Loving the Poor Through Word and Deed: Expecting to See Jesus in the Marginalized

Elm City Vineyard Church Talks

In the famous parable of the sheep and the goats, both parties are surprised by Jesus’ connection with the poor — even the ones who have seen Jesus through their feeding, clothing, visiting, and compassionate service. Through our hearing of the story, we don’t have to be surprised anymore that we can see Jesus in the face of the poor. Instead, our compassion for the poor and marginalized can now become our worship of and encounter with Jesus. With that hope, we’ll go deeper on Sunday as we listen to stories from our community about encountering God through the marginalized. You don’t want to miss hearing these dynamic stories from other ECVers as we continue to build courage for this work together.

- Series Description -

Jesus cares deeply about the marginalized. During this Lenten series, we will unpack God’s care for the poor, identification with this group, and the ways God moves on their behalf and calls us to do likewise. Oftentimes, we see people talk the talk with justice — saying the right things, using the in season buzzwords — but they are not caring for actual marginalized folks. Other times, we see people serving to the point of burnout and not modeling the world they are working so hard for. They might do good works but without much good news. Jesus is completely different. He has compassion, mercy, and deep love for folks who are marginalized. Jesus sees, stops, and cares, and He calls us to do the same. Will we? Over the Covid-19 pandemic, each our service and justice ministries got shut down — prison bible studies at Whalley and York, serving at Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK), and serving with Agape Church for the Homeless. As the pandemic shifted and more things opened up, we remained quite inward. We want that to change. We are praying that God’s work amongst us would inspire a new ministry for and among the poor and marginalized. Join us!