Last Sunday was another “Crash Sunday”, which means that we cut church really short so that we can go out into the community and love people with acts of service in practical ways.  I reminds me of something a friend told me years ago in reference to serving: “We don’t need to have another Bible Study to determine that God wants us to serve; we need to get busy and serve.”

It’s a turn off to a lot of people who like coming to church and listening to the sermon, being “fed” and getting uplifted before heading out into the work week.  The other way to look at it is that actually doing something for someone else is uplifting in a different way, perhaps one that becomes more internalized.  I think we can sit in a pew and listen to a sermon, having large parts of that sermon bounce off without penetrating to who we are and how we change our behaviors and choices.  When you get busy with your hands and feet, you can’t help but internalize that experience and tell others about it during the week. 

It’s also an expression of worship.  There’s a song that includes the phrase “we bring a sacrifice of praise”, and that brings on a whole new meaning when we actually make a sacrifice of our comfort, time, money, etc.  I’m not sure how much I’m actually sacrificing while I stand in church and sing a song.

It was a good night all around.  I helped a couple of people make bracelets in a nursing home, which one of the kids with us called “making bling for those without bling”.  Funny.  We also washed cars, gave away snowcones, visiting at a hospital and nursing homes, spread mulch, pulled weeds, and on and on.  My head is spinning with ideas for the next one.