You are being set-up!

Bible Reading: Ruth

Ruth had many things going against her.

She was a woman - women were seen as inferior at that time.

She was a widow - widows were taken advantage of and ignored. There was almost nothing worse than being a widow during the time of Ruth. Many times they were left unprotected from rape or sexual harassment.

She was poor - she was left without any inheritance, scraping from the leftovers of the fields of others. These people were treated unfairly.

She was a Moabite - friendly relations with the Moabites were discouraged (they were not allowed to worship at the tabernacle because they had not let the Israelites pass through their land during the Exodus from Egypt).

Ruth had every reason to stay in the comfort zone of Moab but instead she traveled to the place where she would be considered a nobody. She knew that it was her mother in law Naomi that she was to cling to. She followed her and served her, even though it meant giving up every ounce of dignity she had. In choosing to do this, she also gave up every dream she had.

In modern day terms, she would have been like the tattered woman receiving her food from the garbage can of the Trump Towers. Mr. Trump comes out (let’s pretend he is godly, hansom, unmarried and sans funky toupee, okay?) and begins to show her favor. He provides her with food, water and protection from accusers. He eventually asks her to marry him. In an instant the beggar widow goes from the bottom to the top!

It doesn’t sound like a fun place to be -- the lowest of the lows. Yet, it was exactly where God wanted her. He was positioning her for a blessing that was beyond anything she could have imagined. He had a godly husband, wealth, and a redeemed reputation waiting for her at those fields she was gleaning from.

My friend had a dream that she was serving at someone’s wedding. She kept serving and serving and waiting for the bride to arrive. She grew angry wondering when the bride was going to show up--after all, she was doing all this work for her! Soon enough, she realized that she was the bride!

So it is with our dream. You think your serving someone else’s dream…your giving, your serving and your faithful. You might feel like Ruth, you have no status, title or respect. What you don’t realize is that it is a set-up from the Lord. In the process of serving the dreams of others, God will release you into yours.

Be encouraged today! The Lord has positioned you for a blessing!
Mel

Space Makeovers!

Here is a video of the outcome of our first Space Makeovers project! It was a huge success and the ladies were blown away by the support and resources that they received. Thank you so much to those of you that contributed! There will be more Space Makeovers to come!

If you would like to become a part of The Bridge team and help us with projects like this, please e-mail us at thebridge@lifeaturban.com

It's that time again...

First Sunday is right around the corner! In honor of superbowl, we will be doing a supersized First Sunday! We collect donations of clothing, household supplies, furniture and groceries and provide them for FREE to those in need in our church and community! What an awesome blessing!

We also provide balloons and face painting for the kids, and a free lunch so that we can all eat together as a community.

Would you please contribute by bringing as many donations as you can? OR spread the word to those around you and join us on FEBRUARY 7th right after the first service, which begins at 10:30am.

Hope to see you there!

The Bridge

Space Makeover's

The Bridge is undertaking an exciting new project, Space Makeovers. We are starting with two mothers in our church who are in desperate need of many of the essentials we take for granted.

Makeover #1 will be done for a woman who faced some unfortunate circumstances. She is living with her four children in a low-income one bedroom apartment with little-to no furniture.

Makeover #2 will be for a single mother who is living in a 10x10 unit with her five year old daughter. She needs some major organization help with such a small space, as well as some atmosphere help.

We are thrilled to take on this challenge, but we need YOUR help! Please visit our Wishlist on Amazon.com and search "Urban Church" in the wishlists. We have created a wishlist of needs for our space makeovers - a tangeble way that everyone can pitch in! You can bring your purchased item to Urban's services or just make a financial contribution to go towards the makeovers. This wishlist will keep growing as our creative minds come up with solutions for small spaces and inviting atmospheres.

We cannot do everything, but we can do SOMETHING!
Thanks for your support!
The Bridge