Faith Chapel is a multi-generational church, and on Family Sunday every aspect followed that theme from the worship, to the message to the children, to the sermon. We celebrated the generations attending the church and even sang happy birthday to 97 year old Irene Elliott.
During worship, the team consisted of young people and adults of all ages. Emma Elias was the youngest worship leader, and she praised the LORD with her whole heart. Pastor Shari
Dresselhaus, children’s pastor, led the congregation in communion.
Quite a meaningful portion was when Michel Espinoza, who works with the FC Kids Ministry,
invited the children in the congregation to go up to the stage and sit near him as he spoke.
shared with the kids about getting mail. He told about watching adults get mail and how he
wanted some lettrs. He then talked about receiving birthday cards and thank you notes and
what they meant to him. Citing Romans 10:15b, “As it is written:’How beautiful are the feet of
those who bring good news!’” (NIV), Michel reminded the children and the adults that they have the opportunity to share Jesus our Savior (the Good News) with others.
That same message continued as interim youth pastor, Erick Aguilar, preached. He said,”The
next generation is on fire for the LORD.” They just returned from a weekend event-Youth
Convention. One passage that was read was Matthew 28:18-20
“Then Jesus came to them and said,’All authority in heaven
and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to
obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with
you always, to the very end of the age.’” (NIV)
That is the Great Commission to go, tell, and make disciples.
One significant point Erick made was that “Your heart is determined by what you are given.”
When one thinks of what God the Father did for us, it is incredible. He sent His perfect Son to come to Earth. Jesus was in heaven, and He humbled Himself so that we could have “life, life abundantly” John 10:10 Before He was crucified, Jesus prayed to His heavenly Father to let the cup pass from Him, but not Jesus’ will but the Father’s was His desire. Jesus willingly gave up His heavenly home for each one of us. He willingly went through the trials, the beatings, the torture, and death for each one of us. AND HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD. THE TOMB IS EMPTY.
We are given a Savior, and when we accept Him, we have eternal life and a helper the Holy
Spirit to help us negotiate through this life. Erick added that “We’ll never use the gifts the LORD has given us to the fullest extent unless we understand the depth of His gift.” How powerful was Jesus’ sacrifice so that we could live eternally with Him-Christ in us and we in Christ.
The main point Erick emphasized was “God reached you so you can reach others. We need to tell everyone. Be a megaphone” and shout the Good News. Erick used his own life example of a man named Albert and his wife who came to Erick’s family home and shared Jesus with them. Their mother accepted the LORD as her Savior first, and that decision changed the direction of the entire family. One person reached out to them and that decision affected all of their eternities. God reached out to Albert, and he reached out to Erick and his family.
Jesus invited Peter to follow Him and be fisher of men. That meant that Pater gave up his day job for an eternal job, a job that might have seemed impossible to him at first, but as in
1 Corinthians 12:12-14
“There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many
parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. We are all
baptized by one Holy Spirit. And so we are formed into one body.
It didn’t matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free
people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink. So the body
is not made up of just one part. It has many parts.” (NIV)
Thus Erick admonished us to be the best shoulder or rib or arm pit we should be for the LORD. That also means that we need to move from our place of comfort and go! He said,”Get off the pier and get into the boat” where the water maybe deep and the winds may blow. but if you are to go and tell and make disciples, you may need to move from your easy chair, your comfortable spot, and speak to the mail carrier or your neighbor across the street about Jesus who died for you and them. There is no better way to love your neighbor than to share Jesus with him or her.
Erick used a great illustration. He called Aiden up and gave him a party hat. He then said to give the hat to someone else. Erick continued giving Aiden hats to share and to invite others to the party. Soon instead of just Aiden enjoying the party, a dozen others had hats, and they were encouraged to share them with others. That is how we can share Jesus. In other words, “Express your love by sharing Jesus.”
Finally, Erick challenged the congregation and himself to shift the focus to outreach because
“God reached you so you can reach others.” May we be salt and light in this trouble world.
Written by Larry and Annette Linthicum
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