Somewhere I think I still have a craft project that I’ve kept from Vacation Bible School long ago at Trimble Bible Church near Robinson, IL. It’s a stone tablet on which are written by the finger of God the Ten Commandments. Well, maybe not, but a wooden plaque with a typeset copy of the Ten Commandments will have to do.
I remember the project because for some reason the teachers let us play with fire to make it. Can you imagine a group of 10-year-olds using matches with permission? I can’t even recall a single child requiring medical assistance.
The way it worked is that we took this regular-sized, 8.5x11 sheet of paper with the words of the Ten Commandments copied onto it and burned the edges of the page away to give it a more authentic look, I suppose. Then we glued what was left onto the wooden plaque. Given how some of those children turned out, I think they burned out the commandments they didn’t like. I wish I would have burned out number 10 because my neighbor has a nice motorcycle that I wish it weren’t a sin to covet.
After peeling glue off our hands to gross out the girls we brushed a thick coat of lacquer over the tablet. Some kind of varnish anyway, and I put mine on heavy. There are still a couple of lumps that apparently weren’t applied very smoothly. A few months later when the finish dried out I took it home and hung it on my bedroom wall, and I know it’s still around or in a box somewhere today.
If you’ve ever attended Vacation Bible School you can probably remember some of your favorite craft projects. Maybe given the right set of circumstances one of the familiar VBS songs will pop into your head and you’ll start singing something along the lines of: “Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah! Praise ye the Lord!” You probably remember having cookies and Kool-aid, playing games outside and making new friends. You might even remember a Bible verse or two from those days.
Vacation Bible School at Ridgway First Baptist Church begins this Sunday at 6:00! Yes, the songs have changed and we’ve upgraded the snack options, but it’s still an exciting and potentially life-changing week for the children who attend. I want to urge you to bring your children and your grandchildren to this year’s VBS. Invite the neighborhood kids to come. They’ll be making memories to last a lifetime.
Our Bible teaching this year focuses on Peter’s relationship with Jesus. From the call to lay down his fishing nets and follow Christ, to his worship of the Son of God, his denial of Jesus, Jesus’ forgiveness for Peter, and Peter’s obedience to carrying out God’s mission for him, your children will be encouraged and challenged to love, trust and obey Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Without apology or hidden agenda, that’s really what it’s all about. That’s why we do VBS. That’s why we sing the songs we sing, that’s why we do the crafts we do, and that’s why we love your children the way we love them. We want to give every child the opportunity to hear the Good News that God loves them so much that He sent His Son Jesus into the world to save them from sin and give them eternal life in Christ.
And parents, grandparents, and others – our prayerful desire for you is the same. We’re all sinners separated from Holy God by our sin. Even one burned out commandment is enough to keep us from fellowship with God in heaven. That’s playing with a deadly fire! But the bad news is what makes the Good News so good!
Even though we don’t deserve it, and even though there’s not a single thing on earth we could ever do to earn it, God has made a way for us to be saved from the death penalty our sin deserves. That way is through His Son, Jesus, who took our penalty on the cross, who offers forgiveness for our sins, and who defeated death forever when He rose from the grave on the third day. And “whosever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Is Jesus your Savior and Lord? If not, why not repent of your sin and receive forgiveness, believing that He died and rose again as you commit your life in trust and obedience to Him? This is our prayer and hope for you, and for your children through VBS – even though they may not get to play with matches.
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