Celebration Matters

In the wilderness journey, the Children of Israel have been freed from Egyptian Captivity and are on their way to the Promised Land. Throughout this journey, they are called to stop and remember, to sing, to stack stones, and to praise God for His faithfulness even before their not yet inheritance. And so, as God's People who have been freed from their captivity to sin and are living in the not yet consummation of God's Kingdom, we too are meant to continually pause and celebrate the work of God in our midst!

On April 21st, we will have our first celebration service!

What is that?! It will be a Sunday in which we will see and celebrate the work of our Lord at Redemption by all gathering in one room! It will be a morning in which we step back for a moment and pause to praise Him for what He has done, and with everyone in the room, we will also get a visual reminder that God has been building His church in another generation!

Kids Matter

Mark 10:13–16

[13] And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. [14] But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. [15] Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” [16] And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

Jesus rebukes the posture of the disciples and the culture - that children would be viewed as unimportant and in the way! Jesus uses this moment to help the adults see and understand that He not only loves and cares for the children but also that the Kingdom of Heaven is received by those "like" children. That is, those who have a faith that is not only receptive but also dependent. The Kingdom is upside down! It is for those who see their weakness, their inability, their need. Jesus looks at the vulnerable, those whom culture has marginalized for their lack of usefulness, and He goes after them.

The Logistics:

• It will be different!

• The room will be opened up!

• We will create space for families of young ones.

• Our service will be different!

• Think of a big house church.

• Our sermons will be shorter in length but no less biblical!

• Songs that kids can sing with us

• We will aim to pause and celebrate once a quarter.

Things we will do during our Celebration Services:

• Testimonies

• Parent Commissioning

• Prayers for each other

• Messages from God’s Word

• Reminders of where we have been

• A look at where we are going