A young, new preacher was walking with an older, more-experienced preacher in the garden one day. Feeling a bit insecure about what God had for him to do, he was asking the older preacher for some advice. The older preacher walked up to a rosebush and handed the young preacher a rosebud, and told him to OPEN it without tearing off any petals. The young preacher looked in disbelief at the older preacher and was trying to figure out what a rosebud could possibly have to do with him wanting to know the Will of God for his life and ministry. But, because of his great respect for the older preacher, he proceeded to try to unfold the rosebud, while keeping every petal intact. It wasn’t long before he realized how impossible this was to do. Noticing the younger preacher’s inability to unfold the rosebud without tearing it up, the older preacher began to recite the following poem……
It is only a tiny rosebud.
A flower of God’s design;
But I cannot unfold the petals
with these clumsy hands of mine.
The “secret” of unfolding flowers
is not known to such as I.
God opens his flower so sweetly,
then, in my hands, they die.
If I cannot unfold a rosebud,
this flower of God’s design,
then how can I have the wisdom
to unfold this life of mine?
So I’ll trust in Him for leading
each step of the pilgrim way.
The pathway that lies before me;
only my Heavenly Father knows.
I’ll trust Him to unfold the moments,
just as He unfolds the rose.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let me remind each of you to “LET GO, AND LET GOD UNFOLD YOUR LIFE!
I would like to wish every Mother in Northside – Members and Guests – a “VERY HAPPY MOTHERS’ DAY” – those present for this ‘special’ day of worship, and those who are no longer with us in a mortal way. May this Sunday’s worship experience remind you how much we give Thanks for our Mothers.
BILL
The way things fell this year, we had confirmation one Sunday and honoring our graduates the next. My heart was touched deeply by the sight of 16 sixth graders standing before us to promise their lives to following Christ. Then we barely turned around and we were watching our seniors stand before us to tell of plans for after graduation. The Senior Banquet was so moving as parents and siblings and friends told our seniors what they mean to our church. Listening and watching and taking in all the sounds and sights melted my heart!
Church, I am so thankful for the ministry that you provide to our children and youth. The solid teachings, the mammoth number of hours so many give to love, nurture, and teach our children and youth is amazing. Our mission statement calls us to, “Share the Love of God and Make Disciples for Jesus Christ.” We are getting better at the making disciples! I am blown away by the depth of understanding our seniors have as they spread their wings and fly out into the next phase of their Christian journey. They will have their issues and they will make their share of mistakes. They will have to decide if the Jesus they have been told about will be the Jesus of their life in adulthood. What you, we have done, is to honestly show them the love of Jesus and to teach them the best we could who Jesus is and what it means to follow him.
Churches are trying all kinds of things to attract people in a world full of glitz and glamour! We should always be willing to do exciting things to draw people to Christ. But don’t mistake events and busy-ness for making disciples. The goal is to grow disciples who love Jesus and then turn and love this hurting world. The goal is to know Jesus so well that we are compelled to teach our children and youth. The result is that we will see more and more people coming up in our church who are willing to do anything God calls them to do. Youth and adults who will move out into this troubled world and share the life-changing love of Jesus with all kinds of people. In that way, we are working with Christ to transform the world! That’s the sign of a faithful church!
Let’s pray with all our hearts to be a church that helps bring people to the forgiving love of Jesus and then for the rest of their lives, train them to be followers of him.
So thankful to serve Christ with all of you. . .Don