October 2016

​Our 2nd annual MISSION ADVANCE is here and we want each of us to “BE MOVED” into action in reaching out to our community and world. This month-long event has 12 projects planned that will move us into our community to represent our church and our God’s love. There are projects to help with a need, to say thank you for a job well done, and to involve you individually and as a church.

In order to “BE MOVED” we have to be willing to “BE MOVED”. This challenges each of us to act in love, a sincere love.

“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” I John 3:18

This passage has 2 challenges, to love in action and to love in truth. Just saying we love isn’t enough; we are called to show it. That is true in our relationships with each other and in our relationship with God. God showed us how much He loved us and He is now asking us to show how much we love Him. Loving God is an action that does require sincerity. It must come from the heart and motivated by the right reasons. There are many reasons that we love and act, and sometimes those reasons are wrongly motivated. We don’t want to be selfish in our love in action because we expect something in return, true love will be rewarded. And we need to act out of true love, sincerely. There are also times that we are moved into action out of guilt or shame. As a church in general, we are good at using duty, guilt and shame to get people to do what we want done; but in reality, when we are doing something we do not sincerely want to do – then it isn’t out of love and can do more harm for our witness and His witness. Serving God isn’t doing what man wants you to do, but doing what God wants you to do.

​Our motivation to action in serving God must be out of love, which wells from our love for God and gratitude for what He has done for us. This love should then result in another type of love, compassion for others. When Jesus’s asked Peter, “Do you love me?” what was his response? Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”