Sermon Manuscript

The song we just sang was called Gratitude.  It was written by Brandon Lake.  And it expresses a desire to worship God when we feel as if we don’t have anything to give him.  Sometimes in life we can come before God and feel as if we have nothing to give Him.  And yet God is always worthy of our praise simply because of who He is.  He deserves not just our praise but our lives.

And over the course of the past few months there have been a number of people here within our church family who have been sent by us to go and serve others.  And to do so in obedience to the commands of Jesus.  The commands He gave to us in Matthew 28:16-20 where we read:

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

So think about this.  After the resurrection of Jesus Christ the disciples went to Galilee and to a particular mountain in which Jesus had told them to go to.  And when they saw Him what did they do?  They worshipped Him.  Why?  Because Jesus is worthy of worship.  And He received their worship.  But after He did so He said, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.”  All authority.  Not some but all.  Authority means “right to rule”.  So Jesus, through His death and resurrection, proved He was from God and that He was God.  And now He has the “right to rule”.  To rule both in heaven and on earth.  It’s an authority that has now been given back to Him.  And so what does He do with that authority?  He says, “Now that I have all authority here’s what I want you to do.  Go and make disciples.  Go and make disciples of all nations.  Not some.  All authority has been given to me so you go and make disciples of all nations.”  And how do you do that?  You baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit and you teach them all that I have commanded you.”  

So making disciples involves two steps.  We baptize people in the name of Jesus and we teach people on behalf of Jesus.  We teach them what Jesus has taught us and how we ought to live our lives for Jesus.  And when we do that Jesus says “Behold” or “Look!  No matter where you go and no matter what you do I will be with you always, even to the very end of the age.”  You and I are called to make disciples.  We are called to make followers of Jesus Christ.  We are called to make disciples.  That’s the command here.  In the Greek the term for “make disciples” is an Imperative or command.  So the idea is “Wherever you go, whenever you go, you are to make disciples.”  And this sending out to all nations to make disciples has become known as the Great Commission.  It’s a “commission” because it’s a command and an assignment.  It’s “great” because it includes the whole world.  Every nation, every tribe, and every tongue.  The Church, the Body of Christ, composed of believers from all around the world are called to go into all of the world and make disciples.

And this morning we’re going to meet some people from our church family who have been doing just that.  So let’s start with a video of a student from Purdue.  Her name is Elayna Allender.  Elayna is the daughter of Jeff and Dede Allender and this past summer Elayna served at TCM in Vienna, Austria.  TCM trains and equips Christian pastors, teachers, and leaders in Eastern Europe.  Elayna served as an intern there all summer.  So let’s listen to her story:

[Video:  “Elana’s Mission” - 2:23]

[John Thompson walks out and sets up his chair]

Let me introduce you to John Thompson.  John and I went to TCM together this summer for two weeks.  While we were there we served on the Maintenance Team and with Elayna on the Lunch Dishes Team.  And John when we arrived Elayna had only been there a few weeks and was starting to get homesick.  So tell everyone what happened when we went into Vienna and found Elayna kind of wondering around:

[John tells the story of meeting Elayna]

She told us she really appreciated it.  And throughout the week we had a number of incredible God stories.  So John, for those here who have never been to TCM, explain a little about what it’s like and how the workers and professors are able to help make disciples in Eastern Europe?

[John tells the story of the commitment of the professors and workers to serve others.]

Thank you John.  It truly was an amazing trip and one that I hope many from our church family will be able to go on and to serve within.  Because it’s an opportunity to make disciples in a very difficult part of our world.  But we sent another group to an equally difficult part of the world - Peru.  So let’s watch what Darren Smith, one of our members, experienced on that trip:

[Video:  “Darren Smith’s Mission” - 4:50]

[Caitlyn Aldridge, Yesengnia Comacho, Noe Comacho walk out and set up their chairs]

Let me introduce you to a few members of our Peru Team.  This is Caitlyn Aldridge, Yesenia Comacho, and Yesenia’s son Noe.  Each of them along with Darren and Deb and others were part of the team sent to Peru.  So let’s learn a little about what they experienced while they were there.  Caitlyn let’s start with you.  You mentioned when we were there about a couple of “van stories” that took place.  So what happened and how did God show up in a powerful way through those instances involving a van?

[Caitlyn shares the van stories]

Yesenia, you had an interesting experience in Peru as well.  You were asked to be the team’s translator so all throughout the mission trip you were translating back and forth between English and Spanish.  So tell us a little about what that was like and what you experienced on the trip?

[Yesenia shares stories about finding God in remote places and happiness in the midst of poverty]

Wow.  That’s incredible.  One of the things that we all agreed upon when we met was that often when we go on mission trips we go to be a blessing to others and yet we often leave feeling as if we were the ones who were blessed!  So, Caitlyn and Yesenia, tell us more about how you served the people of Peru and some of the stories of what you did to help make disciples there?

[Caitlyn and Yesenia share stories about the church services, first fruits offering, and how they served the people while they were there.]

Wow.  That’s amazing.  But I want us all to now stop and think about not just what we did but how we saw God move in powerful ways to bring changes into the lives of the people we met and served.  In other words, how were you able to help make disciples through the way in which you served.  I’ll start and give you guys some time to think about your experiences.

When I was at TCM I met a student named Paddu.  Paddu was a young man from India.  That stood out to me because he was the only Indian there.  And so one day I was sitting at dinner and I asked him, “Paddu, how did you become a Christian?  How did you come to know the Lord?  What’s your story?”  And he told me that when he was born he was born with epilepsy.  His parents were poor and they didn’t have money to take him to a doctor.  So instead of taking him to a doctor they knew they would have to do something else.  So apparently a family friend said to take their son to a church down the street and have the Pastor pray for him.  And so they did and Paddu was healed.  And as a result of that miracle his parents became Christians because they saw the power of God within their life.  The Pastor also prophesied and said that Paddu would become a Christian minister.  And today he is.  He’s the first one to get a college degree in his family.  And his name Paddu means “Lord”.  His parents gave him a Christian name rather than a more traditional Indian name which is typically based on astrology or horoscopes.  So Paddu came to TCM to get a degree and to grow in his ability to make disciples and we who were there to serve him were simply part of that process.

Alright.  So what about you guys?  As you think about your trip and how you served, what were you able to do to “go and make disciples”?  How did God change you and others through you?

[The group shares stories of how God changed people’s lives through their trip.  This could include the Brain tumor story from Peru, Noe’s step of faith to share his testimony, Voycheck’s story of his church in Krakow Poland which has 24 nations in it, or many others.]

Well, one of the most amazing stories occurred during the Peru trip.  It was a moment in which a person gave their lives to Jesus Christ.  And Deb Kraft was there to see it and witness it along with Caitlyn and Yesenia and others.  So let’s press pause here and listen to Deb describe what she experienced on the Peru trip and what exactly took place.  Let’s watch:

[Video:  “Deb Kraft’s Mission” - 3:36]

Wow.  That must have been an amazing moment.  Thank you all for sharing.  Any final thoughts from the group about your trip and why we need to go and experience what you experienced?

[Final thoughts from the group]

Alright.  Thank you.  Can we give our missionaries a round of applause this morning?

[Applause.  John, Caitlyn, Yesenia, and Noe get up and take their seats.]

Wow.  Church family, we have heard some incredible stories from our missionaries this morning and as you can imagine there are many, many, more.  Truly incredible.  You know all throughout this year we’ve been in the book of Acts learning about how we can make a difference from the people who made a difference in the book of Acts.  But one of the points our Peru Team made to me over and over again is that when you are on a mission trip it is like you are stepping into the book of Acts and living out those stories.  Because when you and I recognize what Jesus has called us to do and do our part to “go and make disciples” it will feel like we are living out the book of Acts.  We will see and hear and experience miracles!  

So my encouragement and challenge for you this morning is to do just that.  Understand that God calls everyday, normal, average, ordinary people to do extraordinary things for Him.  And when Jesus called His disciples to go and make disciples He was speaking to a group of men who were nobody special.  Fishermen.  A Tax Collector.  A Zealot.  Ordinary people.  But that should encourage us.  Because if God can use Peter and John and James and Andrew then He can use you and me.  He can use us to accomplish His mission on this earth.

The Great Commission teaches us how to accomplish God’s mission for this earth.  So how do we do that?  First, submit to Jesus.  Because He alone has all authority in heaven and one earth.  Second, share the Gospel.  Tell others the Good News that Jesus died to take away their sins and was raised to give them eternal life.  And when they receive Jesus baptize them into His name.  And then shape His followers.  Teach them everything that you have learned and show them how to follow HIm.  And know that wherever you go and whatever you do that Jesus will be with you.  That’s how you live out the Great Commission.

Bottom Line:  Give your life to Jesus and go complete the Great Commission.

Let’s pray.

[Prayer:  For God to help us to continue to live out the Great Commission for Jesus.]

Copyright 2025 by Fountaintown Christian Church. All materials presented by Joshua Hahn are copyrighted material. No material may be copied, reproduced, epublished, uploaded, posted, or distributed in any way, without the express written approval of Fountaintown Christian Church. One copy may be downloaded for your personal, noncommercial home use provided that you 1) retain all copyright, trademark, and proprietary notices, 2) you make no modifications to the materials. For any other use, written permission is required. (Fountaintown Christian Church; c/o Joshua Hahn; P.O. Box 87, Fountaintown, IN 46130).