The Cost of Jesus

The Cost of Jesus

Exciting and promising things are happening here at RiverStone Church! We have been waiting and working and promo-ing our new Wednesday night program for our children and the ‘Big Reveal’ will finally be here on October 3rd!

For those of you who HAVEN’T heard yet (can’t imagine how that happened), it is called Kids4Truth Club. This is a fast-paced evening with music, games, awards, memorization of our core Christian beliefs, and, of course, a lesson that explains and teaches those beliefs. Children from K-5th grade are welcome and encouraged to come and find out what it is all about! It begins October 3rd and runs from 6:30-7:30and meets in our social area. Don’t worry if you don’t know where that is. There will be friendly people there eager to help steer you in the right direction.

I would be remiss if I did not give some mention to the adult programs that will begin that evening also. Pastor Brian will be teaching a class called ‘Embark’. Beckie Adams will be teaching Financial PeaceUniversity – that wonderful program from Dave Ramsey that will help us all get our money in control! Pastor’s class will be from 6:30 to 7:30, but please note that Beckie’s FPU will begin at 6:00. Childcare will be available for children under Kindergarten age. There will be a dinner, provided by the church, for any who would like to come and have a good time chit-chatting and making new friends beforehand from5:30-6:30. All are welcome!

Lots of times we find it easy to hear how we need to reach the children of our neighborhoods or town and nod vigorously in agreement. But then, when the rubber hits the road and we are asked to participate and make it happen, we find ourselves ‘too busy’ or our health not quite what it should be and many other reasons. For some of us that may be very true. But let’s be honest, for others of us, they are just excuses.

How much are we willing to put ourselves out to reach someone else for Christ and change a soul from death into life? I remember hearing a bit of a different take on the story of Jesus casting the demons out of two demon-possessed men (Matthew 8:28-34). Jesus came upon two very violent who were possessed by demons. The demons recognized Jesus and asked to be cast into the herd of pigs nearby. So Jesus did just that. Upon entering the pigs, the whole herd ran down the cliff and into the sea where they perished. I remember thinking when I was young how awful that was for the pigs. And then I heard a speaker that asked us to think about the cost to the pig owners! All of a sudden, they were without their livelihood! When the townspeople heard about this they asked Jesus to leave the region. They didn’t rejoice in how wonderful it was that two men had been rescued from these demons. In thinking about it, could it be because they were afraid of how much more it would cost them if Jesus stayed? Whose pigs would he take next?? The speaker’s point was that sometimes it costs to be used by Jesus.

Sometimes we get hung up on the cost to ourselves introducing someone to Jesus. We see how it’s going to disrupt our own lives to give of our time or give of our money. In other words, sometimes it’s just not worth the effort to us. So we leave it to someone else and hope for the best.

Don’t let that be the case with this chance to truly reach the children of our neighborhood and our town. Make an effort to discover if there is a way in which you could help. Maybe it’s just helping make cookies. Maybe it’s just helping set up the room each night. Maybe it’s just helping with parties. Maybe it’s monetarily. AND maybe God might ask you to give of your time and teach or lead! We don’t know until we ask God what part he wants us to play. Nodding our heads in agreement is good. But sometimes we have to put action to our words and thoughts.

So I am excited to see just where we all fit in with this new program for our children. Wonderful things can happen! Don’t miss out on being a part of it!

See you on Wednesday!

Kathy

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.