Good morning everyone – my name is Shelby Trusty, and my husband Matt and I found our church home here at St Matthew’s in 2005-ish?  We landed here after visiting a handful of metro area Methodist churches, and we knew this was our home pretty quickly.  We were so warmly greeted by people in the pews around us.  Sadly we had not experienced much of that visiting other churches.  The welcome by everyone didn’t feel polite, it felt genuine. We knew we belonged here and knew this was our home.

We have had both our children while members here, both girls being baptized here.  They have grown up attending Children’s ministry activities and were part of our Weekday ministry.  Other than our house and school, this is where they have spent the most time.  Sometimes, they felt a little too at home here and needed to be reminded that Andy’s sermon was not the time to start a full blown conversation with mommy or get in a fight with your sister.

Being a part of this church family has given us so much, we have developed deeper in our relationship with the Lord through our SS classes, bible studies, small groups, service opportunities.  We have made lifelong friendships here, we have been pushed out of our comfort zones and grown personally and spiritually.  The more involved we became, the more we received.    

 So this is what I really wanted to share with y’all this morning – we all have to plug in.  Being a part of a church family is more than Sunday worship.  We all need to plug in – to a SS class, a Wednesday night small group, a mission trip, dare I say, even a church committee.  There are so many ways to be a part of this family.  And St Matthew’s needs us right now, needs all of us.  

And let me share something else with y’all.  I was always terrified to step in.  When we first joined, I was afraid to even join a SS class.  I was scared everyone there would be like a biblical scholar or something, and I would feel stupid or say something stupid.  We eventually got over that and realized there was absolutely nothing to be afraid of – especially in Cornerstone.  Later, I was asked to teach a children’s SS class, and again I was afraid that I wasn’t qualified bc I didn’t know enough about the Bible to teach it, even if it was to 4 year olds.  But I got over that too and did it, then I realized teaching kids for an hour is not as scary as it sounds.  And after that, I was asked to lead a small group.  And again, I was scared.  I thought people would see through me and see all my faults and think “what does she think she’s doing trying to tell us about Jesus when we all know she’s nothing but a big ole sinner”.  

So I’m guessing that there are some of you who may have had these same thoughts or had similar fears. Here’s the thing – we don’t have to feel that way y’all, especially at St Matthew’s.  It’s like Courtney Davis said a couple of week’s ago, this is a judgement free zone.  Looking back, I see the pattern.  Jesus was pushing me, he was calling me.  And I was full of excuses.  Thankfully, I was able to finally see that He was providing everything I needed.  And my St Matthew’s family was right here encouraging me and supporting me.  And guess what?  Jesus is here for you too, St Matthew’s is here for you too.  If we all step out on faith, and follow his will, then we can’t fail.  He’s got this.

Thank you for your time this morning.  I love y’all.