Labor of Love
I was reading this article by Billy Graham and thought, this sounds like it was just written. I went back and looked and this message was from 1955! He describes problems that are sadly similar to those of today. He writes, “many Christian parents are becoming fearful that they cannot properly train their children in this lawless and wicked age...We have taken God out of our educational systems and thought we could get away with it….Many of our educational leaders sneer at the old-fashioned idea of God and a moral code. Movies feature sex, sin, crime and alcohol... Newspapers have played up crime and sex until they seem glamorous to our young people...Instead of publicizing the good and constructive things that teenagers do, we have played up the sensational lawbreaker….”
Mr. Graham went on to say, “If you are a parent, Christ can help you to rear your children in the fear and nurture and admonition of the Lord. If I were not a Christian, I would despair of my children in the moral climate in which we have to rear them….Get the Scripture and its principles ingrained into their souls—“precept upon precept; line upon line;” teach them “here a little, and there a little” from the Word of God (Isaiah 28:13). Get them into the habit of going to church every Sunday, of praying daily and of saying grace at the table….That will solve 90 percent of the problems you have with your children.”
Every problem, then and now, has the same answer - Jesus Christ. Thankfully, at PVUMC you have lots of opportunities for your children to grow in God’s Word. As I think about how so many churches slow down for the summer all I see is PVUMC revving up! We are so blessed to be looking at such a full calendar of events coming up. I am blown away as I sit in the staff meeting listening to all of the logistics. I am amazed, but not surprised, at the ongoing commitment from our staff! They truly have servants hearts! They are called to do God’s work sharing the Good News!
Three big events are coming up including Ignite’s music and mission trip, summer camp at Singletary, and vacation Bible school! What important experiences these are! I have wonderful memories of Bible school and church camp and so do my girls. I am grateful that our church knows the importance of these events for our children and youth! Just to show you what a labor of love these weeks are, Ignite music mission trip is made up of 100 people! Summer camp is made up of 140 people! Vacation Bible school is made up of 425 people! As you can tell it takes a lot of servant hearts giving of their time to pull this off. All of this is done to help further the Kingdom of God!
As I have said before, please remember that God does not call the qualified but qualifies the called. 2 Timothy 3:17, “...so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The kids need love and we can all do that. When we put our arms around the kids, we will put their arms around God’s Word! You may experience the toughest kid on day one and that same kid may be the one hugging you the hardest on the last day! Matthew 19:14, “Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
We need servant hearts for Vacation Bible School July 8-13. If you would like to laugh, be inspired with creativity, appreciate the small wonders of life and experience unconditional love, please register on the church website or contact the church office.