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Erik Racz has a heart for the local church. One of his passions is to serve his church family for the glory of God. Using his background as a chef, Erik generously cooks our meals on Wednesdays. He takes joy in making the best food he can with the resources he has – and is doing a delightful job. He frequently cooks for other church functions as well.

Erik was originally born in Slovakia. Growing up in the foster care system had its challenges. Yet, as he was aging out of foster care God graciously saved him. Years later Erik worked as a chef and served as a pastoral assistant. He moved to Phoenix from China with his wife (Leah) and children (Hanka and Timko) about a year ago.

Now take a look at what Paul says in Philippians 2:3-4 with me for a minute “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Paul then looks to the work of Jesus who died and defeated death (Phil. 2:5-11). In Philippians, we see that the work of Jesus frees his people from the wrath they deserve and frees them up to look to the interests of others.

Like Erik and so many of us, Jesus is the hero of our story. We put our trust in the finished work of Jesus. In faith, we desire to do nothing from selfish ambition. In faith, we seek to count others more significant than ourselves. We love the church. We love pointing others to the one who saved us. It is evident that Jesus is the hero of Erik’s life and ministry. We are encouraged by his faithfulness and eagerness to point to Christ in what he does. What are some of the ways others have encouraged you?