Our young people spent last week on the backside of the desert hearing from God. It felt like we were with Moses (see Exodus 3).
As always, the preaching of God’s Word was the highlight of the week. Of course, the mud pit steal-the-bacon was a blast, and Immanuel’s four belly flops were solid entertainment, but, still, the best part of the week was hearing from God.
Tonight at the 5:30 p.m. service we get to hear from many of the teens, and over the coming years, only God knows what kind of impact this week had.
There is no doubt that God spoke. His Word was opened, clearly explained, and the people were called to respond. God spoke. That’s what happens during preaching. How we respond is up to us.
The evening sermons were inspiring challenges to turn to God. The morning sermons were practical instructions to stay right with God.
We started the week with King David and the prophet Nathan, and saw how when God speaks in the third person (as in the story about the rich man stealing the poor man’s lamb), we can often see other people’s sin sooner than our own. But we need to see the Bible as a mirror and let the third person stories speak to us.
Another sermon on friends showed how bad influences will push against our consciences, and we need to have and be godly friends. Another tremendous challenge was to “have an open bag” before God, with no secret compartments or hidden sins tucked away. And we ended the week with a beautiful challenge to go out and do something great for God.
The morning services were clear about loving the Lord and others, and then we spent two messages on facing temptation. These were potentially the most life-changing messages of the week, if we could hold onto the truths.
Thank you, church, for praying. Please do not stop. God is working in our young people’s hearts, and they need you to help them.
–Pastor Ryan