Mt. Zion Baptist Church - Austin, Texas

Our current Church focus is the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. These two challenges are ever before the body of Christ (the Church) and have to do with the primary reason for the Church’s life and being. Here, we are constantly reminded of our relationship to God, each other and the un-churched: Love God, Love of Each Other and Love for Others, especially the lost. It all starts with our Love for God. “Love God,” our focal passages are: Matthew 22: 36 – 40 and Mark 12: 28 – 31. These scriptures give us the Great Commandment. “2Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.” (Matthew 22: 37 -38) “The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment... There is none greater...” (Mark 12: 29 – 30, 31b) These passages address the totality of our being and should be studied, reflected upon, prayed about and meditated upon so that it will be an on-going enhancement in the practical aspects of our lives. Do we really love God as much as we say we do?
Our second focus is Love Each Other, and the focal scripture is John 13: 34 – 35. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if you have love one to another.” (John 13: 34 – 35) Love for each other, saints, is our badge of discipleship. The Lord says, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if you have love one to another.” The question each of us can and should ask ourselves is how does my badge of discipleship look? I would suspect all of us, or rather each of us, could work on our badge of discipleship that is work on our love to each other.

Our third focus is Love for Others, especially the un-churched, the unsaved - Matthew 28: 18 – 20. This passage tells us the business of the Church, what we should be about and how we should be about the work of the Church, not “Church work” but the work of the Church. This is the Great Commission of the Church and we are to be about this mission at home and abroad, in all the world, “teaching all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: ...” (Matthew 28: 19 – 20)

Mt. Zion, this is our challenge. Let’s boldly embrace it asking God to make us better day by day at what we are told to do!

Love God
Love Each Other
Love and Reach Out to Others