Skilled Help
Bro. Keenan Sultanik put me onto this little-known Bible character… Bezaleel. He’s all over Exodus, and I’d never really noticed him before.
(Ex. 35) 31 And he hath filled him [Bezaleel] with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; 32 And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 33 And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.
He was a skilled and willing laborer, as well as a project manager for the tabernacle construction. God looked through the nation and found a man who was both willing and skilled, with both heart and talent, and used him to accomplish his work.
This week, we have seen some Bezaleels, and it’s been a blessing. Carpenters, electricians, and cleaners have shown their skills and creativity in our sanctuary renovation, and whole teams of people have been preparing our church for the carpet installation next week.
As we prepare, here are a few more areas that my brother-in-law Jeffery recommend:
- Perfectly clean floors. The fibers on the floor all have to be scraped clean or the new carpet tiles won’t stick to the concrete. We’ve rented two concrete grinders and will run them nonstop for the next two days. After that, our main need is floor-scraping. The big (8”) floor scrapers remove enough of the fibers for us to work with, but almost the entire floor needs to be scraped before next Tuesday.
- Jeffery arrives on Monday night and will get a better idea of what will need to be done then. He figures that most of Tuesday will be spent scraping floors, so if you volunteer that day, we will have some of these tools available, but you can bring:
- Floor scraper
- Razor blades
- Reciprocating saw (we have scraper attachments)
- Oscillating saw (we have some extra blades to clean under baseboards)
- Shop Vac
- Broom
- Most of next Wednesday (7/27) will be laying carpet, but because it requires perfectly straight lines, Jeffery will require only a few skilled volunteers.
- Platform help—precision cutting. Jeffery will need one person cutting the wood flooring while he installs, and perhaps one or two runners. He loves having runners! (“Go grab another box of tiles… go bring me…”)
- Carpet help. Once Jeffery starts a row, he can then turn the job over to a few skilled installers. If you are willing to be trained to help, we would love for you to work a shift. But TOO many volunteers becomes unmanageable, so please check with Bro. Christian before showing up. By that time, there might not be a lot to do yet.
- As mentioned earlier, some of the jobs might just be running back and forth to get things, cleaning up after him, grabbing waters, etc.
- Same basic schedule as Wednesday, although we will update the church via email/Facebook and our Wednesday night handout.
I’m so thankful for the great work that’s going on. God bless you as you serve. —Pastor Ryan
Sermon Applications (from 7/17)
AM: Those with the gift of helps/service: You have a great DESIRE to serve. Serve behind the scenes whenever needed to support the gifts and ministries of others (without having to be asked) You like HANDS ON jobs. See the tangible and practical things to be done and enjoy doing them. You SENSE that what you do is SPIRITUAL. Attach spiritual value to practical service. You get a sense of SATISFACTION from blessing others. Enjoy knowing that they are freeing up others to do what God has called them to do. You would rather DO a job than DELEGATE a job. PM: WORK: Have a HEART for God in the work. Have an INTENSITY to your work. Take INITIATIVE in your work. FINISH your work.