Faith without works is dead!
Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
Our prayer for this weekend was for people to be challenged to put their faith into action. Whether with one of our Be the Church Blitz projects or simply on their own the "win" is anywhere faith is combined with action.
One conversation that blessed me this morning was with Melissa Hilliard between services. You may know Melissa's father just passed away this week and she is planning the funeral for him next weekend- Saturday during the Blitz. Here's the cool part of the story. Her Dad who had an awesome faith really wanted the funeral to be held at Crossroads even though he never attended. He knew how important our church had been for Melissa's faith and his hope was that the rest of the family who are not Christ followers would see the local church in action and be drawn to Christ themselves. What a fantastic vision for someone who knows this life is not all there is! And what a great part of "Being the Church!"
Please share your stories of how you've seen God in the Comments below!
In light of the message, which was so on point, I was reminded of the group of volunteers who I get to work with who have truly understood what it means to have faith AND works!
ReplyDeleteI thought it was the best explanation of the relationship of faith and works I have ever heard.
ReplyDeleteJay Belt
Abby Howard said the same thing Jay did! This was her favorite of the series!
ReplyDeleteI have 2 stories... Sorry for the length!
I am so thankful for the ways God works through the After Service Prayer Team.
Several weeks ago, TruthAnn Francis prayed fervently for a young woman whose situation seemed hopeless. She did not feel comfortable "making herself known" to others, but TruthAnn and Jim committed to praying for her faithfully during their daily prayer time together. Just recently , TruthAnn sought out this young woman and was able to hear first hand how God had answered her prayers! Jim told me that TruthAnn was "giddy" after hearing how much God had turned things around!
During the after service prayer time this past weekend, a volatile situation was handled with such grace. Thank God for the wisdom, discernment, and peace shown by Debbie and Bill Yohn, Jim Francis, and Jim Mingle. They acted as a team and followed up as a team. The couple ministered to are now part of our Navigational Care at Crossroads.
Amen for Christ's love for the hopeless and the volatile! And Amen that ministry leaders practice God-acts with God-talk!