Month: June 2021

Chosen to Serve Tables

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments

Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, Acts 6:3-4 ESV

If you hadn’t read the beginning of this chapter you might think that these guys were being selected to be missionaries, teachers of theology or pastors of large churches. But in fact, they were picked to serve food at the tables of widows. They were in charge of a first century “Meals on wheels”!  We rarely stop to think that ministry is so mundane and unspiritual. But the early church considered feeding widows and supplying the needs of the poor as the front-line duties of the leadership. When these so-called “unspiritual duties” were neglected by the apostles, the entire church began to complain. Notice they didn’t complain about the lack of sermons or the rarity of miracles. They got mad because no one went to feed the elderly widows. The church felt that the most important ministry was to act as the family to the widow and as mothers and fathers for orphans.

When we are ready to help with for the most needed ministry in our local church, we just might be amazed to see what happens next!

Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem…Acts 6:7

A Free Lunch

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments

 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.           Ephesians 2:8 ESV

Have you ever heard someone say, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch?” Well I disagree and I learned why one winter when I was laid off from my landscaping job. My boss paid for a training workshop on irrigation systems and I went along, but since I hadn’t worked for weeks, I had only a few dollars in my pocket . At mid-day when the conference broke for lunch, I found a game room with an open pool table and I grabbed a stick, racked up the balls and started a game.  My boss and a buddy of his came by asking me to eat with them but I waved them off. “No, I’m not really hungry guys.” I lied, though my stomach was growling.  “I’m just going to hang around and grab something out of the vending machine.” “Suit yourself.” Al answered with a shrug as they headed off towards the snack bar. Once they left, I dug in my pocket and found enough change to buy a candy bar and a soda. Through the long afternoon I forced myself to concentrate on learning about sprinkler heads, control valves and pressure regulators while thinking about the hot meal waiting for me at home. At the end of the day I got in Al’s truck and we drove in silence until my he turned with a puzzled look asking, “Why didn’t come to eat with us? The food was great and it was all paid for!” Though I still laugh about missing out on lunch that day, it reminds me of another meal that is represented when we take the cup and the bread at communion. Why do we sometimes choose to live on the junk food of sin instead of accepting God’s free gift? Jesus has paid the full price for our salvation. By grace we are saved. He is inviting us to come. Why not join Him at the table?