Mariners Mission Viejo is such a generous community! We are growing in our understanding that everything from time, to hospitality, to our money, can be given generously. God is on the move in our neighborhoods and it is the generosity of His people that allows us to join Him in His work.

Our own generosity, in all its forms, is an act of gratitude and of worship. We aren’t commanded to give anything out of compulsion or coercion. We’re not tricked into the belief that giving buys us God’s favor. We give because it is an extension of our joy. We give as a reason to celebrate — even when we give sacrificially, to the point of discomfort.

Doug Fields quoted this passage during his message this past weekend, and it has been in my head all week:

“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life… but with the precious blood of Christ…” – 1 Peter 1:18-19

The question, “How much is my life worth?” can be answered with another question: “How much is someone willing to pay for it?” As Doug Fields spoke in our Fearless Generosity series, I was struck by the notion of how much God so deeply loves us, how much He was willing to give for our sake, how much He values us — how much we’re worth.

It is this picture of God’s generosity, in Jesus, that points us toward Good Friday and Easter. This weekend, we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. I’m looking forward to seeing you there as we wrap up our Fearless Generosity series.

Starting April 7 we will be adding a 9am service to the Junior High Ministry.

Last weekend as we talked about the true meaning of hospitality — genuine affection for the stranger — we got to see our own community live it out in powerful ways. We looked at what it might mean to move toward those people on the outside, in the margins, the forgotten, with love and not fear. I talked with a handful of you who were taking the idea of true hospitality seriously… and you (like me) were feeling like God might be leading us to a glorious sense of discomfort amid those who aren’t like us.

We heard Susan’s story of learning to care for the homeless in Santa Ana. She talked about what it means not merely to provide a sandwich, but to listen to, to know the names of, and share her life with the homeless. No longer are they a faceless “them,” instead, “they” have become “us.” As a church, we were invited to join Susan and the Homeless Outreach Team in caring for the homeless. A number of us took home hygiene kits and helped pack sack lunches. What a great weekend to be together and to see God at work among us.

I’m looking forward to this weekend, as Doug Fields will lead us in the next segment of our Fearless Generosity series. I can’t wait to see you all at Mariners Mission Viejo.

Grace and Peace,

Jeff