Here is a sermon that I wrote for our Family Friday Night at the Grove City Vineyard. I thought the evening went GREAT! The participation during the message and response for prayer afterward was beyond anything I could have imagined!

Target age: Kindergarden - 5th grade.
Bible Verse: 2 Corinthians 4:7.
Thesis: Jesus is the treasure. You are the one holding the treasure. We are to give this treasure to other people.

The Greatest Treasure
Introduction (2 minutes)
Tonight we’re going to talk about the true treasure of Christmas. But, before I do, I need a volunteer who wants to help me. How many of you have helped out in the kitchen? OK, now which of you has used a mixer before? [Pick a volunteer] What’s your name? JANE is going to help me make the icing for the Christmas cookies. [Take plastic wrap off bowl] Inside of this clay bowl we have some yummy icing! [Take lid off the cookie jar] And, inside of this cookie jar we have broccoli. Just kidding, we have cookies!

I’m going to put in a few drops of food coloring, like this. [put in the food coloring] OK JANE, go ahead and mix in the food coloring with the icing. [let her mix it for 30 seconds] Great job JANE! You can go back to your seat now. Everybody, give Jane a round of applause!

Usefulness - Icing and Cookie Jar (2 minutes)
I want to bring your attention to something we don’t usually think about when we’re working in the kitchen, and that is: How useful this clay bowl is. If we didn’t have a bowl, we wouldn’t have been able to mix in the food coloring using this mixer. [try to put the beaters into the icing container] This clay bowl was very important in making the icing.

We can say the same thing about this clay cookie jar. Where do we keep cookie jars? We keep cookie jars on the counter because it makes the cookies really accessible to people who are short. [Illustrate the following by getting a chair, climbing on top of the table, and pretend you are looking for cookies in a cabinet] If your parents kept the cookies way high up on a shelf, you’d have to go over to the dining room table to find a chair, bring it over to the counter, climb up onto the counter, open up the cupboard, find the box of cookies, and then finally open the box of cookies so you can eat one. Now what do you think would have happen if your parents found you standing on the kitchen counter trying to find a cookie? They would probably be really scared that you’ll fall down! So, some genius invented the cookie jar so all you have to do reach over the counter and lift off the lid. This clay cookie jar is a really practical way of holding cookies.

Significance (2 minutes)
There’s one other thing that we usually don’t think about when we look at the cookie jar and the bowl. I want a show of hands, how many people like to eat COOKIES? OK, put your hands down. How many of you like to eat COOKIE JARS? You like to eat cookie jars??? That’s silly, we don’t eat cookie jars! OK, another show of hands, how many people like to eat ICING? OK, put your hands down. How many of you like to eat CLAY BOWLS that hold icing?

Even though the clay bowl is very important because it lets us mix the icing with the food coloring, we’re actually interested in enjoying what’s inside of the bowl. The same thing is true for the cookie jars. Even though cookie jars are essential to bring the cookies closer to us, we’re more interested in enjoying the treasure that’s inside of the cookie jar.

Lesson (3 minutes)
In the Bible, the Apostle Paul talks about a jar and a treasure very much like the one we’ve been talking about here. Let me read 2 Corinthians 4:7.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

First, I want to look at the “jars of clay”. What Paul is saying here is that we are like a clay jar, very much like this cookie jar here. We’re fragile like a cookie jar. We also have the capacity to hold a treasure, and make that treasure accessible to the people around us.

Second, I want to look at the “treasure”. In the Bible verse just before this one, Paul talks about how this glorious light from God has been shown into our hearts. That light is the very glory and presence of God. The treasure inside of us is Jesus. Jesus is our treasure.

Finally, I want us to think about the “all-surpassing power”. Paul said that the treasure inside of us is powerful. Not just powerful, but a REALLY BIG power! Do you want to see what God’s all-surpassing power looks like? [Dump 2 boxes of cookies into the cookie jar.] What just happened here? It overflowed! Did you know that there is no limit to God’s power and love? There aren’t enough cookies in the entire world to illustrate God’s power! This is what happens when God shines his light on us and fills us with his power. The people around us begin to notice the love of God in a really powerful way.

Response (1 minute)
How many of you would like to be this cookie jar? How many of you want to have your life so filled with God’s love and power that you begin to overflow into the people around you?

If that’s something that you want, come forward in a little cluster right here so I can pray for you.

I was reminiscing on my experiences with Servant Evangelism and I realized I have a good story that I had never posted on my blog. It’s the Reflection Paper I wrote for my VLI evangelism class in February 2007. I describe an incident that will forever be ingrained in my head. Here is my reflection paper:

Servant Evangelism was introduced to me in Spring 2005 shortly after joining the Grove City Vineyard. Prior to taking this class, I had been on at least 30 Servant Evangelism outreaches with my home church. I was blessed to be pre-mentored by my Associate Pastor, Jason Coker, who was a graduate of VLI many years ago and a veteran Servant Evangelism leader. He ingrained all of the practical DOs and DON’Ts in my head and that impartation has been a tremendous asset.

Our project was pretty straightforward. We planned on standing in line at Starbucks, Panera Bread, and McDonalds and try to start up conversations with the customers and offer to buy their coffee, pastry, breakfast, etc. One part of our plan was to get approval from the Manager-On-Duty who will be working that Saturday morning. Another part of our plan was to buy a few gift cards per store so we wouldn’t have to fool around with money. The last part of our plan was to create a basic map of the three places along with cell phone numbers of all the team members so our volunteer servants could find their way to the facilities and contact any of us with questions. I personally did not set any measurable goals as far as the quantity of people I would contact. I make a point to see what God is doing and adapt to the situation at hand.

On the day of the project, we had 4 team members and 6 volunteer servants. Team A went to Starbucks with 4 students. Team B went to Panera Bread with 3 students. Team C went to McDonalds with 3 students. I was on Team B that went to Panera. The Manager-On-Duty was expecting us and we greeted her and thanked her for letting us come out. She seemed pretty happy that we were going to offer to pay for their customer’s food! The three of us (Staci Yoder, Joe Byler, and myself) took a table near the front of the store by the register. As a group, we decided in advance that we would try to stick with the same-sex approach. Joe and I wouldn’t approach women and Staci wouldn’t approach men. (We didn’t want to give the customers a wrong impression!) Unexpectedly, the first 6 customers or so customers that walked through the door were women! Staci was BUSY and Joe and I laughed at the situation. It was kind of interesting… if I were to guess the ratio between girl and guy customers, it was about 4:1. Yeah, Staci was REALLY busy!

It wasn’t until about 40 minutes of being there that I had my chance at the plate. I got up when I saw two guys come into the store, moved closer to the register and they walked right on by to go to the bathroom. I looked behind myself and saw a woman about the age of 50 come into the store. I got this impression from God that I really need to make the offer to her (despite the fact she is a woman). She looked about the age of my Mom, so I felt pretty comfortable starting a conversation with her. I introduced myself and said I would like to buy her breakfast this morning and she got really quiet. God was really doing something at that moment. She checked to make sure I was serious and I absolutely insisted that I buy her breakfast this morning because, “I’m here to show you God’s love today.” She began to show signs of tearing up and became flustered and couldn’t think straight. As she looked into her purse, she expressed to me that she had no clue how she was going to afford eating breakfast this morning. She accepted the offer and tried to order something from the menu, but she just couldn’t hold her concentration! After she took about a minute to decide on a small fruit cup and a coffee, I presented the gift card to cashier. In my peripheral vision, I felt her eyes probing me. I looked over at her and she said to me, “You’re an angel!” I took that as a complement and said “You’re welcome.” Then she said to me, “No no! You were never born! You’re an ANGEL!” Right then, I new she was seriously convinced that God sent down a guardian angel. She completely took me off guard and I couldn’t find anything to say. I smiled, took the receipt for the cashier, and wished her a good morning as I walked back to our table, completely stunned.

When I got back to the table to meet up with Joe and Staci, I burst out saying, “You wouldn’t believe was just happened!” I relayed the story to them and they were in awe of what just happened. About a minute later, the lady (who thought I was an angel) walked by our table with her food and she said to me, “Why are you still here? Aren’t you supposed to go up to heaven?” as she enthusiastically pointed her thumb up in the air. Again, I was completely without words! I smiled and wished her a good day. About 15 minutes later, she came by one more time, placed her hand on my arm and said, “Thank you.” Then she walked out of Panera.

I’ve been on a lot of Servant Evangelism outreaches, but this is the first one where someone thought I was a literal angel. I have a feeling that by the time she came to me that last time, she realized I was a real person and she proved it to herself by touching my arm. I know God was doing something in her through that whole situation; she knows it was God, she just initially miscredited it to an angel. I really do think God sent me to Panera just for her. If I were to have done it differently, I would have invited her over to our table for breakfast to talk and introduce her to Staci. I think God wanted to do a little bit more there.

Overall, I think this project was a huge success! The manager’s were accommodating, we touched the lives of several strangers in a powerful way, Jesus’ name was glorified with every encounter, and we had fun doing it. What more could we ask for?

For anyone who knows me, I avoid yard work. So in the first week of December, I rolled out my lawn mower to catch up on the year-end lawn mowing and leaf raking. I checked the gas in the mower and it looked a little low. I proceeded to fill it up, put on the cap, and roll it to my backyard. I primed the gas pump, pulled the cord, and it started for about 1 second and then shut off. I thought to myself, “Hmm… that’s weird. It’s never done that before.” I primed it again, pulled the cord again, and it did the exact same thing. “What the heck! I bought this mower brand new two seasons ago!” I primed the pump, pulled the cord a third time and it did the SAME THING! At this point I was getting pretty mad. It was starting to get dark and I still had lots of leaf raking to do.

My new next door neighbor pulled into his driveway and saw that I was fooling around with my mower. I had not yet had a chance to meet him and, quite frankly, I really did want to be bothered while I was trying to figure out the problem with my mower. When my neighbor realized I was having problems, he said in an Indian accent, “Is there any gas in your mower?” I began to think to myself, “Is there any GAS in my mower? HA! Of course there is! I just filled it up… all the way to the top!” So I looked over to him and said, “Yep, I just filled it up. I don’t know what the problem is.”

So he put down whatever was in his hands, walks over, and messes around with my mower. Keep in mind, I didn’t ask for any help, nor did he ask if he could mess around with my mower. So initially I got a little offended. “Who is this guy? Messing around with MY mower… He’s not going to fix it.” He pops off my gas cap, sets the cap down next to the mower, and then proceeds to start up my mower. Since I’m really anal about safety I start to freak out in my head, “What the heck is he doing!!!??? He’s going to get gas everywhere and he might start a fire!” He pulls on the cord and the mower starts up and STAYS STARTED. Meanwhile, gas is vibrating out the tank and all over the top of the mower (and I start freaking in my head and about how it might blow up). He shuts off the mower and said to me in his Indian accent, “Brother, you have too much gas in your tank.”

He starts up the mower again with the cap off, puts the cap on while it’s running, and gestured that it was ready for me to use. I shook his hand and proceeded to mow my lawn thinking about what just happened and how completely rude I was in my thoughts toward my new neighbor. I also realized he called me “Brother”. What an interesting way to greet a stranger! Right from the start, he established a kind relationship simply in his choice of words. I began thinking about his dark brown skin color and his accent and wondering which country he was most likely from.

As I was thinking about him, I noticed he got out his leaf blower to take care of the leaves that were in his front yard. I realized that he might not know that we need to put our leaves in yard waste bags and the edge of the road. I decided I had better give him a few, so I stop the mower, walk into my garage, and come out with 3 bags. As I was walking toward him, he held out his hand to receive the bags even before I offered them to him! As I handed the bags to him, I said, “I figured you might need a few of these.” He said to me, “Thank you, Brother.”

I walk back to my mower thinking about what just happened. I noticed he had called me “Brother” again. That’s a nice way to greet someone.

On Friday, December 7th, while I was at work, I got a phone call from my wife who was getting off her 3rd shift job. She was clearly frantic and frustrated and she exclaims to me, “I’m stuck! I can’t get the truck up the hill.” I reply, “Huh?” She said, “I’m at Sue’s house. You know how her house is at the bottom of a really big hill? It’s covered in snow and I can’t get up the hill.” I thought to myself, “Ohhhh! That’s what’s going on.” My wife continues, “…and you’ll have to come pick me up.” In my mind I was thinking, “Does she have any clue how much she’s inconveniencing me right now? I better give her some advice to get up that hill herself so I won’t be bothered.” I proceeded to give her some advice. As I’m going through a checklist of things for her to try she says, “Yes, I’ve done that. Yes. Yes. Yes. Look, my co-worker even tried driving the truck up the driveway and it still wouldn’t go up. We even talked to the neighbor next door and he said he’s been living at the bottom of the hill for years and there’s no hope of getting that truck up the hill. We’ve done absolutely everything; you’ll just have to pick me up and take me home.” At this point I was really frustrated because I knew I had no choice but to come over there. So I said to my wife, “Listen, I’m coming over there, but I’m not picking you up. I’m going to get that truck up that hill no matter what it takes.”

I proceeded to drive over there and I thought to myself, “I had better buy some salt so we can melt the ice and get some traction.” I stopped at a corner store and they had run out of salt. I stopped at a gas station and they didn’t carry salt. I stopped at Kroger (grocery store) and they were out of salt too. I stopped by another corner store, and found some salt! As I brought it to the counter, the owner said to me, “Oh, that’s not for sale! That’s my personal supply!” I cried out to God at that point in frustration and said, “How am I going to get that truck up that hill with no salt?” God spoke to me and said, “I have not provided you with any salt because I want you to give Me the credit when the truck comes up the hill.” I immediately understood that God was making a promise to miraculously reveal himself to me in this situation.

I gave up my search for salt and drove to the house Tanya was at. I parked at the top of the hill and walked down the driveway. It was covered with ice and frozen rain and was very slippery. On my way to the house God spoke to me and gave me detailed directions to follow. First, He said “Put Tanya in the bed of truck and make sure she’s sitting and won’t fall out.” Second, He said, “Back up the truck to the beginning of the drive way, put the truck into second gear, and hold the gas down gently.” So I helped Tanya into the bed of the truck, positioned the truck, popped it into second gear, and gave it some gas. We were going just fine about one quarter of the way up the hill, but then our tires began to slip. I thought to myself, “OH NO!” Then something amazing happened, even though the tires were slipping, the truck kept a steady and unwavering pace all the way up the hill. It was almost like God was pushing us up the hill!

I couldn’t tell you if God’s hand was actually on our truck, or if he just gave me some of his wisdom to get up the hill. But, I do know this: When God makes a promise, he WILL keep it. When God shows up and keeps that promise, give Him the glory!

See what this preacher has to say. What do you think?