As Christians we get the privilege of becoming God’s hands and feet to the world. God doesn’t need us to accomplish his redemptive work in humanity, but he chooses to use us, and in so doing, we experience his redemptive work in us. Jesus talked about this and his disciple Matthew wrote it down: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matt 9:35-38)

Too often we hear Jesus say these words and immediately feel bad about ourselves and think about how we should be sharing the good news about Christ with say, our co-workers. While it’s important that we are always ready, as Peter commended, to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have, there is often a tendency to overlook the ACTION that God also calls us to. Indeed, Peter goes on to say, “do this with gentleness and respect.” Have you ever considered how gentle and respectful action rather than words can be? (I Peter 3:15)

If I ask you how the harvest is going in your life, you’re probably going to answer in a way that tells me about you rather than the people God is presenting to you for HIS purposes. Do you live this way–In a way that inconveniences yourself and places the values of others ahead of self? This is what Christ called us to: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me. This word from Jesus obliterates our culture’s notion that we are here to live for ourselves. Rather, it’s just the opposite, we’re here to live for Jesus. (Mark 8:34)

So HOW exactly do we do this–become workers in the harvest field? If you’re not accelerating at inconveniencing yourself and letting Christ use you to do his work here on earth, then repentance is in order. You can do this by submitting yourself to him in faith, and taking action to serve others. Practical application: email your community group with your top 3 ideas for ways to serve, challenge the rest of the group to do the same, and the next time you all get together talk about it and pick one. Then… DO IT!

Here are some practical examples that other groups and individuals are acting on:

Knitting group is going to Children’s hospital to teach patients to knit and make hats for kids.

Another CG is going to Group Health to do patient visitations.

I’m serving in the Brother to Brother program at New Visions.

Adopt a widow from Rwanda Partners www.rwandapartners.org

Another community group put an add in Craigslist and found a single mom who needed help.

Sign up to tutor some kids at one of the shelters.

These are all just ideas to get you started. Micro Missions is a resource to help you, too. Feel free to use any of these ideas, feel free to think of your own, feel free to email wes through downtown@marshillchurch.org if you have any questions. But, whatever you do, do NOT feel free to click to the next interesting link on this page. Instead…feel free to email your group with ideas now!!!

Mars Hill Church Downtown lives for Jesus as a city within the city of Seattle: knowing culture, loving people, and seeing lives transformed to live for Jesus. For more information, visit us HERE. For information on community groups and other ministries go HERE. For general questions, you may email us at downtown@marshillchurch.org.

The LORD passed before him [Moses] and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the sin of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.” – Exodus 34:5-7

Have you ever heard that story where Jesus tells a bunch of people about how he didn’t come down to earth to help the healthy, but the sick. And, then, did you feel kind of left out cuz you’ve never really been sick per se–you’ve always been pretty healty–you know, an all around good kind of person? If that’s you, then you probably don’t understand the heart of mercy yet. But if maybe you’re one of those folks that suddenly realized how Jesus was talking about the state of our heart before him, and all of a sudden you felt like he was talking directly to you, and you totally saw yourself as terminally ill sans Jesus–then the compassionate merciful life is for you.

Indeed, God has shown himself abundantly merciful to us, for while we were yet sinners–rebellious people doing whatever the hell we wanted–Christ died for us and made us children of the Father. He declared his preeminence over all things and his provision in everything…existence, breath, food, shelter, time, friends, skillz, beauty, donuts, indoor plumbing, opposable thumbs–we are dependent on God for ALL things. And so, we find ourselves responding to God’s pursuit by repenting of and forsaking our own, and giving freely of our time and our talent and our treasure. Anything less is self-righteous nonsense…anything more is worship of the King.

On Saturday at MH DT we are doing the Christmas Coat Lunch. It’s opportunity for us to open our doors to our downtrodden neighbors and dwell among them. We’ll be giving away a free lunch and a coat and a hat to our needy friends, but even more so, a listening ear. We want to let them know, “Hey if you’re at all sick like us, feel free to be a part of our family.” We’ll be getting started around 08:00 in the morning. Feel free to stop by for a few hours. Shifts run from 08:00-11:00 and 10:30 – 13:00 and 12:30 – 15:00 and finally 14:30 – 17:00. Hope to see you there.