May Beacon

“Share with God’s people who are in need.  Practice hospitality.”  Romans 12:13

Do you know anyone who lives in the Rolling Hills Mobile Home Park, the Pond View Apartments, or the Canary Hill Apartments.  Hundreds of people live in those places that are minutes from our church.

Over the past several weeks there have been a few people who have been getting together to pray for our ‘outreach efforts.’  We want to make Christ known and influence others for the Lord.  Plans have been made to invite people to Redeemer.  We continue to pray that these ‘outreach efforts’ will be useful for getting to know people and also to somehow point them to Jesus.

Consider these opportunities taking place in the near future:  May 16th - Kingery Family Music Festival; May 29th - Free Church Garage Sale / Oil Change / Breakfast; July 26th-30th - Vacation Bible School; and Awana in September 2010.  Are you aware that these are going to take place?  Are you praying for them to be used by God?  Are you involved by helping to serve?  And finally, from a question that came up during one of our ‘Prayer and Planning’ sessions…’Do we really have a heart for those who don’t know Christ?’  That question may have stung some…..but I believe it caused all who heard it that night to think, and search their heart.

It has been almost thirty years ago that we moved into a small apartment in a small town in North Dakota.  As a young married couple with new jobs and no friends, we were searching for fellowship.  I thought that we would visit a few churches over the course of a few months.  That did not happen!  I believe it was the second Sunday of our visiting that we found our ‘church home.’  The people were very friendly.  They invited us to a home that evening where several young families gathered to sing praises to the Lord.  Although we live miles apart from those people, nearly thirty years later, we continue to maintain the fellowship with many of them.

What if God answered our prayers and brought a multitude of people to our church over the course of the next several months.  (I have been praying that God will fill our church with:  His Presence, His Power; and with people.)  What if many of them visited and no one spoke with them or was in any way hospitable with them!  What if they came and left and never came back again…and no one really knew or cared!

In Romans 12:13, the Apostle Paul said, ‘Practice hospitality.’  The word Paul used for hospitality literally means, ‘pursuing the love of strangers.’  The primary reference is to housing travelers, though all forms of hospitality are included.  Have you ever opened your home to a ‘traveler?’  How will you treat those God brings to our church?

I Peter 4:9 reads, “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.”  In New Testament times, this typically meant housing and feeding travelers for two to three days with no expectation of payment in return.  Being truly hospitable required personal sacrifice.

Over two thousand ‘flyers’ will be distributed to homes near Redeemer for the Kingery Music Festival.  Much time, money, and effort will be invested in outreach efforts over the next several weeks.  I hope you meet someone new.  I pray that Christ will be made known through your hospitality.

Pastor Lerud

April Beacon

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?’”  John 11:25
At the heart of Christian faith is a belief in eternal life in heaven.  It is not just [...]

March Beacon

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” James 5:16
A young boy saw a pack of cigarettes on the ground and decided to try them. He went to a [...]

Kids Zone

Come and visit the KidsZone! It’s all about kids having fun, interacting with others, and learning about God’s love.
Children are taught Bible lessons and songs about Jesus through various creative methods by loving and caring teachers. Our goal is to provide a place where all kids will know, learn, and grow in God’s love.
Verse [...]

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