Family Service
My pastor Tim Millard (Bridge Builders Community Church) is a brave man or perhaps a crazy man depending on your point of view. He had this wild, outrageous idea for a church gathering…hmmm; maybe God was speaking to him. Anyways, he wondered what church would look like if a whole family was in charge of the church gathering. So, as the first guinea pigs chosen, my whole clan (yes, all nine of us) led the service this past Sunday. It was a blast! As we were adjusting microphones to start worship someone yelled from the congregation…"that's not a worship team, that's a worship 
army!" It felt that way to me, seeing my youngest (7) to my oldest (21) leading worship together was awesome tonic for a daddy’s heart.
When worship was over we quickly went into a small skit about Daniel and the Lion’s den (Becky’s, my seven-year old, contribution) which brought laughter from what seemed a weary gathering just moments before. After an encore bow for Becky, Sarah (19) my oldest daughter took the stand and delivered her gift for the church family. She shared about how at some parties, showers and special occasions, there would be a seat with a card taped underneath naming the “sitee” a winner of a special prize. It was always amazing to her that only one person would get that special something. After relating this story she asked everybody to check underneath their seat to see who won today’s prize. Imagine the commotion when everybody discovered an index card taped to their chair!
Sarah had the wonderful idea of writing down promises from Scripture on index
cards and taping to every seat in the church (around 50). Her efforts in praying over each seat, trusting the Holy Spirit to guide people to their promised seats was quickly rewarded. Many people started crying when they read their promise and it was wonderful to see God move on their hearts.
Josh my oldest son delivered the message, (his first sermon) titled “Conflict is in the cookie dough”. A phrase from one of his college professors describing how conflict in a story is what keeps us interested and coming back for more. In other words, conflict is a much needed ingredient for a good story. Yet, in real life, we don’t want conflict, we want safety and comfort. Josh weaved humor, Scripture and his own story in an encouraging talk on how God uses conflict to mold and refine us.
“The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.” Psalm 12:6
The theme we (my family) discovered in all this was God’s faithfulness. In the midst of a lion’s den full of conflict and fear…He is faithful. His promises are like silver, pure and proven. That was the message of the day and for this father, it was a breath of fresh air. To see and hear my children worship Father God with their gifts and abilities filled me with joy. As for me and my house…we will serve the Lord.
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
3 John 1:4
Peace,
Jay
Comments
God Bless,
Jay
Jay