Today’s guest blogger is Gordon Lawrence, a long-time member of NewLife as well as a volunteer with Free Inside prison ministry. He is writing today to share about his experience with Free Inside, as well as to share some of the opportunities for people to partner with this important ministry.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’” (Matthew 25:34-36)

On the second Sunday of this year, Peter Dewberry preached at NewLife Christian Fellowship, and I thought that as a follow-up, it would be useful to mention to the congregation that two members of NewLife are prison volunteers with Free Inside: Michael McCoy and me. Michael volunteers at Cybulski Prison in Enfield on Thursday evenings, and I volunteer at Gates Prison in Niantic on Thursday afternoons. Both of us can testify as to how much this has been a blessing to us, quite apart from how it might have benefited inmates.

My own experience over the last few months has been very encouraging. Read more »

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35)

 This past Sunday, Rex Fowler of Hartford City Mission shared with us about God’s love for the poor and oppressed and the fact that we all have resources to share with those in need, even if we do not have much money.  One of the things Rex said is that they teach the kids in their ministry that everyone has something to give, no matter how poor you feel you are. As he said, the greatest poverty is thinking that you have nothing to offer. This truth reminded me of one of my favorite stories of this past year, which I read on the author Donald Miller’s blog.  I’ve reprinted the blog post below, so please enjoy, and I hope you are challenged by what you read:

My friend Bob Goff started a school in Uganda where he provides an education for children who come from what any American would consider extreme poverty. But you best not call Restore International a charity. Bob won’t have it for a second. Instead of taking funds from wealthy Americans, the kids at Restore are actually growing crops and selling them in order to donate the money to American charities! Why? Because Bob Goff wants to instill dignity and purpose in the lives of his students.
Read more »

Matthew 10:8 – Freely you have received, freely give.

Is there a crazier juxtaposition in the calendar year than Thanksgiving and Black Friday?  On the former day, we are encouraged to reflect on what we are thankful for, to enjoy what we have, and to develop an attitude of gratitude.  And then, millions of people set their alarms for some ridiculous hour so that they can push through the crowds the next morning in order to get the best deals on toys and goods for the holiday season.  In the blink of an eye, gratitude turns to covetousness; thanksgiving to full-blown consumerism. 

Now, I’m not saying that it’s necessarily a bad thing to go out on Black Friday and save money on gifts for the loved ones in your life.  After all, I’ve done it myself!  I am saying, of course, what most of us know to be true, that the Christmas season has the frightening ability to inspire the worst in us – greed, the lust for that which we do not have, dissatisfaction with what we do have, impatience and anger with the traffic and crowds (and sometimes family), and a general stress with the busyness of the season.  Thanksgiving may be a beautiful day, but the feelings of gratitude can fade quickly in the bright lights of the holiday season.

So why not decide to take a different path this year?  Read more »

In my last sermon before I went on vacation, I told the story from Luke 7 about the sinful woman who crashed the Pharisees’ dinner with Jesus and honored Jesus by anointing his feet with her tears when she saw how Simon the Pharisee was publicly shaming Jesus (read Luke 7:36-50 if you have no idea what I’m talking about).  Near the end of that passage, Jesus says “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven– for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”  This incident is just one of many where, in the end, the proud religious man is challenged and the “sinner” is shown love and compassion instead of judgment and condemnation.

 Wouldn’t you know it, on that very day I was preaching came a modern day example that was really intriguing.  It comes out of North Columbus, Ohio, where a church called New Beginnings Ministries exists in the same town as a strip club called the Fox Hole.  According to the local news, the pastor and many from his church have for the past four years been rallying outside the strip club to try to shut it down, preaching at patrons with bullhorns and even taking pictures of license plates in the parking lot and posting them on the church website (you can read about it here). 

On August 8th, however, the strip club turned the tables.  Read more »

Today’s guest writer is Tammy Choleva.  Tammy’s testimony is a response to this past Sunday’s sermon on how the gospel transforms our approach to our community.

One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:  “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:35-40)

My family moved to our current home back in October of 2000. We purchased our home with great hopes and expectations that God wanted to use us to reach out to our new neighbors, even though we didn’t know a single one of them. We didn’t know how or when we would be used, but we knew we would be used.
Read more »

Matthew 10:8 – Freely you have received, freely give.

Is there a crazier juxtaposition in the world than Thanksgiving and Black Friday?  On the former day, we are encouraged to reflect on what we are thankful for, to enjoy what we have, and to develop an attitude of gratitude.  And then, millions of people set their alarms for some ridiculous hour so that they can push through the crowds the next morning in order to get the best deals on toys and goods for the holiday season.  In the blink of an eye, gratitude turns to covetousness; thanksgiving to full-blown consumerism. 

Now, I’m not saying that it’s necessarily a bad thing to go out this Friday and save money on gifts for the loved ones in your life.  I am saying, of course, what most of us know to be true, that the Christmas season has the frightening ability to inspire the worst in us – greed, the lust for that which we do not have, impatience with the traffic and crowds, and a general stress with the busyness of the season.  Thanksgiving may last for a day, but the feelings of gratitude can fade quickly in the bright lights of the holiday season.

So why not decide to take a different path this year?  Read more »

This past Sunday, I joked that the best evangelist in our church has been Mr. www.newlife-glastonbury.org, our website.  That was meant both to challenge our church members to consider who God might be asking them to invite to church or to the Family Fun Day this Easter season, as well as to honor what God has done through the hard work of Matt LaCroix, who created and administers our website.  As a church that only recently moved into a 7-day a week space, our website has been instrumental in serving as a front door to our church for many people who want to learn more about us, and we have been blessed to have someone like Matt who has dedicated numerous unpaid hours to giving us an excellent presence on the internet.  Our goal with the website has been to give people a picture of what our church is like before they even enter our doors, as well as to provide another opportunity for our sermons and Pulse essays to reach people with the gospel.

Matt and I have been working the past couple of months on a redesign of the website, and this Sunday we launched the new site.  Read more »

 Back at the end of November, The Hartford Courant published an article about the food problem in New Britain and how an increasing number of people were going without food because of the worsening economic climate.  In that article, they mentioned Isaiah 58, a ministry led by Ray Labbe that had been feeding the hungry and homeless faithfully almost every Saturday since 1990.  This service to the people of New Britain was staggering for two reasons – most importantly, for the remarkable faithfulness to God displayed over 18 years of ministry, and secondly, for how under the radar it was!  With no fanfare, no marketing plan, and no desire for glory, Ray and a team of volunteers had been preparing hot soup, hot dogs, bags of apples and canned goods, and lots of other food, packing up the big blue van, and carrying it all across the river to New Britain for the simple reason that God tells us to:

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter– when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” (Isaiah 58:6-7)

Read more »

Matthew 10:8 – Freely you have received, freely give.

Christmas is just around the corner, which means that sometime this weekend you will be standing in the mall trying to decide what your mother-in-law or 22 year-old son might want for Christmas, and you will ask yourself that annual question, “wait, why I am doing this again?”  So, for those who resonate with that question, or who are thinking of ways to do it differently next year, might I offer a few suggestions on how your family might collectively decide to use your money to achieve a nobler purpose than procuring the latest Wii game or a newer flat screen TV?
Read more »

If you read The Hartford Courant on Sunday, you may have seen the front page article about the great struggle it is to feed all the hungry in New Britain.  The article included a great little write-up on Isaiah 58, including a picture of our very own Lori Cordero.  Isaiah 58 is a ministry led by Ray and Linda Labbe of Glastonbury that has been serving hot food and giving out free groceries from their truck (Big Blue) in New Brite Plaza almost every Saturday for over 15 years.  Our church has been privileged to be a part of the Isaiah 58 ministry for many years, supporting them both financially, by giving Christmas gifts to the children, and with volunteers.  Along the way have been some great people who have volunteered regularly, like Terri Baldwin, who was fluent in Polish and able to minister to the large Polish population that would come to eat; Kim Ferrero, who for a time coordinated a clothing ministry to the people who came to Isaiah 58; and Danny & Lori Cordero, who have been helping out for the last sixteen months.

I spoke with Ray today to hear more about the article and to let him know that some churches have contacted us about getting involved with the ministry.  I was shocked to hear him tell me that not all of the response to their ministry has been good.  Apparently, the health department read the article and wasn’t pleased about this little soup kitchen on wheels that has been operating under their noses for over 15 years Read more »

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