Lifebridge Church Blog

When a recent cold snap brought Houston temperatures down near 20 degrees for three nights in a row, the local Christian radio station started issuing pleas for listeners to bring coats, blankets, etc to the downtown shelters for all the homeless who would be seeking refuge. When my wife heard of their plight, she asked me “what are we going to DO to help these people?” I had already responded to several other needs that day, so in noble pastoral fashion, I responded, “Right now I’m tired of helping people. We’re not the only ones in the world. Let somebody else help them.”

Thankfully, my more Godly side won out and after a few phone calls, we ended up with a 7 month pregnant woman and her three sons who stayed in our home for several days until the cold had passed. They had no electricity, their car heater didn’t work, and they were in a pretty desperate situation.

Considering what it meant to this family, our sacrifice was well worth it. We spent a little money, prepared a bit more food, and the kids gave up their bedrooms for a weekend. No big deal. But the lessons we learned were invaluable. Lesson #1 — it’s not our house. God owns this house, and He has been good enough to let us stay here for a while. We’re just travelers passing through on our way to heaven anyway. So, if the house is His, what better way to use it than to help care for those that He cares about.

What if I viewed all my possessions that way? It’s not my car . . . it’s His. How does God want to use His car? To shuttle me back and forth to work — Yes. But how else? And that new lawnmower — it’s great for cutting my lawn . . . but does God have even bigger plans for it?

What would it look like if I’d tithe not only “my” paycheck, but “my” house and “my” car and “my” time as well? Food for thought . . .

It’s 3 a.m. and it is POURING. Normally, I’d just roll over and go back to sleep, but tonight the rain is a problem. Later on this evening we have our Christmas in a Barn. , so all this rain means that mud is going to be a major issue. Where do we park? How do we get people to the barn? Wh? . . . what a MESS.

And, therein lies maybe the most important message of all at Christmas. It IS a mess. The world is a mess. Our lives are a mess. Christmas is anything but neat and tidy. The whole reasons Christmas happened in the first place is because Jesus was willing to let go of the comforts and neatness of heaven to enter into a world where things always eventually end up going wrong.

A small part of me might be envious tonight as we slosh through mud while others get to worship in the comforts of a more predictable church environment. But, the deeper side of me is glad. Glad for the rain, the mud, the hay bales we’ll be sitting on. thankful for the messy reminder of why we needed a Savior in the first place.

Christmas is when you pull out all the stops.  The decorations, the lights, the music . . . whatever it takes to capture the “magical Christmas feel” that we all so crave.  For me, that moment always came at the end of the Christmas service, when the ushers would hand out candles, the lights would be turned down low, and the whole church would sing Silent Night.  Bam.  Christmas MAGIC. 

I still love the beautiful/magical side of Christmas . . . but I’ve started to wonder if that’s really the thing we should be pursuing.  Last year, our church held our Christmas Eve service in a barn . . . and it touched me in a completely different way than Christmas services ever have.  There was an ugly beat up old barn, hay, cow manure, and a bunch of people.   No beautiful Christmas tree, no angelic choirs, not even the candles at the end (though we did sing Silent Night!)  Just the stark simplicity that took us back to the humble beginning that Jesus chose 2000 years ago. 

 In his Divine wisdom, Christ chose a rather plain entrance into the world.  Just a barn, a nothing town in the middle of nowhere,  no royalty or religion to be found anywhere.  He came because the people he loved so much were dying in their sin, and our only hope was a Savior who would step into the mess and the ugliness of our time and space to do something about it.  It wasn’t pretty.  It wasn’t magical.

Of all places, Jesus picked a dirty old barn to start his earthly journey, so we’re going to do the same thing in a little over a week.  Maybe it will rain.  Maybe it will be cold and miserable and there won’t be any of that Christmas magic we all love so much.  Maybe that’s the point.

When we started LifeBridge a little over a year ago, one of our prayers was that we would mark “success” not by the # of people in the seats or dollars in the plate . . . but by the stories of lives that had been transformed by Jesus Christ. We’ve had many, but what we celebrated this past Sunday may have been the most powerful of all.
Most of you have been following the story of the Sirleaf family — how war in Liberia had torn their family apart almost 30 years ago. Adam, the father, had been the first to come to America. Watta, his wife, joined him about 5 years ago. Our church has joined them in praying for the past year that their children would be able to join them. First came Sekue a couple of months ago. Then, last week was the news that their daughter Maima and granddaughter Musukula had been approved. What a joy to partner up with them to help make this reunion possible. For almost 30 years, this family has suffered from the destruction that Satan brings through war. Sunday, we saw God’s healing at work as this family was brought back together again.
Now, our job is to surround them with love and friendship. They came with little more than the clothes on their back, so we were able to take them shopping this week for all the basic necessities. Sekue and Maima will both be looking for jobs. Musukula will be starting school. There will be a LOT that is new and challenging for them, and it will be our privilege as a church to surround them with a caring faith community as they start their new life.
Ultimately, this is about much more than just physically bringing a family back together. As beautiful as that is, how much more important that each person in their family know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. When that happens, we know that they will be together not only for the rest of this life, but for all of eternity.

Sunday at church, Adam Sirleaf shared with us that the last time he saw his daughter was when she was 12 years old.  Their entire family was separated from each other when they had to literally flee for their lives during political upheaval in Liberia.  That little 12 year old girl is now in her late 20′s, with her own pre-teen daughter.  Tomorrow (Sat), they fly from Ghana to their new home here in Houston, where their family is almost put back together again.  What an amazing joy for our church to watch as God brings this family back together . . . and to be able to play a role in helping make that happen.  It serves as a powerful reminder to us all of God’s desire to restore relationships that are broken, and to put together that which has been torn apart.  God is good!

Sunday at LifeBridge should be a powerful celebration, as we get to meet Maima and Musukula and celebrate with them all that God has done.

Last Sunday at LifeBridge, we had the chance to celebrate the power of God at work in our lives.  For most of our first year, we have been praying for the Sirleaf family.  Watta (the mother) is a school district employee who sets up for us each Sunday morning.  17 years ago, her family was torn apart by war in Liberia.  She and her husband eventually found their way to America, but they were still separated from their children (who eventually ended up in Ghana).  Over time, Watta and her husband had re-established communication with them, and for years had been trying to get them visas so that they could come to America and be re-united with family.  Anybody who has ever worked with immigration knows the story of delay after delay after delay.  And so we prayed, and waited, and prayed. 

About two weeks ago, the Sirleafs heard the news they had been longing for – their oldest son had been approved!  But he had only one week in which to leave, or his visa would be revoked.  Things went into frantic overdrive, arrangements were made, and we were able to help them in getting  the last minute airline ticket so that Sekue could come home.  Last Sunday, there they were . . . sitting in the second row:  Father, mother, and son .  .  . together again after all these years. 

17 years ago, Satan was at work through the ravages of war to tear a family apart.  Last week, we saw the power of God bring a family back together again.  “(Jesus said)  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” — John 10:10

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