CCOG Newsletter
Weekly Updates
Reflections from Pastor Jennifer
OCC If you have not yet contributed for January, the suggested item is hats, gloves, and scarves. For the month of February, you are asked to bring oral care (no toothpaste or mouthwash, please). We would like to provide multiple toothbrushes for each shoebox this year! | FSM Next Sunday, February 4th, is First Sunday Meal. Bring food and guests with you to enjoy this time of fellowship together. | LNCPC Fill those bottles, and come back for more! The money that you contribute will go directly to the Lake Norman Crisis Pregnancy Center to help mothers in need. Please have bottles back by Sunday, February 19th. |
OCC
FSM
February Focus: Share the Love
What are some ways you can show love Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the Uttermost Parts of the Earth?
As we show love in the month of February, it may be easy to share love with those in the last group - give to a foreign charity, never see who is being helped, nothing to lose. It may feel a bit more difficult to show love to those closer to home. I encourage you to make the effort! Jesus said in John that people would know that we belong to Christ based on the love we demonstrate one to another.
Before you attempt to justify your inaction by the statement, "I'm not going to do anything for show!", consider that this statement (John 13:34-35) was a commandment of Jesus. He tells us to show off our love for each other. We claim to live out our Christian faith in front of unbelievers - love is the ultimate display!
A few suggestions for sharing love with each group:
Jerusalem - do a chore for someone in your house, write a card/note for your loved one to find, visit/call a loved one, give a foot rub
Judea - prepare/send a meal for a friend, babysit for stressed-out parents, take a friend out for coffee
Samaria - take flowers to a nursing home, write a thank you note to first responders (police, fire, EMS), "adopt" a widow/widower for Valentine's Day
Uttermost Parts - pay for the person behind you at a drive-thru, become a mentor at a school, send a Gideon card
These are just a few in an endless supply of options. Stretch yourself a little - move beyond your comfort zone. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to opportunities to share love that you may not have noticed.