mission – Dobra Family Ministry

Peoria Area Activism Hub a Turning Point USA Chapter Prayer Vigil 9/22/2025: Pray for America

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)..” Ephesians 2:4-10 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/eph.2.4-10.NASB2020

Devotional for Peoria Area Activism Hub a Turning Point USA Chapter Prayer Vigil

Charlie Kirk, I believe, is one of the great evangelists of my generation, much like the Apostle Paul, and now a Christian martyr.

Paul in Athens

How was he like the great Apostle Paul?

Let’s look at Paul in Athens and his sermon on Mars Hill. Acts 17:16-34 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/act.17.16-34.NASB2020

Charlie understood the times in America like Paul observed the idols of Athens in his day.

And like Paul, Charlie found our marketplaces of idol worship and philosophy and went right into the center of them and reasoned for gospel truth.

And he brought thousands to the faith.

The ultimate soul saving message!

Darrell B. Harrison said, “Movements are transient and impermanent. But, when all has been said and done, what Charlie was engaged in, fundamentally, was apologetics—contending for and defending the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is a message not a movement, one that changes not only minds but hearts—which should be our ultimate goal. We must remember this as we work to honor his legacy.” https://x.com/d_b_harrison/status/1966875128102375884?s=46&t=Ag2lESY3ntUopWo1gN17hw

So what is the message?

The message is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Gospel means good news, but to understand the good news you must first understand the bad news.

There is a God that created the heavens and the earth. We humans are created in His image.

We are sinners, we have rebelled against Him, our Creator. Our rebellion has brought “all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice… envy, murder, strife, deceit, [and] maliciousness” to the world. Romans 1:29-31 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.1.29-31.ESV

Therefore we justly deserve our due punishment of death and damnation, “as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’” Romans 3:10-12 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.3.10-12.ESV

When we die and stand before our creator we will be judged and given our just and righteous condemnation of hell.

That is bad news!

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the boundless riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:4-10 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/eph.2.4-10.NASB2020

““Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent [turn away from sin] and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”” Acts 2:36-38 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/act.2.36-38.ESV

Praise God for the good news that we can receive the gift of forgiveness and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the only begotten son of God.

He became a man with no sin, and in accordance with the Scriptures He “died for our sins … he was buried…” and He was rose from death on the third day. Jesus is alive! 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.15.3-8.ESV

Jesus has taken all of the sins of those who believe in Him upon Himself so that we might be saved!

All praise and glory to God!

The mission

That’s the message, and all who believe and have been made new have a mission.

“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”” The great commission, Matthew 28:18-20 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/mat.28.19.NASB2020

Truth

The Declaration Of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Let these truths be our message and the foundation of all we think and do.

THE GOOD NEWS

There is a God that created the heavens and the earth. We humans are created in His image.

We are sinners, we have rebelled against Him, our Creator. Our rebellion has brought “all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice… envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness” to the world. Romans 1:29-31 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.1.29-31.ESV

Therefore we justly deserve our due punishment of death and damnation, “as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’” Romans 3:10-12 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.3.10-12.ESV

But good news! God is merciful and loving. Jesus is God the only begotten Son and He took our punishment upon Himself in our place. Jesus rose from the dead, defeating death and securing the hope of our salvation.

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.15.3-8.ESV

““Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”” Acts 2:36-38 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/act.2.36-38.ESV

We need only repent and believe it. Repent: turn away from our sins, proclaim Jesus is lord and savior, and we will be forgiven our sins and have life ever after! “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”” Romans 10:9-11 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.10.9-11.ESV

There is hope. Believe in Jesus! ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.3.16.ESV

It doesn’t matter who you’ve been or what you’ve done, God stands with arms wide open, ready to forgive you. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1jn.1.9.ESV

Inauguration Day meditation 2025

Inauguration Day meditation

Worship

First, we have to thank God for the mercy and give Him the glory for the victory. Genesis‬ ‭14‬:‭20‬

Disciple and Proclaim

Next, we the church have to get to work discipling the nation, teaching all that God has commanded. Mark‬ ‭16‬:‭15‬, Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭19‬-‭20‬

Build

Then get to work building God honoring households, churches, communities, and businesses.

By faith (Heb. 11:1-3,4,5…), get to work subduing and ruling, working and keeping, being fruitful and multiplying (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15), and making disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-20) for “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)

Rule yourself well, rule your household well, and bring God’s truth and grace into every sphere of life that you enter into until every nation proclaims “Jesus is Lord!” – Amen

HouseHold Prayer: On Mission

““Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it with a container or puts it under a bed, but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.” Luke 8:16 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/luk.8.16.LSB

Brothers, meditating on Luke chapters 8-11. I pray we walk daily in our mission. I pray we light our lamp every morning for all to see (Luke 8:16), that in our households we “recount what great things God has done for” us, “proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for” us (Luke 8:39). I pray we are ready for the mission to sow the word of God (Luke 9:2,10; 10:1-3; 11:33). Worship, disciple, proclaim, and build. “Whatever you do,” in your household, in church, at work, in your civil duties, “do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men” (Colossians 3:23-24; Gen. 2:15).

““Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it with a container or puts it under a bed, but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.” Luke 8:16 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/luk.8.16.LSB

““Return to your house and recount what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.” Luke 8:39 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/luk.8.39.LSB

“And He sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick… And when the apostles returned, they recounted to Him all that they had done. Taking them with Him, He slipped away by Himself to a city called Bethsaida.” Luke 9:2, 10 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/luk.9.2-10.LSB

“Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go! Behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.” Luke 10:1-3 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/luk.10.1-3.LSB

““No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light.” Luke 11:33 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/luk.11.33.LSB

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. Serve the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:23-24 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/col.3.23-24.LSB

“Then Yahweh God took the man and set him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.” Genesis 2:15 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/gen.2.15.LSB

Household Prayer: Saint Patrick’s example – proclaim the excellencies of God

”But you are a chosen family, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;“ 1 Peter 2:9 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/1pe.2.9.LSB

Brothers, I’ve been meditating on 1 Peter 2:9. We find our identity, a chosen people, and our purpose, to proclaim the excellencies of God. I pray we proclaim God’s excellencies in our households and as Saint Patrick exhorts, I pray we “bear witness to his great wonders before every nation under heaven.”

“… I cannot be silent – nor would it be good to do so – about such great blessings and such a gift that the Lord so kindly bestowed in the land of my captivity. This is how we can repay such blessings, when our lives change and we come to know God, to praise and bear witness to his great wonders before every nation under heaven.” Saint Patrick https://www.confessio.ie/etexts/confessio_english#

“”St. Patrick: His Confession and Other Works” from Catholic Book Publishing gives the listener an excellent perspective on this beloved Saint, making him even more relevant for modern times. This book details two of the Saint’s written works: Confession and Letter to Coroticus, providing a deeper understanding of the Saint who converted Ireland. https://mycanonplus.com/tabs/search/audiobooks/6163

“Each local church plays a vital role in the great commission… How do we go forward as the people of God in 2024? As pastors, if our congregation is to function as a public witness for Jesus Christ in the twenty-first century, we must prepare our people for it. Our people must know the message of the gospel that we are to proclaim. They must be firmly committed to the means that God has given us to share the gospel, namely, the proclamation of his Word. And as pastors, we must seek to train and disciple leaders who will then go out and proclaim the gospel on the streets. To encourage public witness in the church, Spurgeon would do two things. First, he would make public evangelism [a] regular pray[er] in the life of the church. Second, he would actively encourage and development evangelists in his local church. We can do the same as we seek to be salt and light in this dark generation.“ Charles Spurgeon’s Public Evangelism (Part 1), https://founders.org/articles/charles-spurgeons-public-evangelism/

Homeschool: an exhorting and encouraging message

I found this to be an exhorting and encouraging message from Pastor Sumpter and wanted to share.

Two big points that stuck out to me:

1 Men must lead. “Christian education is to be ultimately overseen by men/fathers.”
2 We need community. “many responsible households knit tightly together in covenant communities – little platoons, as Edmund Burke called them… Christians need to think of the project of Christian education as something that needs to be done in community. We need community because we need encouragement. We are tempted to get tired, discouraged, and lose perspective. We need community because we need accountability… We need community because it is not good for man to be alone, because two are better than one, because we are a body in Christ, because there is something particularly fruitful and potent about wise divisions of labor… the more Christian education is done in community (strong coops and classical Christian schools) the more it is like a military force, training brigades of soldiers, full of highly competent individual soldiers who have also been prepared to work together, concentrating forces, building institutions, businesses, and cities.” I would add, as Pastor Toby probably assumes is obvious, for the glory of God and the advancement of His gospel kingdom.

If your local church has the explicit or implicit attitude that your Christian education or homeschool/coop is not a ministry of the church, I pray God gives you wisdom.

A Pastoral Word About Homeschooling by Toby Sumpter

In this episode of Having Two Legs, Pastor Toby addresses Fathers, Mothers, and the Pros and Cons of Homeschooling.

Video: https://youtu.be/OGfIis-XDno?si=kbbCNuvdSXjev4os

Blog post here:https://tobyjsumpter.com/a-pastoral-word-about-homeschooling/