Why I Love Our Church

Miki Bolton, leader of our Outreach Team at SCC, sent sent me an email with some feedback that she had received from our Christmas outreach.  As you might remember, our church adopted 15 needy families for Christmas from our community.   We also did a “Giving Tree” where we provided 125 gifts to kids in our community who were also in need.  Some of these families ended up attending our Christmas Eve worship experience because we reached out to them in love.  Here is just some of the feedback we received from our own SCC members who participated in the outreach.  It illustrates beautifully why I love our church.

From Heather:

“I have already delivered our gifts to our adopted family.  They are really sweet!  Would love for our church to stay in touch with this family.  They are currently looking for new inexpensive housing so if anyone knows of anything please contact me or the family.  They have such consuming health issues it is hard for them to attend church services but she definitely seemed open to the word and God’s love.  Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to meet this precious family.”

From Steve and Laura:

“I am so thankful that we had the opportunity to serve someone in need this Christmas.  My husband and I wanted all of our family to participate in a project such as this.  Last evening we loaded the kids in the car (some were a little grumpy at first) and headed off to the store.  Once the shopping commenced, everyone seriously went into action looking for just the right gift!  We all began to have fun and didn’t mind sacrificing time to bless another person in need.  The gifts were delivered and the family was very grateful.  Thank you for organizing this project and giving our family an opportunity reach out to another.  We were so blessed!!!”

This one is from Melanie:

“Hi!  We delivered everything to our adopted family on Wednesday evening.  They were great.  We spent time talking with them.  They do have an older daughter, 19 who lives with them that wasn’t on the list.  So we are going to send her some $ for her classes she is taking in January.”

From Debra and Rick:

“We delivered our presents to our family on Wednesday. They were very appreciative. I told them to give the gifts to the children from them. We felt blessed to be able to help.”

This was a note that Miki received from one of the families we ministered to.  It shows you how powerful sacrificial love can be.

“I want to thank you from the bottom on my heart! This means so much to me and will be such a blessing for my boys! I can’t wait to the day when I can help someone else out who is in need…But now under my circumstances, God has provided in so many ways for my boys and I. So each and every day I wake up I thank him for his guidance, understanding, and for walking with me every step of the way! I could go on about the many blessings that have happened. But the day you called me I was is shock as I knew it was going to be hard for me to give my boys a Christmas they deserved. I was so blessed by your call! …As I said this means so much to me and I promise you one day I will pay it forward! I am a big believer in that!

Our church is amazing!  Let’s keep it up!

Your Stories of Living “In the Zone”

In January,  we did a series of messages called “In the Zone.”  Being “In the Zone” is where you live in the sweet spot of God’s success in the area of finances.  I challenged the church to take the Three Month Tithe Challenge.  I told the congregation that if anyone would be willing to try tithing for three months and if after the three months of tithing they did not see God’s hand of blessing on their life, then the church would refund their tithe completely.   And 19 families responded and signed up.   I wanted to share with three stories from S.C.C. members who have taken the challenge to trust God in the area of their finances:

“We have gone to church for a long time and we have always given an offering but we never tithed.  Over the last year God has been speaking to us in this area of our lives.  On Sunday January 22, Pastor Scott was speaking about tithing and we decided (even before he issued the 3 month challenge) that we were going to listen to God, give God control of our finances and begin the practice of tithing.  During that service I wrote a 2nd check for the amount that made 10% of our pay that week and added it to the envelope.  My husband had no idea I had written this extra check.  We got home from church that day and he handed me in cash the exact amount of money that I had written that 2nd check for!  I laughed and told him about the check and that it was for the same amount that the cash was.  I knew God would bless us, but I sure didn’t expect it to happen that fast!”

Here is another one I received:

“In January we realized that our family had approximately $1,000 in unexpected bills that we had not prepared for.  Although there was no way that our income would cover these expenses we continued to tithe our 10% in faith that somehow we would figure it out later.  Not truly having any plans.  Sort of just using the ignore method.  In January we made a decision to change our home owners insurance policy in attempt to save a little money.  After making this change we received a check for roughly $950 due to overpayment from our original insurance policy that we had canceled.  God is capable and faithful and all I can say is look out, He will do measurable more than what we could ever imagine.”

And there is more:

“2009 was a very hard year for us. Our family endured a lot of illness (nothing serious) that resulted in a lot of medical bills, co-pays and deductibles. It seemed as if every time we turned around, something in our house was going out and we were having to replace water heaters and water softeners and garage doors and openers. Then there was my car. Fuel pump, odometer, breaks down. WHAT MORE???? We also suffered with marital struggles.   Instead of continuing to trust God, we gave less and less. And felt more and more guilt.   Pastor Scott’s  messages on tithing helped spur the reminder that God is faithful and God is good. He will provide all we need and more when we trust in Him. We starting giving again and already God has blessed us with a healthier marriage, a more profitable business and a better outlook on life. And that’s just since last month. Imagine what God can do for us as we continue to trust Him.”

Not done yet…read this:

“This last series, In The Zone has been great for us.  We have committed to be the faithful givers that we know He wants us to be, so we began 2010 with our tithe, and just today, as I was driving down 135 my van began to overheat!  This became very depressing to me, as we had just had the transmission rebuilt not that long ago, but I remembered Pastor Scott’s sermon from Sunday and began to thank God that we have a vehicle.  I called my husband who just happened to be on the South side of town to let him know what was happening and he came and got the van to have it checked.  We ended up needing a new radiator and water pump, which was estimated to cost $796.00.  I began to chuckle because you see, our taxes were filed Wednesday night, February 3, an all time record, and our return was $800!!!  It’s just like our God to bless us in ways we would never expect!  I often wonder why we always think God will bless us financially, because my blessings have always come in the way of relationship building, but today I was shown that God always meets us where we need him the most.  Thank you so much for this series!  We love this church, we love the staff and we are excited for the vision of this church!”

You just cannot out give God!

 

 

Everyday Thanksgiving

As Christ followers, EVERYDAY is a day of thanksgiving.  The Bible says “to give thanks in all circumstances.”  We are not to give thanks FOR circumstances.  We are to give thanks in ALL circumstances.  Why?  Because we know regardless of circumstances, God can use them for good in our lives.  Romans 8:28 says it like this: “…we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.”  We know in all circumstances, God has a plan.  We know in all circumstances, God is working to make us like Him.  We know in all circumstances, God’s will triumphs.  This perspective is not a feeling; it’s not a warm fuzzy; it’s not a quiver in my liver.  It’s fact.  It’s a choice.  It’s faith.  Whatever the circumstance, we can give thanks.  That is why Thanksgiving for the Christ follower is everyday, not just one day out of the year. You see examples of this all through Scripture.  You see it in Joseph’s life in Egypt, Paul’s life in prison and in Jesus on the cross.  God takes our problems, our trials, our adversities, our suffering and uses them for good.

Here is my challenge:  wake up everyday for the next three days and before you roll out of bed, think of three things you are thankful for.  Identify them.  Speak them.  Treasure them. Thank God for them.  Then let me know the difference this simple step makes in your day.