It was an emotional day that started with our Youth Group led Sonrise Service. The theme, if you want to call it that, was "Defining Moments". Defining moments are events (good or bad) that change our life. Moments that stick in our memories and effect how we live. Adam and I have shared many defining moments over the years. Getting married, the birth of each child, changing jobs are all new chapter, life changing events that many of us have experienced. Some defining moments happen to us, death of a loved one, divorce, major illness; sometimes we ride the wave of a defining moment with a friend or loved one. However they come about, they are major blips on the radar of life.
At the conclusion of the Sonrise Service many of the teens and some of the leaders took part in something called a Cardboard Testimony. I think the idea originated from the cardboard signs you often see homeless people holding. One side of the cardboard contains a sentence or statement about how life was before Christ changed your life. The other side reveals your new truth in Christ. Following Jesus is a life changing, defining moment so the cardboard testimonies basically share honestly what God has done in someone's life. If you are interested in seeing an example of a cardboard testimony click here. Adam has been helping with the Youth Group this year so he & I participated. It was really emotional to see all that God is doing in people's lives and to see people being honest about sins they are dealing with.
If you have been following my blog, you might know that Adam and I had a very defining moment occur about 5 years ago. And although what happened doesn't define who we are, we wouldn't be who we are today without having gone through that defining moment. And if we aren't willing to share what happened with others, then we can't give God all the glory He deserves in how he shaped, helped, loved, worked in what happened. Our cardboard testimonies didn't share the details...that's not really the point. And you don't have to know exactly what happened, although if I think it would help someone we are not unwilling to share. The point is we were hopeless and now we are hopeful. God changed us. He continues to change us. And because we're sinners we are constantly messing up and seeing things we are not doing that we should be doing (and vice versa).
But the greatest of all defining moments, as Matt (our Youth director) spoke about, was Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. His rising changed everything! Jesus took on all the sin for everyone EVER. He died for us. Now death has no sting (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). We can live forever with Him, if we believe and follow Jesus as our Lord and Savior. So we celebrate and remember what Christ has done and His promises to us.
Happy Easter! He is risen!
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