They really are listening

We, currently, have three services on Sunday mornings where the church can gather and worship. This will be changing when we begin to utilize our new building and I am sure that will be great relief to all of the pastors and support staff that make Sunday mornings possible. I have been teaching in our 10:00 kid's HighPoint time which is, basically, junior church for 4 year olds straight up through 5th grade. This means that we normally attend the 8:30 service as a family so that we can serve during the 10:00 a.m. time slot. We "drag" our boys with us into the 8:30 service and they are, for the most part, very well behaved during that time. Of course, we have higher standards for them then to just "be quiet" and "not be a disturbance." It looks like they are meeting our expectations of them.

On numerous occasions I have caught them actually listening to the sermon. Our youngest son requests help on occasion to find a passage in the Old Testament (where we are currently parked in a series called Life Lessons from Dead Kings) and panics when he has lost his place and the pastor is beginning to read from it. A couple of Sundays ago my youngest son and I had a conversation before the evening service started and moderate hilarity ensued:

"Daddy," he asked "can you go to the dead kings in the Old Testament?"
"Well," I responded, "you are going to have to be a bit more specific than that."
[Blank stare]
"OK, there are some in here," I continue and shuffle to 2 Chronicles.
"Thanks!"

I am very happy that they are in service with us and do not put up too much of a stink when we say that we are going to be in "big church". I am also thankful that we have a service on Sunday that is accessible to them. That, in and of itself, is an embrace of the Great Commission and a blessing that is too great to be ignored.

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