This past Sunday’s worship was a blessing as our youth led us to the Lord in word, song, and message! Our Poplar Springs church family is thankful for the ministry of discipleship that we see in our youth and children’s ministries. I thank God for Nicole and Katherine and the team of servants they gather together to encourage our youth!
There was a theme at work in the service that gave my heart a powerful reminder of the promise of God’s grace to be at work every day regardless of what we face. Jeremiah and Logan gave a great description of this reminder through their messages: “Please read the brochure – the Ebenezars are there to remind us of God’s work!” and “God works through the community of the church to bring us to the place we ‘know him’ for ourselves!” I was blessed by their thoughtful testimonies of God’s presence in their lives and the challenge from Scripture they shared with us.
The song the youth led us to sing is one that tells the story to which the Scriptures want us to hold:
[God] You’ve done this before; will you do it again?
‘Cause the waves are all around me.
And it feels like I’m drowning.
My God, will you still reach down and give me your hand?
‘Cause even when I’m doubting.
Your love, it still surrounds me,
And I will build an altar and stack it stone by stone.
‘Cause every Ebenezar says I’ve never been alone!
Yes, God’s promise to be our “refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” is the promise that keeps us close to his mercy and love and keeps us within the flow of his wisdom and strength for all we face! The song’s chorus ended with “God, I Need You!” It’s a prayer that must be on the tip of our tongues and the edge of our hearts daily.
The service on Sunday started down this road of reflection for me as I entered the Sanctuary and heard the story, from parents and grand, of Reese Dixon from the previous week’s Sunday School lesson. Her parents asked her after church on Sunday, “What did you learn about in Sunday School today?” and she replied saying, “Don’t get into a boat in a storm without Jesus!” That was a great call to worship for me that was underlined throughout the service as our youth led us. There is much around us in this life that quickly stirs up a storm – physically, emotionally, relationally, spiritually – and this boat that is the earth is no place to be in a storm without Jesus! I am thankful for Reese hearing the message in preschool Sunday School and for the ways that our Poplar Springs church family lives into its truth even this week!
In the Love of Jesus,
Tony Tench