Steve and Barnabas in Tanzania

The following is my sermon mock up (the written version-it often changes as I practice) for Nov 3 and 24 services at my church Mauldin United Methodist.  The video of the entire service can be found at  http://www.mauldinmethodist.com/go/downloads There is a Casting Crowns song that I think has a very poignant statement that is unfortunately very true.  The song is “If we are the Body” and the statement is the chorus line: But if we are the body Why aren't His arms reaching? Why aren't His hands healing? Why aren't His words teaching? And if we are the body Why aren't His feet going? Why is His love not showing them there is a way? In my short 46 years I have witnessed many situations that cause me to ask very similar questions. Juan Carlos was a young boy when his father beat him senseless and thinking he had killed him he dumped the body on a trash pile for the area.  Ekateirna was 17 when the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991.  Ful

Christians are meant to be together.  We help each other in ways I never understood until I started to do mission work.  When I went on my first mission trip, my church family got behind me and seriously pushed me along in fundraising.  But more importantly they supported me with prayers and asking me to talk about after I got back.  When we first started overseas mission programs at our church to send teams over to places like Peru, Tanzania and Germany the church family got behind our work and again pushed us forward with fundraising, prayers and encouragement. One of the best things we implemented over the years is having people in the church, family members and any other friends we could find as well as the VBS kids make or write notes to our team missionaries that we share with them every night of the trip.  Over the years this has become one of my favorite times during the mission trip to see the faces of everyone as they get notes from their loved ones or people they don'