It takes a brave man to bring 500 glowsticks into an LSW regional chapel service...but that's what our Pastor did. Yes, he's a brave, cheapskate of a man who purchased 500 glowsticks at the local 'Dollar Store' - five glowsticks per box at a dollar a box. (Just teasing about the cheapskate part.)
What a wonderful LSW Chapel service we had last Friday - five Lutheran schools from SW Michigan getting together in one place to worship God and celebrate the gift of Lutheran Schools. It was my Pastor's turn to lead worship, and he does a great job with kids.
Pastor's message was from John 3:16-21, the LSW text of The Gospel In A Nutshell, plus taking it further into what John says about Jesus as the Light. Hence the 500 glowsticks.
Lutheran Schools are special, and Pastor explained that while Lutheran Schools do many things well, there is one thing in particular that we teach that makes Lutheran Schools distinctive. Yes, the children knew the answer right away - "We tell them about Jesus."
Even though the children know this and have heard it many times, we still teach them every day that Jesus loves them, just like you as a mom or dad never tire of telling your own children that you love them, just like we never tire of hearing, "I love you," from our children or spouse.
A world without Jesus would be a dark place, but in Lutheran Schools, we teach and learn about Jesus, the Light of the world. Yes, Pastor proclaimed the wonderful news of Jesus, and that is news that cannot be contained...
You can't contain the Good News of Jesus anymore than the light in a glowstick, placed in the hands of the right child, can be contained in that little plastic tube. Oh, yes, and when you have hundreds of Lutheran School children together, you have many more of those "right children" who possess the hands that can get that gooey light stuff out of a glowstick, and pretty soon you've got the Light of Jesus all over the place - on their clothes (we all do "Dress Up" day for this chapel), and on the pews, the hymnals, the carpet, and even the cars on the ride back to school.
That's just the way it is - you start proclaiming the Gospel and there's just no stopping it from spreading.
Hope you had a blessed Lutheran Schools Week.
chuck
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