Show Thanks by Serving Others

“True religion is not found in solitude, it’s found in serving others.” – Larry Osborne, North Coast Church

As we come into Thanksgiving week in a rush, let us not forget what it’s all about: Giving Thanks. Sure, there is a ton of history that plays into this day: From the founding of our nation, to racial tension then and now, and a holiday that most of us get off  from work(sorry retails folks).

Churches are consumed by the hustle of the holidays. There are large Thanksgiving Eve services, children’s programs, Turkey Trots for veterans, and more. Holidays are a time where statistically speaking, people are more open to religion and religious experiences. However, it can be so simple to get caught up in the showing off of Jesus that you forget to make much of Jesus.

Jesus doesn’t care about the show, He cares about the soul. 

That’s why everything you do should be centered on the serving of others in the context of community.

• We serve through a Thanksgiving Eve service so that people hear what it’s like to give thanks to God for everything He has done and what He is doing.
• We serve through children’s programs as a way to show our elevated value for children as an essential component of our churches and importance to God.
• We serve through the Turkey Trot for veterans because they deserve to be served, as the people who most exemplify service to our nation.

The bottom line: We show thanks by serving others. 

Nothing shows your faithfulness to God and others than by serving. It’s easy to believe something, but it’s a whole other deal to put flesh on an idea and to live it out.

This is why we do what we do here at Catalyst. We serve others as a way to say thanks to God for all He is and all He is doing. We truly believe that the local church is the best hope to restore a broken world, and for this reason we will continue to hone our skill set and set the church up for success in the long run.

In what ways are you serving others this holiday season and not just putting on a show?