About 3,000 years ago, King David had a vision for a ministry expansion, but there was a problem. He held before the people of God a solution. We have a vision for expanding our ministry, too. Our challenges may be different from his, but the solution remains the same. Together, let us seek God and celebrate his presence in this final week of our four-week Fields Are Ripe series.

You've seen the pictures, heard the phrase, and watched the videos. Now we hear Jesus explain and encourage us to open our eyes and see The Fields Are Ripe for an eternal harvest. We will see how God prepares us for the harvest through the Service and Outreach ministry taking place through St. Andrew.

Fields Are Ripe—Nurture: When we learn facts, history, or about important issues in society, we benefit. But when we receive the gospel, we are blessed. The church's purpose is to proclaim the gospel so that the Spirit can provide spiritual blessings: forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. St. Andrew has always been about growing in the Word. We've learned a thing or two about how to do that, but we're always looking for new ways to connect people with the Word. Today we worship the God who has given us his Word, and we gain a fresh appreciation for our nurture ministries.

Why do you worship? It would be fun to survey everyone who comes to St. Andrew to get the answer to that question. This weekend, we'll listen to both those who come to St. Andrew to worship . . . and those who don't. The Fields Are Ripe for St. Andrew to pursue God's vision for our worship. We'll sing about it, listen to God's Word about it, pray about it, hear from our Staff Minister for Worship about it, seek unbelievers through it, and ask God to teach us about his plan for each of us to support our worship ministry.