You Have a Density

Mommy and Madison were on hand to help out today, as we all came in to work on the Sunday service tomorrow.  Madison is getting used to the bits about work, and is privy to a lot before it happens at the church.  Though there weren't many at the church today.  Josh was there doing his usual editing, and Mommy was doing better, helping gather costumes and so forth.  We got she and Madison home early though, as Mommy's energy isn't quite up to 100% yet.  It will be soon enough, but she did get a pretty good workout today, helping in a lot of different ways, mostly doing the typical housecleaning that goes on.  Hillsong is coming on Monday night to the church, and evidently they're using some of our office space as a waiting area.  Mommy and Daddy saw Hillsong quite some time ago, and we got to hear Darlene Zschech do the signature song, "Shout to the Lord," which was a pretty amazing moment.  Strike that one off the bucket list, although we'd love to go visit that church in Australia some day.  Some day!

So they'll be there in the office, and hopefully staying away from the expired cheez puffs.  Okay, I'm pretty sure they will be, as we're throwing them out!

Anyway, we did a lot of cleaning today, and my office in particular is starting to look less like a holding area for completely random props, and more like an office again.  And over the course of the day, we learned that Daddy gets to speak the message tomorrow.  Daddy actually writes all these messages, but still it is a surprise when he actually shares them from the stage.  So there's a little bit of nervousness there.

So here below is the message, sort of scripted out, complete with references to "Back to the Future," a movie that many of the kids probably haven't seen.  And hopefully won't any time soon, come to think of it.  But that's our theme for the month:  time travel.  So here we go...!

KidPak Adventures: Time Travelers

You Have a Destiny!

CUE SLIDE: "Time Travelers"

HOST:  "Hey there!  We've had a great time here at KidPak, and I just wanted to stop and and give you a quick message about …well, you.  YOU HAVE A DESTINY!"

HOST points at his t-shirt, which reads, "I AM YOUR DENSITY!"

CUE SLIDE:  "BACK TO THE FUTURE"

HOST:  "Okay, I'd better explain this t-shirt.  So there's this movie called 'Back to the Future,' where characters go back in time on an adventure, and there's this funny line a guy says.  He's trying to impress this girl, right?  He walks up to her and is SUPPOSED to say, 'I am your destiny.'"

CUE SLIDE:  "I AM YOUR DENSITY"

HOST: "But you know what he says instead?  He says, 'I am your density.'  Which was so completely wrong - he was basically walking up to her with this swagger and saying, 'I have a thick skull!'"

CUE SLIDE: "Time Travelers"


HOST: "Anyway, today it's about destiny.  Not density.  Although 'density' means 'pretty heavy,' and I have to tell you this:  our message today could be pretty heavy!"

HOST:  "The title of our message - the bottom line - is 'You Have a Destiny.'  And it's true.  God has something in mind for you.  We know that because of one of our memory verses for this series found in Jeremiah 29:11 NIrV."

CUE SLIDE: "Jeremiah 29:11"

HOST:  "For I know the plans I have for you.  Plans to give you a hope and a future."

CUE SLIDE: "Time Travelers"

HOST: "That's the scripture I want you to hold on to today, because it's a promise from God.  He doesn't lie.  If He said it, you know it's going to happen!  But sometimes you get that voice nagging you, the one that says, 'Get out of here kid.  You've got no future.'  But here's the truth, straight from Marty McFly:  'If you put your mind to it, you can really accomplish anything.'  Tell that nagging voice, 'Well, history is going to change!'"

Let audience respond.

HOST: "It is.  And let me tell you why.  A few weeks ago, I told you about your awesome Father God, the one who adopted you.  He also goes by a pretty cool name found in the book of Revelation - and that's our point one."

CUE SLIDE:  POINT ONE

HOST:  "He's the Alpha and Omega.  Want to know what that means?  Let's take a look in the book of Revelation."

CUE SLIDE:  REVELATION 1:8

HOST:  "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord God.  "I am the God who is, and who was, and who will come.  I am the Mighty One."

CUE SLIDE:  "Time Travelers"

HOST:  "When we pray, we're getting in contact with the past, the present, and the future.  God is the ultimate time traveler!  He knows what's going to happen long before it happens, and guess what?  He said He's got a plan for you in the future."

HOST:  "Today I'm going to talk about a couple guys who knew they had a big future ahead of themselves.  There was this one kid - he was actually anointed king of all Israel, chosen ahead of all his brothers.  His name is David."

HOST: "And then there was this other guy named Abraham.  God told Abraham that he would have a son, and that son would have children and so on and so on - and his descendants would be in the squillions."

HOST: "Oh, and then there was this other guy named Joseph.  God actually gave him dreams about Joseph being the center of the universe, and everyone coming to him and bowing before him."

HOST:  "But guess what?  The prophet Samuel didn't take little David off to be king right away.  Abraham's wife wasn't pregnant that year, or the next, or the next.  And Joseph?  He was thrown into a pit and sold into slavery.  Now in each case, do you think these guys forgot about what it was that God told them?"

Let audience answer.

HOST:  "Nope.  In fact, it probably bugged them.  Okay, God.  You said this, and yet here I am, stuck as a slave.  Or in jail.  Without kids.  Or in David's case, being chased all over the place by an angry king who wanted to kill him!"

HOST: "If only we could go back in time and encourage these guys.  We could tell them point two!"

CUE SLIDE: " POINT TWO"

HOST:  "Your time is coming.  You really have an appointment with destiny, so keep your faith in Him and His promise.  Do not lean on your own understanding, and trust the Lord with all your heart.  you have an appointment with destiny."

CUE SLIDE: "ISAIAH 40:31"

HOST:  "The Bible tells us that those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;  They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."

CUE SLIDE:  "TIME TRAVELERS"

HOST: "Point two is all about simply trusting God and believing in Him as you wait for your promise.  Something happened to these guys before they saw their dreams come to pass.  It's called life. That's the stuff you do while your waiting.  Here's our problem - we get impatient.  But look at what David did while he was waiting:  he trained himself to become better and better.  He made worship a lifestyle, and he watched over his sheep."

HOST: "He sat there practicing with his slingshot, and a few times he had to defend his sheep by fighting off a bear, and even a lion.  And here's the neat thing:  do you think those skills came in handy?"

Let audience answer

HOST:  "Sure they did!  Here's the crazy thing:  those things God promised would come true.  But these guys had to be ready for it.  It would have been too soon!  Tell your neighbor that God is always on time."

Let audience answer.

HOST: "This takes us to point three, something pretty awesome!"

CUE SLIDE: "POINT THREE"

HOST:  "He can restore your time.  David held on to become king of Israel.  Abraham became the father of many nations, with more descendants than there were grains of sand on the shoreline.  And we know Joseph's story - he went on to save the world during a time of famine."

CUE SLIDE: "Time Travelers"

HOST:  "And just as He did with these great man, God can restore your time, and make it all worth it.  Let me tell you about a guy from modern times, one who if I told you his name, you'd recognize it right away.  This was back some time ago, but he was pretty creative and innovative.  He got into a contract with a guy to draw cartoons, so he came up with this rabbit.  And it was a great cartoon - pretty popular too.  So this guy's boss gave him some employees, and things were going really, really well."

CUE SLIDE:  "TRAIN"

HOST:  "So one day, this guy's boss tells him to come see him.  Now at that time, the boss was in New York, and this guy was in California - he had to hop on a train and take the long ride over there.  And on the way, he's thinking - business is getting bigger and better.  I might get a raise, or maybe get a new project out of this."

HOST:  "So he arrives in New York, and he doesn't get a raise.  In fact, he discovers that his boss had decided to take all his employees away - and his cartoon rabbit as well.  Because of the way the contract was, his boss literally took everything that this poor guy ever had.  Including that rabbit."

HOST:  "Only one of his employees decided to stay with the man.  And this man got on the train, a long ride across the country.  And I would have absolutely loved to be a fly on the wall inside that train.  Because here he was - this guy lost it all.  But he decided right there and then to start all over and not give up."

HOST:  "And it was right there on that train, the man started to draw a new character, one that he hoped would be more popular."

CUE SLIDE:  "MICKEY MOUSE"

HOST: "You recognize this little guy?  It's amazing that this one moment in time changed so much.  He didn't have anything, he didn't give up.  And because he didn't give up, the world changed.  Seriously - Orlando should be the size of Gainesville.  But because of this man, the city saw 62 million visitors last year, more than any other place in the country.  There are theme parks in California, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris, and one on the way in Singapore.  Disney movies make billions.  And then there's the Disney Channel - this past week in our small groups, I played a few clips from this movie - anyone seen it?"

CUE SLIDE:  "DESCENDANTS"

HOST:  "Descendants.'  This movie is incredibly popular, just like the other movies on the Disney Channel.  The name Disney means a lot to some folks.  The guy started pretty much an empire with just a little doodle on a train.  And you know something?  I've seen some of you in class doodling.  Just sayin'!"

CUE SLIDE:  "DISNEY"

HOST: "Walt Disney said about this empire - 'we must never forget it all started with a mouse.'  And it did.  But don't forget the part before that.  Walt Disney lost everything.  He had nothing at all but a dream, and that turned into a company that makes more money than many actual countries!"

CUE SLIDE:  "TIME TRAVELERS"

HOST:  "He had a destiny.  But the thing is, so do you.  We know that because God's word says it, and God always tells the truth."

HOST:  "The point is this:  you'll get there.  Your future is on the way, right now.  Your job in the meantime is to do your best everywhere you can, and get ready for something wonderful when it comes.  Soon, your future will be waling up to you, ready to say, 'I am your density!'"

HOST: " Or rather, destiny.  Either way, that's pretty heavy!"

HOST:  "Let us pray!"