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Stonecreek Blesses Guatemalan Families Through The Gift Offering

This past Christmas, 240 families from Stonecreek Church gave over and above their regular giving to the Lord through The Gift Christmas Offering to extend life and blessing to specific ministry opportunities. One of those opportunities was to bless the ministry of Hope for Guatemala with seed money to build a "City of Hope" to relocate their ministry center to a safer, more purposeful location. Building the "City of Hope" will empower the ministry to minister to more children and families in Guatemala City's most violent district, Zone 18.

At a recent golf tournament to benefit the ministry, Steven Gibbs surprised Hope for Guatemala's Executive Director, Jose Armas, with a $35,000 check from Stonecreek Church. This video captures that moment.

The Gift Easter Offering is an opportunity to be a part of something just like this. While Easter has passed, it is not too late to participate! Between now and Mother's Day (May 8), you can live beyond yourself and be a blessing to empower opportunity in someone else's life. Learn more about the specific projects and give online, here.

 

Stonecreek Gift for H4G from Stonecreek Church on Vimeo.

Happy Easter!

Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe.

Sin had left a crimson stain.

He washed it white as snow.

O praise the One who paid my debt,

And raised His life up from the dead.

Jesus!

Download on iTunes: Jesus Paid it All, Kristian Stanfill from the album "Passion: Everything Glorious."

His Punishment Brings Us Peace

Isaiah 53:4-6 (NIV) emphasis added

⁴ Surely he took up our pain
   and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
   stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
   he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
   and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
   each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
   the iniquity of us all.

One Day Without Shoes

I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy. Psalm 140:12 (NIV)

I took this photo while visiting Uganda with Compassion International. As Tom's Shoes leads it's national One Day Without Shoes awareness campaign today, I couldn't help but remember the feet of so many shoeless children subjected to disease. Considering the many choices of shoes I had to wear this morning, Tom's Shoes campaign has helped remind me to be thankful for the simple things and the importance of sharing from my abundance with the poor.

 

High School Students Extend Compassion for Spring Break 2011

Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. Proverbs 14:31 (NIV)

Remember to pray for our team of 12 students and adult leaders from Stonecreek's High School Ministry as they travel to the Dominican Republic with Compassion International.

Dustin Dozier, Stonecreek's student pastor, has organized an opportunity for high school students to extend the life of Jesus by serving the poorest of the poor in the Dominican Republic over Spring Break. Our team will be serving a local church in Blanco Arriba that partners with Compassion International in releasing children in their community from poverty in Jesus' name.

April 2-9, please pray for protection, provision and the empowering spirit of life in Christ Jesus over: Latonya, Adam, Jared, Dylan, Dustin, Wade, Nick, Abby, Jordan, Ryan, Lori and Kristen.

You will not want to miss Compassion Sunday at Stonecreek Church, April 17, 9:30 and 11 a.m., as we explore the virtue of compassion and are inspired to extend life by releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name. Child sponsorship is the first step. After that, we must consider, "is compassion written on our hearts?"