At our second Sunday of Living Red, Tom Fenske’s message was titled “We’re Going To Need a Bigger Table”.
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WE’RE GOING TO NEED A BIGGER TABLE
REMEMBERING OUR STORY
The rich are often the cause of poverty. (Amos 2:7, James 5:5, Isaiah 3:14-25)
Caring for the poor isn’t optional. (Matthew 25:31-46)
Poverty reminds us that we aren’t really in control. (Matthew 5:2, Luke 6:20, Luke 12:16-21)
Simplicity is the key to equality. (Luke 12:16-21), (Acts 2:43-47)
Luke 18:18-27
Caring for the poor ultimately helps us. It enables us to be free from our consumerism, to remember that everything we have isn’t ours and that in the kingdom of God we are all equal.
FROM CHARITY TO JUSTICE—PRACTICAL STEPS
Connect with the Poor
- Go to one.org or mcc.org and read about what is going on in the world and where progress is being made.
- Be a part of a short-term (or long-term) missions team just to experience how most of the world lives.
- Visit local organizations such as MCC or The Dream Centre to connect with the poor.
- Next time you meet a homeless person who asks you for money, ask them their name.
Give to the Poor
- Be willing to take give without worrying about it.
- Better yet, buy someone who is asking for money a coffee and hang out with them. Your presence is worth more than your money.
- Help our students with the 30 Hour Famine!
- Consider moving to a smaller house, not upgrading your vehicle when it’s paid for, taking a simpler vacation (or something else) to save costs and consider investing the money you save in the poor.
Invest in the Poor
- Go to meda.org or kiva.org and learn about overseas investments and microloans.
- Go through your cupboard or closet, find your five favourite things and look into where they came from.
- Consider switching to buying fair-trade only coffee, bananas and chocolate.
- Buy fruits and vegetables that are grown using sustainable methods and are pesticide free.
- Involve everyone! Ask your kids (or kids, ask your parents!) what they’d like to invest in, where you as a family could make a change.
Speak for the Poor
- Sign up for newsletters at one.org and mcc.org to keep up with current issues related to the poor.
- Write or call your local officials about what can be done about continuing to care for the poor in our city.
- Consider a candidate’s position on poverty the next time you vote.
- Champion a cause (women’s health, development and trade, etc.). Feel free to become annoying!
- Discover what systems are keeping people in poverty. Find out what you can do to make institutional change.
- Hold the church, government and NGOs accountable for their commitments.
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