Rockin' at VBS!
This week has been Vacation Bible School at our church- a wild week of praising God, loud singing, crafts, games, and kids shining God's light. Several years ago God called me out to lead worship with the kids during the opening and closing of VBS. I am privileged each summer to spend a few hours a day sharing how much God loves these precious children (and over 100 teenage and adult helpers).
It's funny that God would call me to this because I can't sing! The "tech" people turn off my microphone when the actual singing begins! Isn't it amazing the things God empowers us to do when He calls us? But, as God showed me, leading the worship is much more than singing. It is an opportunity to honestly share my faith with the kids and openly sharing what a "relationship" with God looks like in life. So, even though I am always nervous the first night to get up and "lead worship", I always know it is "all Him!"
The message is simple and the kids SOAK it all in. They simply believe. They don't complicate it or try to reason how everything fits together.
They simply believe God is with them when THEY have to do hard things in their lives.
They believe that God is powerful.
If you've never experienced a Vacation Bible School, I would recommend you do! Check to see if your church hosts one, or visit another church's. It is a place where kids and their child-like faith rock!
It's funny that God would call me to this because I can't sing! The "tech" people turn off my microphone when the actual singing begins! Isn't it amazing the things God empowers us to do when He calls us? But, as God showed me, leading the worship is much more than singing. It is an opportunity to honestly share my faith with the kids and openly sharing what a "relationship" with God looks like in life. So, even though I am always nervous the first night to get up and "lead worship", I always know it is "all Him!"
God again reminded me of this with the theme of this year's theme.
We faced our fears, remembering that God is with us during scary times of our lives. In fact, that was the "Bible Point" of the first day: God is with us. We heard about Moses and how God spoke to him through a burning bush in the desert. God gave Moses a hard job to do, but promised Moses that He would be with him. The next day, as we learned about the plagues that God brought to Egypt, we saw that OUR GOD IS POWERFUL! Then we learned that we can TRUST God because He keeps His promises. God kept His people safe and separated as He brought the final plague, destroying the pagan kingdom that had ruthlessly enslaved and used His people for generations. The last day of VBS we saw the Israelites escape Egypt through a miraculous parting of the Red Sea. We saw how God rescued His people through His chosen deliverer, Moses, and then heard about THE Deliverer, our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
We learned how God gives us life through His Son, Jesus. Whenever these bible points were mentioned throughout the day (and there were LOTS), the kids would shout out, "Fear not!" We talked about when life can be scary, we don't have to be afraid BECAUSE God is with us, He's powerful, He does what He says He's going to do, and He gives us life.
We faced our fears, remembering that God is with us during scary times of our lives. In fact, that was the "Bible Point" of the first day: God is with us. We heard about Moses and how God spoke to him through a burning bush in the desert. God gave Moses a hard job to do, but promised Moses that He would be with him. The next day, as we learned about the plagues that God brought to Egypt, we saw that OUR GOD IS POWERFUL! Then we learned that we can TRUST God because He keeps His promises. God kept His people safe and separated as He brought the final plague, destroying the pagan kingdom that had ruthlessly enslaved and used His people for generations. The last day of VBS we saw the Israelites escape Egypt through a miraculous parting of the Red Sea. We saw how God rescued His people through His chosen deliverer, Moses, and then heard about THE Deliverer, our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
We learned how God gives us life through His Son, Jesus. Whenever these bible points were mentioned throughout the day (and there were LOTS), the kids would shout out, "Fear not!" We talked about when life can be scary, we don't have to be afraid BECAUSE God is with us, He's powerful, He does what He says He's going to do, and He gives us life.
The message is simple and the kids SOAK it all in. They simply believe. They don't complicate it or try to reason how everything fits together.
They simply believe God is with them when THEY have to do hard things in their lives.
They believe that God is powerful.
They believe there were signs and wonders in Egypt and the MIRACLE of the Red Sea.
They believe that God loves them so much that He sent His Son, Jesus to deliver US.
Jesus tells us that we must have "childlike faith" to enter the Kingdom of God. (Matthew 18:3-4) As adults, we sometimes complicate God's simple, but life-changing promises with our reasoning, our circumstances, what is happening to us....
God reminded ME of exactly this when on the last night, "Family Night", everything started to go wrong at home. Family Night is a huge celebration where all the kids and their families join together to highlight what the kids have been doing during the week. With over 300 hundred families attending, some unchurched and many not saved, we know that it is a tremendous opportunity to share the Gospel message and God's love with them.
This of course, is a time when the enemy will be in full force! He was wreaking havoc in our household about an before it was time to go. Not to mention that we had spent the last 5 days attending VBS both in the mornings and the evenings and our whole family was reaching exhaustion! As I was beginning to reach "meltdown" mode, God's still, small voice whispered to my heart, "Tracy, you have teaching these kids all week to depend on Me, and not to be afraid. You are TEACHING it, but are you BELIEVING it? Do you believe I am with you? Do you believe I am powerful? Do you believe I am trustworthy? Are you coming to Me during a difficult time?"
This of course, is a time when the enemy will be in full force! He was wreaking havoc in our household about an before it was time to go. Not to mention that we had spent the last 5 days attending VBS both in the mornings and the evenings and our whole family was reaching exhaustion! As I was beginning to reach "meltdown" mode, God's still, small voice whispered to my heart, "Tracy, you have teaching these kids all week to depend on Me, and not to be afraid. You are TEACHING it, but are you BELIEVING it? Do you believe I am with you? Do you believe I am powerful? Do you believe I am trustworthy? Are you coming to Me during a difficult time?"
That was a powerful lesson for me, and for all those in ministry (including blogging!). We can teach a Sunday School lesson or speak at a women's conference or blog a post about trusting God, and sometimes forget to live it out ourselves! Needless to say, I immediately got down on my knees, gave it all to God, and prayed for His protection around our household and church. It was an amazing "Family Night" that included the Gospel message and bringing our sins to the cross to be forgiven by Jesus.
God IS WITH US!
God IS POWERFUL!
God is TRUSTWORTHY!
And, God does GIVE US LIFE!
If you've never experienced a Vacation Bible School, I would recommend you do! Check to see if your church hosts one, or visit another church's. It is a place where kids and their child-like faith rock!
When Tracy isn't "rocking the dock" at VBS, she can be found at her blog:
Labels: Faith, Tracy's Articles
posted by Tracy Berta-daughter to the King, wife, mother, speaker, writer @ 12:04 AM
2 Comments:
Amen, great post.
My son loves VBS! We are so blessed to have a great VBS in our community, with several other smaller versions! We sing the songs from the CD compilation all year long! It's a great experience and influence on our children. I imagine, when my third child is ready to participate, I might be helping out, too!
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It is good to hear from you... thank you so very much for leaving a note on the table. That makes us smile!
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