All that and a Bag of Chips!

We had a great time this weekend with our first Love Granbury servant evangelism project of the fall. We had a great turnout and it was a huge success. We had hot dog cookouts at three different locations yesterday...two at the Granbury City Park and one at the Granbury Middle School football stadium.

We were able to give away over 700 free hot lunches to people who were out at soccer, baseball and football games at those locations on Saturday. With every free lunch, each person was given a "kindness card" expressing to that individual that just as the hot dog lunches were absolutely free, so is God's love! How awesome that a hot dog, a bag of chips and a bottle of water can be such a tangible expression of God's love! So more than 700 people were told yesterday that God loves them freely and without condition.

Pray with us that the seeds that were planted yesterday will be be watered and nurtured and that they will take root in the lives of these folks!

We now look forward to next months Love Granbury Fall Festivals in Indian Harbor, Canyon Creek and Comanche Harbor! Make plans now to join us for the fun and excitement of sharing God's love in such a simple and natural, yet profound way!

Neighborly Love

"The second most important command is this: 'You must love other people the same as you love yourself.' These two commands are the most important."

-- Mark 12:31 (ERV)

The second great commandment also deals with love. This time, however, Jesus focuses our attention on our love for other people -- our neighbors. In giving these two commandments -- love God and love neighbor -- Jesus has summed up the heart of the Ten Commandments Exodus 20), God's blueprint for morality. The first four commandments focus on honoring God. The remaining six focus upon treating our
neighbors fairly.

However, Jesus takes them a step deeper and makes them simpler to remember. More than honoring God and treating others honorably, we are called to love them. Our motivation and passion are suddenly at issue and not just our behavior. God made us for relationship with him and with others. Our relationships are to all be marked by our love, the same type of love that sent Jesus to the cross for us.

Love Granbury Fall Service Opportunities

Well the kids are all back in school and summer is winding down (at least according to the calendar), and Love Granbury is getting ready to kick off it's Fall and Winter schedule of servant evangelism projects! Here's what we've got scheduled so far:

September 26th 12 noon - 2:00pm
Hot dog cook-outs at City Park soccer fields, Moore Street Baseball Complex and the Granbury Middle School football field (Pee-Wee Football Assc.). Free hot dogs, chips, and soft drinks/water.

October 31st 4:00pm - 6:00pm
Fall Festival Block Parties in Indian Harbor, Comanche Harbor and Canyon Creek neighborhoods. Free hot dogs, chips, soft drinks/water, bounce houses, face painting, kids games and lots of other fun stuff!

December 19th 12 noon - 2:00pm
Free gift wrapping at Walmart. Free Christmas gift wrapping for anyone who wants to bring their purchases to be wrapped. We will also be providing free coffee and hot chocolate.

Please come out and join us for any or all of these service opportunities!

Radical Forgiveness

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, when my brother won't stop doing wrong to me, how many times must I forgive him? Should I forgive him as many as seven times?"

-- Matthew 18:21 (ERV)

Like so many of us do, Peter wants to know the limits of the Lord's demand for radical forgiveness. While by human standards Peter's "7 times" principle is quite generous, in Jesus' Kingdom, to even ask for a limit to forgiveness is to reveal that his mind is still dominated by worldly thinking. Heavenly thinking means going to a cross and forgiving your crucifixion executioners! Jesus takes the heavenly
number of 7 and multiplies it exponentially to stress that we are to forgive as we have been forgiven and want to be forgiven. In the Father's Kingdom family, the children must forgive like the Father!

Service Gives Our Lives True Meaning

“Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body” (Romans 12:5 MSG).

We are going to give our life for something. What will it be—a career, a sport, a hobby, fame, wealth? None of these will have lasting significance. Service is the pathway to real significance. It is through ministry that we discover the meaning of our lives. The Bible says, “Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body” (Romans 12:5 MSG).

As we serve together in God’s family, our lives take on eternal importance. Paul said, “I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less . . . because of what you are a part of” (1 Corinthians 12:14a, 19 MSG).

God wants to use us to make a difference in his world. He wants to work through each of us. What matters is not the duration of our lives, but the donation of it. Not how long we lived, but how you lived.

There really is no reason good enough to not be serving in some manner. Consider these excuses from scripture:

• Abraham was old,
• Jacob was insecure,
• Leah was unattractive,
• Joseph was abused,
• Moses stuttered,
• Gideon was poor,
• Samson was codependent,
• Rahab was immoral,
• David had an affair and all kinds of family problems,
• Elijah was suicidal,
• Jeremiah was depressed,
• Jonah was reluctant,
• Naomi was a widow,
• John the Baptist was eccentric to say the least,
• Peter was impulsive and hot-tempered,
• Martha worried a lot,
• The Samaritan woman had several failed marriages,
• Zacchaeus was unpopular,
• Thomas had doubts,
• Paul had poor health, and
• Timothy was timid.

That is quite a variety of misfits, but God used each of them in his service. He will use each of us, too, if we stop making excuses.

Accepting Children

"If a person accepts a little child like this in my name, then that person accepts me." -- Matthew 18:5 (ERV)

There are two key thoughts here. First, Jesus is talking about actual
children. His rebuke of the disciples when they didn't welcome children, but pushed them away, is clearly an example of that.

But, there is a deeper issue that will dominate the rest of the chapter. Because children in Jesus' culture were powerless, without rights, and vulnerable, they became the symbol for people who are powerless, without rights, and vulnerable. On the surface, they may not have anything to offer the community. But Kingdom thinking is upside down to "the way men think."

To be on the side of God means to be on the side of welcoming, accepting, and receiving "little ones" whether they are actual children or simply people who are little in the sight of the world. Because Jesus adamantly rejects the normal channels
to fame and fortune and instead walks the way of the cross -- the punishment reserved for the powerless, those without rights, and those who are vulnerable -- his disciples should welcome and care for those like their Savior!

A Christian Who Doesn't Serve is a Contradiction

The Bible says, “He saved us and called us to be his own people, not because of what we have done, but because of his own purpose” (2 Timothy 1:9 TEV).

Peter adds, “You were chosen to tell about the excellent qualities of God, who called you” (1 Peter 2:9 GWT).

You are called to serve God. Growing up, you may have thought that being called by God was something only missionaries, pastors, nuns, and other full-time church workers experienced, but the Bible says every Christians is called to service (Ephesians 4:4–14; see also Romans 1:6–7; 8:28–30; 1 Corinthians 1:2, 9, 26; 7:17; Philippians 3:14; 1 Peter 2:9; 2 Peter 1:3).

Anytime you use your God-given abilities to help others, you are fulfilling your calling. The Bible says, “Now you belong to him . . . in order that you might be useful in the service of God” (Romans 7:4 TEV).

How much of the time are you being useful in the service of God? In some churches in China, they welcome new believers by saying, “Jesus now has a new pair of eyes to see with, new ears to listen with, new hands to help with, and a new heart to love others with.”