Yesterday was Christmas Day!  For most of us in America that meant waking up early, ripping into presents, and focusing on family.  But later that day, I was invited to visit our Burmese congregation as they celebrated the birth of Christ.  It was there that I saw a real Christmas.

Meeting Buddhist Monks On Christmas

On the night of Christ’s birth the shepherds, having experienced the virgin born Son of God, could not contain the knowledge of the Savior.  The scriptures tell us that “they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child.” (Luke 2:17)  Evangelism was the natural response after experiencing the saving grace of God.

And it was evangelism that I witnessed yesterday at that Burmese Christian gathering.  Over one hundred of our Burmese members gathered on Christmas Day to feast together, exchange gifts and tell the story of the birth of our Savior.  But most notably they invited prominent Buddhist Monks from our community to experience their Christian fellowship, see a dramatic re-enactment of the Birth of Christ, and hear the gospel preached.

I had the privilege of meeting these monks as you see pictured above.  What joy I felt in my heart when I saw them seated on the front row of this gathering and our Burmese church members sharing the gospel with them through drama, music, and preaching.

Many of our Burmese members were once Buddhist, but then they heard of the Savior, confessed Christ, and were baptized into the fellowship of the Church.  And now, so full of the love of Christ they wanted their Buddhist friends to know the good news of Jesus as well.

They could have done like the rest of us and huddled in their homes to exchange gifts just with family.  They could have gathered as a church and just reveled in their salvation in Christ.  But no!  They embodied the spirit of the shepherds.  They “spread the word” concerning the Savior that was born.

Jesus is not a mere story to be told, he is a Savior to be experienced.  Christ is not just to be cherished, but he is to be shared with everyone who has yet to hear.

I am proud to be the Senior Pastor of these Burmese Christians.  They engaged in a real Christmas yesterday.  They shared the hope of Christ with those who did not possess that hope.

Christmas is about Christ and Christ is to be shared with the world.

Let’s share the saving message of Christ with those around us who do not yet know of his soul redeeming love.

Question:  What are ways that you have attempted to share the good news of Christ during the Christmas Holiday?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

What if I told you praying for the Lord to open three specific things could set you on an adventure that would completely change people’s lives, especially your own?

Lord, Open A Door!

A few weeks ago Ron Hutchcraft came to our city to help prepare church leaders and laypersons for a Will Graham Evangelistic effort.  He challenged us to engage in sharing Jesus with those around us as a natural part of our lives.

Nothing changes a life more than the truth that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for their sins and rise again to be their Savior.  The glorious invitation to turn from your sin and receive the forgiveness of Christ is soul transforming.  Everybody needs Jesus!

But for someone to come to Christ, to receive Jesus in their lives, several things must happen.  First, a person in need of the Lord must be given an opportunity to hear a believer in Jesus share with them the good news of Christ.  Second, their heart must be open to that message.  And third, a believer in Christ must be willing to speak the good news of salvation into their lives.

Ron Hutchcraft challenged us to make three prayers a daily practice.  I want to share them with you.

Pray…

1. Lord, Open A Door:  By this we mean that we pray for God to open a door of opportunity for us to have a spiritual conversation, or an opportunity of ministry, in the life of someone who does not know Christ in a personal way.  Praying this prayer does two things…  a. Asks God for opportunities to share the gospel.  God is the one who opens doors and sets divine appointments.  The Lord loves to answer this prayer by leading our lives to intersect the lives of others who need the light of Jesus.  b. Makes us inclined to be alert to those opportunities when they come.  When we pray asking for an opportunity to share God’s message of salvation, we begin to expect that those opportunities will come.  We enter our day with our eyes wide open, looking for the opportunities God has planned.
2. Lord, Open Their Hearts:  This is where we pray that God would open people’s heart to the message of Christ.  After all, it is the Lord who must draw the soul to himself. (John 6:44)  We pray that God will do that in the lives of people around us.
3. Lord, Open My Mouth:  This is where we realize we must be a part of God’s answer to our prayers.  Paul wrote, “How, then, can they call on the one (Jesus)…without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10:14)  Too often we pray that God will send someone else to share with them.  But we are the ones God has placed in their path.  It is up to us to open our mouth and share the great story of God’s love for them.

So this week will you start to pray for things to open?  Pray for an open door, open hearts, and for God to open your mouth to share the truth of Christ with someone the Lord places in your path.

Question:  Have you had an opportunity to have a spiritual conversation with someone far from Christ?  Tell us about it.  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Imagine a church overcome with passionate love for Christ.  Imagine that church loving a city with the same love with which Jesus loved her.

Imagine A Church!

Dream with me of a church that purposefully penetrates the community, bringing manifestation of Kingdom expressions.

See in your mind’s eye modern day disciples weeping in prayer over the condition of lost people’s souls.

Visualize a church that worships so authentically and communicates the gospel so clearly that unbelievers are overwhelmed and brought to their knees with conviction.

See a congregation that meets in ever multiplying small groups throughout the residences and businesses and on a church campus for Bible study, and ministry.

Dream with me of a church of transformational testimonies, a growing congregation filled with people who love to tell the story of how Jesus delivered them from death to life.

Imagine a church so filled with faith that she always refuses to allow obstacles and challenges to keep her from fulfilling God’s mission.

Imagine a church with worldwide impact, a church that not only gathers the multitudes, but intentionally sends workers into the worldwide harvest of souls.

Imagine this church.

With God it will be!

But know this, you are meant to be a vital part of bringing such a vision into reality.  This weekend, go to church and determine to be a part, along with others, of seeing God’s vision for his church come to pass.

You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Are you trying to be like someone else?  How is that working for you?  Stressful isn’t it?  It is also very sad, for trying to be someone other than yourself keeps you from discovering the person God made you to be.

Be yourself!

When I was in my young twenties and a seminary student training for the ministry, I was enamored with a particular well known preacher in our denomination.  He had an amazing way with words, but with it he had a booming deep voice that was powerful to hear.

I wanted to be a great preacher like that man.  I wanted a voice like his.  I wanted it bad.

So I sought to emulate this man’s preaching.  Now don’t get me wrong.  I believe in having mentors.  I even believe in learning from and emulating qualities of people who have gone before you.  That is one way we learn and grow.  But in this situation I was being ridiculous.

I was called to a small little Texas country church and I started my preaching career.  I began to preach like this man.  I would speak normally to everyone I encountered in the church and community, but when I got into the pulpit I would transform.  I would force my voice to go deep and I would speak with a booming loud voice.

I think about it now and shake my head.  I was foolish, immature.

At the end of every Sunday, I could hardly talk.  My throat was sore and my voice was raspy.

It would take about a year for me to realize what I was doing.  I was projecting a very poor copy of someone else’s voice and I was not finding my own.  It was then I made a change.

I started to preach with “my voice.”  Funny thing, I stopped having sore throats on Sunday nights and most importantly people responded to my ministry more.  They saw me as real and that drew them.

What is my point?  Be yourself.  Sure, learn from others.  Glean lessons and even some stylistic things from others who are successful in ways you wish to be successful.  But be careful!  Make sure you are still being you, that you are leading with your own personality and gifting.

After all God made you to be you, to minster to the world around you with who you are and who God made you to be.

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  Ephesians 2:10

You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Today I had the privilege of eating lunch with Billy Graham’s grandson, Evangelist Will Graham.

Having Lunch with Will Graham

For the past 2 ½ years a large group of pastors and laypersons from our city have been planning a Will Graham Evangelistic Event for our region.  In April of this next year Will Graham, in partnership with our churches, will be conducting a multi-day event to saturate our city with the good news of Jesus Christ.

Today was our launch event and by divine providence my staff and I had the blessing of eating lunch at Will Graham’s table.  I deeply enjoyed getting to know this man and learn of his ministry.

I opened the conversation by expressing my appreciation for the way his father, Franklin Graham, handled the care of Dr. Kent Brantly, the famed ebola virus survivor so prominent in the media these days.  Without the efforts of Graham and the Samaritan’s Purse ministry Dr. Brantly would not have received the life saving care that he desperately needed.  Franklin and his staff worked round the clock to make the needed negotiations for Brantly’s careful return to the states.  Will was quick to tell me that it was the efforts of President Obama to expedite the process of Brantly’s return to the states that really made the difference.

There are many lessons that could be drawn from today’s event and my meeting of Will Graham.  But there was one that stood out most for me.

Will reminded us of what Jesus said in Matthew 9:37, “The harvest truly is plentiful.” (NKJV)  Jesus was referring to the people who need the Lord and are ready to receive Christ as the Lord and Savior of their lives.

He told us that we would all strive to share the gospel in April when the Graham Evangelistic Event would be conducted.  But then he very seriously reminded us of an important truth.

The harvest is ready now!  He said, don’t wait for the evangelistic event to start sharing Jesus with those around you.  There are people in our families, among our friends, and folks in our community that are ready to hear and respond to Christ now.

He reminded us that God is always at work in the lives of people around us readying them to hear the good news of Jesus.

But so many times we shrink back from sharing the gospel with them.  We say, “our relationship with them is not strong enough for me to broach a spiritual subject.”  Or “I don’t think they are ready for this yet.”  But who are we to judge that?

We need to take Jesus at his word and know that many souls around us are ready to be harvested for the Kingdom.  All we must do is share the message of Christ with them so that they too can respond to the good news of salvation.

Jesus came to bring people from all walks of life into a redeemed and glorious relationship with God the Father.  We who sinned against God were deserving of death and hell, but God in his great mercy sent his perfect, sinless Son, to bear our sins on the cross.  Because of this we can place our faith in Christ, surrender to him as Lord, and know that our sins are forgiven and that in him we have eternal life.

This is a message that people need to hear now.  Not later, but now.  God has prepared a harvest to be gathered all around us, a harvest of people ready to be brought to the Lord through faith in Christ.

So this week when a door of opportunity to discuss spiritual matters and share the gospel affords itself, walk through that passage way, open your mouth, and share the good news of Jesus.  Sure, not everyone will respond in faith right away.  But you might be surprised how many people will be ready for the message and open to giving their lives to Jesus Christ.

Question:  Many of us shrink back from sharing our faith in Jesus.  Why do you think that is and what can we do to overcome those barriers to our personal sharing of the good news of Jesus?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

If you knew God had ordained a mission for you to accomplish, wouldn’t your heart start beating faster.  You would know that your life counted for something far greater than the mundane pursuits that consume most people.  The truth is he has ordained such a mission.

Witness for Christ

 Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses.” (Acts 1:8)  Jesus called us to be his witness.  What is a witness?

A witness is simply a person who gives testimony to a fact.  He or she testifies to something they know is true by personal experience.

Jesus comes into our lives, saving us from our sin, granting us a grace that gives us a peace that lasts forever, and filling us with his Spirit.  We experience the Lord in a life changing way.  How wonderful a gift we have received from God!

But God doesn’t want us to keep that to ourselves.  He wants us to share this with others so that they too can have a powerful experience with Christ.  God wants us to be witnesses to others of the marvelous grace he has granted to us, so that they too can taste and see that the Lord is good.

Many people get nervous about sharing their faith with others.  Often we can be afraid we might be rejected or thought of as religious nut.  But despite this God still calls us to be his witnesses in the networks of relationships in which he has placed us.

And why is that?  Simple.  God loves the people around us.  Sure he loves you and has extended his grace to you, but as he extended grace to you, he was thinking of more than just you.  He was extending grace to you for you, but also for all those whom through you would also hear of the Lord’s Good News.

God has placed you around people who need to know of the hope found in Jesus.  Don’t you see?  God has provided you in their lives to tell them of that hope.  Your calling is significant.  Very significant!

So what does a believer need to do to be a witness?  Here are a few things…

1. Live for Jesus with a passion.  Let your relationship with Jesus touch every part of your life.  Love God and let his love for you bring you joy and inspire love in your heart for others.
2. Care about the souls of those around you.  Pray for the people around you who may be far from a personal and soul saving relationship with Christ.  Develop a heart filled concern for their eternal destiny.  But not just that.  Care about the everyday issues people face.  Just care about people.
3. Know the Gospel.  Get clear on the Good News of Jesus.  Get comfortable explaining what Jesus did for us on the cross and how we are called to respond in repentance and faith.  Read about the gospel in scripture, good Christian literature, and rejoice in the gospel as you listen to gospel centered preaching.  A good grasp of the gospel will make it natural to share this divine good news with others.
4. Tell your testimony.  Tell others the story of how God has changed your life.  Explain how you came to know Christ as Savior and how that changed you.  Sometimes your testimony will be about how you were converted to the Lord.  Other times it might be about how God brought you through a challenging time or helps you gain healthy perspective on your life.  Your testimony is powerful because it is your story.  People love stories.  We learn about people by learning their stories.
5. Invite people to join you at church.  This can be so powerful.  When you bring someone to church you are inviting them into an entire congregation full of people who have been and are being transformed by Jesus.  You are doing more than merely exposing them to the Pastor’s sermon.  You are inviting them to see Jesus at work among the people of God.  Often that is more powerful than any sermon the minister will preach.

So God does have a mission for you.  It is significant.  You are to be his witness in your little part of the world.

So who around you can you start witnessing to today?  Reach out to them.

Question:  What are some ways you have sought to be a witness to others?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Just a couple of days ago my family celebrated our youngest son’s Gotcha Day.  What is that you ask?  It is the day when, seven years ago we adopted our son from Guatemala, the day we got him.  We were not there when he was born (eight months before), but in a very real sense he was born into our family on that amazing Gotcha Day of July 9^th, 2007.

Adoption

I did a lot of thinking on that day.  I pondered all the ways I have been blessed having Micah in our family.  I write this post to celebrate, but more importantly to raise the value of adoption in your mind.

In the last several years the calling of adoption has been elevated like never before.  This is a good thing.  There need not be children who go without families.  Opening our hearts and homes to the fatherless is a step of faith more and more families should take.

When we adopted we already had three biological children of our own.  It is not that we were short on family members or that we lacked things to do.  It was that God called us to expand our vision, stretch our faith, and enlarge our heart.

I am going to share just a few short reasons why we are glad we adopted.  I hope you will be blessed to read through these.  For some of you it might give you a deeper appreciation for those who choose to adopt.  For others it might inspire you to consider adoption yourself.  And for others you might consider financially supporting a family you know who is adopting.

Why am I glad we adopted…

1. I have a son!  This is the obvious blessing.  I love Micah.  He is my boy.  We have grown so close these last 7 years.  I look at him and say, “That is my boy.”  It is a wonderful gift.
2. I have learned that how someone comes into your family is not as important as the fact that they are in your family.  Having children the biological way is amazing.  But so is adoption.  It is different for sure, but no less miraculous.  I wish I could explain it better, but it is just true.
3. I have learned being a parent is more than just who I am it is what I do.  When you give birth to kids you are a parent.  But that doesn’t mean you automatically do parenting.  Doing the job of a parent is an act of love and giving.  It is a choice I have to make.  This is so obvious when you adopt.
4. I have learned so much about God’s love for me.  The Bible teaches that believers are adopted into the family of God. (Ephesians 1:5)  We were spiritual orphans separated by sin, but then God redeemed us in Christ and adopted us into his family.  Few times do I look at my son, recall choosing to become his father, without also thinking of how God did the same for us.  My son has taught me so much about God’s love.
5. I have enjoyed the blessing of being obedient to God.  Not everyone is called to adopt.  We were.  We can tell you the story (that would be for another post) of how God prompted us to go on this journey.  The process of adoption was intimidating and costly.  But we chose to obey the promptings of God anyway.  And how glad I am that we did.  Because we obeyed God’s specific call for us, we got to witness his provision and guidance along the way.  We saw God at work as we willingly joined him in what he had called us to do.
6. I get to tell my son about Jesus.  Since that very first Gotcha Day we have taught him of God’s love and purpose for his life.  He now has faith in the God who made him, placed him in our family, and offers him salvation in Jesus.  Last year, as an act of his will he placed his faith in Christ and I had the privilege of baptizing him.  I will continue to disciple him as he grows into a man.  But how amazing this journey has been watching him fall in love with the Lord.

There are so many more reasons why adoption has been a blessing for us, but I am out of space.

To all of you who have chosen to adopt a child into your family, I applaud you.

To all of you who are considering adoption, I commend you.

To all of you who willingly support and prayerfully encourage those who do adopt, thank you so much.  We who have adopted could not have done so without your support.  You make all the difference.

I am so glad we adopted.

Question:  Are you someone who has adopted?  Are you someone who has been adopted?  Do you know someone who has adopted that has inspired you?  How have you been blessed by an act of adoption?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Just two days ago a dear friend of mine was killed in a tragic motorcycle accident.  This man was a friend to many in our church.  We were all shocked when we heard of the accident.

When Tragedy Strikes

In the hours after the crash I witnessed so many people doing the right things at the right time.  When painful things like this happen, it is often the occasion for people to come together and show love in deeply profound and yet very simple ways.

Here are some of the things I did and saw others do and I believe they were the right things to do.

1. Went to the tragedy.  Several of the closest friends and family traveled to be with the family all the way in another state where the accident occurred.  There we grieved with the family.  We hugged, we cried, we talked, but also sat in silence.  We just believed that the family needed to know they were not alone.
2. Sat with each other.  There was another friend of ours that had not been killed, but was injured in the accident.  He had been transported to another city for medical care.  A couple of us also traveled to that city as well to see the man who had been hurt.  When we arrived, the waiting room was filled with over a dozen members of our church.  They were just sitting with the family.  It sounds silly just to sit. Think about it.  You are not doing much when you sit.  But somehow it is powerful.  Everyone in that room was grieving and shaken.  Most of them had not been in the accident, but the people they cared about had been.  Sitting together meant no one was alone.  That is powerful and good.
3. Came to the house.  When the spouse of my friend came home without her husband, friends and loved ones were waiting for her.  They had brought food and simply stayed for awhile.  They shared their love to this widow, but it was more than that.  They were not just giving support, they were seeking it.  They too were hurting and sought the comfort of togetherness.  That is the purest kind of support, for it is mutual.
4. Spread the word.  Literally hundreds of people knew of the tragedy by the end of the day.  People called people, texted, and posted.  Prayers were offered and the burden was shared.  The accident happened on a Saturday.  By Sunday most knew about it.  When we came to church we hugged and loved on each other.  We needed the support.
5. Felt our feelings.  When we saw each other we let ourselves cry.  In this situation I was a friend, but I was also the Pastor.  Usually a Pastor will try to be professional in such situations.  I found that difficult this time.  This man was a personal friend.  We had become close over the years.  When I saw the man’s wife, I held her and wept.  When I saw the man’s son, I hugged him and cried.  And I was not the only one, many of us did this.  What else could we do?  We were feeling the hurt.  It was right to share the pain with one another.  Somehow it helped us not feel alone.

These are just a few things I watched us do that helped us travel through the pain together.  They are simple, natural, but profound and powerful.

Question:  What are other things you would suggest people do in the midst of a tragedy?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Someone once asked me, “What would you do with your life if you had no fear?”  That question rattled me.  How would you answer it?  What dreams do you have for your life?  Are they God inspired?  If so, what holds you back from pursuing them?

Fearing Failure

For many, the fear of failure prevents them from taking risks and pursuing great things for God.  But why do we fear failure?  Really, why?  Is failure so bad?

Think about it.  Failure is how we learn.  You learn what doesn’t work by trying and failing.  Did you not fall the first time you attempted to walk, what about the first time you tried to ride a bike or swing a bat?  Why do children learn so fast?  They are not afraid to fail, learn from it, and then try again.

Think about how foolish it would be if a little one took his first steps only to fall and then said, “I’ve had enough of that.  I quit.  I can’t do it.”  We expect them to fail along the way.  Why should it be any different for adults.

Zig Ziglar says, “Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly until you learn to do it well.”  If your life is going to be devoted to attempting things of real significance then you must learn to plow through your fear of failure.

Theodore Roosevelt said, “The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything.”  I don’t want to be a man who never does anything.  I would hope that you, along with me, would want to attempt bold and exciting things for God in our lifetime.

If that is our desire then we had better learn to conquer our fear of failure and move ahead in spite of such fears.

Think of some of these ways we fear failure…

Sometimes…

1.  We fear we are inadequate. Too often we are paralyzed by our fear of failure because we think that since we have failed we must be failures.  Not so!  There is a difference between what happens when a man says, “I have failed three times,” and what happens when he says, “I am a failure.”  Start acknowledging your failures but never discard your own life or value in God’s eyes because you have failed in some areas.  We are all inadequate, but Christ makes us whole in him.

2.  We fear rejection.  Unfortunately people allow this fear to keep them from pursuing God given tasks.  This should not be the case since rejection is something that comes to even the brightest and most talented.

*In 1902, the poetry editor of Atlantic Monthly sent back a collection of poems with this note, “Our magazine has no room for your vigorous verse.”  The poet was Robert Frost.

*In 1905, the University of Bern rejected a doctoral dissertation as “irrelevant and fanciful.”  The writer of that dissertation was Albert Einstein.

*In 1894 an English teacher noted on a teenager’s report card, “A conspicuous lack of success.”  The student was Winston Churchill.

Rejection is a part of life.  The law of averages says you are bound to have some rejection as you are pursuing success.  Accept the fact, don’t fear it.  You will never have a chance at success if you don’t risk the possibility of rejection.

3. We fear we are incompetent.  God promises his empowering and equipping.  We simply have to trust God to give us what we need.  How does that work?  Simple, we move forward in obedience, believing that he will give us the strength, and knowing he provides along the way.

Fearing these things only keeps us from making the attempt.  The fears may be real, but the reasons for allowing such fears to stop us from obeying God’s call are illegitimate.

Challenge:  Ask yourself the question, “What would I do with my life for God if I had no fear?”  I dare you.  Ask it!

Question:  What are some other fears that we often allow to paralyze us from living a life of faith and risk?  Share them with us.  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Death hits every person and every family.  Even if you are young, you will know people who will lose someone special to them.  It is one of life’s hardest experiences and it comes to us all.  Knowing how to care for someone during a loss is not just a skill for ministers and chaplains.  It is for all of us.

Ministry to the Grieving

Here are some helpful suggestions as you respond to the loss of others…

At the moments right after the loss…

1. Find a way to quickly respond.  Make a phone call or pay them a quick visit.  Depending on how close your relationship to them is will determine the length or depth of such a contact.  Responding quickly lets them know your care and your care right now.
2. See if there is anything you can do for the family.  Don’t be pushy about this if there is no obvious thing you can do.  Just gently let your willingness be known.

When visiting the funeral home…

Some people are uncomfortable with funeral homes.  Perhaps it is because of all those crazy spooky movies Hollywood has cranked out.  But funeral homes are not scary places.  They tend to be warm atmospheres with caring staffs.

When people visit a funeral home they do so to affirm a family in loss.  In fact, some of life’s most meaningful moments or most loving expressions of concern can find their expression in the context of a funeral home.  So don’t be nervous about going.

Usually at the Funeral Home there will be some sort of “visitation,” a time when you can come and visit the family.  This is a perfect time for you to visit and extend your sympathy.

Here are some suggestions when you do…

Things best not to say…

1. “They are better off” or “They are in a better place.”  It is ok if the person suffering the loss says this.  You can affirm it when they do.  And listen, such a statement might be very true.  But that does not mean that the person suffering the loss is ready to see it that way.
2. “I know exactly what you are going through.”  This can strike people the wrong way.  Of course it might be somewhat true.  All of us have some common experiences.  But even if it is in part true it generally comes off as insulting.
3. Don’t get philosophical.  You don’t need to try to answer the question of why this has happened.  Doing so does nothing to change the fact that they are hurting.  They need your compassion more than your answers.
4. Don’t project your situation onto theirs.  It is always best that you don’t start comparing your hurt or pain with theirs.  When you do you communicate that you are more interested in yourself than in them.  Focus on them and their loss.

Some things good to do…

1. Be there!  Just coming to see them speaks volumes.  Giving them a hug or handshake or sharing with them a kind word is huge.  Your presence is powerful.
2. You can say, “So sorry for your loss.”  This is true and speaks volumes.
3. You can send flowers or a memorial gift.  You don’t need to feel obligated to do this for everyone who has a loss, but if you enjoy giving gifts this is a great thing to do.  Flowers are beautiful and often the loved ones provide an opportunity for people to make monetary gifts in memory of their loved one to some church or charity.  It is an option for you if you feel inclined.

What about after the funeral…

The most difficult time of grief is often after the funeral when life is expected to get back to normal.  This is a great time for you to continue your ministry to them.  Sympathy cards, phone calls, and meals can all be ways to continue your support and kindness.

Challenge:  Next time someone you know suffers such a loss, plan on jumping in and showing that you care.

Question:  What are other ways you can show support when someone losses a loved one?  Share them with us.  You can leave a comment by clicking here.