Part 3-Be the Church: Serve Humanity
Type of Event: Worship Service: Sermon only
Date Recorded: 29 Jul, 2007
Location: Pittsburgh, PA 
Topics: Charity / Life of Use / Service
Description: This is part three of our summer series, "Be the Church". In part one ("Connect with the Lord") we reviewed the seven basic components of a life in the church. Then last week, in part two ("Love One Another"), we discussed what it meant to be the church to one another as part of the communion of saints. This week, in part three, "Serve Humanity", are are going to talk about doing good deeds as a church.
Good works are not optional. Which good works we do, and how and when we do them, are left to us to decide. But the Lord does not want people in this world to suffer and it is our obligation as his church to do something to make the world better. We start by shunning evils and performing our daily occupations, and also by being good citizens and good spouses and parents. But the Lord asks more of us. The world is full of natural as well as spiritual suffering, and we are not meant to ignore either.
When doing good works, it is important that we do them justly and from good judgment. Indiscriminately giving money to anyone who asks for it, for instance, may do as much harm as good. At the same time it is a mistake to let our fears of doing the "wrong" good deed stop us from ever attempting good works at all. So long as we try to use our best judgement, and try to do it out of the kindness of our hearts and not merely with the hope of some reward, the Lord will bless us and lead us to become ever better at it.
Now, natural charity is meant to be a foundation for spiritual charity, so in two weeks we will have part four, "Proclaim the Good News".
To see the truth of this message and to learn how to apply it to your life, read Matthew 25:34-40 and True Christian Religion 459:13-17, then listen to the full audio of this sermon by clicking here, and then try out what you learn in your life. This sermon, along with the rest of the series, is available through the Pittsburgh New Church (www.PittsburghNewChurch), where it was preached, TheoBlog.com, the New Church (www.NewChurch.org), and for free at the Apple iTunes Store.
References: Mat. 25:35-36; also Mat. 25:34-40; TCR 459:13-17.
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1Be the Church 3: Serve Humanity - Mat 25:35-36 (Jul 29, 2007)17m 26s
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