Bottles of Grace Project
Shining God’s Light Into the Darkness
Jesus taught that his people are like glowing lamps that have been hung upon a particular hook where it was dark and the light was needed. Speaking to all who believe in him he said, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven,” (Matt. 5:15-16). By this teaching our Savior made plain that one of the means by which he intends to communicate the truth of his saving gospel to the world is through actions of mercy, kindness, and love by his people.
Beloved, we are the lamps who have been lit in order to shine into the darkness. Greensboro is our stand of God’s sovereign choosing. And it is before the men, women, and children of every race, every class, every ethnicity and every walk of life that we have been called to faithfully communicate the gospel of God’s saving grace for every sinner who places their trust in Jesus.
This way of thinking about our lives should be with us as we go about the normal activities of each and every day. As individual Christians and as covenant families, we are always on mission; our eyes are always open for opportunities to speak words of truth with love, and to perform works of mercy with tenderness and compassion. We are eager to be a listening ear for a sorrowful heart, or to share whatever worldly goods God has entrusted to us with someone in need.
And yet, while we are to live on mission in the midst of all the ordinary moments of life, there is also a time for organizing our effort in order to work together to accomplish a greater good than any one of us could accomplish on our own. As a church, we have such an opportunity before us now and we would like to invite you and your children to join with us in shining God’s light into the midst of the darkness for the glory of his name.
The Bottles of Grace Project
We have all experienced the tension of the moment. You are at a stop light on your way to run an errand and you see a struggling person in need. You want to help but you are not sure how. You want to communicate care and concern but you do not want to enable. You want the person to know that God holds out his love to them in his Son, but you only have a moment and it feels impossible to start the conversation. Their sign says they are hungry and down on their luck, but you don’t have anything on hand to offer them and you know there must be more to the story. So there you sit, window still rolled up, avoiding eye contact and wondering how much longer it will be until the light turns green.
We all know the turmoil of this situation and the many others like it. But what can we actually do to address it? How can our responses begin to look more like the Good Samaritan’s and less like the priest and Levite who clearly saw the person in need but chose to ignore him, (Lk. 10:25-37)?
The Bottles of Grace Project is about bridging this gap by equipping Christians to communicate God’s grace to those in need in a way that is ultimately centered on the gospel, but also thoughtfully in touch with the temporal needs of today.
As a church body we intend to create 200 Bottles of Grace to share with those in need in our community. The Bottles will be Nalgene style bottles packed full of useful and practical blessings for those currently facing especially hard times. Our goal is to collect all of the items on our specific donations list (below) throughout the month of February. After we complete our collections, we will work together to assemble the bottles on the evening of March 9th at Covenant Grace. At the closing of our worship service on the following Sunday, March 13th, we will distribute approximately 3-5 lovingly packed bottles to each family for them to keep in their cars or to intentionally take with them when they are heading to areas where they know they will have opportunities to minister to someone in need.
The Ultimate Goal of This Project
The theme verses for the Bottles of Grace Project come from John 4:13-14. In this passage Jesus is ministering to the woman at the well. The story reveals that she is a deeply troubled and broken woman; she had been drinking from the unsatisfying wells of this world all her life and they had all left her soul thirsty for something more. As she came to collect water from the old well of Jacob in the misfit town of Samaria, Jesus spoke to the nagging emptiness in her heart saying:
“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
It is our intention to put these verses of holy Scripture upon each of the bottles that we will pass out. The powerful metaphor of our Savior’s words captures the ultimate goal of this ministry. We know that men and women have immediate physical needs and we want to be the helping hands of kindness for others by meeting those needs, (hence, the bottles and the various goods that will fill them). Yet, at the same time, we also know that the greater need of the sinner’s heart is not the stuff of this world, but a relationship with Jesus Christ. The water which will fill the bottles we distribute can quench the thirst of the body for a moment, but the “water” we are ultimately trying to share is the “living water” of the gospel of salvation, the only water that can truly quench the spiritual thirst of the soul.
For this reason, in addition to the many other items, each bottle will include a simple and clear explanation of the gospel along with a warm invitation to receive God’s free offer of saving grace in Jesus. We hope and pray that as we endeavor to be instruments of God’s mercy, he will be pleased to shine his “light” into the darkness and lead his chosen sons and daughters to eternal life.
Specific Details About the Bottles of Grace Project
1. Collection (Throughout February)
We will be collecting donations at the church during the entire month of February. Donation receptacles are located in the Welcome Center (first right as you enter the church). A list of the specific donations we are seeking is on the right, including quantities for each item.
IMPORTANT: In order to keep track of what donations we have received and what donations are still needed, we have created an online form. We strongly encourage everyone to use this form to allow for the best success of the project. While all donations will be received with thanksgiving, too much of one item and not enough of another may weaken the impact of our effort.
2. Assembly (March 9th @ 6:30 PM)
We will be gathering at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, March 9th to assemble the bottles. Everyone is encouraged to join in—including all our wonderful children!—and we would love to see families participating in this opportunity together. We will develop an assembly-line process that will allow us to complete the work simply and efficiently. Before we conclude the evening we will take time to pray for God to use these Bottles of Grace to be a blessing to all who receive them and also for God to prick our hearts with greater compassion for the people all around us who do not know Christ.
3. Distribution (Sunday, March 13th)
The following Sunday, March 13th, we will distribute the bottles after the conclusion of our worship service. Our goal is to provide approximately 3-5 bottles to each family to be shared with those in need in our community during the weeks that follow.
Serving Christ Together
We are excited to partner in this special ministry opportunity together as a congregation. Thank you for participating with us and glorifying God with the time, energy, and resources that he has given you to manage for his glory. May these “good works” shine God’s light before the eyes of others in such a way as to bring many hearts to give glory to our Father in heaven, (Matt. 5:16).
P.S. It is our intention for the Bottles of Grace Project to be a recurring ministry of our church. If you are a member of Covenant Grace and have a special heart for this ministry and may be interested in helping be an organizer, please reach out to Pastor Tom.
