"Hither by Thy Help I've Come"

The holidays come with a sigh. The end of this year marks the end of a heavy, full year for most of us. During this holiday season, peppered with Christmas parties, family get-togethers, and hoards of materialism and excess, we’re run ragged and left wondering if we can simply stop the ride and get off. We need peace more than ever.

In Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, he spoke of the peace of God guarding their hearts and minds in Christ. Peace does not idly sit back, all meek and mild; instead, it plays a defensive role in our mental and spiritual well-being (we are, after all, called to “guard our hearts” [Proverbs 4:23] and called to a “sound mind” instead of fear [2 Timothy 1:7]).  It was this same peace that allowed Paul to require this suffering church to rejoice in their present trials. This peace, however, came from surrender and giving thanks: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Giving thanks grounds us. It grants us the perspective to see that we are not sufficient, but rather dependent. The act of thanks-giving is a form of surrender, saying, “I can’t, but You can. It opens our eyes to His consistent faithfulness and, figuratively speaking, allows us to raise our Ebenezer stone for others to view His faithfulness in our lives.

During this season of advent, my prayer is that we take on the mantle of prayer and take inventory of all that He has lavishly bestowed upon us. 

Last words are important. I remember the last words of some of my departed loved ones and how they are seared in my memory with punctuated importance. Jesus’ last words hold even greater weight. Before He ascended into Heaven, He made a lot of hullabaloo about reaching our friends, neighbors, communities, and the rest of the world for Him.

This month in our Wednesday night program, Adventure Kids, we’ve been exploring what it means to be a missionary and how we, as ordinary kids, can make a difference both locally and globally. We’ve been researching unreached people groups all over the world. We realized that there are thousands of people groups on this big bouncing ball who have never heard the saving news of Jesus Christ; that’s billions of people whom Christ loves who don’t yet know of this epic love, who don’t have churches on every street corner, who haven’t seen The Jesus Video, and who don’t have missionaries in their community or pastors who can lead them to Christ.

We’re just a bunch of kids. But the Spirit of the Living God resides in our hearts and through His power alone, we can be His hands and feet. 

Hey Mom, Look at All We Did This Summer!

A New Start

August is the month of fresh beginnings. For the past two months, we’ve been giving ‘er gas but the car’s been in park. As the summer schedule winds down to a close and the kids head back to school, the opportunity to plug in and grow is readily available. We’ll begin our Wednesday night activities on the fourth Wednesday night in August, the 22^nd.

Over 11 families, including 14 students and 13 children, were a part of our church-wide mission trip to West Virginia during the latter part of July. Talk about an encouraging sign for the health and future of the church! The kids had a blast playing with and serving one another in tangible ways. I cannot be more proud or encouraged by our kids as they worked side by side with our adults. Many of our students took leadership roles in teaching in backyard Bible clubs and in creating puppet shows and activities for the group at the assisted living home we visited. I watched with wonder as two of our kids shared the Gospel with a new friend they met at one of the sites.

PBC is so blessed to have kids and students who desire to serve God by serving others. Continue to pray diligently for our kids and students. It’s evident that God is moving among His children. I encourage you to actively seek areas where you can assist these ministries and witness God’s movement first hand.