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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion Tuesday, January 20, 2004 Hands On Service |
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Frontline Devotion for Tuesday,
January 20, 2004, by Pastor Dave Sonnenberg
Bible text:
Acts 6:1-15
I am not one who is drawn to the changing church sign phenomenon. You know what I mean - the church signs that have slogans like - “do you know where you are spending eternity?” It works for some. I can simply say - those little snippets do not work for me! The most helpful slogan I ever saw on a church sign was one that you could not view from the road. It was a sign that you could only see upon leaving the church parking lot. This particular sign was right as you exited. It read - “the worship is over. The service now begins!”. I find that the early church was deeply concerned that their movement not be so spiritual that it ignored the realities of day to day living. The problem in today’s text is that there were people in the midst of the early Christian community who were being left out of the food distributions. Perhaps they weren’t aggressive enough or perhaps they simply were being ignored. But, the early church took action. Stephen and several others were blessed and asked to dedicate themselves to hands on service. They were asked to be good listeners and rally the community in caring for the needs of all. In life, we need people who are hands on and involved. One of the greatest legacies of Stephen and the early group of caregivers is that they learned to express their faith in actions of care. Our call in every age is to find ways to express our faith in hands on activity. Perhaps that means we find some community agency to get involved with. Perhaps it means we help coach a team or serve in a soup kitchen. Perhaps it means we begin to see our daily life as an opportunity to serve and listen to others. Serving is good for the soul. It is a way to grow in our faith. Do you see your life as an opportunity to listen to others and serve?
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
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