Tonight, my family is away on vacation, so you will carry on as usual without us. Any time we are away, we miss you and are reminded of how much we love YOU. We wouldn’t rather be with any other group than with you, and I’m glad you make the Teens of Faith a nice place to be on a Wednesday (some youth pastors WANT to get away from their teens!)
So for services like tonight, extend the same courtesy and attention to the guest preacher as you do weekly to me. Tonight, Bro. Jim Wilson is preaching after Bro. Jared finishes Comedy Night practice. Bro. Wilson has been a member here twice as long as you’ve been alive (some of you), and he’s been a family friend of ours for just as long. He invested in me as a kid, giving me a Dodgers hat that I still have today– a gesture of kindness that I’ve never forgotten. I thank God for men like Bro. Wilson who stay faithful for decades–through all the ups and downs that come as a human trying to live for God. Men like him prove that it’s possible to serve God long term, and I’m thankful for examples like that in my life.
So, enjoy tonight. It will be a nice little twist to what’s regular. I like that.
Love God. Love Others. Do right!
-Bro. Ryan