Week: Voices of Advent
We start by pausing and taking a deep breath:
In and out.
In and out.
We remember that God is here, and so together we prepare ourselves to be with God.
Pause
God of rescue and restoration, thank You for Your beautiful mission to save the whole world. Here we are, Lord. Fill us with Your Spirit, and send us so that we can join in with Your mission.
Telling others the good news about Jesus is something we’re all invited to do. Let’s REFLECT on that with a passage from Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth.
Read by Noelle
1 Corinthians 3:5-9
We are only servants of God who helped you believe. Each one of us did the work God gave us to do. I planted the seed, and Apollos watered it. But God is the One who made it grow. So the one who plants is not important, and the one who waters is not important. Only God, who makes things grow, is important. The one who plants and the one who waters have the same purpose, and each will be rewarded for his own work. We are God’s workers, working together; you are like God’s farm, God’s house.
1 Corinthians 3:5b-9 (NCV)
Georg Schmidt was born in 1709 in Cunewald, a small town in Germany. He became a Christian when he was 16 years old and then, ten years later, he travelled to South Africa as a missionary. When he arrived, he settled in a place known as the ‘The Valley of Baboons,’ and one of the first things he did was to plant a pear tree in his garden.
In South Africa, Georg met the Khoekhoe people. He discovered that they’d been treated badly by other European settlers, so Georg chose to love them, live with them and serve them in any way that he could. He taught them some of his farming skills, and told them about God’s Great Love for them, and after about five years a few of them decided to accept Jesus and become Christians. When Georg was forced out of South Africa a short while later, he left behind a small pear tree and a handful of new Christians.
Nearly 50 years later, another group of missionaries arrived in the ‘Valley of Baboons’, and they were amazed by what they found. First, there was a giant pear tree – the result of the tiny pear seeds that Georg had planted. And second, they met an old woman called Magdelana, one of the small group of new Christians that Georg had baptised all those years before. She showed them the Bible that Georg had given to her and she told them about the growing church that she had been leading ever since.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: How many different fruits can we name? Here’s one to get started… a pear!
Georg Schmidt didn’t have to be there for his pear tree to grow, or for the Christian community to grow. Like it says in today’s Bible passage, we plant the seeds and God makes them grow… in the soil, and in people’s lives.
Lord God, we ASK You to help us play our part in sowing seeds of life and love and hope into the lives of those around us. As we do our part, help us to trust that You will change people’s hearts.
The next generation of missionaries continued Georg’s work. Eventually, the governor of the region was so impressed by the changes in people’s lives that he changed it’s name from ‘Valley of the Baboons’ to ‘Valley of Grace’.
Lord God, we long for the neighbourhood where we live to become a place of Your grace, a place where people experience Your love and kindness. We ASK You to help our church community reach out and spread Your love, like Georg Schmidt and the missionaries.
Georg probably felt a bit disappointed when he had to leave South Africa. His story reminds us that God can still do things with the seeds that we’ve sown in other people’s lives, the love that we’ve given, the kind words that we’ve said. Even when things don’t work out the way we expect or hope, we can trust that God is still working.
Let’s say YES to God together.
Lord God, we say YES to trusting You, even when things don’t go the way we expect or hope. Help us to keep on loving You and loving others, come what may.
Pause
Let’s put a hand on our heart.
Father God, fill us with Your love. Help us to love You, and everything that You’ve made.
Let’s point to our eyes.
Lord Jesus, help us to see You, and to see others the way that You see them too.
Let’s point to our ears.
Holy Spirit, help us to hear You, and give us courage to do what You say.
Source material:
https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/georg-schmidt
https://www.sahistory.org.za/place/genadendal-historic-village-museum
Phil Anderson, Lord of the Ring pp. 149-50
Chris lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and two boys. He works for 24-7 Prayer Australia and Red Church and is also a professional musician. When he’s not working or drumming Chris enjoys going on long hikes in the mountains with his boys and playing table tennis.
Noelle is 11 and lives in Kansas City, Missouri USA, with her parents, sisters and dogs. She loves animals, playing basketball, creating art and teamwork. Noelle gives the best hugs.
