Sorry it's taken me a while to post about this concert. I've been trying to let my thoughts settle and see what ideas and themes rise to the surface.
It's hard to know where to begin, so I guess I'll lay down some of the background for the evening first. (Note: If you are just interested in hearing about the actual concert then feel free to skip on down a few paragraphs.)
This past fall, I was reading through the Bible when I stumbled upon six words that took me by surprise. It was a phrase I had skimmed over many times in the past, but this time the truth shot off the page and knocked me flat. "Wait a minute," I thought. "What did that say?" I rubbed my eyes, peered down at the page, and re-read, "God displays his glory in Israel."
The first thought that crossed my mind was, "Ridiculous! Why would God choose to display his glory in Israel?" If you remember correctly, these are the people who witnessed God's miraculous rescue from slavery but still got scared whenever they saw Pharaoh's army approaching. They considered returning to slavery in Egypt on more than one occasion, quarreled with their leaders, and grumbled more often than a hungry tummy. And when they made it to the brink of the Promised Land, they refused to go in for fear of the giants. Yet, "God displays his glory in Israel."
It took a while for this absurd truth to sink in, but I soon realized that it is a truth that is consistent throughout Scripture. The holy and powerful God chooses to display his glory in weak and sinful people. As soon as the truth hit me, I knew it was something I wanted to teach K-5th grade about on Wednesday nights. So, I started brainstorming ideas. It was around this time that I attended my first JG concert. I knew right away that Jason's message of the virtues of brokenness would fit right in with what we would be learning.
All that to say, in January of this year we launched a series called "Unlikely Heroes" and Jason was the guest speaker who would come in May and serve as the grand finale to wrap-up this series. I couldn't have asked for a more fitting conclusion. Jason started his lesson by involving the kids in the unlikely task of making a rainstorm inside. From there he launched into the story of Moses and how it seemed unlikely that God would use Moses when he did. God didn’t call Moses when he was the Prince of Egypt; God waited until he was a lowly shepherd before he called him. The conclusion of the lesson was a perfect way to bring the point home and make the lesson applicable to K-5th graders. Jason told the story of the little boy who brought the loaves and fish to Jesus. He said that as kids their “weakness” might be their age. They may not feel like they have much to offer, but when they bring what they have to Jesus, he blesses and multiplies it. On a side note, the kids thought it was really cool that Jason wore his Batman shirt since we have talked about superheroes lately.
After the time with the kids, the actual concert began. There was a diverse range of age groups present, from pre-school to older adults. Our church usually separates out the kids for children’s church, so it was refreshing to see families sitting together. It is not an easy task to keep the attention of such a wide age range, but Jason’s mix of humor, stories, and songs spanned the age gap. I appreciated so much how Jason created an atmosphere in which everyone could be engaged.
Ever since I knew we would be hosting the concert, my prayer was for God to fill the sanctuary. I was nervous that we would have a small crowd making for an awkward evening, and I wanted God to fill the sanctuary with people. God did that, but He filled it with so much more than I ever thought to pray. He filled the sanctuary with His Spirit. The place was saturated with God’s presence and we were left dripping with grace.
Here was the song list for the evening:
New Way to Live
More Like Falling in Love
Blessed Be
That’s How I Ended Up Here
Curiosity Killed the Cat
Charles Bronson
Grace
Jesus Use Me I’m Yours
I Am New
Worship Song – Thank You for Hearing Me
Looking back, I would say the pervading theme of the night was newness of life. The song list was book-ended with the concept of newness. The songs in-between seemed to have to do with how to live like new people in a world and body that has not yet been made new. But most of all, I saw newness of life in how Jason and Taya talked and interacted with others. I saw a girl named Abby’s face brighten when Jason called her by name. And I saw life dance in the eyes of a little boy named Logan when Taya talked with him about the games on his Nintendo DS, and let him look at the CD’s on the merchandise table. Newness of life was not only something that was sung and talked about, it was something Jason and Taya brought us.
