Sunday Service-July 19, 2009

We did not have a regular service today.
Instead, three groups of mission teams shared about their trips.
It was a great morning. It always is.

Mission Trip #1-Valley Forge, Pa.
The team members replaced one of the dorm roofs at Valley Forge Christian College.
April's dad noticed her roof when he came to visit her at school.
He decided that his daughter deserved to live under a better roof and went
to talk to the man in charge.
Not only did the team replace the roof;
they also painted a number of the dorm rooms.
Roger Mahan shared his testimony.
(He was in charge of the painters.)
He said at one point, 'I thought I was living life large until I met Jesus.'
He met Jesus in 1978 and because of that meeting,
many others have met Jesus as well.

Mission Trip #2-Monterrey, Mexico
New Life Christian Academy has had its doors open for 25 years.
The school is held in our church and has over 100 students
in grades K-12.
A group of parents, teachers, students, and alumni from the school
went to Monterrey this June 20-27th.
Five churches were represented.
Their primary goal was to share the love of Jesus with the folks
in Mexico. They would go into the Emergency Room of the local
hospital and hand out tacos and then ask their new friends
if they could pray with them about anything.
They would love on them, saying with their words and actions,
"We love you because of the love of Jesus."
Pastor Betty left alot of her heart in Monterrey.
Her passion and compassion for the children
and women and the hurting was evident.
I want to go to Monterrey.

Mission Trip #3- Los Angeles, California
Vertical Edge-The Youth Group, plus a number
of adults just got back from L.A. this past week.
They worked with the Dream Center-
an organization that not only feeds the hungry,
sweeps the streets, cares for the homeless,
and disciples the new believers;
they teach others to do the same.
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Pastor Alvin said it this way,
"Because we served them,
we had the right to tell them of Christ."
Dakota said,
"I fell in love with God even more
as I saw His love and mercy for others."
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Small things matter.
Sweeping the street matters.
Filling a bag with groceries and handing it to
someone who needs it to stay alive matters.
Keeping the seat open next to you
as you travel through life matters.
Knowing that except for the fact
that the grace of God has kept me
and placed me in this pleasant place,
that the roles could be reversed-
that I could be the one receiving the
bag of groceries and sleeping under a bridge-
matters.

We take up missions offerings and send off missionaries.
Today, we got to experience some of the fruit of our labor.
Today, we hammered a nail and painted a wall.
Today, we fed the hungry and caressed a crippled spine.
Today, we swept dirt that will be there again tomorrow,
handed out food to the hungry body
and listened with our hearts to the wounded soul.
Today, we were His body,
seeking and saving that which was lost.
Today, we did it for the least of these.
Today, we did it for Christ.