"Created-Designed-Empowered" VBS Family Celebration 2022

(VBS Highlight Video)

Good Morning and Welcome.

That video sums up our past week so beautifully.

CREATED-DESIGNED-EMPOWERED….

Welcome to our VBS Family Worship Celebration.

I’m Joe Vivian, the Associate Pastor to children and Families here at EHBC and I had the Amazing and Overflowing Blessing of serving alongside many amazing volunteers this past week.

Thank You Volunteers

I would like to take time to recognize those who displayed a Servant’s Heart this past week.

Please stand so we can all say thank you for all you did, not only in the past week, but in the weeks leading up to VBS. (Standing Volunteers)

Next, I want to thank two individuals that truly did so very much, and it started for these two last October of 2021.

Our Assistant VBS Director Randi Davis

And our VBS Director Liana Hill

Two very amazing women who love Christ so very much and because of that love, it overflows into VBS and EHBC KIDS!

I would also like to take time to recognize how amazing our kiddos from VBS were in their giving to this year’s offering.

We took up an offering from those attending VBS towards our EHBC Student Ministry Mission trip to Waco, TX

Our Students are headed to Waco, Tx in mid July to serve in that community. We needed to raise funds for the gas to fuel up to get there.

This is what was collected from our Children for our Youth...

VBS Offering Slide (speak to Youth serving children and children serving Youth)

This reminds me that our Student Ministry is headed out tomorrow morning for Lives Ablaze Youth Camp at Sivells Baptist Camp in the Sacremento Mountains.

Can we have all of those Youth and those Leading in next week’s camp please come down

Lives Ablaze Slide

I’m going to ask all of us as a church family to pray over these students and leaders this morning.

(Pastor Trevor Prays)

VBS Slide

Kids, you all have already shared with this EHBC Family your love, excitement, and design that God has blessed you with. Thank you for making this past week such a joy!

Let’s get started this morning, shall we…

God’s creativity is limitless!

His power and creative design are on display throughout our world and beyond.

From the smallest particle of DNA to the largest nebula in our galaxy, God’s infinite creativity is used to bring glory to Himself and make Himself known.

Scripture also gives evidence of God’s purposeful design. We see this demonstrated in the fact that Jesus fulfilled prophecy after prophecy from the Old Testament.

Psalm 139:13 CSB

13 For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

Psalm 139:13 even points to God’s creativity as He knit us together from the very beginning of our lives.

The way God infused people with a creative spark is a tiny reflection of His own ability to create with purpose and imagination.

It is clear that God gives gifts and talents to His people, all the while giving them a burden to fulfill their purpose in their relationship with Him.

Our ultimate purpose is found in relationship with Jesus Christ.

It is only through the power of Jesus that we get to tap into what we were created for.

This past week at VBS we considered what it meant to be the Creative Designer’s “workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

(Break Down Quick Summary of Each Day’s Lesson)

We began the week with the focus of “God The Creator”. “In the beginning God created ... ” (Genesis 1:1). This might be where you expected to start this past week as we talk about God

as the Creator. We certainly do not want to overlook those vital first five words of Scripture, but God’s creativity is not limited to Genesis 1–2. His creativity is on display throughout all of God’s Word. As Scripture unfolds we gain new glimpses into the majesty of God’s creativity. Many of the psalms, in fact, show us insight into God as the marvelous Creator through the eyes

of David the poet/songwriter. This is where Day 1 took us. To Psalm 104 where David praised God the Creator.

Day 2 our focus was “God, The Designer”. We read 1 Samuel 16 and we took time to see God prepare David to be King. He was just a Shepard boy; however, everything he did in the fields, all the decisions he made to protect his sheep was God ordained to train him up to be King.

Day 3’s focus was “Jesus, The King.” We studied how the all the people welcomed Jesus one Sunday Morning as He rode into Jerusalem on a colt. Jesus came to fulfill God’s promise as the one, true King. One day Jesus will return and all will see Him as the mighty King He is. Ultimately we can trust Jesus will come in power because God, who promised Jesus’ first coming, is faithful and true.

Day 4’s Focus was “Jesus the Redeemer.” We studied the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ…He Lives! See friends, We must trust God’s never-ending faithfulness and

goodness. Jesus offers us some encouragement in John 16:33 , “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” Amen!

And we closed on Day 5’s Focus: “Holy Spirit, The Helper” We studied how God sent the Holy Spirit into our life as followers of Jesus Christ. Even more, our mission to make disciples and be Jesus’ witnesses is not dependent on our own strength either.

God calls us, but He also empowers us.

He doesn’t expect us to just muster up our own strength and evangelize the world.

No, He has equipped us for this mission through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

It is in the Holy Spirit’s strength that we can grow in godliness and to be effective witnesses of the gospel.

Kids, Parents, Friends…Praise God, He gives us exactly what we need for the kingdom work He calls us to do.

CREATED-DESIGNED-EMPOWERED….

Let’s get started this morning and see how the Master Artist has designed us to fit into His Masterpiece through Scripture.

CREATED-DESIGNED-EMPOWERED….

Let’s stand together as I read this morning’s focal passage. It’s just one verse, but it packs so much truth.

Ephesians 2:10

Ephesians 2:10 CSB

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.

PRAY

Let’s begin with my first truth to share:

CREATED-GOD IS THE CREATIVE CREATOR

Let’s be brutally honest right now, God is the only One who can truly create, meaning

to make something out of nothing.

God started with nothing and made everything! He didn’t just imagine our world, but EVERYTHING that exists!

He engineered existence when nothing existed.

He’s the only One who has the power to do this.

In addition to the creation account in Genesis 1, God’s creative power is described in more intricate detail in Job 38–39.

Let me share some verses from those chapters as God spoke to Job

Job 38:8–11 CSB

8 Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst from the womb, 9 when I made the clouds its garment and total darkness its blanket, 10 when I determined its boundaries and put its bars and doors in place, 11 when I declared, “You may come this far, but no farther; your proud waves stop here”?

Job 38:36–38 CSB

36 Who put wisdom in the heart or gave the mind understanding? 37 Who has the wisdom to number the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of heaven 38 when the dust hardens like cast metal and the clods of dirt stick together?

Job 39:19–20 CSB

19 Do you give strength to the horse? Do you adorn his neck with a mane? 20 Do you make him leap like a locust? His proud snorting fills one with terror.

Job 39:26–27 CSB

26 Does the hawk take flight by your understanding and spread its wings to the south? 27 Does the eagle soar at your command and make its nest on high?

We also see the powerful magnitude of His ability to create in Psalm 33:6-9

Psalm 33:6–9 CSB

6 The heavens were made by the word of the Lord, and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathers the water of the sea into a heap; he puts the depths into storehouses. 8 Let the whole earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. 9 For he spoke, and it came into being; he commanded, and it came into existence.

By God’s word the heavens were made, and by His very breath the stars were formed!

Thanks to advances in space exploration, we know that stars and galaxies are intricately designed and have amazing beauty!

Friends let’s really think about this…It’s reassuring to know that His creation serves His purpose, and we find our true purpose only in Him. (Repeat)

So that brings us to the next Truth I want to share…

DESIGNED-GOD CREATED WITH PURPOSE

Friends, let’s know this…In His creative design, God has clearly defined a plan and purpose which will last through all generations.

Psalm 33:11

Psalm 33:11 CSB

11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart from generation to generation.

One of God’s major purposes is to make Himself known Habakkuk 2:14

Habakkuk 2:14 CSB

14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord’s glory, as the water covers the sea.

and so His creation is to reveal Himself. Romans 1:20 Psalm 19:1-4.

Romans 1:20 CSB

20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse.

Psalm 19:1–4 CSB

1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge. 3 There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard. 4 Their message has gone out to the whole earth, and their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun.

His plan was revealed through the prophets of the Old Testament, then realized through His Son, Jesus, in the New Testament.

God designed a plan for mankind to be in relationship with Him, which only happens through Jesus.

Jesus stated in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus is the center of God’s design and plan.

A creative illustration of this is found in DaVinci’s Last Supper.

He designed this piece so that the focal point of the entire painting is Jesus’ face.

The perspective is drawn in such a way that all lines in the painting converge on Jesus’

forehead so that Jesus is the focal point, or where the viewer’s eye keeps returning.

Jesus is literally the center of the painting. This is no accident.

This was the artist’s design and intention.

Friends, hear me clearly on this..This is how God has designed life to be fully enjoyed—with Jesus at the center. (Repeat)

This leads me to the last Truth I want to share:

EMPOWERED-WE FULFILL OUR PURPOSE ONLY IN JESUS

Ephesians 2:10 CSB

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.

It is humbling to think that even though God is infinitely powerful and creative, He knows us very intimately.

Psalms 33:15; 139:13-14

Psalm 33:15 CSB

15 He forms the hearts of them all; he considers all their works.

Psalm 139:13–14 CSB

13 For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well.

He knows your name.

He knows your heart, and He loves you.

Only through Jesus can we discover God’s love and purpose for our lives.

This is Paul’s main point in verse 10.

Far from earning points or Gold Stars with God our good works are actually God’s doing!

It is God’s grace, remember, that “made us alive” in the first place.

It is God’s grace, in other words, that gave to us the new spiritual desires, motivations, and abilities that enable our good works.

That is why Paul, in speaking of our works, says that we ourselves are God’s “workmanship”.

We are able to work for him because he has worked in us! “We are His workmanship”!

Furthermore, Paul says not only that God has prepared us for good works, but also that God has prepared the good works for us!

Did you catch that?

“Not only that God has prepared us for good works, but also that God has prepared the good works for us!”

Any good works we do have been “prepared beforehand” by God himself! He not only made us capable of doing good, but he also has ordained our lives and circumstances so that we would have opportunity to do it!

All these things are wrapped up in the blessing of having been “made … alive together with Christ”—

Our hope of a bodily resurrection, the promise of life eternal with God, the joy of new spiritual life here and now, the gift of faith, and the ability to do good works.

They are all given to us “by grace”.

And all this grace flows to us, always and only, “in Christ Jesus”

Finding our God-given purpose starts with surrendering our lives to Jesus Christ and following Him.

We do this by repenting of our sin and trusting in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

This is biblical salvation.

Second Timothy 1:9 says, “He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.”

There is the possibility this morning that some of you heard the Gospel Truth for the first time . The Good News of Jesus Christ and what He has done for you.

that God sent His One and Only Son to Earth. Jesus lived a sinless life, He took our punishment on the cross and died. He rose to life from the grave. He did that for each of us so that when we surrender our life to Him, make Him the Boss of our lives and rescuer of our sins, then choose to follow Him and grow in our relationship with Him each and every day, we will have life eternal with God the Father.

But it starts with that choice? What do you choose this morning?

You now know the Truth and you now cannot be ignorant about it.

Again, what do you choose.

For those who have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, this is what we must know too.

As a Christ-follower, no matter what talent or gift God has given you, it was given so that you can make God known and bring Him glory.

Make God known and bring Him Glory

What are you choosing today to display the love of Christ by your words, actions and deeds?

Created-Designed-Empowered!

CONCLUSION

Friends, let me land the plane this morning.

God has been using His creativity since the beginning of time to reveal Himself to all people.

He has graciously and lovingly called us to join Him in a relationship through Jesus and discover how incredible life was designed to be.

If you want to experience all that God has planned for this life, then use your gifts and talents for God’s purpose.

Bring Him glory—it’s what you were designed to do!

Right Now, The VBS Worship Team is coming up to prepare to share this morning’s song of Invitation.

Pastor Bill, Pastor Trevor and Kerry will also be up here joining me. If you have made a decision to follow Jesus Christ.

To surrender your life to Him today, this morning, then we would love to pray with you right now. Come down and let us know.

Or you may want to come down so we can pray with you as you have been challenged this morning to allow God to use the gifts He has given you to display His love.

Kids, Parents, Friends, we are here and the steps are open.

Let’s Pray

Pray

Announcements/Benediction

AOM Slide

Tonight at Adults on Mission, AOM, I will have the privilege of sharing with you about my recent trip to Israel. Join us in Miller Hall tonight at 4:30 for my Missions report and then stay for Pastor Bill’s Bible Study as he continues in Ephesians. That begins at 5:30pm.

Bible Reading Plan

For those of you reading along through the Bible with us, we are now going through the book of Luke. Today’s reading is from Luke 5.

In closing, please take time to take advantage of the Sparks Studio Phot Booth and check out the Art Show from our VBS Campers this past week in the East Foyer. We also have Pop Pops next to the courtyard!

Children and Parents going to Connection Camp in one week, please meet us for a short meeting right over there at the front of the east side of the sanctuary.

Benediction Verse

John 1:1–5 CSB

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.

Now, we are not dismissed yet, we are going to dismiss VBS Style…Kids, join the VBS Worship Rally…Let’s show everyone the Church Clap...

Church Clap

Mic still on so I can dismiss after the second stanza...