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VBS Meeting Tonight

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We have our VBS Worker’s Meeting tonight (at 6:30PM).  VBS is in the air (or at least the planning of it).

Crestview’s VBS will be June 18-22 (6:30PM – 8:30PM) nightly for ages 4-6th grade.

You can register your children using this link.  You can listen to VBS music here.

We’d love to serve our children this summer, helping them “search the visible and discover the Invisible.”

Filed Under: VBS

Weekend Preview (2) – VBS and Confession

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LIfeway VBS 2016

Yesterday, I mentioned some previews related to our Baby Dedication and my AM sermon.  Today, I wanted to remind everyone that Crestview’s VBS begins this Sunday, 6/19/16, at 6:30PM.  Lots of preparations are underway for this.  And tonight, there’s a time to help everyone set things up at 6:30PM.  We call this the VBS work night.  If you’re able, you can start to get a feel for the theme and other information.  We love the partnership with Lifeway to deliver a VBS that connects children to the Gospel.

Further, we are taking the Lord’s Supper this Sunday and will be using this confession of faith from Coram Deo Church in Omaha, NE.

(based on 1 Corinthians 15:1-6…)
We profess and affirm the good news
that we have received,
in which we stand,
and by which we are saved,
if we hold fast:
that Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures,
that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day.
We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Jesus Christ is the first and the last, the beginning and the end;
he is our Lord and our God.
We hope you can join us for an amazing day this coming Sunday.

VBS Has Begun

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So VBS began last night.  We are using Lifeway’s Agency D3 full of secret agents and investigations so I tried to dress the part of the spy.  Unfortunately, here’s what most adults saw:

I suggested my name is Special Agent Elwood.  Oh, well.  We had a great night to start and are hoping for a great week.  Matter of fact, why not take a moment and pray for our week right now.

VBS Wrap

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We’ve had an amazing week of Vacation Bible School. We again used and were very pleased with Lifeway’s theme/curriculum. This year’s theme was Amazing Wonders Aviation. For our missions project, we took an offering and trumpeted the ministry of The Elisha Foundation, which cares for the needs of disabled children and their families by offering Gospel encouragement.

On a deeper level, we were humbled that God entrusted us nearly double the number of people we were expecting.  This caused some restructuring and thought to reorganize early in the week, but it was no problem for the amazing support staff and workers God had already provided.

We closed our week with an In-Flight Movie for parents highlighting the week.  Here’s that video:

Our hope is that God was glorified and the lives of children and workers were changed this week.
 

Weekend Preview – Jericho (In & Out) and God’s People…

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Been a rather busy week, so I haven’t blog as consistently, but work still has been in motion for our corporate gatherings tomorrow. In the AM, we are looking at God develop the faith of His people as they cross the Red Sea and conquer Jericho (and with Jericho, we see faith in those outside and inside the city). So, plan to come as we look at Hebrews 11:29-31 and see faith related to God’s people. I’m hoping God works through His Word to develop faith in us.

In the evening, our church will start a week of VBS. We meet from 6:30-8:30 on June 10-14. For more info on this check out the church website. Here’s a short video I made today to promote our week…
VBS 2012 Promo Video from Phil Auxier on Vimeo.

VBS Isn’t Just For Kids…

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Here’s an article I wrote for our church’s newsletter…

There was a day when Saturday morning cartoons were a reality for some of us.  One of the staple commercials you could count on was that silly rabbit trying to get a bowl of Trix, which always ended with the children chiding the rabbit and saying, “Silly Rabbit, Trix are for kids.”  I fear that when it comes to thinking about Vacation Bible School, many in the church have that same feeling.  We hear about ministry opportunities and say to ourselves, “VBS is for kids.”  And, while it may be true that much of the energy is directed to serving children, I’m hoping to show today that VBS isn’t just for kids.  There’s much benefit to be had by the church at large through VBS.  Here’s some reasons:
1) VBS helps bring people together in service.  Most of us know that the law can be summed up as loving our neighbor as ourselves.  We know that we are to, through love, serve one another.  And, VBS is a great opportunity to come together with other like-minded believers and serve.  This, in turn, helps build the unity of our congregation.  When you are “in the trenches” with another believer seeking to serve, you will begin to be drawn close to that individual.  This is what makes the church strong.
2) VBS builds consistency in your relationships with others.  VBS is a week-long event.  So, rather than just bumping into others in our church on a Sunday, you get the opportunity to fellowship with others day after day.  Each night will present its own opportunities to glorify God and your consistent involvement in this will encourage you spiritually.
3) VBS looks outward.  Much of our difficulty in the church comes when we are inward focused.  We can become so intent on what we want and we would like to see happen, that our joy becomes tied to whether or not our desires are happening.  Each year, however, VBS is a call to remind you that church life doesn’t revolve around you.  There are others who need served.  Specifically, we get the opportunity to serve children. 
4) VBS communicates love for our neighbors who are younger than us.  When you think about church life, you probably devote most of your energy to things that don’t involve children (unless you’re a parent of a child and/or involved in an ongoing ministry to them).  What I love about VBS is that it gives adults and teenagers the opportunity to show children how dearly loved they are.  We rightly feel this in our hearts.  But, VBS puts feet to those feelings, showing children that we are excited to make known eternal truths to them.  VBS allows us to tangibly love not just in words but in actions and truth.
Finally, 5) VBS allows you to practice a spiritual gift.  Most of us know the importance of exercise or at least moving around so that atrophy doesn’t occur.  God has uniquely gifted every believer in the church to serve.  How often do you use those gifts?  Are you looking for an opportunity to use a gift you don’t use as often as another?  VBS is a great way to jump in and serve, employing your spiritual gift for the good of others.
So, those are a few reasons why I would encourage you to be involved in our VBS, June 10-14.  There is more info on it in other parts of the Edifier.  VBS isn’t just for kids, it’s for people like you and me who want to be a part of something that glorifies and enjoys God, forever.  

One Reason Why We’re Doing VBS in the Evening This Year…

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…is because we are complementarian. Being complementarian simply means that God has hard wired the universe with men and women having unique roles to fulfill in their personhood. Both men and women are made in the image of God and have value in that. However, God has called men and women to different roles. And this calling doesn’t negate or determine value.

So, how does this relate to VBS? In recent years, as we tried to do VBS in the morning, I noticed that it was mainly women doing all the work. The daytime schedule meant that men, by and large, were at work in secular jobs and thus unable to serve in VBS. Couple with this truth the recent statistics on the influence that fathers (read men) can have on learning, and you can see why the need to change happened because we are complementarian.

So, this year, our VBS will be held from 6:30-8:30PM so that men, after working all day in many cases, can come and demonstrate Christ’s love by serving children in VBS. We’ve structured each class so that they have a man present. Each class is not necessarily taught by a man (again showing God’s creative complementarian design) but men are there to give grace to the children by offering an encouraging presence in the class. We are excited about what this might mean for our children and for the men who are serving in a way that God gets the glory.

VBS is here…

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Well, it’s here. This year, we are using the curriculum entitled Boomerang Express, featuring an Aussie theme (anyone else thinking OUTBACK?) Seriously, though, this week should be a great week as God’s Word is opened to children. The stories center in the life of Peter and include calls for children to center all of their lives on Jesus (Following Him, Worshipping Him, Confessing Him, Serving Him and Obeying Him). Last night, our church did a service devoted to praying and serving to ensure that this week happens to God’s glory. Will you join me in praying to that end. That we would serve in the strength that God supplies so He is glorified. Also, pray that children would see the light of the glorious Gospel in the face of Christ.