(BNC) — The church isn’t only about meeting on Sundays, but meeting people’s needs, especially their spiritual and eternal needs. That often occurs Monday through Saturday.
Dale Jenkins works with the Spring Hill, Tenn., congregation and saw this happening Sept. 5.
It’s just a Monday for a local church. It started with us all praying together for the week ahead. Next came info from a member needing some help with an aging parent and being confident someone here would come through. Next one of our young people told his parents he was ready to become a Christian. From that another member sent out a request for some help. We got a request for the church to pray for an aging grandparent of one of our newest families. A message came from a family who has been visiting that they are ready to join forces with this Family. A caring member sent out a request to help provide meals for a family who has some sickness. A group of young folks got together to sing, study, and pray. And that is just what I know about and there’s always more unknown than known — it’s just a Monday for a local church … I love God’s church and God’s People.
In the early church, there was a “daily distribution of food” to widows, Acts 6.1. In order to avoid “an evil, unbelieving heart that forsakes the living God,” the writer to the Hebrews saw the need to “exhort one another each day, as long as it is called “Today,” that none of you may become hardened by sin’s deception” Heb 3.12-13.
The church is at work on Monday, as much as on Sunday. Indeed, the body of Christ shows its life when it engages in daily service, proclamation, and fellowship.
2016-09-06 at 9:55 am
The words of our brother Jenkins is so true….Recently (two weeks ago) as I was getting the morning paper on a Wednesday morning at the end of our driveway, a homeless man was walking at about the same pace I was, and we met at the exact place where my paper was in the box. He asked if I had a phone that he could call a number someone had given him to get work for the day….I dialed the number for him, and as he talked to the person I could tell he didn’t know the directions to get to the job site, so took the phone and assured the person on the phone I knew where he was and I would see to it that this homeless man (Christopher) would get there. I had thoughts of “I need to help this man, especially now that I have promised to get him to the job site.” I asked him to walk with me to the house with instructions to wait in my truck as I told my wife what was going on. Never having any fear that he might harm me, I drove him the approximately ten miles into town, but on the way as we chatted, I began to feel his pain of homelessness, without nearby family and how he must be hungry. I then told him, I am going to get you breakfast, and something for your lunch. As he had no place to stay, I stopped at a nearby church building and spoke with the minister, whom I knew, leaving the man in my truck, without the keys left in it by the way. We talked a few minutes and the secretary there, pulled out some money from her purse, as did I and we made the statement, “maybe this will get him through tonight.” I then drove this man (who expressed how much he appreciated what we had done that morning for him) to the job site. By this time I knew more about him than he thought, and I introduced him to the person who he had talked with on the phone and asked the person to take care of him that day…. I gave him my business card and asked Christopher, the homeless man to call me that night if he needed my continued help, but I as said that was two weeks ago, and I have not heard anything from him. I said all that to say this, brother Jenkins words, reminded me that Christians are to live for Christ every day…not just on Sunday. I did not tell anyone at services that Wednesday evening of this happening, nor do I boast about it here. It simply proves, we are given opportunities to serve the Lord, and we never know where or when those opportunities might arise……just always be ready to serve. I’m glad I was.
Larry Benderman, Stiversville church of Christ, in Middle Tennessee.