The Approachability of God's Word

So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “ Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”…

Many Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony.

John 4:28-29, 39

One of the biggest cultural changes Jesus made (in my opinion), is that He validated the testimony of so many people who were on the margins of society: the foreigners, the sick, people with physical deformities, women, children, outcasts, and so much more.

Previously, only those who were “holy” enough to enter into the tabernacle - the inner sanctuary of the temple - were worthy enough to communicate the Word of God. That was usually just one group of people: the Levites. But when Jesus arrived, He purposefully gave the assignment of spreading His word to those that society ignored.

Think about your Sunday church for a second. Who are the folks who are selected to get up in front of everyone to share a passage of scripture? Usually, it’s someone who is well dressed, and who can read and communicate quickly, effectively, and confidently. They’re the best speakers.

One of my favorite things about Street Church is that usually it’s the opposite. Each Saturday, we have four readings and we ask for a volunteer for each one. I remember one Saturday those readings were done by a child, someone with schizophrenia, a homeless person, and someone who reads very slowly and choppily. Just the kind of people Jesus pursued to share His message.

It reminded me that the Word of God is for everyone and should be read by everyone.  Sometimes it might require a bit more patience on the listener’s part, but in the end, it’s always an honor and privilege to hear God’s word proclaimed by so many different people.

-Kenny

Last Week’s Update…stay connected!

Logistics

  • Served: 80

  • Last week's leaders: Bryan, Kenny, Curtis, Chino. Joy

Gifts

  • Last week's: Hygiene

  • Next week's: Socks

Looking Ahead

Miscellaneous

  • don’t forget to sign up for lunches and helping load up!

  • We will be hosting youth from the Hartford Project June 25-26th downtown from 10a-12:30p, and July 16-17 from 3-5p. If you have time to join us please let me know!

Service (from Kenny)

We got off to a great start to the day at storage. Crystal from 180 Life joined Bryan and I, and we were able to help teach her the ways of the unit (and packing/loading). We had a wonderful convo and are thankful for her leadership in helping 180 Life become more involved!

We had a small crew to start downtown, but more people came as we went along. Bobby and Charlie greeted us, as did folks from 180 Life, Valley Brook and Wintonbury.

There was a bit of commotion from a lot of fire trucks downtown, but it was a lot less chaotic than last week. The Lord gave me a good message on contentment. Neil shared with me how God provided in miraculous ways in his life recently, clearing the way for him to receive his green card, social security card, and tax money all at once even though there was an error on the forms! He's been working on getting those for a while but has never lost faith. I called upon him to share his testimony to the church as it lined up with the message I was giving. He did a great job sharing about God's faithfulness to him.

We then had 4 baptisms! Cheryl, Laurie, 8-year-old Emerson (the grand-daughter of Geoff, one of our regular volunteers) and Cedric. They just kept coming! Emerson has a great story as Geoff's miraculous conversion 15 years ago paved the way for generations of God's redeeming grace in his family. 

What a day! Praise be to God.

..from the Community Churches…

Fantastic services as always when we gather with our friends!

Laura-the-intern and I worshipped to packed houses at Brookdale/Chatfield and Brookdale/Clairbridge Community Churches.

Laura and I have been talking about the covenantal characteristic of God and how he maintains His relationship with people even as they slip into deep memory loss diseases and how simply believing this to be true changes how we preach, sing, worship, and love in these communities.  

When we worship the ever-present God as he truly is ever-present The Spirit rejoices and envelopes us with a joy that is not of this world.

…and we are all set free together…

-Bryan

The Clairbridge Community Church @ Brookdale

The Community Church at Brookdale

The Community Church at Brookdale/Chatfield

The Clairbridge Community Church @ Brookdale/Chatfield

The Farmington Station Community Church

The Gables Community Church

The River Ridge Community Church

The West Hartford Health and Rehab Community Church

GIVE HERE TO SUPPORT US FINANCIALLY

SIGN UP HERE TO HELP SERVE.

SIGN UP HERE, TO PROVIDE FOOD DONATIONS  

Help Us Load Up @ 10am 164 South Street in West Hartford

visit our website thestreetchurch.org to learn more

or feel free to contact us at

admin@thestreetchurch.org

Bryan
Street Church Administrator & Volunteer Coordinator
(860) 578-2961 TEXT ONLY
bryan@thestreetchurch.org