(P)Review 9/23/2015 God's Work, Our Hands Sunday....a long cool drink of water.

Mark 9:38-50
9/23/15
God's Work, Our Hands Sunday

Mark 9: 38-50   "John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us."But Jesus said, "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward."

Have you ever had really good water? Sure, water is water, but some water is better than other water. Right?  I have certainly had bad water before.  Anyone who has ever had a sulfur problem with their well knows the "joys" of drinking water that smells like rotten eggs.

But really good water is somehow still just water...only better.  The best water I ever had came from a small mineral store on the edge of the desert in Nevada.  I can't tell you where it was exactly, but I can tell you that their sign advertised that they were the "Last Water for a Hundred Miles".  And I believe them, after that shop the desert just stretched on and on. So, we stopped (mostly to look at the pretty gems) and had a drink of water.  I don't know what sort of sand filtered magic was happening with their well but something about that water was amazing.

Maybe it was the knowledge that there would not be anymore for a couple of hours of driving and the certainty that without water in the desert you would be quickly dead...or maybe it was really just good water. Who knows...I was 12 years old and not yet a water connoisseur.

Jesus knew the value of a good free glass of water on the edge of the desert. It is more than a friendly gesture, it is the difference between life and death. He went so far as to say that a mere drink of water given for his name sake would suffice for heavenly rewards.  Let me tell you friends, we live in a thirsty world.  All over folks are in need.  The world is something of one large desert and too many of the people are crawling along dying of thirst.

In fact far too many in the world we live in are actually dying of thirst, water access is a major problem in many of our developing countries.  But what the world is most thirsty for, and what Jesus is posing that is worthy of reward is the notion of generosity.  We need to remember that the world needs our cup of water too.

This weekend 1st Lutheran where I serve, and many of you worship, is hosting a God's Work, Our Hands Sunday.

• Starting at 10:00 AM with a worship service to ready us for a day serving God and our community.
• Brunch at 10:30 AM.
• Then nearly a dozen different projects to choose from!

Each year congregations all over the ELCA set aside one day to work together as a congregation doing service projects all over the community. The projects can be big and physically taxing like cleaning up a whole park, or small and simple like sitting down to write out greeting cards.  The job does not matter, the important thing is that we all gather as a community to work for the Kingdom.

We have all sorts of great projects planned that you can participate in. From easy to hard, big to small, sitting still to running around...  Just come to church that morning and stay after to gather as we work together to make our world a better place.


So, if you see an army of yellow minions running around Shelby this weekend (We have 135 members that bought the bright yellow "God's Work, Our Hands" T-shirts to wear for the work day) that would be our folks offering a "cup of water" to our thirsty community.

But why just watch the fun?  Come join us this Sunday as we make this world a better place.

God's Work
Our Hands Sunday

September 27
Starting at 10:00AM

1st Lutheran
33 Broadway St. Shelby, Ohio.