Rockstars, Memory Verses, & Hope
Dear church,
Last week we hosted our 'Treasured' Vacation Bible School. It was a busy week with lots of kids, crafts, snacks, memory verses, songs, Bible lessons, and so much more. By the end of the week, we were tired and very pleased with what God did through our kids and volunteers. I took some time to journal a few things I was reminded of. These were good reminders for me. I hope they encourage you, as well...
Reminder #1: Volunteers are rockstars.
Putting together a Vacation Bible School is no small feat. It is especially no small feat when you think about all the hours it takes to put one on. The vast majority of those efforts and hours come from volunteers who give of their time, their resources, and expertise to give kids the opportunity to meet Jesus. Last week I got a front-row seat to see so many of our people contribute in all of those ways to ensure Vacation Bible School was a success. Pastor Darren did a great job recruiting people with different talents and expertise. The team was amazing, and it made all the difference in the world. Volunteers, from your pastor, a thousand thank you's.
Reminder #2: When given the opportunity, kids love Jesus. And kids choose Jesus.
We will spend a lot of time while children are under our roofs hoping for them to fall in love with certain things. We hope they love school. We hope they love their teachers. We hope they love after-school sports. We hope they love ________________. And we encourage every effort made to love these different areas. I want to encourage you, who have children in your lives, to give them every opportunity to meet and love Jesus. This week I saw first-hand that when given the opportunity, kids love Jesus and will choose Him. There were several children that attended VBS this year that were only able to come to the first couple of days due to other plans. By the middle of the week, though, those other plans had changed and all of a sudden Vacation Bible School took priority in their lives. Give your kids every opportunity to meet and love Jesus. Bring them to church regularly. Don't let your church gathering plan for Sunday get interrupted. Pray with your kids. Read the Bible with them. Memorize Scriptures with them. Give them every opportunity to meet and love Jesus.
Reminder #3: The Bible speaks to people of every age.
As the Bible Lesson leader for the week, we learned about Saul, Samuel, and David on the first two days. We learned about Hezekiah, Peter, and Esther, as well. In every lesson, there were portions of the story that deeply spoke to the children. What caught me by surprise (maybe it shouldn't have) is that the lessons and Scripture deeply spoke to me as well! It's amazing to me that a book written generations ago, by many different people - some of which never met each other, written over the span of hundreds of years, can carry a unified theme throughout, have no inconsistencies, and is able to speak to men, women, and children alike. Let us not underestimate the power of Scripture. Paul reminds Timothy that Scripture is inspired and God-breathed and that it is alive. This week was a great example of seeing the Word of God alive and speaking to people of all ages.
Reminder #4: Anyone can learn and memorize Scripture.
Memorizing Scripture is not an activity for children. It is an activity for every follower of Jesus Christ. Through the course of the week, we would learn different Bible verses and what those verses meant to us. We learned them by repeating them and putting hand motions to some of the words. What's preventing us from memorizing Scripture as adults? The Bible teaches us clearly that we keep God's Word in our hearts so that we can resist sin. For some reason the older we get, the less we embrace memorizing Scripture. Something I've done since the pandemic began last spring was to journal different verses in my journal until I memorized them. Currently, I'm working on Psalm 19 (the next time you see me, give me a quiz, and see how I'm doing - the only catch is I'll ask you what you're memorizing, too!). In my memorization of Scripture, I simply pick a passage of Scripture. I write a verse or two down. I think about the words. I pray about the Scripture. Then I repeat that every morning till I memorize that Scripture. As I said, I'm almost done with Psalm 19. Let me take this space to encourage you to memorize Scripture. You can journal them as I do. You can write them down on a flashcard. There are Scripture Memorization apps for your phone or tablet that will help you (Libby uses the free app called 'Verses'). Pick a method and join me in memorizing Scripture. Stuck on which verses to memorize? Here’s some that I'd recommend: Philippians 2:1-11, 1 John 1:5-10, Psalm 1, and Psalm 23.
Reminder #5: Jesus still saves people.
This year's Vacation Bible School sticks out, particularly because, on Day 3, a ten-year-old asked to see me in my office because he was ready to give his life to Jesus. On Sunday, August 29th we'll celebrate this decision with baptism as he begins his journey with Jesus with a public declaration. It's easy to get discouraged as a follower of Jesus Christ. The politics seem to work against us. People seem to disparage the name of Christ regularly. And yet, we persevere, because Jesus changes EVERYTHING. He is our hope. Not only for this life but for the next life also - He is our ETERNAL hope! Paul reminds us in the New Testament that if we only have hope in this life we are of all people most to be pitied. The truth of the matter is that we have an indestructible hope in Jesus that propels us in everything we do.
Vacation Bible School was epic. I hope the reminders above give you a glimpse of what it was like for us to see God work in the lives of our young people.
See you Sunday!
Until then,
Pastor Daniel
(in upcoming issues of 'Dear church' I'll share with you about some upcoming opportunities to study the Bible together and why 'normal' doesn't exist anymore)
