Outside the Box Online Materials

During this series we are providing you with an interactive box to engage with the sermons for the six weeks of our Outside The Box Series. You can pick up your box after each service on Sunday, February 21 & 28 or at the main church office Monday-Friday from 9 AM – 2 PM. For those not able to pick-up a box in-person, we are providing our online option below.

Please prayerfully take advantage of all that this box contains and we pray that God will inspire you to live every day outside the box.

February 21 | From the Temple to the People

*Please find a small stone or rock.

The Gospels tell us the story of freedom as the stone was rolled away from the mouth of Jesus’ tomb on Easter morning. The movement of that stone was a visible sign of the resurrection and the fulfillment of God’s plan for our salvation. These small stones remind us that “Jesus is our Rock,” our ever present Savior, and that the hope of God will never fail or leave us. Carry your stone out into the world as a reminder that God is with you wherever you go. As a family or an individual, take turns this week carrying the stone with you. Hold the stone and marvel that at school, at work, or at the store, God’s Spirit dwells inside of you.

February 28 | From Come and See to Go and Tell

This week, please use the “Steps to Peace with God” booklet in your box or use this link to help you share your faith in a practical way. https://stepstopeace.org

March 7 | From Me Culture to We Culture

Mission Lexington provides life essentials, resources and guidance to Lexington County neighbors in moments of crisis. Please join us in helping to stock the shelves of our local partner.

Most needed items:

• Canned Fruit
• Spaghetti Sauce
• Coffee
• Jelly
• Canned Chicken
• Canned Tuna
• Breakfast Items (cereal, oatmeal, grits)

The Mission Lexington Truck will be on site ready to collect your items on Sunday, March 14 from 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM & Monday, March 15 from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM. The truck will be parked at the breezeway between the East and West Campus.

*If you are unable to bring these items to the church during these collection times, please take donations directly to Mission Lexington.

March 14 | From Power to Persecution 

Around the world, many believers are persecuted, imprisoned, even killed, for their faith. Since Jesus laid down His life, it is estimated that 43 million Christians have become martyrs and that right now 200 million people face persecution for believing in Jesus; 60% of them are children. Please pray: 

• Persecuted believers would know the hope God gives. (Ephesians 1:18) 
• The Holy Spirit would strengthen them. (Ephesians 3:16) 
• Persecuted believers would know how much God loves them. (Ephesians 3:17) 
• They would know how to share the gospel. (Ephesians 6:19-20) 
• Persecuted believers would have access to a Bible. 
• For believers who have been rejected by family and friends. Pray that God would surround them with a new Christian “family” who loves them and supports them emotionally and physically. 

An encouraging word from other believers goes a long way. Write a note of gratitude to one of the below champions of the faith. Simply put the initials of your family on the outside of your envelope. Return the letter in its envelope on your way into church Sunday, March 21 or in the marked collection bin at the Missions Ministry building Monday, March 22 from 8:30 am-12:00 pm. We will collect all letters at the church in an effort to keep the families’ addresses private. 

For the safety and protection of all our partners working in areas where it can be unsafe to be a Christian, we have omitted most identifying information. We ask you refrain from posting on social media any specific details we’ve given below that ties back to these individuals.

P & A 
Country: India
P leads a growing community of believers in Mangalagiri, India. Grace Community Church offers 4 services on Sunday at their main location, 2 services in a connecting town, and other outreach ministries during the week. They are in the process of buying land to build a bigger facility. 

Connect with this couple by making a traditional recipe, Tandoori Chicken, from this country. As you bless your food, make sure to lift up persecuted believers in India.

M & K
Country: Thailand 
This missionary family works in the fight against sex trafficking in one of the largest red-light districts in the world, rescuing women from a life of slavery and witnessing to them in the name of Jesus. Their ministry, Samaritan’s Creation, uses Biblical principles to help the women transition into freedom. There is intense pressure for the liberated women to return to their former way of life. M and K provide a safe place for them to find a new identity as a child of God. 

Connect with this family by making a traditional recipe, Pad Thai, from this country. As you bless your food, make sure to lift up persecuted believers in Thailand.

S & D 
Country: India
S leads this ministry of Childhood Restoration International, which plants churches that plant churches (“viral discipleship”) and operates ministries in the Ramtigiti slum area of India. S and D face daily persecution from the government and their non-Christian neighbors.

Connect with this couple by making a traditional recipe, Tandoori Chicken, from this country. As you bless your food, make sure to lift up persecuted believers in India.

T 
Country: Vietnam
This missionary works to reach those around him through his University job (learning English from a native speaker is in high demand in Vietnam). T is working towards developing an English Language Center, allowing for development of relationships with many more people.

Connect with T by making a traditional recipe, Pho, from this country. As you bless your food, make sure to lift up persecuted believers in Vietnam.

C & E
Country: Russia
This missionary family has lived in Russia for many years, working to help children who are left unwanted, particularly those with special needs, into a life of a loving adopted family. They also serve with CRU to start discipleship movements among college students.

Connect with this family by making a traditional recipe, Okroshka Soup, from this country. As you bless your food, make sure to lift up persecuted believers in Russia.

J & D
Country: India
These Indian nationals run Bethel Outreach Ministries, a safe home for tribal children in Jharkhand, India who have been orphaned or abandoned and would likely end up as victims of human trafficking. J and D face daily persecution from the government and their non-Christian neighbors.

Connect with this couple by making a traditional recipe, Tandoori Chicken, from this country. As you bless your food, make sure to lift up persecuted believers in India. 

C & M
Country: Thailand
This missionary family is helping the local church develop a ministry focused on awareness, rescue, and restoration of victims of sex trafficking. Their goal is to inspire, empower, and equip local believers to tackle this problem. C and M are developing a safe place for them to find a new identity as a child of God.

Connect with this family by making a traditional recipe, Pad Thai, from this country. As you bless your food, make sure to lift up persecuted believers in Thailand.

B
Country: Nepal
B operates Frontier Missions, a ministry that plants churches and builds homes (Homes of Hope) in unreached places of Nepal. Our global portion of the 2019 Advent offering went towards Homes of Hope, allowing 3 homes to be built to date.

Connect with B by making a traditional recipe, Sel Roti, from this country. As you bless your food, make sure to lift up persecuted believers in Nepal.

March 21 | From Some People to All People

Use these conversation starters so that you can begin to build relationships with people that may be different than you.

• What’s one thing you wish you knew as a kid?
• What’s your biggest pet peeve?
• How have you been positively affected by Christians? How about negatively? 
• What are you doing when you feel most alive?
• What is one thing you would change about the world?
• What do you dream about for your future?
• If you could be any animal, what would you be, and why?
• What’s one thing that has taken you a really long time to perfect?
• What takes you a lot of time to do but is still worth it?
• If you had to eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
• What was your religious upbringing?
• What’s the worst advice you’ve ever been given?
• How would you describe church?
• What was your most embarrassing childhood memory?
• What’s your favorite meal to make?
• If you could be transported into any movie, which one would you choose?
• Do you believe in God? If yes, what are three words you’d use to describe God?
• What’s your favorite hobby?
• If you could choose any historical era to live in, what would you choose?
• If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

March 28 | From Religion to Relationship

Take a moment to consider the story your life tells about the redemptive work of Christ. Writing a testimony is as simple as sharing what your life was like before Jesus, how you met Jesus and what your life has been like since Jesus. A written account of your faith can be easily remembered to share with someone else at a moment’s notice. Use these three points as a guide for writing your testimony.

• Life before Christ
• How I met Christ
• Life since Christ