Jesus said to him (a Pharisee), "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22: 37-39) and later in the gospel, following Jesus' resurrection, our Lord says, "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, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28: 19-20)

Brothers and Sisters...

     It was October 1985 and the Jones Family had just moved into a house at 22 Millstone Drive in Shamong Township; a residence that would serve as a home, church office, and meeting place for a soon-to-be chartered mission congregation. The plan of the Lutheran Church in America and its New Jersey Synod was to plant a new church in the southeast corner of Burlington County. I had been called to be the pastor developer of Lord of Life Lutheran Church. Without a building or a site, our mission was to bring people together around the good news of God's Love as incarnated in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

     As I went door to door to meet the neighbors, my greeting often included the following sentences..."I'm not here to convince, convert, or convict you. I'm here to invite you, if you don't already belong to a community of faith, to join us for worship in the multi-purpose room of the Indian Mills School." And many people from Medford, Medford Lakes, Shamong, Southampton, and Tabernacle responded to the invitation and found their way to worship and eventually became active disciples of Christ in a mission congregation that to this day remains a congregation in mission!

     It is clear to me, and I believe to our community that Lord of Life has always been empowered by God's Spirit to reach out in missional ways. It is in our congregational DNA to invite members and friends to discover their talents and abilities and then put those God-given gifts into use for others. And this weekend we get to celebrate the mission possibilities that became a joyful reality just this past summer.

     In the Fellowship Hall, there will be displays that feature a variety of "mission events" that became possible throughout the months of June, July and August because people like you were willing to respond to God's invitation to serve others. So please come and join us as we remember what God did in Oneida, New York with our Senior High Mission Team and with our Junior High Mission Team in Washington, D.C. Hear about the work of those who "make the sandwiches" for the Christian Caring Center with our Helping Hands Team. Check out the quilts that are finding their way all around the world through Lutheran World Relief. Learn about the ongoing need of those whose homes are being repaired at the Jersey Shore through the work of the Fuller Center for Housing in the Jersey Pines and other "Brothers for Others" projects. Relive the joy of a Vacation Bible School that took us on a "Jungle Safari!" Get excited about our faith-based pre-school, The Grace Place, where a new director and a transitional kindergarten class have provided us with new opportunities to share the Love of Jesus.

     If you read the Gospel of Matthew, you will find that Jesus gives his disciples two great directives; one is a commandment, the other is a commission (see the above texts!). Mission congregations like Lord of Life have understood, and I pray will always understand, that God continuously calls us to be a "Great Commandment" and a "Great Commission" community of faith.

     Brothers and sisters, there is still a lot more God loving, neighbor loving, disciple making to do and I trust that we will continually discover what it means to be "on a mission for God" through all the seasons of our lives.

     Your Brother in Christ, Pastor Jones