This coming Saturday we have our third annual “Taste of the World” event. At this event we provide free of charge pony rides, the fun bus, hayrides, international food and regular hamburgers and hotdogs. Some people question why we should give all these things away. We believe that it is a picture of the grace of God that has been freely given to us. In some small way we are demonstrating that same grace that really runs contrary to the thinking of our profit first worldview. We are not at all concerned about making a financial profit on this event, but we are concerned about making a difference for eternity. Our ministry is therefore geared to impacting people’s lives without them having to spend any money. There are obvious cost that are involved in our event. Those cost are absorbed by the body life of New Durham Chapel. We absorbed those costs so that we can demonstrate God’s grace that has been so richly bestowed upon us. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he writes these very significant words, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”, (2:8+9 NKJV). We truly do not deserve the least of God’s mercies and yet He has chosen in His kindness and love to bestow them upon us.
“Taste of the World” is our opportunity to be a blessing to our community and to reach out to our community with the love of Christ. Certainly sometime tomorrow someone will ask me where they can put their donation. I’m glad I can tell them to put their donation back in their pocket and enjoy themselves because their experience is a grace gift from the Lord Jesus Christ. A year or so ago I attended a pastor friend’s community block party. Everything cost money. A piece of coconut cake was four dollars, even water was two dollars a bottle. I guess you would call that a fundraiser. Our event is not a fundraiser, but a friend raiser. I hope that you will plan to come out and be a part of this very special day tomorrow as we celebrate God’s kindness and grace towards us.
Rejoicing in our Savior,
Pastor Rich Sivo
