VBS is going great this year. 22 kids made decisions for Christ Sunday night and 11 more on Monday morning. After 3 days, over 225 kids have come to VBS! The kids are reaching out to their friends and what a blast its been.
We're doing "The Ultimate Adventure" in the elementary. Its based on Psalm 27 and we're taking bible stories like Jonah, Daniel, Saul's Conversion, Zacchaeus, and Elijah and the prophets of Baal and showing kids how they can have an ultimate adventure with Christ. We based the decorations/theme after the Indiana Jones movies. We have a huge rock cave on the stage we made out of styrofoam, a Jeep Wrangler and a Jungle backdrop. The dramas are centered around lead character Arkansas Jefferson (cheesy spinoff).
Water games, pony rides, inflatable games, super soakers, tshirt cannons, water balloon launchers, team cheers, crazy college-age camera man, sword swallowing (a first for me), 3 ft ice cream cone, team competitions, 4ft beach balls, Planetshakers music, Youth praise team, toilet paper launchers, crazy hat competitions, dunking booth, super hero day, pizza party, and who knows what Thursday and Friday will bring!!!
If all we ever do is challenge boys and girls to "sit down and be quiet" in church, that's what they will grow up and do - sit down and be quiet. We don't need anymore pew sitters. We need world changers. I've got a time where kids just "jump around" to the song "Jump Around" by Planetshakers. We got some mini trampolines on the stage and remixed the song. When the music comes on - the kids come alive! Now, they also are on the edge of their seats and watching during the illustrated sermons with the illusions and weird props. They are grasping they can search for God and find Him. They can ask God for help and he will give them peace and confidence. God is moving boys and girls closer to him. Tomorrow, I'm doing an altar call for those who feel called to ministry. I pray lots of boys and girls allow God to call them to fulltime ministry at an early age. Help us to train them, Lord and start new churches.
I was soaked today in my Super Bro. Stephen Costume (Its a superman constume with the word "Bro." taped on it - Super Bro. S. I think the teenage boys purposely made me look like I used the restroom on myself. Dunking booth for them tomorrow!
I've met a lot of new kids this week and I hope we can reach those not in a church anywhere. I've been talking to a lot of parents at dropoff/pickup time about church - it helps when the kids say "i love this church". I'm just glad we have a church that loves kids. And boy do they stink after the water games!!!
I pray the parent's night at 6pm goes great and we have another packed house. The kickoff night was great and packed! Geddy the Gecko (www.geddythegecko.com) was there. He was totally awesome! Very biblical and entertaining at the same time. The kids love him and so did the adults! God bless John and Mary Mallory as they travel across the country reaching families for Christ.
Give us more kids. Give us more families. More salvations. More kids following Christ! We want fruit that remains.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Friday, June 6, 2008
Always Thinking
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." —Isaiah 41:10
There’s a story about a man who was visiting relatives on a farm. When the farmer whistled, his dog herded the cattle into the corral, then latched the gate with her paw. "Wow, that’s some dog. What’s her name?" The forgetful farmer thought a minute, then asked, "What do you call that red flower that smells good and has thorns on the stem?" "A rose?" "That’s it!" The farmer turned to his wife. "Hey Rose, what do we call this dog?"
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I forget important things. If it were not for my organizer, calendar and sticky notes, I’d forget everything. My wife is great about remembering birthdays, anniversaries and important occasions. Have you ever had someone forget an important occasion? Maybe your spouse forgot your anniversary or your birthday. Or maybe your children forgot you at Christmas. Even when people forget you, you need to know that God never forgets you. You are always on His mind. Romans 8:31 says, "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"
Did you know that God is thinking about you right now. He is not thinking about you merely as a member of the human race or as a part of your church. He is thinking about you as an individual. “What? God thinks about little me? Isn’t He busy?” The psalmist wrote, "Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered" (Psalm 40:5). Its great to know that God is never too busy for us, even though sometimes we are too busy for Him.
God's thoughts toward you are continual and uncountable. You could never add the sum of God’s tremendous thoughts toward you. God Almighty, the one who holds the heavens in the span of His hand, the one who spoke creation into being, is thinking about you right now. What an amazing fact!
Not only is God the Father thinking about you, but God the Son is interceding for you. Hebrews 7:25 says, "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."
So, God the Father is thinking about you, God the Son is praying for and interceding for you, and God the Holy Spirit is helping you as well: "Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God" (Romans 8:27).
What more could you want to assure you that you are worth something? You are not forgotten. God is constantly thinking about you. Jesus is constantly interceding for you. The Holy Spirit is your constant Helper. God is for you. God is thinking about you. God is on your side!
There’s a story about a man who was visiting relatives on a farm. When the farmer whistled, his dog herded the cattle into the corral, then latched the gate with her paw. "Wow, that’s some dog. What’s her name?" The forgetful farmer thought a minute, then asked, "What do you call that red flower that smells good and has thorns on the stem?" "A rose?" "That’s it!" The farmer turned to his wife. "Hey Rose, what do we call this dog?"
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I forget important things. If it were not for my organizer, calendar and sticky notes, I’d forget everything. My wife is great about remembering birthdays, anniversaries and important occasions. Have you ever had someone forget an important occasion? Maybe your spouse forgot your anniversary or your birthday. Or maybe your children forgot you at Christmas. Even when people forget you, you need to know that God never forgets you. You are always on His mind. Romans 8:31 says, "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"
Did you know that God is thinking about you right now. He is not thinking about you merely as a member of the human race or as a part of your church. He is thinking about you as an individual. “What? God thinks about little me? Isn’t He busy?” The psalmist wrote, "Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered" (Psalm 40:5). Its great to know that God is never too busy for us, even though sometimes we are too busy for Him.
God's thoughts toward you are continual and uncountable. You could never add the sum of God’s tremendous thoughts toward you. God Almighty, the one who holds the heavens in the span of His hand, the one who spoke creation into being, is thinking about you right now. What an amazing fact!
Not only is God the Father thinking about you, but God the Son is interceding for you. Hebrews 7:25 says, "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."
So, God the Father is thinking about you, God the Son is praying for and interceding for you, and God the Holy Spirit is helping you as well: "Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God" (Romans 8:27).
What more could you want to assure you that you are worth something? You are not forgotten. God is constantly thinking about you. Jesus is constantly interceding for you. The Holy Spirit is your constant Helper. God is for you. God is thinking about you. God is on your side!
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