All right, we've got the closing program. I'm going to let Holly come up, and she's going to explain what we're doing here. All right, Holly, would you come? All right, good morning. Thank you for coming out to our closing program this morning. We've had a great week with the kids. Between the toddlers and the middlers, we had about nine kids every night. We had a couple visitors, so it was a great week. Just a great week learning all about serving God. So our theme this year was Rocket Racers, on track with our great God. And the kids learned all about Elijah. And we learned about how God prepared Elijah for his race in life and how he prepares us for our race in life. So I just want to say a quick thank you to all my pit crew and team members, helpers, because we can't do this by ourselves. We can't run the race alone. serve together. So I'm just thankful for Ms. Alice taking the toddlers this year. And then we had some toddlers to teach, so that's encouraging. So we have more kids coming up through the church. And I'm thankful for Ms. Allison and Ms. Andrea and their help, helping me to wrangle the kids every night and do crafts and snacks and all the details. There's always so much that goes on each night. And I'm thankful and grateful for, like I said, my pit crew and team. So I think the parents, grandparents who brought kids, aunts, uncles, thank you. We had someone to teach, so it was encouraged. So again, thank you for bringing the kids out. Again, we had a great week. Our first night, we learned about how God prepares us for our race, what our race in life looks like, and how God prepares us, and how he prepared Elijah for what was ahead and gave him the message that he needed to speak to King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. So on the second night, we learned how God guides us, how he guided Elijah to the widow of Zarephath and ended up helping her and her son. Then the third night, we learned how God empowers us. Now, Elijah was able to show the Israelites who the one true God was. And on that night, we also talked about the importance of prayer and covering ourselves in prayer and the people we love in prayer. Then on the fourth night, we learned how God refuels us and how he refueled Elijah when he became discouraged and upset. And we learned the importance of taking a nap and eating a good snack, because sometimes those are spiritual battle tactics. I mean, when you're tired, it's easy to get discouraged. So I encouraged the kids to make sure they take their naps, and they rolled their eyes at me. I was like, you wait till you're adults. You'll see what I'm talking about. And then on the last night, we learned about how God wants us to invite new racers so that we, again, we can't do this race of life on our own. We need to bring other people along and share the gospel with others. And we learned how Elijah teamed up with Elisha and how Elisha went on to carry on the work of Elijah. So again, we had a great week, great lessons. Sometimes I don't know who needed the lessons more, me or the kids, but it was a great, great study the last month through just learning about Elijah and preparing these lessons and doing the adult Bible study that goes along with it. So I'm thankful and grateful to have had the chance to do this again this year with the kids. Again, just to have all the kids, they were well behaved, excellent, very smart, very inquisitive, asking all sorts of great questions. It was encouraging, just so encouraging. I'm thankful for the kids. So we're gonna have them come up now. We're gonna sing some of the songs we learned throughout the week. I'm still singing them today and probably will be through the next week. So we'll have the kids come up and they'll sing for you and then we'll continue on with our program. Yes, sure is fun. Bring your friends in one by one. Fill the church up. Fill it up. Fill it to the door. Then we'll go and get some more. I'll bring one. You'll bring two. Just like Jesus told us to, fill the church up, fill it up, fill it to the door. Then we'll go and get some more. I'll bring one, you'll bring two. Just like Jesus told us to, fill the church up, fill it up, fill it to the door. And then we'll go and get some more. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Keep the artillery. I may never join the enemy, but I'm in the Lord's army. Yes, sir. Now we're going to sing this with a race car theme. I'm in the Lord's pit crew. I may never race a horse. the trackway, fuel in the fast lane. I may never win with the big crew, but I'm in the Lord's big crew. Vroom, vroom. I'm in the Lord's big crew. Vroom, vroom. I'm in the Lord's big crew. Vroom, vroom. I may never race on the speedway, drift on the trackway, fuel in the fast lane. I may never win, Mr. Bigfoot, but I'm in the Lord's big group. Rocking racers on a mission, we're not looking back. With the spirit of power, we're on our way. Guided by our God, in every turn we take. Like an ocean, God is our victory. He's our supercharged champion we see. When we hear his voice as he leads us on, let's get on track with our powerful mind. Rocket racers, come give us the fuel. When we die in hope and the road is lost. As we go to our Father, we find our place. He empowers us to finish every race. Like Elijah, God is our victory. ♪ He is a supercharged champion beast in the night ♪ ♪ When we hear his voice and he leads us on ♪ ♪ Let's get on track with our powerful mind ♪ ♪ Through every curve and straightaway ♪ ♪ We'll just simply find the way ♪ ♪ And he will call the world to follow too ♪ God is our victory. He's a supercharged champion pristine. Let me hear his voice as he leads us on. Let's get on track with our powerful God. Rocket racers. Rocket racers. Green flag go, red flag stop, checkered flag win, let's sing it again. Green flag go, red flag stop, checkered flag win, let's sing it again. Stringed by the claw mark in the throat, Supercharged faith ignites our hope. With blood, steel, my fear and distress, The faith in my heart I'll never look back. With what force he takes the lead, A faith filled blade for the world to see. There's no match for supercharged faith, God's team wins the race! Green flag go, red flag stop, checkered flag win, let's sing it again. Green flag go, red flag stop, checkered flag win, let's sing it again. Let the fun hop in, let's go. Supercharged Pink ignites our hope. Red flags, no time here to stress. I'm faith in my heart, I'll never look back. With the club, God's team takes the lead. A faithful win for the world to see. There's no match for Supercharged Pink. God's team wins, hooray! Green flag go, red flag stop, checker flag red. Let's sing it again. Green flag go, red flag stop, checker flag red. Our team wins again. All right, so yeah, we've been singing that red flag, green flag, checkered flag all week long. It's stuck. I'm going to go back to work singing that tomorrow. Oh, dear. But now I'm going to have Miss Alice come. She's going to present her class and what they learned and their awards. OK. I had Addie and Sage, and I guess Sage isn't here yet. And they learned about Jesus calls their disciples, and how Jesus showed his wonderful power, and who's the greatest. And Jesus is the victor, and Peter and John, how they carry on. And they learned how to obey, and how to share, and how to love. and to be kind to one another. You wanna do our Bible verse? You remember our Bible verse? Our Bible verse is in Corinthians 15. Can you say it with me? 1557. Let's do it. God giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. They don't talk much, and they're stage fright, and so am I. So here's a little gift for you for coming every night. And we'll thank your nana for bringing you every night. This is for you. Oh, wow. Hang on it like this so it doesn't, it's a little heavy. All right. Thank you, Miss Alice. And then if I could have my class come up. They're all scattered on me, but they're working their way up. We had, I can say again, we had a great week with the kids. Every one of them attended every night. We had perfect attendance. In fact, up until Friday night, all four of them were tied. So I was like, oh boy, what are we gonna do here? But I was so proud of each one of them. We talked about the importance of memorizing scripture and how that helps to protect our minds and our hearts from the lies of culture and the lies Satan tries to tell us. So our theme verse for the week was Philippians 2.13. You guys remember it? Say it along with me. So it is God that worketh in you both to do and to will his good pleasure. Very good. So we had different verses each night that we worked on memorizing. They earned points for their attendance, for their behavior, for bringing their Bibles, for bringing a friend, and for memorizing scripture verses. And like I said, they were all tied up until Friday night. So our, let's see. So yeah, again, we had a great week. We had all kinds of little projects we did, different games, crafts, themed snacks. Probably one of our favorite activities was Monday night. We talked about protecting, again, our heads and our hearts. And we talked about how race car drivers use helmets to help protect themselves. And then we had them take an egg and build a helmet for an egg and then drop it and see if it held up. So the kids did great. Every one of their eggs held up. And they used all different kinds of things from Mr. Michael's little extra RC car tires to bubble wrap and laundry soap caps. We got creative. And I said, the kids, they did great. All their eggs held up. So that was neat. And then we also had on Wednesday night, Mr. Mike, my dad, brought one of his RC cars, one of his fancy expensive RC cars, and let the kids ram it around the parking lot. So that was kind of fun, again, teaching them how to race them and that it's not quite as easy as it looks. And then Miss Andrea really wrecked it. And then Mr. Mike said, you owe me another one. So that was fun, trying to dodge everybody's vehicles in the parking lot. And then Thursday night, we learned, again, about how God renewed Elijah. This was probably one of my favorite lessons as someone who, you know, works in the world, works at Care Net. Sometimes you can feel like you're the only one out there serving God, but, you know, we're not. Like there's, you know, there were 7,000 who didn't bow to Baal, and there are multiple people out in the world serving the Lord today. So it was a great lesson, and we learned about the importance of encouraging each other. And we actually had a A special project we worked on with the kids, we built an encouragement box that we're going to give to someone in the church. And I'll explain that a little more a little bit later. So that was neat to get to see the kids get involved with that and to see actually how excited they got to write encouragement notes. draw little pictures, like it was just, it was really, really sweet. And I'm just, I'm so proud of the kids, just so proud of their precious hearts. And then Friday night, like I said, we learned about sharing our love for Jesus with others. And we played glow in the dark ring toss with glow sticks to help us remember to shine our lights bright for Jesus in the dark world, so. Again, we had just a great week. The kids, I guess, were fantastic. It was such a joy to teach each one of them, and I'm just so thankful for all of them, for every single one of them. Their unique personalities, getting to see them come out through the games and the crafts, and just getting to learn the kids. It was such a blessing. So thank you again, parents, neighbors, friends, grandparents, for bringing your kids out. If you guys didn't bring them, I wouldn't have had a job this week. So I'm thankful for the job I had. All right, so now I'm sure the kids want to know who the winners are. Who won? Because they're asking me every night. I'm like, Miss Holly doesn't know. She won't know till the end of the week. I just write the stuff down. So like I said, everybody was tied up until Friday night. And our two second place winners are the two lovely ladies I had in class, Laney and Daisy. for you, and then our, whoops, excuse me, our top student for the week on Friday, that broke the tie on Friday night is Connor. So that is for you, and then of course, a little something for the other two who are also great and wonderful. I appreciate each one of you guys. I appreciate each one of you coming out. And hopefully you learned something this week, and hopefully Miss Holly wasn't too cheesy. So, yeah, thank you kids. You guys are dismissed. Thanks for coming. So, again, on Thursday we built, I had the kids, we worked on, like I said, a project together. We built an encouragement box that we wanted to give to Jack and Kelly Green because we know that they've been going through quite a lot this year. And we put together a little something and we're just proud of the kids and we prayed for them. Again, we need to come alongside of each other and just encourage each other in life, because life can be really hard. So yeah. Thankful again for the kids. Thankful again for my pit crew, my team. Thank you for Barney for teaching the kids, the teenagers. And an encouragement, a word of encouragement to all Sunday school teachers, Bible school teachers, anyone who's ever taught these kids at the church, know that you're laying up treasure in heaven, that the work you're doing is worth it, and that your influence is irreplaceable in the lives of kids. I mean, I'm standing here due to the influence of Sunday school teachers I had and Bible school teachers and my grandma who taught us faithfully in Patch Club for years and who I absolutely miss dearly and can't help but think about this time of year because she loved VBS. But just want to encourage every Sunday school teacher, like keep up the good work, keep up the hard work, keep doing it. The fruit of your labor was shown this week when we had a young man come to know the Lord, one that almost all of us have taught at some point in this journey. So just know that you're doing the right thing and you're serving the Lord. and your works will follow you. So thank you. I'm going to turn it over to Barney now and the teenagers, and they're going to finish out the program for us. OK. I told the teens they're going to be bad baptists for a few minutes because they're going to sit in the front row. Again, not to repeat or to outweigh just Remember, every investment that we as adults make doesn't matter the age. They can be this big, they can be this big. You make an investment that lasts for eternity, don't you? How about it? All right. This week, keeping with the theme of winning the race, we did four different topics each night with regard to Christian growth. Because once we get into that winner's circle, once we've accepted Christ as our Savior, it doesn't stop there, does it? No. It doesn't stop there. We need to grow and learn. Being born again is the foundation, the first step. That's your first step. But it's not your last, is it? No. It's your first step. That's exciting. So, Brother Ben is going to start. And I asked each of the students, each student group, a couple of groups, a couple of individuals, I asked them to pick and they chose their topics, take each of the four lessons that we did, do a five minute summation or a little devotional with regard to that topic. So Brother Ben is going to start with The triple A or the three A's of successful church membership. And I'm going to remind the teams publicly one more time. You have people out there with hearing aids. So speak slowly, clearly, and loudly. Don't be afraid to say the word of God. Be proud of the word of God. Stand in the word of God. Here we go. From the bench, take it away. Paul, good morning. I would like to start, before I get into the three A's of church success, with a prayer. So if we could all bow our heads and close our eyes for this prayer, that would be much appreciated. Dear Lord, thank you for this special gathering and for every young person who is stepping forward to speak today. We lift up each teen who will be sharing a message. We ask that you bless their words and fill their hearts with peace and confidence. May their many sermons be guided by your Holy Spirit speaking truth and encouragement. Let every message bring glory to your name and draw us closer to you. Open our hearts and ears to receive what you are saying through them. Lord, use these young voices to make a lasting impact. Let your word go forth with clarity and power. We commit this time to you and trust you will, to you and trust you will work through every message spoken, amen. So like Barney said, we all have a sign, and I choose the three A's of church success. First A for church success is appreciating God. I try every day, some days I get busy and forget, to thank the Lord for the breath that he has gave me and the healthy body that he has given me. I know I'm not perfect, but every night I do thank God for the good and the bad in my life. If you stop and think about every day, it's full of lessons. We just have to slow down and think, what example is God trying to show me? Over the years, I've realized even when something doesn't go the way I was hoping, there's a lesson to be learned. And when I stop and think why God would want me to, would want the certain outcome, It starts to make sense, and I know that he wants me to stay humble while keeping my family alive that day. No matter what gets thrown at me, I've learned that with the love of God, I can get through anything, and for that, I remember that I should never forget what God went through for my sins, and I thank God for everything that he has made. The second A for church system, I apologize. The second A for church success is acknowledge. It is very important that we acknowledge how powerful God is and how heartwarming his mercy is. We have all had our fair shares of ups and downs. And if you believe in God, normally you pray about it in hopes that it'll help you, right? And if you've made it through those hard times, then God has helped you. Sometimes you don't think God is listening because the problem doesn't get solved right away. But sometimes we miss the signs that he gives us with the problem. Think about that. And the last A for church success is apply. But mainly, apply God's message. to our life. Applying God's message means taking the teachings and principles found in the Bible and using them to guide your actions and decisions daily in life. It involves understanding the message and applying them to your personal circumstances, seeking guidance from God and making choices, this process is not only about following the rules, but also about living out the values that God has established for humanity. Well, I'm glad I had the opportunity to talk to the congregation today about God. Usually, I'm the one listening. I'm not too good at talking in front of large audiences, especially about God, but I knew if I prayed about it, then he would give me the strength to get through it. Thanks for giving me your attention. I'm sure all of you guys know, I'm not, apologize. Thanks for giving me your attention. I'm sure all of you know I'm still learning about God and the Bible. But one day, I hope to know it cover to cover, And with open hearts, I'm sure God will be there someday and thank me for everything that I've done for him. Amen. Amen. Amen. I don't know about you, but I think you've done pretty good. Amen. Amen. Amen. OK. Next, up is Katrina, Emma, and Sam. And I'm going to have them tell you what their topic was that they chose. And again, they did a great job. And just to reiterate, the kids worked very hard. I gave them the notes and gave them the lessons, but they wrote everything This week, during Vacation Bible School, we learned the five choices believers make. The first choice believers make is to stand on the word of God. To stand on the word of God means to stay faithful and trust in God's word. 1 Corinthians 16, 13. Watch ye stand fast in the faith. Quit you like men, be strong. A choice believers make is to turn to God and pray, even when we are doing things that we are ashamed of. God will help you turn away from the things that we should not be doing. James 4, 7. Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Verse 8. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Amen. A choice believers should make is to remember God is always watching us and sees everything we do. Even though we can't see him, we always need to remember God's here with us. We need to believe this as it states in Proverbs 15, three, the eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good. Trust, trusting in our relationship with God is a big choice believers need to make. Many people believe in the Word of God, but when they go through difficult times, believers start to question God. That is why we need to trust Him because He always has a plan. Proverbs 3, 5, trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. Amen. The last choice we learn believers make is to be being mindful that God hears us and responds to our prayers. Proverbs 3, 6, and all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path. Being mindful also comes with not asking for selfish desires and knowing he knows what's best for you. Also, knowing that praying for something may not turn out to be exactly what you prayed for. To recap the five choices believers make, Stand. Stand on the word of God. Turn. Turn to God in prayer. Remember. Remember God is always watching us. Trust. Trusting in your relationship with God and being mindful that God hears us and responds to our prayers. I don't know about you, Marnie, but I think we've got some CDF teachers here coming up. All right next Joel and Josh are coming and they I'll let them tell you what they're gonna say But again Aren't they just a joy to work with? And like I said, this is all their work. Hello. Today we will be going over the four C's of core belief. First, let's describe casual belief. It is someone who is swayed easily, has doubt, and hesitates. Now for the four C's of core belief. The first C is conviction. The dictionary definition is a firmly held belief. One Bible verse that also describes conviction is Hebrews 10.23. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful that promised. The second C of core belief is confidence. The dictionary definition is the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something firm trust, or the state of feeling certain about the truth of something. Two Bible verses that also describe it are Philippians 4.13. I can do all things through Christ, which strengthened me. And the second verse is 1 John 5.14. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us. The third C is courage. The dictionary definition is mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. The two Bible verses are Joshua 1 9 and Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest. The second verse is 1 Corinthians 16, 13. Be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your neighbor is not in vain in the Lord. The last C is commitment. The dictionary definition is the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause or activity. A Bible verse that describes commitment is Proverbs 16, 3. Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. Another verse is Colossians 3, 23. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men. What we just described is what every Christian should strive to be. Now the question is, do you have a casual or core belief? Do we have a casual belief or do we have a core belief? in Christ. And I'll tell you what, these kids here, I think they're demonstrating a core belief, aren't they? Our last one up is Izzy, and Izzy chose this to do, this is actually the toughest lesson we did this week. And of course, she took the challenge. She said, I'm going to do this. It's the toughest lesson yet. We all know the Bible verse where Paul says, of sinners I am cheap, right? He's the pattern. He was the pattern. He sinned. He attacked the early church. And then he came to Christ. He became our apostle, the apostle to the Gentiles, right? Well, we titled this lesson something that I rarely do. We went to the negative. And the title of this lesson that Izzy's going to summarize for you is... Of narcissists, the devil is chief. Good morning, everyone. My name is Isabel. Today I will be sharing with you the devotion I made called Standing Firm Against the Spirit of Narcissism. Before diving straight into the lesson, what is a narcissist? A narcissist is someone with an inflated sense of self-importance, a deep need for admiration, and a lack of empathy. At their core, narcissists seek control, validation, and worship, often at the expense of truth and love. Now that we know what a narcissist is, I would please like to ask everyone to turn in their Bibles to Matthew chapter 4, verses 1 through 11. This is a prime example of narcissism in the Bible. Matthew chapter 4 verses 1 through 11 says, Then it was Jesus led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward and hungered. And when the temper came to him, he said, If thou shalt be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, "'If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, "'for it is written, "'he shall give his angels charge concerning thee, "'and their hand shall bear it to thee, "'lest any time thou dash thy foot against stone.' "'Jesus said unto him, "'It is written again, "'Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. "'Again the devil taketh up into the exceeding high mountain "'and sheweth all the kingdoms of the world "'and the glory of them. and saith unto him, all these things I will give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, get thee hence Satan, for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and behold, the angels came and ministered unto him. In Matthew four, verses one through 11, Jesus is tempted in the wilderness. After 40 days of fasting, the devil comes not just to tempt him, but to manipulate, question his identity, and seek worship for himself. Let's look at the three narcissistic traits the devil shows and how Jesus shows us the way to overcome them. Number one, narcissists twist the truth to control you, verses three and six. If thou shalt be the son of God. Satan challenges Jesus' identity, not out of doubt, but to provoke insecurity. In verse six, he even misuses scripture to manipulate. Jesus responds with truth. He doesn't argue, he just simply says, it is written. He says this in verse four, seven, and 10. The word of God is your defense when narcissistic voices try to distort your worth. Number two, narcissists crave worship and recognition. Verse nine, all these things I will give thee if thou will fall down and worship me. Satan reveals his true heart, a desire to be worshiped. This is core of narcissism. Look at me, exalt me. Jesus replies to him saying, thou shall worship the Lord thy God and only thou shalt serve, from verse 10. Only God is worthy of worship, not people, not pride, not power. Number three, narcissists exploit vulnerability, verses two and three. Satan comes to Jesus at his weakest when he is hungry and alone. Narcissists often strike when you are most vulnerable, asking to gain control. Yet Jesus shows that his strength is found in surrender. Even in weakness, he leans on the word and refuses to bow. So what should you take into remembrance of everything I've just said? You will encounter people and spiritual forces who act like the enemy in this passage. They will twist the truth. They will question your identity. They'll demand loyalty and they'll even exploit your weaknesses. But like Jesus, you can stand firm. by knowing who you are in Christ, trusting the word of God, worshiping God alone no matter what anything the world can offer to you. The spirit of narcissism is alive and active today seeking attention, validation, and control. But like Jesus in the wilderness, you have the power to say, get thee hence Satan, because it is written, is stronger than any lie. Stay rooted in your truth. Don't trade your soul for the applause of man. And worship your God. And just serve him, all loyalty to God. He is so amazing and wonderful for us. Sometimes we just don't stay strong to him when we do need to. I do have their gifts and so I had them all set up front so I could do that for them. Instead of giving awards, Heather asked every person, Heather worked with me this week with them, their favorite color and their favorite candy. And so Heather, we sat in the house last night and we made these little gift bags. So Joel, you're first. Emma? No particular order here. Katrina? And like all grandparents learn, sugar them up and send them back to their parents. Dylan? Dylan's not here. Ben? Thank you. Isabel? Sam? Coming out of that winner's circle, I told the kids, you know, we have age range of the oldest, I believe, is 16, the youngest is what, 13, 14? 13. 13 and 10 is 23, right? Ten years, you're looking at church leadership. Ten years, you're looking at the people who, all the veterans of this church, You need to train up to take over. So, so far what I've seen this church is doing an outstanding job of training them up. So keep up the good work. Train these guys up because they're gonna lead people to Christ one day. In fact, I know one over here who already has. And outstanding. Thank you all, pastor. All right, thank you. Give Barney a hand of applause. He did a great job. Praise the Lord. Very good. I appreciate that work that you've done with these kids.