Loving the Poor Through Word and Deed: God Identifies With the Poor

Elm City Vineyard Church Talks

You shall not oppress a stranger; you know the heart of a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt (Exod 23:9).

The remarkable text from Matt 25 about the sheep and the goats and the "least of these" has been with us every week so far in our series on "Loving the Poor in Word and Deed" as we've explored how we serve and encounter Jesus when we feed, clothe, house, welcome, visit, and otherwise care for the poor. This week we continue our series with a look at how God identifies with the poor as he rescues a people from slavery in Egypt and enjoins those people--his people--to liberality, generous giving motivated by their own experience of rescue by God from affliction and lack. It's the model for the church of Jesus who was "anointed to bring good news to the poor" (Luke 4:18) and instructed his followers to "give to all who ask" (Matt 5:42).

- 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!