Mission, Vision and Core Values

Mission Statement *

Vision^* *

Core Values^** *

Vision Supporting Scriptures *

Core Values Supporting Scriptures *

We, the congregation of Bel Air UMC, are called to make disciples of Jesus Christ, as we show all people the way to the Father, teach them to know the Son, Jesus Christ, and prepare them to grow in faith and ministry, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

(1a) Genesis 12:1 (NIV) ¹The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.

(1a) Isaiah 6:8-9 (NIV) ⁸Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"

And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

⁹He said, "Go and tell this people:

(1b) Ephesians 3:17-19 (NIV) ¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ¹⁹and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

(1b) Colossians 3:14 (NIV) ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

(1c) 1 Corinthians 15:22 (NIV) ²²For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

(1c) Ephesians 1:18-20 (NIV)¹⁸I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, ²⁰which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,

(1d) John 8:12 (NIV) ¹²When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

(1d) Revelation 15:4 (NIV) ⁴Who will not fear you, O Lord,

(1e) )Psalm 149:1-9 (NIV) ¹Praise the LORD.

Sing to the LORD a new song,

² Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;

³ Let them praise his name with dancing

⁴ For the LORD takes delight in his people;

⁵ Let the saints rejoice in this honor

⁶ May the praise of God be in their mouths

⁷ to inflict vengeance on the nations

⁸ to bind their kings with fetters,

⁹ to carry out the sentence written against them.

(1e) Psalm 150:1-6(NIV) ¹Praise the LORD.

Praise God in his sanctuary;

² Praise him for his acts of power;

³ Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,

⁴ praise him with tambourine and dancing,

⁵ praise him with the clash of cymbals,

⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD.

(1e) Romans 8:9-11(NIV) ⁹You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. ¹¹And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

(1f) Ephesians 4:15-16(NIV) ¹⁵Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

(1g) 1 John 1:5-7(NIV) ⁵This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. ⁷But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

(1g) Mark 4:21 (NIV) ²¹He said to them, "Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?

(1g) Matthew 5:14 (NIV) ¹⁴"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

(1h) Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) ⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—⁹not by works, so that no one can boast.

(1h) 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV) ¹⁰Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.

(1i) Mark 1:17 (NIV) ¹⁷"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."

(1j) Revelation 3:20 (NIV) ²⁰Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

(1k) Deuteronomy 33:27a (NIV) ²⁷The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

(1k) Psalm 46:1-2 (NIV) ¹God is our refuge and strength,

² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

(1k) Psalm 142:5 (NIV) ⁵I cry to you, O LORD;

(1k) Acts 6:1 (NIV) ¹In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.

(1l) Matthew 28:19 (NIV) ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^£ the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

(1l) Luke 2:10 (NIV) ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

(1l) The Book of Discipline, 2000 - Page 89, Paragraph 124 "As servants of Christ we are sent into the world to engage in the struggle for justice and reconciliation. We seek to reveal the love of God for men, women, and children of all ethnic, racial, cultural, and national backgrounds and to demonstrate the healing power of the gospel for those who suffer."

(1l) 1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV) ¹²Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

(1l) Acts 2:17-18 (NIV) ¹⁷"‘In the last days, God says,

¹⁸ Even on my servants, both men and women,

(1m) Ephesians 2:19-22(NIV) ¹⁹Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, ²⁰built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.²²And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

(1m) 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV) ¹⁸So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

(1m) Romans 12:2 (NIV) ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

(1n) Ephesians 1:18-23 (NIV) ¹⁸I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints¹⁹and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, ²⁰which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come²²And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, ²³which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

(1o) James 5:13-15 (NIV) ¹³Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. ¹⁴Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

(1p) Matthew 9:22 (NIV) ²²Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.

(1p) Romans 15:1 (NIV) ¹We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.

(1p) Hebrews 12:12 (NIV) ¹²Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.

(1q) Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV) ²²You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

(1q) 1 Peter 1:13 (NIV) ¹³Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

(1r) 1 Peter 5:6-7 (NIV) ⁶Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

(1r) Romans 15:4 (NIV) ⁴For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

(2a) Colossians 1:18 (NIV) ¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

(2a) Colossians 1:24 (NIV) ²⁴Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.

(2b) Philippians 3:10-11 (NIV) ¹⁰I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

(2c) Romans 10:9 (NIV) ⁹That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

(2c) 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) ¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

(2c) John 3:5 (NIV) ⁵Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.

(2c) The Book of Discipline, 2000 – Paragraph 104, Page 77 "Wesley believed that the living core of the Christian faith was revealed in Scripture, illumined by tradition, vivified in personal experience, and confirmed by reason."

(2d) Romans 10:10 (NIV) ¹⁰For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

(2d) Psalm 40:5 (NIV)⁵Many, O LORD my God,

(2e) 1 Peter 1:3-9 (NIV) ³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, ⁵who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

(2f) Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV) ⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—⁹not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

(2f) Romans 3:23-24 (NIV) ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God²⁴and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

(2g) Hebrews 10:22-25 (NIV) ²²let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. ²³Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. ²⁵Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

(2h) John 4:23-24 (NIV) ²³Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks²⁴God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

(2h) Hebrews 12:28-29 (NIV) ²⁸Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, ²⁹for our "God is a consuming fire."

(2h) Ephesians 5:19-20 (NIV) ¹⁹Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(2h) Hebrews 13:15 (NIV) ¹⁵Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.

(2h) Psalm 150:6 (NIV) ⁶Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD.

(2h) Romans 12:1 (NIV) ¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

(2i) Psalm 92:1-2 (NIV) ¹ It is good to praise the LORD

² to proclaim your love in the morning

(2i) Psalm 89:5 (NIV)⁵ The heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,

(3a) Ephesians 4:13-16 (NIV) ¹³until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.¹⁴Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

(3b) Colossians 4:2-4 (NIV) ²Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. ³And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. ⁴Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.

(3c) Acts 2:42-47 (NIV) ⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ⁴⁶Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

(3d) Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV) ¹⁴For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.²⁰Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

(3d) Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV) ¹Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children ²and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

(3e) Galatians 6:2 (NIV) ²Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

(3e) Philippians 2:1-4 (NIV) ¹If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion²then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. ³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

(3f) Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV) ²⁴And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. ²⁵Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

(3g) 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV) ¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

(3g) Proverbs 6:20-23 (NIV) ²⁰My son, keep your father’s commands

²¹ Bind them upon your heart forever;

²² When you walk, they will guide you;

²³ For these commands are a lamp,

(3g) Joshua 1:8 (NIV) ⁸Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

(3g) Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) ¹²For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

(3g) The Book of Discipline, 2000 – Paragraph 104, Page 77 "Wesley believed that the living core of the Christian faith was revealed in Scripture, illumined by tradition, vivified in personal experience, and confirmed by reason."

(3h) 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV) ¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

(3i) Romans 15:30 (NIV) ³⁰I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.

(3i) 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV) ¹⁴if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

(3i) Matthew 18:20 (NIV) ²⁰For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

(3j) Acts 2:42 (NIV) ⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer

(3j) Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV) ²⁴And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. ²⁵Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

(3j) Romans 12:15 (NIV) ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

(3k) Titus 2:1 (NIV) ¹You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.

(3l) Romans 12:13 (NIV) ¹³Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

(3l) 1 Timothy 6:18 (NIV) ¹⁸Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.

(3l) James 2:14-17 (NIV) ¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

(3m) Colossians 4:5-6 (NIV) ⁵Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. ⁶Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

(3m) Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV) ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

(3m) Mark 9:41 (NIV) ⁴¹I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.

(4a) 2 Timothy 1:6 (NIV) ⁶For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

(4b) 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (NIV) ⁴There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord⁶There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. ⁷Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good⁸To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues¹¹All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

(4b) Romans 12:6-8 (NIV) ⁶We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. ⁷If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; ⁸if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

(4b) 1 Corinthians 14:12 (NIV) ¹²So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.

(4c) Ephesians 1:18-19 (NIV) ¹⁸I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,

(4d) 1 Peter 4:10-11 (NIV) ¹⁰Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms¹¹If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

(4d) Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) ¹⁰For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

(4d) Hebrews 6:11-12 (NIV) ¹¹We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. ¹²We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

(4e) 2 Corinthians 9:6-12 (NIV) ⁶Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously⁷Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ⁹As it is written:

¹⁰Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness¹¹You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.¹²This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.

(4e) Acts 4:32 (NIV) ³²All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.

(4f) Ephesians 2:22 (NIV) ²²And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit

(4g) Mark 1:15 (NIV) ¹⁵"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

(4h) 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV) ¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

(4h) Proverbs 6:20-23 (NIV) ²⁰My son, keep your father’s commands

²¹ Bind them upon your heart forever;

²² When you walk, they will guide you;

²³ For these commands are a lamp,

(4h) Joshua 1:8 (NIV) ⁸Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

(4h) Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) ¹²For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

(4i) Mark 9:30-32 (NIV)³⁰They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, ³¹because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise." ³²But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

(4j) Colossians 1:28-29 (NIV) ²⁸We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ²⁹To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.

(4k) Hebrews 13:20-21 (NIV) ²⁰May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, ²¹equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

(4l) Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV) ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

(4l) John 15:8 (NIV) ⁸This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

(4m) 2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV) ⁷For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

(4m) Acts 4:29-30 (NIV ²⁹Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. ³⁰Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."

(4n) Acts 6:2-4 (NIV) ²So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. ³Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them ⁴and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."

(4n) 2 Corinthians 9:12-13 (NIV) ¹²This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. ¹³Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.

(4o) Acts 1:8 (NIV) ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

(4p) Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV) ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."