let your light shine
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Matthew 5:14-15 You are the light of the world. A city on top of a hill can’t be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on top of a lampstand, and it shines on all who are in the house.
Teenage anxiety, depression, and suicide are on the rise in our neighborhood.

Whenever Jesus came into a community, one of the first things he looked for was the spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental poverty in the people’s lives. That is why there are so many stories of Jesus healing all kinds of brokenness. He looked for it. 
 
One day Jesus sat on a hillside overlooking Jerusalem and wept for the poverty he saw there. If Jesus were here today, I think he would weep over the poverty evident in the anxiety, stress, and fears of our community.

A Loudoun Times Mirror article published on September 14th states that there was just one teenage suicide reported to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in 2015. In 2016, there were five, and this year there have been at least three teen suicides. With this in mind, a team of mental health professionals told Loudoun County supervisors that the focus on teen suicide prevention needs to shift from the schools to a more “community-wide approach”. You can read the entire article here .
 
In a recent New York Times article called "Why Are More American Teenagers Than Ever Suffering From Severe Anxiety?" , Suniya Luthar, a professor of psychology at Arizona State University asserts that privileged youths are among the most emotionally distressed young people in America. Professor Luthar states, “These kids are incredibly anxious and perfectionistic.” You can read the entire article here .
Both of those articles - along with countless unseen, unheard, under-acknowledged stories of challenge and struggle that so many of us face, including our young children and teens- serve as our invitation to let the light of God’s love, as seen most clearly in the unlimited welcome of Jesus, shine brighter than ever before in our hurting community.
 
86% of our community is made up of all sorts of families. On the surface, most of us look as though we are living the good life; happily, ever after. Yet just beneath that fragile surface there is a lot of spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical poverty.
 
God is calling us as a church to have the boldness and courage to serve the least of these as seen in the dramatic rise in teen suicide, anxiety, and depression in our community.

Jesus said, don’t hide your light, let it shine (Matthew 5:14-15). For the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it (John 1:5). Our 2018 budget of $1,360,000 is making a bold and courageous statement as to how we are going to let our collective lights shine in our homes, our church, and our neighborhoods.
 
I want to be a part of something that bold and courageous. For it is this kind of vision to which I want to give my money and life. How about you?
 
Watch for next week’s newsletter wherein we will talk about some of the exciting and new ways we are planning to address the great concerns in our community. 
 
Please join with me in praying the following prayer every day this week.
 
God, I weep with Jesus over the many forms of poverty in our community, many of which are hidden beneath fragile veneers. 

Help me to see Jesus in the kids getting on and off school buses. May I see Jesus in the students who gather in public places to study and talk about their challenges to succeed. May I see Jesus in the faces of parents who are tired and stressed with all it takes to keep up. May I see Jesus in the mirror as I look at my own face revealing anxiety and fears.
 
Thank you for a church family that is boldly and courageously shining the light of Your love into my own life and so many places.
 
Jesus said, I am the light of the world. Help me to believe that. Help me to see that even in my own stresses I have something to give to my family, neighborhood, and co-workers that shines Your light of hope and healing into our hearts.
 
Help me to see how a generous financial pledge of support of the 2018 budget is one way I can help to turn up our collective lights so we can shine even brighter. Amen.
 
In the light of God’s love, I am shining with you,
 
Dave
 
PS: If you are ready to make your pledge, please click on the links below to join in letting your light shine.

To make your 2018 pledge, click here.
To to set up online giving or make a gift today click  here.