6 Remember this:
Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously
will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you
have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for
God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you
abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you
will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written:
“They
have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures
forever.”
10 Now he who supplies
seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store
of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You
will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion,
and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
12 This service that you
perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also
overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of
the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the
obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for
your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And
in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the
surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his
indescribable gift!
Introduction
Where
are we with the series
The
real thing
The
real life is a generous life
The
real church…….what does that place look like?
Next
week…….the real you
Great
day to be a visitor- give u a glimpse into the character of wcc
So the apostle paul is talking to the Corinthian
church and celebrating the joy that they are experiencing because they have
become a generous church.
Sowing
and reaping in a way that brings joy
In a 2005 sutdy, George Barna reached the
following conclusions
·
Some
do not give because they are selfish……..ouch!
·
Some
don’t give because they don’t realize that the church needs their gifts to be
effective
·
Some
don’t understand that God invites us to live outside of ourselves.
·
Some
don’t see a return on the investment
In
other words, Some do not give to the church because the church has not
explained that their giving will make a difference in the world
pause
Do
your gifts produce significant outcomes- is your church making a difference in
the world?
Part one
I asked the question of several of you,
what are the characteristics in general of a healthy church?
·
people
radiate grace & love
·
The
people are trying to be more like Jesus, to follow his ways and live a life of
love.
·
The
people are genuine, authentic. Live congruent lives.
·
they
know they are sent into the world
·
they
take care of each other
·
they
educate their own but are also serving the community and meeting the needs of
the community
·
their
building serves as a community center
·
they
understand that they are not an island to themselves but work well with
other churches
·
healthy
churches are not afraid of chaos, they are comfortable knowing that when the
holy spirit moves, you cant always draw an org chart of that.
Part two
So,
what is going on around here? What is this place about?
It begins with what we are doing here
for ourselves. That sounds a little funny but it all points us out.
We
care
Childrens
Sunday school and actvites
Youth
group
100
people in disciple BS
Adult
ss and a myriad of classes
Sermons,
choirs, bands, music, engagement
It all points us out………
It doesn’t end here, it begins here
Many of us were raised in places where
learning was for learning sake. At wcc we understand that we are blessed
by god to be a blessing. And you are living that out.
I
am not simply going to provide a list of what we are doing, lets look behind
the scenes
Hillcrest knows we are the church that willing
to do the hard work. They interview the residents before moving them into
an apartment, as certain criteria have to be met. Sometimes the Woods
Chapel apartments get the residents that are more ‘at risk’. Why?
Because they know we are flexible, we know that helping a former homeless
person isn’t easy work, we know that it might require more effort on our end,
and we are okay with that.
One
couple – served as the budget counselor to a resident 3 years ago. She
had a one year old son. Our couple “adopted” this family, having them
over for meals, bringing them to church. today the former resident has
become a resident manager in LS hillcrest and is doing very well.
Prom Boutique provides
dresses for 1,000 girls - each girl is made to feel special when they attend
the boutique. its much more than giving girls a dress, it is about
someone taking the time to give each girl individual attention and a feeling of
worth and love.
Our
Prom Boutique has helped several other organizations start their own prom
boutique. Fern delivered 300 dresses this spring to another church in
southern Missouri and gave them all of the information to start their own
boutique. She was just contacted by a woman in San Antonio, TX, last week
about us helping her start a boutique there.
Cathy’s
stories of getting dresses for girls at Children’s Mercy
The Cancer Ministry and how they help,
how they’ve basically ‘adopted’ the Cancer Center
How our Adoption group reaches out to
families, not only providing financial grants, but helping them navigate
through the difficult steps of adoption. they come alongside families and point
them in the right direction. families who have adopted so generously give
their time to help other families by sharing their stories, information, and
advice.
Emergency relief
our
church receives well over 50 calls each month from people in our community
looking for help. Many times we are able to provide food or children’s
clothing, or utility assistance. Sometimes we cannot help with a request,
but we are always able to extend God’s grace and point people to resources in
our community.
One
day last week, 10 bags of groceries went out the door.
Westport
3,800
meals are prepared and served by our church at Westport each year. our
members have formed friendships and invested themselves in the lives of
those receiving the meals and also the staff at Westport. Yes, they could
just serve the meal and that would be a wonderful ministry, but our people have
made it so much more.
One
young man from our church has befriended all of the staff there, most of
whom are former alcoholics or recovered drug addicts. Several of the
staff are still struggling with dependency issues. He has taken them to
concerts, hangs out with them, is just generally a friend to them and they
think he is great.
Sack
lunch program
Katrina [new orleans], Greensburg,
Joplin
New
Orleans
Greensburg
Joplin
– two teams each week. 484 volunteers
Relationships
changed
And
now, St Paul’s in Joplin is sending weekly teams to Moore, OK.
We
are going to Moore at the end of this month.
St
Paul’s also sponsors a village in Nicaragua in the same region as ours, through
the Rainbow Network.
When
we sent our container, they collected school supplies
someone
wrote, I was talking to a friend at Saint Paul’s in joplin and she shared that
early on in the Joplin disaster, congregants were whispering to one another
“Who are these people?” and “Where IS Woods Chapel Church?” They
even asked if WCC was Methodist She tells me that today, Saint Paul’s continues
to reflect and say, “They just kept coming & coming and never left
us.” This has caused many of them to examine their hearts and ask, “Could
we be ‘those people’?”
Mozambique, Jamaica, Nicaragua [Nicaragua update
meeting is ____________]
440
people in Los Pinos – who knows exactly how our partnership will impact their
community in the years to come. We know that we have been able to provide
food and medical care. We know that we will be able to help with
education and micro-lending and housing, and we know that we will learn lessons
from them as well, (their complete dependence on God for daily living).
48 Russian children in the Velikoretskoye
Orphanage
are looking forward to a visit from the Woods Chapel team in a few weeks.
Many of these children will tell you that their favorite memory of the whole
year will be the week that their American friends come to visit. A week
where they feel love and friendship. A week where their cares can be put
aside, where they can just be kids and have fun. A week where a group of
adults are telling them that they are loved and valued, and that they are
children of God.
CREW, habitat,
the
group of men that work on the CREW mission, helping to do repairs at the homes
of people that are having trouble making ends meet,
CVV
– grace united- community garden
Clothes
thru our clothes pantry [amy how many?]
Back snacks
170
kids receive BackSnacks from our church each week. This means that a
child in Blue Springs will come home on Friday to a pack of meals for the
weekend 6,290 times this school year because of the BackSnacks programs at our
church. (37 weeks x 170 kids). Stated another way: 6,290 packs
of food will be delivered by our church to hungry kids in the Blue Springs
school district this school year. Each pack contains enough for 4
meals for that child = 25,160 meals.
25,
160 times this year, a child facing food scarcity will reach into
I
was hungry and you fed me
Ronald McDonald house
Your
story of the family from Princeton that was served a meal by WCC at Children’s
Mercy
TACO NIGHT
At
first watch. At the grocery store. At the bank.
Scott
and the tornado destroying the church………Brian and the fire…
Who are we here at WCC?
We
are those people that let God’s light shine through us, we are the Hands and
Feet of Christ.
one member recently wrote in to me……..When we come before God, either in prayer or come before him when we get to heaven, the only thing that really matters is whether we each and collectively lived out what he wanted for us. I believe Woods chapel as a body of believers will hear "well done thou good and faithful servant." This is the only purpose that makes anything we do, worthwhile.
one member recently wrote in to me……..When we come before God, either in prayer or come before him when we get to heaven, the only thing that really matters is whether we each and collectively lived out what he wanted for us. I believe Woods chapel as a body of believers will hear "well done thou good and faithful servant." This is the only purpose that makes anything we do, worthwhile.
Conclusion
Take
a deep breath
If
you are visiting today, I simply ask you if this sounds like a place that you
want to be a part of?
We
welcome you!
Coming
together as a group, we are able to accomplish great things for Christ.
I
am so very proud of the chance I have to be a part of this place
These
are some of the reasons why I love and support this place
Thank
you for your support in the past, and into the future
We
have so much to be thankful for
My
prayer is that you will come to experience the joy that comes from knowing that
your giving honors God and changes lives.
Prayer
Prayer
Finally, one person wrote in
the
biggest reason I support my church-
Grace.
Our church is a church of grace. Too many churches are known for what
they are against- but we are a church that is known for what we are FOR.
Grace. Grace to one another, grace to those less fortunate, grace to
those who are suffering, grace to those all over this world.
We
don’t ask if those we are helping deserve to be helped… we already know
the answer to that question. Of course they are- they are children of
God, and just as he’s shown US grace- we will extend that grace through love,
justice, and serving- to others.
Grace,
alone. Period.
(and…
I just happened to read all of the lyrics to Grace Alone- and I would LOVE it
if we actually sang the whole song at the end of the service. (in both
venues). (maybe NOT holding hands- that might be a long time to do that.)
Every
promise we can make
Every
prayer and step of faith
Every
difference we can make
Is
only by His grace.
Every
mountain we will climb
Every
ray of hope we shine
Every
blessing left behind
Is
only by His grace
Every
soul we long to reach
Every
heart we hope to teach
Everywhere
we share His peace
Is
only by His grace.
Every
loving word we say
Every
tear we wipe away
Every
sorrow turned to praise
Is
only by His grace.
Grace
alone Which God supplies
Strength
unknown He will provide
Christ
in us, our cornerstone
We
will go forth in grace alone.
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