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Brothers and sisters,

For the last two summers, our church has held a summer program for children that we’ve called Super Saturday Adventures. Each of the last two summers, children from our church and the wider Durham com-munity have come and spent a Saturday morning once a month with us. They’ve learned about God’s love for them. They’ve learned about people in the Bible who did wonderful things for God. They’ve heard parables from Jesus that told them they are beloved. This year, we’re planning to do that again!

Earlier this week, a group of about fifteen church members met to discuss how we wanted to reach out to these kids this summer. So, our Super Saturday Adventures will be on June 28th, July 12th, and July 26th from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Our theme is, “Creatures of the Bible: The Untold Stories”. Basically, we’ll be teaching the children about God’s love for them by using stories that have animals in them. The first Saturday, we’re going to talk about Creation and all the wonderful species of animals God made. That second Saturday, we’ll be talking about Jonah and the Whale and what it means to listen to God. The final Sunday, we’ll talk about the various animals that played a part in the Christmas Story and what the birth of Jesus means for us all.

I’m excited for this. The people that met last night are excited for this. Super Saturday Adventures have been hits with the children and their parents and I’m looking forward to seeing all of them again this summer. To do this, though, we’ll need lots of help! Starting this Sunday, there will be a volunteer sign-up sheet in the vestibule. I would encourage you all to look over the kind of help we need, consider where you may feel God leading you to help, and sign up. We’ll need people in specific stations, but we’ll also need folks who can just be “floaters” who go wherever they’re needed that morning.

Super Saturday Adventures are wonderful events, truly. The kids love them. The volunteers love them. The parents love them. I’m looking forward to hosting these again. As we’ve done the last two years, the main message we’re looking to send to these kids is simple: God loves them and we love them, too.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been in the process of picking up an old habit, an old hobby of mine. The fact that I’m picking it back up actually crept into a few of my sermons lately. A few weeks ago, I talked about making choices and used the example of whether or not to dedicate eight weeks to a class. Well, a month or so ago, I signed up for a seven-week class available in north Raleigh. And last week, it very obviously creeped into my sermon, considering I talked about a specific strategy I used to use while playing it. I’ve signed up for my first formal tennis lessons since high school!

And let me tell you, since signing up, my nights have been filled with anticipation. The class doesn’t start till July (that’s how far out you have to book things now!), but I’ve been going through all my old tennis equipment to see what’s still usable. I’ve still got my three racquets from high school, though all three need to be restrung. My old tennis dampeners have dried out and are basically useless now. And the overgrips on my racquets literally crumble in my hands when I spin the racquet. But that’s the fun thing about this — as I’m searching for things to update my racquets and gear, I’m reminiscing on all the fun I had while playing tennis. I’m remembering the friends I made, the great matches I played, and the feeling of pushing myself to reach new goals. It’s fantastic!

I tell you all that because I think there is a lot of joy that can come from picking up old hobbies and remembering that God experiences joy with us as well. In other words, as I reflect on who I was when I was playing tennis before and how much tennis helped shape me as a person, I have this sense that God remembers that version of me, too. God remembers that version of me and remembers the joy of those times. Stepping back into tennis reminds me of God’s presence with me throughout my life. It reminds me of how much God has loved me from an early age—not because I am special, but because God is. Stepping back into tennis reminds me of who I am and reminds me of the joy of God.

So, take some time over the next few days or weeks and think about some of your old habits, your old hobbies. See if there are any you’d like to pick back up. Remember the love and joy God had for you then and remind yourself that God loves and rejoices with you now! If you used to love hiking, ride over to a state park and go hiking one day. If you used to be a movie buff, pull out one of your old favorites, make some popcorn, and watch it. If you loved knitting or crocheting, take this article as a sign to give it another go. But always remember, God loved you then and God loves you now.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

P. S. When I played tennis in high school, I loved fun colors and patterns for my gear. So, while my main racquet is black, it will have a neon green overgrip. My shoes have lots of bright blue on them and my new dampener is in the shape of a to-go cup of coffee. Because if you’re doing something for fun, why not have some fun, right?

Brothers and sisters,

We are at a unique time of year. Spring has fully sprung as flowers are blooming and sunny days are becoming more common. The temperatures right now mean that spending time outside grows increasingly tempting. We’ve had a few hot days that remind us that summer is coming, but for the most part the world is opening up and inviting us to take time to relax and enjoy ourselves.

At the same time, students at colleges and high schools across America are having to stay indoors and pore over notes and books and articles as they prepare for final exams and write final papers. I was reminded of that this week as I prepare for the fantasy book club I’m in.

You’ll remember a couple months ago when I wrote about Water Moon that I’ve been attending a book club in Chapel Hill once a month. Well, most of the people in the book club are undergraduate students and back in March they were already dreading the end of the semester. Several of them have multiple exams within a day or two of each other. A few have final papers to write in the midst of those exams. Our book choice this month was purpose-fully short so they wouldn’t be stressed.

In addition to the universities, though, high schoolers all across the country are preparing for AP exams. I would imagine you all know this already, but AP stands for “advanced placement” and are college level courses taught at high schools. If the students can pass these ex-ams, they get college credit when they go off to school. Needless to say, there’s a lot of pressure placed on these kids.

So, as good neighbors, I want us all to take time over the next few weeks to pray for these students. Pray for them as they study, that their studying would be effective. Pray that they would get good nights of sleep the day before their exams. Pray for nutritious breakfasts that al-low them to focus on their tests and not on their stomachs. Pray for calm nerves, that they would be able to show all that they have learned over the last semester or the last year. For those writing final papers, pray that they would be able to communicate their thoughts effectively. For those running final experiments, pray that they are able to run them efficiently and analyze the results correctly. Pray that all these students would have a sense of accomplishment regardless of the final results.

We can be good neighbors to these students even if they don’t know that we’re praying for them. God has made each and every one of them and given them talents. Let us pray that they can learn to use those talents for the good of God’s kingdom!

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben