If you've been wondering how LifeHouse Hedgesville is doing, you've come to the right spot. After worshipping together for a month in the Cardwell home, we've found God's favor is drawing us closer to one another and the cause that is before us. Without love and unity, we are nothing. With love and unity, we are everything that God wants us to be, and we will truly see His blessing on us.
"No greater love than this, than a man (or woman) lay down his life for his friends." Though Jesus was referring to the act of sacrifice he was about to make for the salvation of mankind, we at LHH have truly become great friends and great friends with Jesus. I know that we have grown in love with one another and that we are modeling our vision - Loving and Serving to Know Christ.
We have come to realize that faith is nothing without action. Mere lip service of faith in Jesus cannot be, as we have focused our efforts in studying and understanding the book of James. We realize that our faith must be lived out and that we must be willing to go where Jesus calls us to go. We must also be willing to love and serve all, even those the world sees as outcasts. God is teaching us patience and endurance. He is teaching us to be faithful.
This coming weekend, we'll be making preparations for our first public preview service on July 24. We'll be going to the elementary school trying to piece together the vision - the picture - of what our church service will look like. It's exciting, but at times, overwhelming, when trying to live out the call of God. We're just thankful that God has promised to never leave us or forsake us.
An example of this is in our search for a worship leader. After having tried to recruit some to lead us in worship and having no success, we decided that this was no longer our problem, but God's. So we gave it up to Him completely, not worrying about who would lead us, trusting that He would provide the person for His work. And God did just that. He began working on the hearts of the Githins' family. The story in itself is amazing - to hear of how God was working behind the scenes. And, I'm not the person to tell it - that belongs to Thom and Sabrina. But God is good, and we are so blessed to have Thom and Sabrina who have heard God's voice. And, not only did they hear His voice, they took the step of faith to act on it. Believe me, they're good now. Can't wait to see how good they'll become with time as God develops their talent.
Can we say that everything has gone perfectly and smoothly? I would be lying by saying yes. But we understand that faith involves struggle, and through struggle, we are refined and made more like the Savior we love and serve.
This journey, called faith, is most exciting. It's also a war because Satan wants nothing more than to see us give up and throw in the towel when things get tough. But we understand we serve a God who is greater, and deserves our following no matter how strenous the circumstances may be.
So, what's happening with LHH? Thanks for asking. We're living faithfully for Christ. We're bringing His love to the "little worlds" we've been placed in. We're loving and serving making us more like our Savior, Jesus Christ. We're being the church.
