There’s a powerful scene in the final book of the Harry Potter book series when Harry needs to make the ultimate sacrifice. He asks those closest to him if they will stay with him, and he hears, “Until the very end. ” Harry fulfilled his mission.

The Christian has a mission to fulfill as well: Jesus said, “But 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.” This was the mission given to the first disciples and to every disciple to follow. The ‘end” is when every person, from every place, in every time hears the good news of Jesus Christ. Until the end, we must speak God’s win. We are to bring testimony to the victory of Jesus over death on Calvary and on Resurrection Sunday.

For the next 10 weeks leading up to Easter, we’ll journey through Acts 15-28. We’ll see the first generation’s efforts to preach the Gospel until the end. For the book of Acts, the ‘end’ was Rome–the city that symbolized the end of the world. We follow in their footsteps. Today, our Rome may be across the street or across the globe. Regardless, until the end, we must speak God’s win.

Come the next several weeks for practical instruction on how we do this individually and as a church. Come to be reminded of the great message of Jesus Christ. Come to prepare yourself to be apart of God’s mission until the end. And we know from Matthew 28:18-20, that Jesus is with us until the very end. He will finish His work. Praise the LORD.