FINAL WEEKS: SERVING THE HOMELESS & MORE!

"...Jesus said to his host, 'When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back so that you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.'" Luke 14:12-14

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'

Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

They will also answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

He will reply, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Matthew 25: 31-46

Who are you inviting to your banquet? Are you expecting to be repaid? Are you a sheep or a goat? What are you doing for the least of these brothers and sisters of Christ? Do you realize that the way you serve and treat others is the way you are effectively serving and treating Jesus Christ himself?

These are all questions that our life group has asked ourselves and instead of sitting around having a philosophy session, we put it into action. Special thanks to Julie and her family for setting the example and giving us this great idea for our final ministry project of this semester...feeding hot dog supper to close to 200 homeless people in and around downtown Birmingham!!

Julie's family had done this in the past just as a family outing type adventure, so we decided to copy them :)  Here's what we did:

1. Belinda went to Costco and bought the goods (with funds from the church...shout out to our pastor and church for giving us the resources to make this happen!)

2. She and her family cooked a box of 200 hot dogs, put them in buns, wrapped them up in individual sheets of foil and packed them up in coolers

3. Her family also prepared 200 brown bags filled with a pack of chips, pack of cookies, and a gospel tract

4. We gathered at the church and filled up two large coolers with ice and 200 bottled waters. We also loaded up two tables, and of course, prayed together.

5. Met Julie's family downtown, unloaded our cars, set up, and started our assembly line where we would hand each person in line a bag, grab a hot dog, add toppings (ketchup, mustard, relish) however they wanted it fixed, handed them a napkin, a bottled water, and a smile!!!

This was such a blessing and I feel so very thankful to serve alongside this wonderful group of ladies and their families. We met so many people and got to hear their stories, love on them, and tell them about what Jesus has done for us in our lives. There were so many interesting people that I will forever keep in my heart and prayers. Here are some pictures from the day:

Packing the coolers at the church before we left

Most of the crew after loading up and praying at the church...about to head out!

We met Tim & Julie downtown and are getting the tables and assembly line set up

Finishing set-up and getting a game plan together

Starting to serve!

A few of us deciding how to split up and find more people

Brandi making friends with everyone coming through the line :)

Long line! Love it!

Holly and the Mears crew went down to a bridge where there were lots of homeless people and spread the word about the hotdog supper.

Shout out to Alex, Tyler, Sadie, and Rileigh for being such AWESOME helpers!!

We also moved over to 5 points (Southside) and ministered to some folks over there.

The whole crew! Thank you to all of you for your servants' hearts. You all are such a blessing!

So, that was our final ministry project for the semester. After that, there was one "official" Sunday left for this life group semester, so we decided to go out to eat at Full Moon BBQ. We had a couple of new faces that I hope come and join us for the next upcoming semester, which will begin Sunday, September 7th!!

Left side (back to front): Julie, Lauren, Sara

Right side (back to front): Brandi, Michelle, Belinda, Alison, Laura

L to R: Julie, Silly Brandi :), and Michelle

L to R: Belinda, Alison, and Laura

Lauren and me [Insert Sara here]...she left before we took these shots :(

I can honestly say that this has been the best life group semester yet and I am very much looking forward to many more to come. I have enjoyed getting to know these ladies better and my home just feels empty on Sunday nights without all of their laughter and love! Speaking from experience, it is so easy to be a member of a church body, but just feel completely and utterly alone...so get plugged in! Life groups are the best way to connect and I promise that you will come away feeling encouraged and uplifted, you will definitely be prayed for, you will develop long-lasting friendships and accountability partners, and you will have the chance to serve Jesus Christ with fellow believers!! If you're interested, please visit www.flinthill.net/lifegroups and sign up for the next semester!

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Tonight, I leave you with two things:

1. A picture of my sweet sweet nephew, Trey:

2. The Word of God.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23-24

Thank you Lord for this sweet group of ladies and their families. Thank you for the blessing of time that we have had to spend together. Our ultimate goal was to glorify you, and to show your love and spirit of grace to those around us through our communion and fellowship together. Lord, I pray that our time together has been pleasing to you. God, I pray that you have and will continue to be glorified for who you are and the grace and mercy you have undeservedly shown us through the death and resurrection of your Son, Jesus. Be with us as we continue to strive to be a light in a dark world for you. We love you. In your name, Amen.