Pray for the children to know Jesus |
Our VBS Prayer Train is about to pull into
the station and this is the final week leading up to our weeklong VBS. We’ll
host around 250 children with 70 or so volunteers, workers in the field. Pray for us.
We have a tall order from Ashley for prayer.
Pray this week “that these children will leave having accepted Jesus as their
Lord and Savior. That they will leave excited about having a relationship with
Him. That those who are not involved in a church would find a solid church home
to encourage them and their families in faith.”
For many of these children VBS will be their
first exposure to the Gospel and hearing the Good News that Jesus loves them,
cares for them, died for them, and rose again so that they can have a
relationship with Him and know God.
“God gives us joy” is our point of emphasis for
Friday, our last day to affect change in the children (and ourselves). The
Bible verse is Nehemiah 8:10 – “Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food
and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is
holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."
(NIV)
The Bible story for the day is from Acts 16: 16-40, the
account of Paul and Silas in jail. I love this story. The disciples teaching
and preaching was all fine and good until their actions reached into the
pocketbooks and shut off the easy money men were making from the
spirit-possessed woman. Paul and Silas were flogged and put in a cell in the
bowels of the prison. And they worshipped God and shook the foundations of the
prison and were freed from their chains. Rather than flee they stayed and
brought the Word of God to the jailer and he along with his whole family were
saved and baptized.
Verse 34 gives us the point: “The
jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled
with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.”
This is the joy we want to impart to the children
at VBS. To impart something, we must have something.
Pray for our VBS staff to be filled with joy
and that the hearts of the children will be opened and receptive to the Good
News.
In His grip,
jerry
VBS theme is 'Passport to Peru' and I like llamas |