Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Life by Death

Like most people, I am inspired when others make sacrifices for others. Recently, 23-year-old Megan Moss caught the attention of the St. Louis area with her deteriorating heart condition. However, on April 18, she received a miracle heart transplant that saved her life. What a story! But let's not forget, she got to live because someone else died.

This story for me communicates a Kingdom reality that I want to encourage you to pursue. Consider John 12:24, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

You have a choice to make in your life. You can hold on to your life (these 80-90 years) and your life is all you have. However, you can invest your life (die to yourself) and it will bear much fruit...30, 60 or even a 100-fold.

If you belong to Jubilee Church in St. Louis, you have an opportunity in front of us with Celebration Midwest to make an investment that will require personal sacrifice, but if we make it, will produce life in others. Here's how:

1) Sign up for Celebration Midwest.

2) Give money so that others can go. I would suggest paying the amount it would cost you to go and someone else. Cost varies (see brochure), but a single adult would pay $110 and a family of four would pay $330. Even if you can't make it to Celebration yourself, I would encourage you to give as an expression that we are all in this together. If you would like to give to this cause, you can do so on Sunday morning or online. Be sure to write "Celebration MW" in the memo.

In order to do both 1 & 2, it requires a desire in you to die to yourself. There are perhaps other things you would rather do the weekend of June 4-6. You will have to die to your own preferences, to join a community vision. Or maybe, you have other ideas of how you want to use your money and to give to this would require real sacrifice. I do not want to minimize the sacrifice. It is real and if it's producing fruit, it's usually significant. So I don't want to minimize the sacrifice, but I do want to highlight the benefit. Dying to yourself WILL breed life in others. It's a kingdom principle that will never go void.

If you want your life to be about more than just your life, I want to encourage you in this principle and to practice it today!

Check out the latest Celebration MW promo video
.