Baptist World Alliance General Secretary Neville Callam encouraged Christians to specially remember Christians who work and live in vulnerable circumstances.
The global Baptist leader, who was preaching at the worship service of First Baptist Church, Vancouver, on July 3, made the case for Christian hospitality when he said, “We should treat our fellow Christians who are hungry or thirsty as we would treat Jesus.”
There are Christians, he said, who are engaged in the enterprise of spreading the good news of Jesus Christ who need the prayer and support of their fellow believers. The response to their needs should be the same as Christians would respond to the needs of the incarnated Jesus.
“We should treat Christ’s messengers who are poorly clothed as we would treat Jesus,” Callam emphasized. “We should treat those fellow Christians who are ill – perhaps undergoing some physical condition occasioned by the mission they are on – as we would treat Jesus.”
Callam told the congregation that “Christians should be ready at all times to receive their fellow Christians who are messengers of the Gospel – that is, people who preach or teach the Gospel, people who bear witness to Christ – as we would receive Jesus himself.”
The congregation offered prayer that, through unity and love, Baptists may become “light to those who live in spiritual darkness” and that they “break down the barriers that divide.”
Baptists from around the world are in Vancouver for the BWA Annual Gathering from July 4-9. A number of participants worshiped and several preached at churches in the Vancouver area.
The Annual Gathering brings together an international group of Baptist leaders, theologians, teachers, pastors and other representatives for worship, fellowship, study, theological reflection and decision meetings.
Baptist World Alliance®
©July 4, 2016