Scattered for a Purpose

In one paragraph

This Sunday's service featured Ken and Lori McEwen, church planters and cross-cultural missionaries who have served in Wyoming and beyond for more than forty years. Rather than a traditional sermon, Ken shared a biblical and historical perspective on immigration and the movement of peoples around the world. Lori followed with a closer look at the practical ministry they carry out, including right...

Read together

1. Genesis (post-flood passage on nations) families of sons of Noah divided among nations after the flood
2. Matthew 13 (parable of the sower) word 'scattered' compared to seeds scattered by the sower
3. Genesis (Tower of Babel) people refused to scatter, God confused languages and scattered them, place called Babylon
4. Genesis 1:28 (be fruitful and multiply) God's first mandate to humans to fill the earth and subdue it
5. Deuteronomy (warning to Israel about scattering) God warned Israel He would scatter them among the nations if they abandoned Him
6. Ezekiel (scatter among nations) God's warning to other nations that He would scatter them as judgment
7. Acts 17:26-27 God determined appointed times and boundaries of nations so people might seek Him
8. John 1:12 God sent His Son to Jewish people who rejected Him, but to all who believe He gives rights to be sons of God
9. Acts 8:1 great persecution scattered the church from Jerusalem throughout Judea and Samaria
10. Acts 11:19 those scattered after persecution over Stephen went out and preached the word

Talk about it

1. Ken described the world in terms of ten people, with only one having a sure personal faith in Jesus Christ and three having never heard the gospel at all. How does that picture change the way you think about the people you meet day to day?
2. Ken walked through many biblical figures, from Abraham to Daniel to Ruth, who were displaced from their homelands, and argued that God used that scattering for redemptive purposes. Which of those stories struck you most, and why?
3. Ken said that as Christians we are called to value people rather than use them, pointing out that some want to use immigrants as voters and others as cheap labor. What does it look like in practical terms to treat a person as someone to minister to rather than someone to be used?
4. Lori mentioned that they have seen more people come to Christ in Teton County than in fifteen years of missionary work in South America, and connected that openness to people being away from family and religious roots. What does that suggest about how disruption and hardship can soften a person toward God?
5. Ken and Lori described three generations of immigrant families, those who speak only their home language, the 1.5 generation caught between two cultures, and those born here who are still connected to their heritage. What challenges or opportunities do you see for this church in reaching each of those groups?