Serving others

      It has been a few weeks since I have written anything on my blog as I have been extremely busy doing some other type of writing.  I hope in a few weeks to be able to share with you what I have been writing, but there are still some things that need to be done first.

     This morning I would like to share about serving others.  Often times in the craziness of life we are so busy that we do not stop long enough to see if there might be someone that needs our help.  Two weeks ago one of the widows in our church had a sewer line break and flood her basement.  It was not a pretty sight.  We got word of the need and on a Saturday morning a group of us men, about 7 of us, showed up to look at the damage and as we dug up the line we discovered it was beyond our ability to repair.  However, one of our men called his plumber friend and the next day he met him there at 7:30 and they were able to repair the line so that it would not continue flooding into the basement.  This good brother also paid the cost to the plumber.  What a great blessing his ministry was to this sweet lady.

     However, our work was not done.  We knew that we had to clean her basement out and do some other repairs as well.  Our association of churches has a disaster relief trailer and coordinator that lives about a mile from this dear woman.  We made arrangements with him to meet on the next Saturday and clean out the basement and disinfect the basement as well.  On that Saturday, 16 of us showed up to clear everything out of the basement, scrub some floors, and everything else that needed to be done.  Not only did we clean the basement, but we cleaned her garage and helped her in the house as well.  Others of us, fixed some plumbing problems in the house as well as a washer that needed some work.  We were able to be the body of Christ to our sister in Christ.

      She allowed us to be a blessing to her and in return we were blessed as well.  Serving others is one of the best ways we can demonstrate the love of Christ to others.  Scripture states that God demonstrated his love for us.  This passage tells me that love is an action verb.  Love is something we do, not something we sit around and talk about.  We demonstrated our love for her by our actions toward her.  We did so, not as an individual, but as a body of believers.  We were the church in action. 

     However, the story does not end here.  While we were ministering to our sister in Christ we met another lady who needed some help as well.  Her needs were entirely different.  She needed someone to love on her and care for her.  She is struggling financially and the difficulty is beginning to overwhelm her and her young son.  We helped her, prayed with her, ministered to her and told her about Jesus.  On Sunday morning she and her young son worshipped with us.  What a blessing it was to see her sitting there on Sunday Morning. 

     I do not want you to get the wrong impression about Lynwood Baptist Church.  This event was not a one time event for us, but it is a part of our DNA.  We are a body who strives to serve others.  We involve ourselves in the lives of other people.  Though we are small in numbers we have a big heart for people.  I am fortunate to be pastor of this body of believers.

     God has great things in store for Lynwood.  He is moving in the lives of people and we are excited about what the future holds.  If you are reading this blog and are not a member of Lynwood, you might want to check us out.  We are here to encourage you and minister to you with the love of Christ.  We don't have all the answers and we do not claim to know everything, but we love God and we love people.  If that sounds like you, then come serve alongside us as we strive to make a difference in the place where God has planted us.  Hope to see you soon so we can worship and serve our Lord together.  Like I always tell the members, we are blessed to be a blessing.  Go out and bless someone today.  Talk to you later.