Last August I attended the Vital Signs conference at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Box Hill, where Rollie Martinson was the chief speaker. Rollie spoke with great passion, displaying his love for God and His people. Rollie had many wisdoms to share from his life as a son, father, husband, grandfather, Pastor and intergenerational ministry researcher for many years. He worked with us very practically to get us thinking about our home church families and how we could further intergenerational relationships.
Rollie is a more than capable teacher and facilitator, moving us through a mountain of content, however, one devotional moment he led us through has stuck with me.
Read Hebrews 11 ... I have just read it again and I cannot get through it all without coming to tears. It stirs something in my heart which says God is alive, God is working in this broken world, God is working to heal this broken heart and using this broken vessel to further His plan to bring us all into his promised land with Him. There is a real life adventure going on here, one which we are all a part of and play and important role in.
This said, we are to see that we are a part of the bigger story, of God’s story that plays out over all time, from the very beginning to the end. The Bible is there for us to see all He has done and all our ancestors have done. He has made sure that we know His great love, His great works and His great people, which he has made great!
On a personal level, He has made sure that I know of his love and he is going to seek after me, even when I doubt his love for me. More than me, God has made sure that you know his love for you! He has sent before us so many, sustaining them; rewarding them for their faith and trust in Him, that He is true to his promise.
Read Hebrews 12:1-3 … Hope is here!!!
God has surrounded us with a ‘great cloud of witnesses’ to pass on faith in Christ Jesus! Rollie asked us the question, “Who are your ‘great cloud of witnesses’?” And so, I ask you this question: who have been the people in your life that have talked to you about Jesus, read bible stories to you, given you gifts to nurture your faith, let you ask the ‘messy’ questions of life, taken you to church, listened to you when life has been tough, celebrated with you in your joys?
There is another important question that we all must answer: “Who am I a ‘great cloud of witnesses’ to?” With whom do I talk to about Jesus, read bible stories to, give gifts to nurture their faith, listen to and engage with the ‘messy’ questions of life, take to church, support during tough times and celebrate joys with?
“With whom can I be a great cloud of witnesses to?”
I can tell you that the ‘great cloud of witnesses’ is already at work in our Parish! Celebrate! God does not leave us alone in this work, he equips us and gives us opportunities, like this one:
“Peter and I invited 5 young adults in for dinner last November. It was a great night of sharing and learning about each other. The young people talked about what they were currently doing and their future plans and dreams.
At worship, we often identify young people as part of a family group rather than as individuals. The dinner gave us the opportunity to get to know their individual personalities.
We would encourage other adults to create opportunities to spend time with our young adults and to support them in their life journey. The rewards are amazing!!” ~ Robyn Renner.
This is our vision and mission, to see our community become a ‘Great Cloud of Witnesses’ for all people of the world! Trust God and seek His ways!