Standing Together for The Gospel - Pastor Bradley Peters
The congregation is called to a vision that refuses to be contained by four walls: the gospel is written on hearts and meant to spread across nations. The church is portrayed not as a local club but as the global body of Christ—bride, field, and house—prepared to sow seed wherever fields are soft from snow or need is greatest. Practical partnerships illustrate this outward movement: Gideons distributing Bibles, blankets sent to Durango, disaster relief in San Angelo, and local churches joining across county lines. These are presented as expressions of the same gospel impulse, each act a small flare of the light that must widen.
Central to this vision is steadfastness. Believers are urged to stand firm in the one Spirit, whether leaders are present or absent, and whether opposition or travel threatens stability. This firmness is dressed in the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and feet prepared by the gospel of peace—Scripture’s image for spiritual readiness. The preacher presses for clarity about the gospel itself: God became flesh, lived among humanity, paid the penalty on the cross, and alone restores access to the Father by grace through faith in Christ. Forgetting that foundation risks self-righteousness and a diminished witness.
Light and mission are inseparable. The account of Nicodemus and John’s words are offered as the simplest evangelistic guide—God did not send his Son to condemn but to save, and the Son must be lifted up so believers may find life. The inward light given by Christ is intended to be visible—sparked in hotel Gideon Bibles and in neighborhood conversations, sustained by prayer and obedience, and fanned into flame by the Spirit. Practical commissioning closes the time: elders set apart, prayers for global outreach, and a plea that hearts be strengthened to carry the gospel of peace. The call is both pastoral and pastoralizing—encouraging ordinary rhythms (Super Bowl parties, coffee fellowships, sewing circles) to become venues of witness. Ultimately the hope is that God’s word will flare up in distant nations and local towns alike, and that congregants walk out ready, feet prepared, to spread the light entrusted to them.