Faith

Don and Paula Basham have been members of Living Hope since 1995. Paula has been a director in the preschool ministry now for over 10 years. Don is currently assisting with Plan B volunteers and also, is currently serving as a deacon .They have been involved with the same small group for over 11 years which now they consider them as family. They have a son Ross, age 13, that is activity in the middle school ministry, and their daughter, Hannah, age 9, is activity in children’s ministry. They will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary this summer.

When you know God, you know there are no coincidence. Everything from every moment has a reason. So this morning when Paula and I arrived in worship at 8am, and we saw our names in the bulletin sharing our testimony in addition to “blogging” there was that deep breath before the plunge.

Quickly years of serving with preschoolers presented itself before my mind. I tried to make mental notes at dizzying pace but mostly I was reminded of my own initial training in God’s Word as a High School Junior not in Sunday school class of my peers but as an assistant to a friend who was teaching Royal Ambassadors (kids).

Benny put our mind at ease that Mr. Bill would be sharing his testimony.

I told Mr. Bill we should frame his 10 reasons for serving because each was very true.

Most of the initial truths about our faith I learned playing Bible baseball and other fun stuff with these little guys. The “Being” with Jesus I had done with my “Belief” in God’s power and sacrifice for me. I guess it was the “Belonging” I desired that was lacking at first. And it was my infants knowledge of the Bible and its truths that I needed training in. Faith can move mountains, make the lame walk, cast out evil, and see God at work all around us every moment. Faith comes easy to me because I believe without a doubt that each breath I take is sustained by Christ and every atom of my being is in existence due to Him. I take those spiritual gifts test and faith is always head and shoulders above the others in score. So it was no surprise to me that Jason’s sermon from Acts today was the “foundation” of a small group Bible study we currently have been doing called “Go Fish” by Andy Stanley.

Now since there is no such that as a coincidence it is opportune to tell you that that is a study you should take at the earliest opportunity. It will deepen your understanding about what a growing vibrant church like ours should be doing. (Sorry about that deviation from today’s sermon but I know God would have me tell you about something like that when he puts those doors in my path.)

Now faith means stepping on toes to do what/when God would have you do something. Being faithful can be painful in the world today because the world tells us to keep it inside the building walls on Sunday only. But I can’t argue theology with you and quote on demand multiple scripture to back up what I may say. But I can tell you that I have hung the hope of my existence, my future past the grave, and the center of my life and family on Jesus Christ because of his sacrifice for me and my trust in Him and His love for me. If we as a congregation want to be a thriving vibrant growing body of believers in the future we need to encourage deep faith in Christ from each other. Since God is love we encourage him into all we do when we do it in love. The preschool ministry is a great place to serve and love others.

You can gain experience to be:
1. a better parent – learning to guide children not your own will help you find nuances of positive influence instead of negative discipline.
2. a better spouse – learning the struggle of guiding and tending children you will experience the frustration and the joys your spouse may experience on a more frequent level. Or you may see the effects of separations on the lives of children.
3. a better brother/sister – you will come to close understanding of interactions and love strangers can provide one another and how children within the church can grow to become closer than family they were born into.
4. a better child – you will learn to see the interaction of parents with children and know that your life can be a blessing to your parents. You will see that the love you shown from kids to parents is a true blessing from God.
5. and a better community member through your interaction – as you watch the kids interact with each other you can see facets of our local community reflected in their actions. You will become keenly aware of both the negative and positive influences each of our interactions can have both for and against Christ at work around us and through our community.

All that is in addition to learning foundational elements of the Bible and Christ’s life here among us. So if you have accepted Christ and truly believe God’s power your next step is to gain that feeling of “Belonging”. Now you are not going to get that from a pew – although if you set in the same place time after time you will get the same smiles around you time after time. You can edge into it in an Adult Bible Fellowship class of your peers, but be fore warned you may need to sharpen your Biblical skills to participate there. You can most easily gain the feeling of “Belonging” from preschool ministry and service there. Who knows you may stumble upon those there you can fellowship with in small group and gain lifetime friends and all because you took time to read a story about Jesus to a kid who couldn’t even read…

Paula’s View of the Day
I was reminded in a statement Jason made on the founding members wanting Living Hope to be a church that embraced children and families today in the sermon. Don and I were members of another congregation when we realized that we would not want to bring our children up in what they valued. We made the decision to leave that congregation due to this even when we did not know if God would bless us with children. At Living Hope, we felt his spirit each week and knew that is where we should be. We were at Living Hope approximately a year when God blessed us with our son Ross through adoption. He came home at 4 ½ months from South Korea and within the first week of being home we took him to the church nursery. It was one of the best parent decisions we ever made.

Right off he was loved by some of the most caring ladies I had ever met. I am still blessed when I run into them and they dote over him. I know that he was loved. They also gave Don and I a gift - a time we could go to worship our Lord. That praise time with our Lord thanking Him for the precious life that he brought to us from across the world. We could also attend our ABF and grow in the word with out any worries. As Ross grew some of the first sentences he said were bible songs that he had learned in the nursery. He continued to grow and learn more truths of God’s Word in his preschool years. It was so precious to see him grasp those truths so innocently that we as adults doubt or forget. He made friends that are still his friends today. Because of these foundation truths that he learned in his preschool days, Ross came to Christ at the age of 6. There is nothing like knowing that you will be part of an eternal family.

When Ross was four God blessed us with a baby girl, Hannah that also came to us through adoption from Korea. I can too say that in her first week at home she was in the church nursery being loved on like Ross and that was beyond belief. I am telling you that it was not the easiest thing that I ever did to leave my babies after waiting so long for them to come home, but it was the best thing I ever did to establish a habit of them being in God’s house learning his word. I am so thankful to say at the age of 6 Hannah came to Christ.

What a joy to know that are family will always be together no matter what life brings. Again, when we were preparing for her baptism, I knew it was due to the precious men and women that had taken the time to plant those truths of his word into her heart. I can also say at the age of 9 and 13 they still will tell you they love Sunday school. They have had opportunities of being discipled unlike Don and I had as children.

How more blessed than that could the Basham’s be?

I am saddened each time I hear a child cry or parent struggle with a little one in the service. I just pray that they would realize what the blessing it would be to their family if their child was involved in the preschool ministry. I know as a parent and volunteer in preschool that child is going to be loved, prayed for, and taught the truth of God’s word.

I was blessed tonight with a lady in my discipleship class give her testimony. She stated that she can clearly remember the Sunday school room that she was in when someone told her that God loved her and he had a special plan for her live at age 3. She stated due to this that her life has always had hope. Do we not all want that for our children, our grandchildren, our neighbor, our niece or nephew? Please encourage our young parents to leave their sons and daughters in our preschool ministry. I know it can be hard but it can be the best decision you ever made for your child.

I continue to serve in preschool ministry because I love preschoolers and their parents. I want them to have the same opportunity that the Basham’s have had for our kids. I was blessed again today to overhear a mom tell a preschool volunteer that her 3 year old got up this morning and asked if this is a church day and when she said yes he got excited because it was his favorite thing to do. What bigger blessing than to see a 3 year old already loved in God’s house and by His people. The preschool ministry is not about childcare but about planting God’s word into little lives.