Faith Without Works

What should our groups be doing thru the summer? We talked about studies in the last post, but several of our groups have decided that they have received enough information for now and it’s time to start putting what they’ve learned into action. James tells us:

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-- and shudder… As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead (Jas 2:14-19, 26).

What does this look like? Well, some groups are taking on service projects here at Grace Church. Others are helping other church members who are experiencing a difficult season of life. Still others are reaching out beyond the church to share the love of Christ. Let me tell you what the Buch group is doing.

Hi Steve,
Friendship Community is a ministry to those with disabilities. Their main office is near Landis Homes retirement community (near the Lancaster Airport). Our CONNECT group will be doing a short 20-30 minute program to the 6 residents in a group home run by Friendship Community here in Lititz (near the Warwick High School). These residents include 2 men and 4 women who are disabled, some visually and all mentally impaired.
We will be singing children's songs and Susanne Shuss wrote a short puppet skit talking about how God loves us and each are created by Him. I asked Susanne and Geri Sell to organize the program and they came up with some good simple material. We can let you know how it works out.
Thanks, Dan

I encourage you all to think about how you can live out everything that the church is called to do. If you would like more information on Friendship Community, go to http://www.friendshipcommunity.net/. If your group is doing creative things and you wish to share them with our online community, please take a couple minutes and comment on this post. If you have ideas and they seem too large for one group to manage, please shoot me an email and we’ll see if others share your passion and wish to partner with you.