People Challenge Ministry

A few weeks ago, I entered a challenge with See All the People challenge ministry. We were supposed to describe how our congregation would engage the community in an outwardly focused way. Although we didn’t win, I learned a lot. I interviewed a few members and staff of the church. I asked them why they were members of the church or what our was church doing.

There was one answer that I kept in my heart. There was a lady whose family was part of the church for generations. She told me, “While many churches have left the area, we have decided to stay and be a beacon of Jesus in this part of town.” As a United Methodist church, we repeat the Apostles’ Creed every Sunday. However, do we pause to meditate on it?

We believe in God, the Father almighty,

That’s our treasure; though we as humans can be considered clay jars. The Lord told Jeremiah, “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel” (Jeremiah 18). We are not perfect, we have things and issues. But there is so much hope that comes in knowing that Jesus is our Mediator, the One in whom we choose to trust.

Verse 7 says (4:7) “But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from

The Corinthians put their hope in Christ, the Finisher and Author of our faith. In the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul addressed issues, such as, idolatry, doctrinal issues, division in the church and more. Corinth was a flourishing city full of sinful behavior. In this letter we can get a sense of Paul as a caring and encouraging pastor. I was fascinated with Paul’s letters; he could be bold, but he doesn’t condone injustice, at the same time you can see his love for God, for the church and for the lost. How do we fit into that? Do we care? Are we doing anything to be a blessing to others? In our brokenness, we are still called to be the light.

Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it” (10:39). There is a hymn that I love called, When We Are Living. It’s a reminder of our purpose on this earth. It goes: When we are living, we are in the Lord, and when we're dying, we are in the Lord. For in our living and in our dying we belong to God, we belong to God. Each day allows us to decide for good, loving and serving as we know we should. In thankful giving, in hopeful living, we belong to God, we belong to God