This weekend, my wife Kathy and I returned to Alive Church from a seven-week sabbatical, and we are thrilled to be back in Tucson! While we were grateful to have this time to recharge our batteries, we missed our community at Alive and in Tucson, and I was excited to begin our new series at Alive upon our return: Life on Mission.

This series explores how God has made us to fulfill His mission, which is sharing the life-changing power of Jesus Christ with others. To kick off the series this weekend, I spoke about why Jesus has this mission for us and how we can begin to answer one of life’s most pressing questions: “Why am I here?”

In our culture, it’s common to have our lives revolve around something, and this usually gives us a sense of purpose. Sometimes we center our lives on our jobs or careers. Sometimes improving and maintaining our image is our focal point. Sometimes our lives are focused solely on our children.

While these things are all important aspects of life, none of them will last forever. Vocations come to an end, whether through economic changes or through retirement. Our image and beauty always change with age, no matter how much we try to preserve how we look. Our children grow up and begin lives of their own.

The only purpose we can rely on as solid and unchanging is Jesus’ purpose for us. He has put each one of us on Earth to share His grace and His love in unique ways with those who need Him most. In fact, using our life for His purpose is the only way we can truly answer “Why am I here?” (see Acts 20:24).

If you missed my talk this weekend, you can check it out online to learn more about our life mission as followers of Christ. I encourage you to stay tuned for the whole 6-week series to see how we can fulfill a purpose that is bigger than ourselves.

In Christ,

Jeff