Below is an article from River Oaks Community Church, St. Augustine. I attend this church when I am in Florida. When I read this article written by our pastor here, David Posey, I couldn’t help but think of Touched Twice and what is meant to be accomplished with this ministry. We are called to help and love those in need and welcome them into our family. It is what Jesus would do and what He calls us to do. This is what we are to do daily, not just one time a year with a certain ministry. When we do this we are truly modeling Jesus. Karen Biel Mercy Matters is a ministry of River Oaks Community Church, St. Augustine, Florida that grew out of our study of the book of James. As we worked our way through the verses of that New Testament letter, it became very clear to our family that mercy matters to God. Those who have received mercy are to show mercy to others. God would have it no other way. God is a compassionate person. You see this most em-
phatically in the way Jesus is portrayed in the Gospels. Time and again you see Jesus moved with compassion for the broken world he entered. He not only took in the needy world through his eyes and ears, he also took it into his heart. He was touched by the desperation of a fallen world and was moved into action. In addition to preaching the good news of God’s salvation, he was also very active in meeting the physical needs of those he encountered. The Gospels are full of stories that describe Jesus healing people of various diseases and providing food for the hungry. He clearly was not indifferent to the physical condition of people. On the contrary, he felt for people and did something to help them. As the body of Jesus in this world, we too must feel for the needs of people all around us. We cannot allow our hearts to be hardened so that we do nothing. Love, compassion, mercy, and goodness must drive us to be a people who care for the helpless. Of all people, we should be the ones who give our resources to provide food, clothing, shelter, and medicine to those who are most needy in our community and in the world. In this regard, we cannot just care for our own who are inside the church. God himself is good to both the just and the unjust. To be like him, we must show compassion to those outside the church. When we do we are partnering with God to make him known in very practical ways among those who suffer. This is simply “the gospel in action”. To be fully invested in God’s mission we must serve people with the compassion of God.
Item and Clothing Donations for Touched Twice, 2013
Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University class will be starting up again on Feb. 3rd at Bethesda. During this life-changing course, you will learn: • To put together a monthly spending plan that really works! • The step-by-step process for getting out of debt for good! • How to set financial goals and really communicate about money. . . . and much more!
We will begin collecting donation items for Touched Twice in February. So start rummaging through your closets! This year we are collecting ONLY the following: baby items, toys, appropriate books/movies, as well as clothing and shoes for men, women and children. NO: electronics, kitchen items, linens, bedding, decorations, furniture! Please donate them to Hope Gospel Mission instead. Thank you! If you are interested in helping with the clothing area, contact Brittney Malone at 715-878-4366 or malone. brittney@gmail.com. We will need volunteers for sorting and organizing the donations we collect during the week of April 14-19th.
Classes will be held every Sunday evening, from 6:00– 7:30 pm, in Room 313. To sign up, please contact Carol Cox at 715-861-4495, or c7w6c2200@charter.net