{"id":888,"date":"2009-05-21T14:53:00","date_gmt":"2009-05-21T18:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rayvanneste.com\/?p=888"},"modified":"2013-06-21T14:46:42","modified_gmt":"2013-06-21T18:46:42","slug":"missions-with-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rayvanneste.com\/?p=888","title":{"rendered":"Missions with Children"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This past Sunday night the children at our church shared with the rest of the congregation what they have been learning on Sunday nights over the last year. On Sunday nights the adults have a prayer meeting. The children then also pray, work on scripture memory and are systematically working through the countries of the world, learning where they are, what life is like there (particularly access to the gospel) and how they can pray for each nation. Over this past year they covered Africa and learned all the countries of Africa using some catchy songs arranged by region. The children sang these songs and college students who worked with the children read of key prayer requests for each region. They also sang a portion of Psalm 119 which they had learned. We concluded by praying for some of those requests.<\/div>\n

It was a moving evening hearing all they had learned and being reminded of the needs in other places. To me the most moving part was hearing the children sing, “How Sweet and Awful.”\u009d My wife, who organizes our children’s ministry, taught them this powerful hymn and it summarizes well the missions emphasis. One of the parents caught a portion of the singing on video (I could not figure out how to embed it here).<\/p>\n

Here are the words of the hymn:
\nHow sweet and awful is the place
\nWith Christ within the doors,
\nWhile everlasting love displays
\nThe choicest of her stores.<\/p>\n

While all our hearts and all our songs
\nJoin to admire the feast,
\nEach of us cry, with thankful tongues,
\n“Lord, why was I a guest?”<\/div>\n
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“Why was I made to hear Thy voice,
\nAnd enter while there’s room,
\nWhen thousands make a wretched choice,
\nAnd rather starve than come?”<\/div>\n
‘Twas the same love that spread the feast
\nThat sweetly drew us in;
\nElse we had still refused to taste,
\nAnd perished in our sin.<\/div>\n
Pity the nations, O our God,
\nConstrain the earth to come;
\nSend Thy victorious Word abroad,
\nAnd bring the strangers home.<\/div>\n
We long to see Thy churches full,
\nThat all the chosen race
\nMay, with one voice and heart and soul,
\nSing Thy redeeming grace
\n– Isaac Watts<\/div>\n
(Note: All these photos and the videos were taken by Sarah Ellsworth<\/a>)<\/p>\n
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This past Sunday night the children at our church shared with the rest of the congregation what they have been learning on Sunday nights over the last year. On Sunday nights the adults have a prayer meeting. The children then also pray, work on scripture memory and are systematically working through the countries of the …<\/p>\n

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