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Youth Sunday: Testimonies · Beyond the Sermon

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You're listening to Beyond the Sermon, the podcast of First
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Methodist Church in Collingswood, NJ.
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On our podcast, the goal is not just to share our sermons, but
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to go beyond the sermon and talk about what we're learning and
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what God is doing in US and in our community.
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The sermon you're about to listen to comes from our Spring
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Mixtape 2025 non series sermon series rather than a series, and
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this will be a collection of sermons based on what God is
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leading us to preach on this spring.
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You can find more information about our church at
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fumccollingswood.org. Thanks for listening.
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Today's first Scripture verse comes from Jeremiah 29.
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For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to
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prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a
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future. Then you will call on me and
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come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
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You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all of
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your heart, I will be found by you, declares the Lord.
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And to bring you back from captivity, I will gather you
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from all the nations and places I have banished you, declares
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the Lord, and I will bring you back to the places from which I
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carried you into exile. This is the word of God for the
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people of God. Morning everybody, hear me?
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OK, hello. Alright, so my name is Lydia
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Baudelaire. For those of you who don't know,
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I'm Steven Joanna's daughter and I'm going to be sharing my
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testimony with you today. An overall theme I found is how
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your circumstance affects your relationship with God and how
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big of a difference he can make. Also how much a good community
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can strengthen your relationship and point you towards God.
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My testimony isn't a very complicated one, but looking
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back I can clearly see how much my faith has changed my life.
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I've been going to church for as long as I can remember.
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I went to EUM and Clarksboro for the first few years of my life,
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which is right around the corner from where I live.
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It was where my mom grew up and where my parents got married.
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I grew up hearing Sunday school stories like Daniel and the
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Lyons and and Noah's Ark, knowing the empty egg among the
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full ones full of candy representing the empty tomb on
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Easter morning, and I was always so excited.
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My teacher will mention the story of Lydia.
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When I was little, I had no clue what a relationship with God
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was. Even after moving to Trinity,
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which a lot of you have heard of, I was still oblivious to
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this. I continued to learn about Bible
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stories and sang songs about how good God was, but never made an
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effort to really know him, mainly because I had no clue how
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my family went to Trinity for almost five years.
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We went to service every Sunday unless Sunday came up and we
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couldn't. I went to the children's group
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for a while with Miss Meg and many other wonderful teachers
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until I sadly aged out of it. When I was old enough to go to
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the youth group, I never did. I didn't really know anybody,
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which was the main reason I never went.
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I remember Jeremy talking to me on Sunday mornings after service
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trying to bribe me into going to youth group.
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It never worked. Looking back, not knowing
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anybody in the youth group drastically affected my
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relationship with God because I had nobody close to my age told
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me to get to know Him better. Overall, I never really felt
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connected to God at Trinity, mainly because of the previous
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reason but also because I didn't know Him at the time.
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I frequently seen the phrase knowing of God versus knowing
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God. I now see how much that applies
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to my life. I knew of God during this time,
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but I never made an effort to have a relationship with Him.
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I didn't know what that was. I didn't think it would make a
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difference in my life. Looking back, I clearly see what
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haven't got in my life. Knowing Him and having people
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who made me want to get closer to Him made such a difference in
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my overall life and how much my faith was strengthened.
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As you all know, Pastor Scott left Trinity and came here.
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My family and many others followed a little while after
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that. When I heard about him and his
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family leaving, I was sad at first because I got to know them
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so well. I knew my family would
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eventually follow them, so I wasn't surprised when we
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officially left Trinity. It was weird adjusting to
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another church and new environment that ended up being
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such a blessing when we first came here.
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I was very happy to hear Pastor Scott preach again.
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The first few services didn't affect me much since I was
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hearing the same pastor I heard for so many years.
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I didn't feel like something new.
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I don't really feel at home here until the first night I came to
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Youth Group. I was so nervous walking into
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the youth room for the first time, but that quickly faded.
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I vividly remember playing Django with Sean Zuk and a few
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other people, and there was something about the way they
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were talking to me, as if I'd known them forever, that made me
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feel so welcome. After the first night I came to
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Youth Group, I couldn't wait for the next Sunday.
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The welcoming environment and the amazing people I met gave me
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a feeling that this place was right for me and it would be in
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my home church. To me, that means somewhere I
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feel welcomed, not judged, and surrounded by people who almost
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feel like family. Once I frequently came to youth
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group, I began to see a change in my faith.
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I saw how close everybody was with God and how they all
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reflected His life. When I saw this, I was so
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inspired to get closer to God. I want to know more about Him,
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spend more time in the Word, and actually have a relationship
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with Him. I began to figure out what that
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meant and the steps to take to build my relationship, such as
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spending time in the Word and surrounding myself with a good
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community. The turning point in my faith
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was when the youth group started the Lent challenge of reading
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John. It was the first time I actually
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read my Bible in depth, and once it started, I knew I wanted to
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keep going. About halfway through this
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challenge, I decided I want a new Bible.
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I've been using a paperback I received at a day camp during my
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elementary school years, but I wanted my own.
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That was special to me, the colour I liked and most of all I
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wanted space to write. I found one on Amazon which had
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margins on the side that I could write in and the words of Jesus
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in red. I had about before this but
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didn't have any special features like my new one had.
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Excuse me, This Bible has held my faith so much, especially
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since I have been able to journal as I read.
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Excuse me? Not only did I want a Bible to
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journal in, but I saw all the pretty Bibles the girls around
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me had and I love them so much. Excuse me.
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All right, OK, I saw all the highlighted verses and little
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side notes and I want to one just like that.
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I can clearly see how God used the people around me to
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strengthen my relationship with them.
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Even something something as simple as a colorful highlighted
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Bible. When I finished John, I asked
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Jeremy about what I should read next and they gave me a whole
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plan, which set me up with a few books that have helped me grow
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my faith so much. In addition to reading my Bible
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more, I've gotten so much closer with the people in the youth
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group who I'm now happy to call some of my best friends.
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Because of the amazing people I've got to know, I was able to
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go on the 2023 winter retreat. I got so much closer to the
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youth group and I was happily able to give my life to Christ.
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This is one of the major things that strengthen my faith and my
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relationship with God. I've been able to see how He
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works through the people around me and how they reflect that
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every time I see them. Seeing all the relationships I
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built over the years and how my faith has changed has made me
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realize that Collingswood is the right place for me.
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Jeremiah 29 verse 11 says for I know the plans I have for you
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and declares the Lord plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
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plans to give you hope and a future.
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This verse has been a constant reminder to me that God always
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has a plan. You seen where you've been, He
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knows where you'll go and He'll always make sure that is the
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right place for you. Looking back, there is such a
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clear difference in my life from before and after coming to
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Collingswood and coming to know Christ.
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Overall, my life changed for the better.
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I began to see things and God I'm used to seeing such as
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beautiful sunny day or flowers growing in sidewalk cracks.
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God opened my eyes to see everything as a blessing, know
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that everything happens for a reason and has encouraged me to
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grow with the people around me. I had own respect perspective on
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life and I often wonder where I would be if I hadn't come to you
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through that one night. Coming to Collingswood and being
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in a whole new environment has changed not only my faith and my
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life as well. More than words can describe.
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And I can't express all the gratitude I have for the amazing
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people I had the pleasure to grow with over the past three
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years and the opportunity to share the story with you all.
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I'm going to close some prayer. Dear God, I thank you so much
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for this day and the opportunity to share my testimony with these
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wonderful people. I ask that you bless each and
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every one of them as we enter a new week and I pray that they
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will take something away from our time together.
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I pray that they know your plans above all else and you will
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always make sure they're in the right place.
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I pray for Elizabeth as she comes to share and that you will
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guide her and let everyone take something away from her
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testimony as well. I pray that your peace be with
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all these people and everything they do and guide them through
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this week. In your name we pray.
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Amen. This morning, second scripture
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comes from First Corinthians chapter 10.
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I have the right to do anything you say, but not everything is
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beneficial. I have the right to do anything,
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but not everything is constructive.
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No one should seek their own good but the good of the others.
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Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions
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of conscience. For the earth is the Lord's and
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everything in it. If an unbeliever invites you to
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a meal and you want to go, eat whatever they put in front of
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you without raising questions of conscience.
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But if someone says to you this has been offered in sacrifice,
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do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for
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the sake of conscience. I'm referring to the other
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person's conscience and not yours.
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For why is my freedom being judged by another's conscience?
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If I take part in a meal with thankfulness, why am I
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denouncing because of something I thank God for?
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So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for
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the word of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble,
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whether Jews, reeks or the Church of God, even as I try to
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please everyone in every way. For I'm not seeking my own good,
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but the good of many, so that they may be saved.
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The Word of God for the people of God.
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OK, can everyone hear me? This is loud enough.
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OK, so I think last time I came up here and shared a testimony,
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I remember saying that was only sharing it because Sean asked me
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to and you cannot say no to Sean.
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This time is a little different because I think God wanted me to
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share and obviously you definitely do not say no to God.
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So 1st Corinthians 1031 is my favorite verse in the Bible says
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so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do everything
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for the glory of God. So I have that on my phone
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wallpaper and my Instagram bio. I'm going to make the assumption
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that you've heard the word surrender using some context
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with that being church or history.
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The dictionary defines surrender as to yield to the power,
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control, or possession of another upon compulsion or
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demand. To give up completely or agree
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to forgo, especially in favor of another.
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To give oneself up into the power of of another, especially
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as a prisoner. To give oneself over to
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something such as an influence like this.
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God calls us to surrender everything in our lives to Him.
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I've heard this countless times in my life and somehow I never
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really fully understood until this year.
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This past year I learned three main things.
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That surrender requires sacrifice, trust, and
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acceptance. Sacrificing my own plans, pride
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and expectations. Trusting that God's plan and
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timing is perfect and far better than what I could imagine, and
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accepting whatever is thrown my way.
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For those who know me, you know that I tend to overthink and
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plan. Those who don't know me, I am
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the person who will stand in Acme deciding which kind of
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bread to buy for a potluck for a good 10 minutes or to practice
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when I'm ordering in my head 10 times before the waiter comes or
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make Jeremy order for me. Or I will imagine every possible
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scenario before saying or doing something.
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So I guess you could say I like having control over my life.
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One particular thing I tried to control was my college search.
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As you know, I'm going to Messiah University.
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I am so excited and know that this is where God wants me.
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However, there was a point in time where I wasn't so sure.
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Earlier in November and December, a lot of people are
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asking where I'd applied, and I'd only applied to Messiah and
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already committed. Being within the top ten of my
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class and knowing and known for my involvement in various sports
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and clubs, I felt pressure to be applying to more prestigious
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schools, or at least more than just one.
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I started doubting my decision. On top of this I was scheduled
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for two scholarship interviews, one for the auditors program and
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one for the multicultural program.
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On the honor scholarship day I had an interview and I had to
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write an essay. The interview was on one-on-one
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with a professor which made me extra nervous.
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They told me that I had to wear business casual, which I don't
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know any teenager that just has business casual in their closet.
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I was not about to go out and spend $50 on new slacks and
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flats and any other dress shirt. So I wore a nice sweater vest
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and some jeans and my converse. So we get there and as soon as I
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got there I felt very out of place.
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Everyone else was wearing suits or flats and slacks and nice
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dress shirts making my converse stick out.
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As we were sitting down I began panicking and this was a actual
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snap that I sent to all my friends because I was freaking
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out and it says send help. Literally everything is going
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wrong. I walked in chewing gum because
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I didn't want bad breath and there was a lady already writing
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things down. Then I looked at the schedule
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and I could have met with a professor at 9:00 but I never
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got an e-mail with the schedule that said I could have so that
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Lady was probably writing down. That was late too.
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And I'm wearing jeans while everyone is wearing flats and
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slacks. What the heck?
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Who just has that at home? I am surrounded by hardcore
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nerds. Maybe I'm not supposed to be
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here. So my dad knows.
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I turned to him multiple times and was like, maybe I just
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shouldn't have come. I don't belong here because one
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of the one of the girls behind me was talking about the British
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method of factoring. And I was like, I didn't know
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that existed. So I remember that.
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I also got an e-mail about researching and basing my essay
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off of the six themes of the honors program.
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So of course I spent my time memorizing the themes and
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worrying before the interview. I made a mentalist of all the
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accomplishments and unique facts about myself that I was going to
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tell the professor. Then walking into my interview,
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of course I tripped on the chair right before shaking his hands.
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The then of course I was so nervous that I apologized to the
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chair. So then the professor laughed at
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me. It was fine.
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It made me stick out, I think. So then I proceeded to forget
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everything that I'd planned to tell him and said.
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I found myself talking about the way I'd settled my life around
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God, the people and influences, my motivation, my actions, and
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my hobbies. This is something that I didn't
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even know I had done, and the more the conversation focused on
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the God in my life, the more alive the conversation felt.
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Even more so, he ended up telling me why he loved the
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Messiah, which further confirmed that this was the school where
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God wanted me. After this interview, I didn't.
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I realized that it didn't matter if I got in the scholarship and
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the spot in the program, God had already given me what I needed
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through the experience. Fast forward to Multicultural
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scholarship day, I walked in a lot, a lot less stressed and
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with a new found piece of knowledge that I merely had to
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write one more essay. So I really didn't expect that
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much. However, while quite literally
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sprinting after the guy to the essay room, I ended up hearing
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the name of the girl who had followed me on Zimi, which is a
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basically college Tinder app for finding a roommate.
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So I again, if you know me, I'm not the one to start up a random
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conversation with any random stranger, but some by some
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power, I got the courage to very awkwardly ask.
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OK, this is going to sound very weird, but is your last name
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Rodriguez? The girl said yes.
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I mean talking having a lot in common.
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Then our parents ended up being assigned to the same table for
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lunch. So to make a Long story short,
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that's How I Met my roommate. I ended up getting to both the
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honors and multicultural programs, but I knew that that
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was only because I gave the control to God.
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Nothing that I had planned or even imagined went to plan.
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By trusting what God was doing, I was able to see Him working in
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my life. Even if I even if I hadn't
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gotten to either program, I had learned to accept that this
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would be what God wanted for me and would bring the most glory
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to Him. The heading above the scripture
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that Tim read is titled The Believers Freedom.
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This freedom is the free will that God gives us to choose
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between His plan and our plans. This is freedom because we
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choose. When we choose Him to be the
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center, we are filled with unfathomable joy that cannot be
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replaced. Hebrews 12/1 to three says
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therefore we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.
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Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so
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easily entangles, and let's run with the perseverance the race
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marked out for us. Fixing your eyes on Jesus, the
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pioneer and perfector of faith. For the joy set before Him, He
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endured the cross, scorning a chain, and sat down at the right
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hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such
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opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose
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heart. Matthew 1027 to 29 says are not
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2 sparrows sold for a penny, yet not one of them will fall to the
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ground outside. Your Father's care and even the
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very hairs on your head are all numbered.
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So don't be afraid. You're worth more.
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You are worth more than many sparrows.
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Hebrews tells us to throw off what hinders us such as fear,
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worry, and control. In surrendering everything to
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God, we make everything. We make Him the center in all we
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do. This hope and trust is what
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leads to the joy of the Lord. This joy is almost indescribable
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because it makes every day while not making every day the best
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day. It allows us to see the good in
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every day. It fills you with the hope that
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carries through, carries you through because as Romans 828
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says, we know that in all things God works for the good of those
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who love them and have been called according to His purpose.
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Matthew reminds us of the care that we are in and encourages us
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and causes not to worry. If God cares so much for the
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small sparrows, how much more does He care for each of us?
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I think sometimes it's hard to hear God or see what His plan
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is. We feel lost or stuck in the
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monotonous routine of life. Or maybe it's making a decision
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and not knowing what God wants. For example, this summer I was
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trying to figure out where to work and I was torn between the
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summer camp I worked at last summer, which was a camp for
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kids with cancer and their siblings, and Delanco, a
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Christian summer camp that a lot of US youth attend.
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I didn't know how I was going to leave the kids I built such a
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strong connection with last summer, and either it would be
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an opportunity to show God's love to those who needed it
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most. On the other hand, Delanco would
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be an opportunity for me to grow in my own faith.
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Funny enough, God gave me the answer the same day that He
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confirmed my college decision. While I was waiting in line for
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lunch at the Honor Scholarship Day, someone, someone came up to
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me and said, hi, are you from Delanco?
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And I turned around and saw Katie Murphy, a girl who had
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been on summer staff at Delanco the previous year, and talked to
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me about Messiah. I mentioned that I was thinking
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about summer staff at Delanco and immediately she encouraged
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me to apply. I felt so loved and you know it
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was a sign that God wanted me at Delanco.
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Well, as per usual, God didn't stop there.
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Once I basically got basically gotten the job at Delanco for
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Jeremy telling me I basically had the job, I was asked to be a
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part time lifeguard. For those of you who know me, I
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can swim enough to save myself. I cannot swim to save someone
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else. I cannot swim the labs that are
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needed to pass lifeguard certification.
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I used to tell people that if you had me do laps, I would
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drown by lap 4. So apparently I can lift and run
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weight, run laps, but I can't swim.
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So kudos to anyone who can swim because I can.
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Anyways, I warned the hiring director that about this issue.
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Small issue of being a lifeguard and somehow I still agreed to
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try. So as you could probably assume,
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I freaked out not only about the prospects of drowning, but also
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doing so in front of the girl who would be my roommate at
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D'leco. Naturally, I began planning and
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even joined the free trial at the gym with a pool to practice
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swimming laps. Thankfully, God provided I and I
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ended up being told they hired another lifeguard and no longer
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needed me as a lifeguard. I remember talking to Jeremy
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about this and how I felt like I didn't follow through with God's
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plan because I've been so scared and worried about it, but he
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reminded me of the story of Isaac and Abraham.
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Although Abraham didn't like God's plan or agree with his
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plan, he still planned and prepared to carry out God's will
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and God delivered him. I'm not saying that everything
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will be perfect, but in listening to God, His Kingdom
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will be glorified. It's our job to remain faithful
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and willing, accepting whatever happens will be for good of the
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Kingdom and glorifying to God. Matthew 1019 to 20 Jesus tells
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the disciples, Anyone who loves their father or mother more than
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me is not worthy of me. Anyone who loves their son or
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daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
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Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not
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worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will
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lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
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These are part of the instructions given to the
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disciples before they went out on their journey.
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These instructions are not elaborate nor did they lay out
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to a perfect teeth. The only thing that the
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disciples needed to know was that their life could gain
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purpose by making everything they did point to God.
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The job is is to follow where God may call them, surrendering
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whatever their cross may be. So I must ask, what are you
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surrendering to God? Are you surrendering your
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career, your family, your relationships, or even more so
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with your identity For youth, What about school, both
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academically and socially? One of the biggest things I
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wrestled with was surrendering the legacy of how I would be
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remembered versus how God would be remembered through me.
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I'd gone to high school with the goal of being known without
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standing out too much. However, when I reflected on it
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earlier this year, I questioned if I'd actually done what God
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wanted because I had not been the most vocal about my faith.
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Not that I didn't talk about it or acted ashamed of it.
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Then while talking to my English teacher about the way I was
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perceived on the outside, she gave me the biggest compliment
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I've ever received. The first thing she told me,
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besides the fact that I was quiet and didn't talk in class,
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was that I had God like characteristics.
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Then when she described what she saw on a deeper level, she
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explained that I had something different about me and that I
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have something more meaningful and purposeful for having
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everything that I did. Now my English teacher grew up
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Catholic but never doesn't go to church anymore and doesn't
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believe, but yet she still saw this.
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I'm not bringing this up to try and brag, but to call attention
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to the way that we should strive to be seen.
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Showing God to others does not mean you need to have the
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loudest voice or the biggest ambitions.
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It can simply be the way you conduct yourself and by loving
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everyone around you. John 1335 says love one another
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as I have loved you, so you must love one another.
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By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love
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one another. Since I will be going off to
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college, I have hope for this church.
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I hope that when I come home with the churches in this
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building or somewhere else, their congregation will look
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different. I hope that we will grow towards
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Christ, showing more love and more compassion, more unity and
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more desire for what God has in store.
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Please join me in prayer. Dear God, thank you for
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gathering us here today and allowing me to share what you've
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done through my life. I pray for renewed desire for
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you and that this church will continue to make you the center
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of everything. I hope that we will continue to
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grow towards you and trust that your plan will provide all that
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we need. Please help us this week and
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anything that's getting to us. I was not to worry and to
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surrender all that we are and all that we do Amen.