James Duff June 29th 2014 ~ To Bless People by Serving
"To Bless People by Serving": This is the mission of the Elvira Oikos (ancient Greek word for household/extended household). Many are now aware that our family (The Duffs), are starting out on the process of building an oikos from our family by blessing people through service. We are inviting anyone who would like to take part. We already have around 20 people who want to be part of the launch and take part in the mission. This early group is made up of a diverse demographic, some people single, some married, some old and some young. There is a place for many in what we are trying to do. All of us want healthy balanced families; we want to build one, teach others to do it and bless others with it and through it.We will launch this missional community/oikos adventure formally on Saturday July 26th by meeting at our home and then walking the streets of Palmyra and East Fremantle praying "God what are you doing here and what can we do to join in?" Then afterwards, a time of tea and cake together at our home, discussing what we saw and heard in our walk. The Youth Group here at St Philips did this recently and are currently strategising what we think God is saying to us. Very exciting! To be able to effectively bless people by serving, the challenge for us involved in the Elvira Oikos is to try and do the following, that I recently read and then posted on St Philips Facebook page.Go to this link to learn how:http://www.vergenetwork.org/five-ways-to-bless-your-neighbors/ Here is an acrostic to show how simple it is to bless a neighbor.
Begin with prayer. We want you to ask, ‘God how do you want me to bless the people in the places you’ve sent me to?’
Listen. Don’t talk, but listen to people, their struggles, their pains, in the places God sent you.
Eat. You can’t just ignore this. It’s not quick. You have to have a meal with people or a cup of coffee. It builds relationships.
Serve. If you listen with people and you eat with people they will tell you how to love them and you’ll know how to serve them.
Story. When the time is right, now we talk and we share the story of how Jesus changed our life.
Imagine if we all at St Philips began doing BLESS, or even some of it - praying for our neighbours, sharing a meal, or even getting to the stage of sharing our faith story with neighbours. I believe, if done consistently, this would result in the formation of healthy balanced Christian families and revival through the work of the Holy Spirit.If you would like more information or want to be involved in the Elvira Oikos adventure, then please find a Duff and ask, or check our Facebook page, "Elvira Oikos".We love St Philips and thank God for you all. May He bless you as you bless others.James