In the above passage Jesus Christ is giving us a glimpse of the end of time. We are seeing the judgment seat of Christ. He is not specific on how we do all of these things, but I would like to highlight one. We have a ministry at Grace Baptist Church, where some of our ladies make prayer blankets, pillows, shawls… They meet every Sunday evening at around 4:45 pm for about an hour or two. These faithful ladies stitch together these gifts to give to those who are terminally ill, having a difficult time through grief, or just running low on hope. I will be the first to admit, when I first heard about this ministry of the church I was skeptical. I wasn’t sure how people would really respond, but I was wrong to be skeptical. Since I have been pastor over the last six months, I have personally given away two of these prayer blankets to individuals with terminal cancer, and both were very well received! You see they are more than just blankets, pillows, shawls… They are reminders that God has not forgotten them in their suffering, and that they are being lifted up in prayer. Let me share a short story with you from my week,
Last Sunday, I requested a prayer blanket from the ladies for John Maskew, my good friend James’ Dad. James and I grew up together, James' Dad John was diagnosed with bone cancer about four weeks ago. After I preached the AM service Sunday at Grace Baptist, I got I text from James asking me to call him. When I did, he told me that his Dad, John, had passed away that morning around 9 or 10 am. I had given the blanket to James to deliver to his father last week. John was touched by the blanket. He said, “It is so soft.” He was so very touched that our church had ministered to him, loving him and lifting him up in prayer. John slept with the prayer blanket his last night on earth. He was reminded that day that God had not forgotten him in his broken and sickly condition. Thank God for the ladies of Stitched-n-Grace and the needs they are meeting for those who are hurting. If you like they are always looking for more help with this ministry, please stop on by on Sunday Afternoons.
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