This little light of mine...

A text message from Cuba today gave new meaning to the phrase "Let your light shine."

A small team travelled to Cuba this week to assess the damage to a local evangelical church. In January, a full construction team of volunteers will go there to rebuild the delapidated church building.

The Cuban Church Building

The team has spent the last few days visiting the poor, the sick, and the elderly.

While there, they met a woman who has spent the past three months living in a 10 X 10 ft shack. This space, no bigger than a garden shed, includes her kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. On Saturday, the woman was able to get some electrical wire run to her make-shift home.

But... The woman in the shack had a light socket... but no light bulb.

The team found a spare light bulb at the mission house they are at, and delivered light to the woman's home. "High five's all around," as they celebrated one light bulb.

How much will one small act of delivering a simple light bulb--something we take for granted--change this woman's life?

Remember that old Sunday School song? This little light of mine... I'm gonna' let it shine!

From the Heart - the Church that Loves

re|Serve @ Christmas

Some service ideas for Christmas... Locally in Barrie, why not contribute toward some of these needs? Contact us for contact info.

• By Nov 30th: Donate to the Canadian Mental Health Association. 975 people in Barrie will be assisted with your donations of new adult Hats, Mitts, Socks, Toothbrushes/toothpaste, Hand Lotion/Soap.


• Friday Dec 4th - 6:30-10:30pm in the Emmanuel Chapel - "Christmas with a Mission" Fundraiser to support an Emmanuel Youth on her upcoming mission trip. Visit this Coffee-house style fundraiser to purchase photography, art, Christmas cards, T-shirts, and more.


• Donate to the Barrie women's and Children's Shelter. Special bags are available at Emmanuel's Servolution desk to provide basic personal needs.


• "Candlelighters" reaches out with Christmas baskets to families affected by cancer... Baked goods and gift cards needed.


• By Dec 20th: "Christmas Love" Project to assist families with gift cards this Christmas.


• A Cuba Mission Trip (rebuilding a Church in a rural area) is accepting donations of school supplies.


• Pregnancy Resource Centre needs donations for a Silent Auction and for helpers for the "Dads 'n' Daughters" event coming to Emmanuel in February.


• Volunteer, or add your name to the "spares" list, with Barrie Out of the Cold.


• Sort and Pack hampers with Christmas Cheer.

International:

• Help free a person from slavery. International Justice Mission has a Christmas catalogue.


• Give Water. Living Water International provides a cup in Jesus' name.

...and there's much, much more to do...

Love God, Love Others. (Jesus)

Living Water

Compassion, not Consumption.

Since 2006, Christians have been joining the Advent Conspiracy to "Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, and Love All".

One compelling success story is that by targeting global poverty instead of indulging in consumerism each Christmas, over 340 wells have been drilled which have drastically changed the lives of more than 200,000 people for the better!

(Graphic borrowed fromLiving Water International)

Not only are lives being impacted in real, physical, tangible ways... Doors are opening for the sharing of the gospel.

"Everyone who drinks this water will be thristy again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:13-14 NIV).

This is just one way that we can share the love of Christ and store up treasures in Heaven this Christmas.

Love one another.

This story was recently shared with us:

"Two couples of our Small Group came to help us move our daughter & grandson into our home. Their love and help was wonderful and so encouraging.
We were served with amazing love...
We thank God for such Christian love!"

Isn't this an encouraging story? When people see the love of the Christian community, it speaks to our witness. Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

How have you shown love to someone in your church this week? Have you lended a hand, where help was needed? Have you given someone an encouraging phone call? Have you gone out of your way to show Christ's love to someone, whether in your church community or to someone in your neighbourhood, workplace, or school?

Comment here, or email us your story that might inspire others...

Worth

In Colossians 1:10, Paul says to "live a life worthy of the Lord" and to "please him in every way". He then goes on to list four ways to live this kind of life.

It's not very surprising that the first way to please the Lord here is "bearing fruit in every good work". This is a theme that we see repeated throughout the New Testament, and especially in the teaching of Jesus.

Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven (Matt. 5:16 NIV).

Living a life worthy of the Lord means so much more than just pleasing him by doing good... It means living in such a way that demonstrates how he has transformed your life so radically that it is obvious in every aspect of your life.

Even more than that... It means living like him. Elsewhere, Paul says this:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant... (Phil. 2:5-8 NIV)

Are we living lives worthy of the Lord? Are we living like Jesus, like a servant?

Servolution on Campus

Some college students hit the local campus to hand out free boxes of macaroni and cheese to any and every college student they saw. The boxes came complete with a servolution card attached to point the students to the servolution website where they could hear about the love of Christ!

Other students spent the afternoon baking cookies, which they delivered to firefighters at the local firehall.

The student teams met later to purchase some warm socks which they delivered to the Out of the Cold Programme.

Showing the love of Christ to others in tangible ways can be so easy! What ideas do you have for serving others with the love of Christ?