Come One, Come All - to the Oasis of Faith and Love

o·a·sis/ōˈāsis/Noun

1. A fertile spot in a desert where water is found.

2. A pleasant or peaceful area or period in the midst of a difficult, troubled, or hectic place or situation.

As a pastor, and one who strives to bring the light and peace of Jesus' unconditional Love and Forgiveness to all people, I do so tire of so often hearing this:

“You wouldn’t want me at your church I’m a _______.”

You fill in the blank. There are a lot of answers! What “are you?” What is it about you that you figure bans you from acceptance in the “church”?

A smoker?

A fatso?

Adulterer?

Bar hopper?

Drug user?

Gay or lesbian?

Heavy Metal or Punk Rocker?

Lady of the Night?

Filthy rich, too poor, tax cheater, Social Media False Representer, Oprah idolizer … what is it? What 'shameful' label has been assigned to you by religion? I’ve heard the many painful excuses over the years as to why a person feels they cannot or will not come to a church based on the anticipated rejection due to who they are.

Pop quiz: How many sinners did Jesus call out publically for their sin? Did He berate the woman—the mixed breed whore, as she was considered by the religious—at the well? Did He make His disciple Matthew repent of his thieving ways as a tax collector? Did He turn away Mary Magdalene for having the audacity to sit at His feet and worship Him—even though during those times women were not considered equal to men nor deserving of being in a rabbi’s personal presence? Did He call out James and John for bringing in their mommy to try to help vault them to the head of the favor line in His kingdom? Did He call out the Roman Centurion who was a slave owner and part of a murderous military regime when he asked Jesus to help his ailing servant back at his residence? 

Take your time, get out your adding machine and search the gospels for the correct answer ...

Got your answer? Ready for the truth of the matter?

Well, hang onto your dogmas, dig into your doctrinal trenches and clutch tightly all your precious religious 'rules', okay? Here we go ...

AaaaaannNNDD … the correct answer is …

0 – Zero – Nadda – Zippo – Zlitch – Squat – Didn’t happen!

And it doesn’t happen at our place of worship either. At Shiloh’s Lighthouse we offer to all people an oasis of Faith and Love. We are building a community of people who truly desire to see themselves first through the eyes of Jesus, and then see all others the same way. I know you’re out there … you have given up on ever finding a church that will accept you. I invite you to come join us any Sunday starting at 10:30 AM—this Sunday we have a nice fellowship meal following the morning service. Once you’re here you will experience the joy of our music team, The Average Praise Band, as they lead in lively music and we all enjoy the freedom to worship together. After the worship you’ll hear me get real with God’s Word as we together learn more how to be the people God created us to be.

No labels here—just faith and love. I’m sorry you have been hurt by other churches, I’m sorry people have beat you over the head with the Bible to try to drive home their religious doctrine. I promise you that here at Shiloh’s Lighthouse you will not be judged, you will not be rejected. If you have struggles, we will surround you with love and be your family—your oasis from the desert experience you are going through. You are not alone. Check out our Web site SLM, or our Facebook, send me an email if you have questions. Come to the Oasis that is Shiloh’s Lighthouse and join our community of Faith and Love.

Keep the faith …

PD

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IMPORTANT REMINDER! If you have not yet, please show your support for SLM by signing up to "Follow" this blog - you will find the "Follow" button in the upper right hand corner of this front page. Receive email updates on new posts, visit often and leave comments! - all of this helps us in our efforts to grow our readership and social network visibility. Also, if you are able and wish to contribute to our ministry with all of its valuable community outreach programs, please CLICK HERE and make a pledge and/or one time donation. We need your help! These programs cost money! Sow your seeds into the garden of the Love of Jesus that we at SLM are devoted to cultivating!

Not in My Church!

Who is welcome at your church? Would you be comfortable sitting beside a thief?

How about a prostitute?

Or maybe a strip dancer ...

A gay couple?

Could you share a row of seats with some gangbangers?

Would you move over for a smelly homeless person to have a seat?

Or are you—like most ‘Christians’—much more comfortable with the “perfect family” kind of folks?

Let's face the truth, get real, and tell it like it is. For many in our society, the doors to “the church” are locked.

At Shiloh’s Lighthouse we open the doors to ALL people. Our Community Center Ministry does not try to get people to “clean up” before they come in for worship or one of the many activities we offer here. Our ministry focuses on discovering your God-created purpose in life through a personal intimate relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. As a Community of Faith & Love we are an affirming ministry that will stand by your side in your faith journey—not tear you down and tell you what a miserable sinner you are. We will challenge you to be part of the answer for the Saginaw area by linking arms with you as together we form a unified front against the darkness that tries to tear out city down. We’ve got good news for you. God loves you! You may have been rejected by a church—told that who you are is unacceptable. Maybe you grew tired of playing dress up on Sunday wishing you could actually talk to someone about the real you without fearing judgment or condemnation. Maybe, you just … gave up hope?

Well welcome to SLM, where we believe in UNITY! 

Not one of God's children is higher or lower in God's eyes, no one is better or worse than another, and all of God's children ... no matter what race, color, education or not, social or economic status, whatever the circumstances they are in ... are loved equally by Him. There are no "levels" of sin, from the most heinous atrocities to those little 'white lies' ... and since there are none among us without sin, we judge not. Not our place to do so, no human being has that right. Ours is to love all people equally, as Jesus did and still does for us.

We are spreading the word. Misfits, social outcasts, religiously judged, skeptics, doubters and those who have lost their faith are welcome here at Shiloh’s Lighthouse. Come find out what it means to be freely loved and accepted as we see ALL people through the eyes of Jesus—the One who did not come to condemn you, but to save you and make you free. Come by the office any day and meet Pastor Dana—talk to him and find out what it means to speak with a down-to-earth pastor who will not look down his nose at you. Come worship with us Sunday starting at 10:30 AM—no need to dress up (unless you like to!)—just come as you are (for real) and enjoy vibrant music and encouraging messages that help you grow in your faith.

If you are not from the Saginaw area but would like to support our ministry we invite you to go to our website HERE. SLM is a non-profit ministry, all donations are tax deductable. We are able to reach out to at-risk youth, the lost, hurt, and rejected people of society thanks to the generous financial support of people like you!

 

Click on Tweety Bird and Tweet this post if you liked it!

IMPORTANT REMINDER! If you have not yet, please show your support for SLM by signing up to "Follow" this blog - you will find the "Follow" button in the upper right hand corner of this front page. Receive email updates on new posts, visit often and leave comments! - all of this helps us in our efforts to grow our readership and social network visibility. Also, if you are able and wish to contribute to our ministry with all of its valuable community outreach programs, please CLICK HERE and make a pledge and/or one time donation. We need your help! These programs cost money! Sow your seeds into the garden of the Love of Jesus that we at SLM are devoted to cultivating!