I was wowed by God’s presence last Sunday in a way that I haven’t in a long time. It was beautiful; breathtakingly beautiful. For the worship songs we sang Wonderful, Merciful Savior, From The Inside Out, How Deep The Father’s Love For Us, The Love of God, How He Loves and the chorus of Oh How I Love Jesus. We had prayer, Rachel and I shakily sang Like an Avalanche, then we ended the service by just hanging out with Jesus, talking to Him and listening to Him around the altar. Contrary to popular belief, the altar is not just a place to get saved or to surrender something to God. It’s a place to talk to God. I loved that the altar time didn’t follow some manipulative, emotional sermon given by someone with all the right words. It was just people who love God spending time with Him. The service was lead and initiated and carried by the youth. It was what church is supposed to be; a time set aside to tell God how much we love Him, to worship Him with our songs, our words and our bodies.
Let me introduce you to some of my heroes of the faith.
These are my sisters, Rebekah and Sarah. Rebekah is15 and Sarah is 14. They don’t read Twilight, they read Max Lucado and C.S. Lewis and Ted Dekker. They love lots of different Christian bands, they listen to band interviews and what they have to say about God. A few weeks ago they sang at their church in Ohio. They sang In Christ Alone, God shook that place with His presence. My sisters have very nice voices, but that isn’t what turns a church upside down for Jesus. They prayed. I don’t mean a “God help me not to trip or mess up” as they picked up the mic, I mean they begged God to come and to help everyone in the building to not see them, but to see Jesus. Guess what? Christian Nation Church saw Jesus.
This is Rachel Bolen. She’s 15. She plays violin and sings in church. Last Sunday she helped lead worship, afterward she stood with tears running down her face to thank God for His help the past week, then she got up and sang a song with me and God came near to our hearts, she unashamedly stood up again – sobbing, and this teenage girl asked the church to gather around the altar and simply spend time with God. Then she took the first step toward the altar, knelt and with hands in the air towards God, and worshiped Him.
This is Emilee Bolen. She’s 17. She plays piano and sings in church. Last Saturday night she turned on her iPod and worshiped God alone for awhile, she asked God to come and hold us close in the service on Sunday. Sunday morning she helped lead worship, afterward she stood and told how she had asked God to come that morning and thanked Him for His presence. She was one of the firsts at the altar to spend time with Jesus. With eyes closed and a little smile she basked in the beauty of God’s presence, she cried like a baby because God is her Father.
This is Robby. He’s 16. He signs in church, invites teens to church and youth and picks them up if they need a ride. Last Sunday he helped lead worship, he sings and plays the organ very well. There is a line in Like an Avalanche (the special) that says “Take my life, take all that I am. With all that I am I will love You. Take my heart, take all that I have. Jesus, how I adore You.” At that, Robby stood with tear-streaked face and arms lifted towards heaven. Then along with the congregation he knelt at the altar to chat with his Savior and this 6'2" guy was sobbing his eyes out.
These kids are real and they have a real relationship with Jesus. They aren’t going through the motions, they aren’t pretending, they aren’t staying comfortable and becoming stagnant. Yeah, they don’t have everything figured out, neither do you, but they love Jesus - which is the essence of Christianity. We have allowed teenagers to put us to shame. Let them teach you something about loving God with all your heart and worshiping the One who loves you unfathomably. They have taught me.
