July 11, 2021
Join our online worship service at stmarkknox.org/sermons
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…” – Matthew 28:18
Today marks the beginning of vacation bible school (VBS). It might seem a common thing, here in the middle of the summer to host VBS, like something we would normally do, but this year I think things are a little different. Last year, we didn’t get to hold a VBS, and as we began hoping and praying that we would hold one this year, it was initially unclear that would be reality.
Even as we began to put dates on the calendar, it was still unclear as to whether we would have to ask participants to wear a facemask, or if we would be able to do our rotations. We were unclear if we would have willing volunteers, given the risks that might be associated with the ongoing pandemic. We needed to trust that God would see things through, and our trust and faith paved a way for Jesus power to be revealed. It might seem like a strange way to look at the way restrictions began to be dropped and the world started to move back into its normal rhythms. Yet, as our students will learn this week, “Jesus Power Pulls Us Through.”
The truth of this year’s theme is to help us trust in the authority and power of Christ, given to all who believe, but more importantly is ever leading us forward. After the resurrection, Jesus appears to his disciples, and in Matthew 28, Jesus prepared his disciples to carry on the work of building the kingdom of God until Christ would one day return.
Jesus tells them that all authority in heave and on earth have been given to him. In the resurrection, God has given all to Jesus, and by his resurrection, now all can be saved. He commissions the disciples to share the power of his name, giving them the Holy Spirit, and the task that was passed from them to the next generation of disciples, to the next, and so on down to us. Now, it is us, we are the ones to continue to share this message, knowing we have the same power, to preach and teach the love of Jesus and build the kingdom. We can do this because Jesus power will pull us through, no matter how bad things might look at times, we know that Jesus will pull us through.
Grace & Peace,
Sam