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2 “(My) loving Father doesn’t actually want me to just sit at His feet all day. He fills me up for the very purpose that I might pour myself out. My doing comes out of my being. Both are necessary and required for the Christ-follower. Jesus told His disciples, ‘Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.’ ” (John 13: 17) (LSM)

3 As John Bunyan said in Pilgrim’s Progress, “Talkers and boasters enjoy knowing something. God is pleased when it is done.” (LSM)

4 O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ, Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)

5 …CONQUER evil by doing good. Romans 12:21Live These Words …CONQUER evil by doing good. Romans 12:21

6 When I chose this chapter, it seemed straightforward, with a great story to tell!St Patrick, 5th C. Abducted into slavery in Ireland at age 16 Escaped, then decided to “willingly go back to the barbarians with the gospel” Conversion of Ireland “How the Irish Saved Civilization”

7 But then the world fell off a cliff:Malaysian Airlines plane shot down over the Ukraine. Dozens of AIDS researchers are killed. Escalating crisis in Gaza between Israelis and Palestinians. Children are killed on both sides. Tens of thousands of unaccompanied children on the move in Central America, fleeing violence.

8 “At 13, the gangs told this refugee (from Honduras) he had to join or be murdered. He refused and they beat him nearly to death. A year later they came back again with the same demand. After refusing they ran him over with a car. His mother gave him $30 and told him to go north.”

9 “Hitchhiking on trains he made it to Mexico, where he was kidnapped and held for ransom. Escaping, he crossed the river and was picked up by US Border Patrol. He was treated poorly in a harsh detention facility until the local sheriff stepped in. In time he was settled with a foster family, but after a month he was picked up by immigration. (My friend) met him through a glass window in jail, fighting to bring him home.” Mike Rinehart, ELCA Bishop, Synod of the Gulf Coast

10 “Conquer evil by doing good.” Right.

11 1. God is already at work in the situation, even if it is very, very hard to see. “Look for the helpers.” Mr Rogers Look for the good.

12 Prayer is active goodness.We don’t know how or why, but our prayers allow us to participate in the redeeming work of God. Pray for the helpers. Pray for the deciders. Pray for the powerful, and for the powerless.

13 3. Small acts of goodness count3. Small acts of goodness count. “This Kingdom knows no geographic boundaries, no political parties, no single language or culture. It advances not through power and might, but through acts of love and joy and peace, missions of mercy and kindness and humility.” Rachel Held Evans

14 I wish it were a bigger sign, but it's all I got.The world is full of smoking debris and children nobody knows what to do with. But I grew a tomato for the first time in my 42 years.  I wish it were a bigger sign, but it's all I got. MaryAnn McKibben Dana Facebook, July 17, 2014

15 We can do more good together than alone.“The Christian community has a special calling to welcome strangers and care for the poor. I saw the church in action on this visit. Catholic Charities rocks. Their transitional facility at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen was impressive. Pastor Chad Mason and the folks at Calvary Baptist Church in McAllen are knocking it out of the park. The Lutheran Social Services transitional facility and foster care program we visited was outstanding. People down here seem to understand the problem better than the mainstream media.” (Mike Rinehart, see above)

16 5. Don’t get tired of doing good.(Galatians 6:9) All good is God’s good. “the inexorable love of God” Fr. Stephen Freeman