1. The Early Christians called on God to exalt His name in the world.  (Matthew 6:9; Psalm 9:2)
2. The Early Christians called on God to extend His kingdom in the world (Matthew 6:10; Revelations 21:4)
3. The Early Christians called on God for the fullness of the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13; Ephesians 3:19; Acts 4:31)
4. The Early Christians called on God to save unbelievers. (Romans 10:1; Matthew 13:44; Luke 15:7)
5. The Early Christians called on God for healing (James 5:13-15; Acts 8:7)
6. The Early Christians called on God for strategic wisdom. (James 1:5; Colossians 1:9, 3:16)
7. The Early Christians called on God for unity and harmony in the ranks (John 17:20-21; Philippians 2:2)
8. The Early Christians called on God to help them know Him better. (Colossians 1:10; Ephesians 1:17)
9. The Early Christians called on God to help them comprehend the love of Christ (Ephesians 3:14, 18)
10. The Early Christians called on God for a deeper sense of assured hope. (Ephesians 1:16, 18, Romans 15:13, 5:2, 12:12)
11. The Early Christians called on God for strength and endurance (Colossians 1:11, Ephesians 3:16; Nehemiah 8:10)
12. The Early Christians called on God for their faith to be preserved. (Luke 22:32, 21:36; II Corinthians 1:24; Philippians 1:25)
13. The Early Christians called on God that they might not fall into temptation.  (Matthew 6:13, 26:41)
14. The Early Christians called on God to complete their resolves and enable them to do good work. (II Thessalonians 1:11, Colossians 1:10, Acts 20:35)
15. The Early Christians called on God for forgiveness for their sins. (Matthew 6:12)
16. The Early Christians called on God for protection from the evil one.

- Piper, John; When I Don’t Desire God: How to Fight for Joy; Crossway; Wheaton, Ill.; copyright  2004; p.143-146

As the morning progressed, no one spoke to Sarah, and she felt so alone.

At lunch, she sat down under a tree and began to cry.  Another girl came, sat down beside her and laid her hand on her shoulder.  Sarah told her she was sad because she was new.  The other girl said, “me too.”   Then Sarah told her she had lost her mom.  The other girl sighed and said “Wow, me too, a couple of years ago.”   Sarah knew she had found a new friend, and that she would be okay.

Has that ever happened to you?  Life seems to press in, marriages fall apart, financial ruin, someone we love passes away, a friend betrays us —  and we feel so helpless.  Then the Lord places someone in your path who has been through something very similar.  As your story unfolds, they begin to nod their head and say “me too”.  It is the power of understanding from one human being to another, able to relate to the struggle we are going through.   The birth of hope begins at that moment.  The pain will continue, and we will have to travel through the healing process, but we have hope because of the testimony of someone else who has made it through.

Did you know this picture is in the Bible?   II Corinthians 1:4.  ”(He) comforts us in all our trouble, so that we may comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”  This is not just a nice verse for people who are in ministry — it is intended for us all.  We all have had those hard knocks in life.  But God intends them for good, He instructs us to offer a hand on the shoulder, an ear to listen, and a testimony of His grace through the hard times.

I believe God would have us all respond as Sarah’s new friend did.  Sometimes it only requires sitting beside them and helping them cry, sometimes a hand on the shoulder is enough.  But always, the power of “me too — I know how you feel” opens the door for hope.

Now when He saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him and He began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven; Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted; Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth; Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled…Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven… Matthew 5:1-6, 11-12.

The fact is, Jesus looked out over a motley crowd full of hurting people who had been largely ignored by that society and told them, “I have some great news for you.  Heaven wants you, even if nobody around here seems to.”  It is a defining characteristic of Jesus: compassion and care for the wounded.

And it should be a defining characteristic of every local body of believers who claim to be following Christ…every single church, every single congregation.  A large part of being the New Testament church is looking out at our community and seeing the brokenness and trying to help.  That is a given, not really up for debate.

But how do we help?  And who do we help?  Obviously, not every church can be called to meet every need.  World hunger, AIDS, single moms, teenage pregnancies, drug abusers, divorce, homelessness, mental illness, special needs children, and the list goes on and on and on.  It would seem that the list of ways a church can get involved in ministry is literally endless.  And even if a church could somehow “discern” which type of ministry or ministries God has assigned to it, how in the world does it meet the need?  Where does it begin?

Praise be to…the God of all comfort, Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. II Corinthians 1:4

Here is His answer.  Your pews in your church are already filled with people who have been through difficult times in their lives.  God has already brought your own people through woundedness.  You have some who have come through financial hardship, some who have been divorced, some who have grieved the loss of loved ones, some who have fought addictions, some who have parented special needs children, etc.  They are there, in your pews.  They have already held God’s hand and found their way through that pain, and they can help others do the same thing.  They can be a support for those others, a guide.

It need not be complicated.  If I have experienced a particular kind of woundedness, and if I God has taught me some things through that experience, I can help others with that same problem.  I can start a support group for those people.  My church can sponsor the group and get the word out to the community about the group.  People from within the church can come and people from outside the church can come.  All I have done is agreed with Jesus, saying to them, “I love you and I want to help.”

And before you know it, my church has a support group ministry and is reaching people who had all but given up on the church.  Suddenly, they’re interested in the rest of what we have to say, all because we showed them that we care.

THAT is the picture of the church being the church.  It is the picture of Jesus.

But don’t get paralyzed by the “how to” or the questions about structure.  Just start.  Trust the Lord to order your steps.  It’s what the church does.

© Blake Coffee

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on this website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Blake Coffee.

Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: © Blake Coffee. Website: heart2heartsa.org

Pretty much anybody’s interpretation of Jesus’ ministry has to agree that He was there for wounded people.  Whatever else you believe about Him and His purpose, you would be hard-pressed to argue that point.  Everywhere He went, He was helping physically, emotionally and Spiritually wounded people.  His best-documented sermon, the sermon on the mount, began with some words about wounded people…

Now when He saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him and He began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven; Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted; Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth; Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled…Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven… Matthew 5:1-6, 11-12.

The fact is, Jesus looked out over a motley crowd full of hurting people who had been largely ignored by that society and told them, “I have some great news for you.  Heaven wants you, even if nobody around here seems to.”  It is a defining characteristic of Jesus: compassion and care for the wounded.

And it should be a defining characteristic of every local body of believers who claim to be following Christ…every single church, every single congregation.  A large part of being the New Testament church is looking out at our community and seeing the brokenness and trying to help.  That is a given, not really up for debate.

But how do we help?  And who do we help?  Obviously, not every church can be called to meet every need.  World hunger, AIDS, single moms, teenage pregnancies, drug abusers, divorce, homelessness, mental illness, special needs children, and the list goes on and on and on.  It would seem that the list of ways a church can get involved in ministry is literally endless.  And even if a church could somehow “discern” which type of ministry or ministries God has assigned to it, how in the world does it meet the need?  Where does it begin?

Praise be to…the God of all comfort, Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. II Corinthians 1:4

Here is His answer.  Your pews in your church are already filled with people who have been through difficult times in their lives.  God has already brought your own people through woundedness.  You have some who have come through financial hardship, some who have been divorced, some who have grieved the loss of loved ones, some who have fought addictions, some who have parented special needs children, etc.  They are there, in your pews.  They have already held God’s hand and found their way through that pain, and they can help others do the same thing.  They can be a support for those others, a guide.

It need not be complicated.  If I have experienced a particular kind of woundedness, and if I God has taught me some things through that experience, I can help others with that same problem.  I can start a support group for those people.  My church can sponsor the group and get the word out to the community about the group.  People from within the church can come and people from outside the church can come.  All I have done is agreed with Jesus, saying to them, “I love you and I want to help.”

And before you know it, my church has a support group ministry and is reaching people who had all but given up on the church.  Suddenly, they’re interested in the rest of what we have to say, all because we showed them that we care.

THAT is the picture of the church being the church.  It is the picture of Jesus.

If you want to see how one church has done it, check out Heart 2 Heart Ministries.

But don’t get paralyzed by the “how to” or the questions about structure.  Just start.  Trust the Lord to order your steps.  It’s what the church does.

© Blake Coffee

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on this website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Blake Coffee.

Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: © Blake Coffee. Website: churchwhisperer.com

- Kris Lundgaard, The Enemy Within: Straight Talk About the Power and Defeat of Sin, copyright 1998, page 134