June 24, 2015

 

Dear MLEPC Members and Friends:

 

Our Administrative Assistant, Nina Geitgey, is responsible for the electronic version of this letter getting to you each week, thank you, Nina! Nina stopped by my office to ask me if I had a "Gus" story to share with you this week because our dog Gus, a Corgi/Hound mix that my husband affectionately refers to as part rebellious teenager, has been featured in letters I've written in the past. I couldn't think of a Gus story to rival the time I shared about in 2010, when I came home from work to find that Gus had chewed off all the bottom branches of our live Christmas tree and strewn them decoratively around the first floor of our house! But I have a great Bible story to share with you as we turn to the story of Esther. Sunday is the final sermon in our series, "Characters Wanted," where we've heard about people in the Old Testament who teach us important truths for our lives today. Esther is one of those people.

 

I encourage you to take some time to read the short story of Esther this week, just 10 chapters, and you may agree with me that it reads like a bestseller. There's a heroine who has a wise and kind and godly benefactor. There's mystery and a plot to kill. And of course there's an evil villain. The heroine risks her life to save her people. In the end, good triumphs as the people are saved, the mystery is solved, justice is served, and although we don't know for sure that all live happily ever after, the story of Esther is celebrated each year by the Jewish people with a joyful holiday called Purim. Esther is asked a compelling question by her cousin, Mordecai, a question that we can ask ourselves yet today: "And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" This question speaks volumes into our lives as Christians. Jesus' coming brought about God's reign, His Kingdom here on earth, and as part of that Kingdom, we are called to tell others the good news of the Gospel. Wherever we go, wherever we find ourselves - the question we have to ask ourselves is that same question Mordecai posed to Esther: "And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

 

This week is a busy week at the church with around 225 children and an army of volunteers at Vacation Bible School each day. As I write this letter, we have two days behind us and three yet to come. By the end of the week I'll have had the opportunity to interact with all the students and most of the volunteers as I'm helping with the older children's art projects each day except Thursday. On Thursday, I'll share the salvation story with over 100 4-6 year old children as a storyteller. I haven't taught children of such a young age for many years, and I'm excited yet apprehensive about getting such an important message across to these precious little ones. This may be the first time some of these children have heard the simple gospel message: Jesus died on the cross to take away our sins. And who knows whether I have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Please pray for me, and come to church on Sunday! You'll hear more about our week of VBS, get to see the awesome set created for the week, and I'll let you know how my lesson went with our little ones.

 

We see God at work each day at VBS. Today in our craft time, the older children made prayer flags. One boy wrote on his flag, "Bless the world and forgive it for what it has done." Obviously, someone shared the gospel story with this child at a young age, and he gets it! May it be so with all of God's children of all ages, and may it be our privilege to be a storyteller in the Kingdom "for such a time as this."

 

Hope to see you in church!

 

Love, in Christ,

 

Linda Pokrajac

  

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