture around us.

One striking example of this transformation is Saul. Once too proud, aggressive, and self-righteous to be effective in ministry, he was humbled by failures and hardships. After joining the church in Antioch, Saul went on mission and saw his first convert: Sergius Paulus, a Roman official (Acts 13:6-12). That moment was a turning point—proof that even the most unlikely people can become vessels of God’s love and power through the Spirit’s internal transformation. Saul was so thrilled that he changed his name to “Paul” to commemorate the occasion.

Nobody is unworthy of the Spirit’s radical transformation, and that transformation is worth it.

Watch Part One of the sermon here.