Port Ann Wesleyan youth group 05/20-5/27: Sowing seeds of salvation

Things have been pretty busy on a variety of fronts. I am sorry I didn’t get a lesson up last week. I do want to continue offering online options for those not able to make it to the in-person youth sessions that have restarted at Port Ann Wesleyan on Wednesday nights.

This session will cover the past two weeks, and to kick things off, here is MercyMe’s song “Almost Home.”

Prayer needs continue to be a priority. Beyond prayers for everyone impacted by coronavirus, especially those on the front lines and all those struggling to make ends meet, please pray for our church as we look to meet again in person this Sunday morning.

Please continue to cover Lee Jordan and the whole Jordan family in prayers as they navigate Lee’s medical issues. The song above, at least to me, has special meaning in situations like the one Lee faces.

Please be praying (and preparing) for our youth yard sale, set for Saturday, June 6.

Beyond prayers, and any items you and your family may want to donate, we need all hands on deck for set-up on Friday, June 5, and during the day June 6 for running and eventual tear-down. Per board request, masks and gloves are required for workers. We could also use baked goods for the food stand.

Youth group sessions have resumed Wednesday nights at the church, 7-8:15 p.m. We are trying to keep them outdoors in the pavilion whenever possible to maximize opportunity for distancing.

The announcement came several weeks ago that our previous pastor, James Leininger, passed away at his Florida home. About 50 members of the extended family and friends gathered at a New Columbia cemetery for the funeral.

The experience offered a moment of reflection. More than 30 years ago, a 12-year-old Michelle and her family started attending Port Ann Wesleyan after enduring a big tragedy. Rev. Leininger and his family were instrumental in helping them through that time and helping Michelle build a relationship with God. The seeds planted in the midst of that trying time have led to quite an extended ripple effect that I personally am eternally grateful for (literally).

At the time Michelle started attending Port Ann Wesleyan, I was living in New Jersey. I didn’t know her, her circumstances or the groundwork God was tending to through Rev. Leininger. Eventually, Michelle and I met about a decade later, and her faith (along with Rev. Leininger’s patient guidance) helped inspire my acceptance of Christ.

Rev. Leininger married Michelle and I. He dedicated Paige as a baby. He played an instrumental role in Samantha’s early days with our family and baptized both girls. He encouraged Michelle and I to attend a David Jeremiah Bible study of the book of Revelation and provided the resources so we could share that study with Port Ann Wesleyan. When PAW’s youth group leadership role opened up, he prayerfully helped us find God’s will to take on the ministry.

God used Rev. Leininger to sew so many critical seeds of faith in our lives — even back before we knew what all was happening. As was shared at his funeral, Rev. Leininger was not afraid to share his faith with others, and to see where they stood with the Lord. Each of those conversations were laced with seeds that I’m sure he prayed would lead to eternal decisions for salvation.

It makes me thing of the Parable of the Sower Jesus shared via the gospels. From Matthew 13:3-8

Then He told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

We talked last week in our in-person youth group time about how we each can be planting seeds for God’s kingdom in our everyday lives — even if we aren’t talking directly with people about our faith, we can leave a powerful impression by how we carry ourselves, what we see/hear/absorb and how we behave.

As it is for farmers and gardeners, especially this time of year, not every seed will sprout, even in the most fertile of soils. All we can do is prepare the ground, plant the seed and nurture it as best we can through daily feeding/watering/weeding. The rest is up to God.

If you feel discouraged about a friend or a loved one who isn’t blossoming in the faith as quickly or as completely as you’d like, take heart in knowing that some seeds take a lot longer to germinate — and that everything needs to be in God’s timing and not our own.

Recent events have encouraged me to look at the big picture implications of the seeds Rev. Leininger planted in my family members’ lives over the course of the past several decades (much like the imagery of the astronaut in the MercyMe song above) — well before I even knew him. It has been a reminder that sometimes we don’t see the true fruits of our labors, or the scope of how many people they will impact.

If you have certain situations you’d like to chat about, or have us pray for, please reach out to Michelle (570-495-3740) or myself (570-847-2718).

We’ll wrap up with one of Rev. Leininger’s favorite songs from our hymnals: “It is Well.” Here is a rendition from Anthem Lights: