Orphan Sunday 2013

Tomorrow is Orphan Sunday.  So many words, so many emotions, are associated with the thought of tomorrow.  For me, orphan sunday is like any other day, because everyday is orphan day.  The day after will be orphan monday, and the day after that will be orphan tuesday, and so on.  But, orphan sunday is a little more special.  More churches, more organizations, and more people will be talking about the kids who don't get tucked in at night, the kids that had to grow up too fast, and the kids that have lost hope.  Tomorrow is a peak within the movement.

Orphan Sunday is a beautiful thing.  It encourages others to talk about the orphan care movement, to see the faces of those left in institutions and foster care, and to open their hearts to something new.  Tomorrow will allow people to see the hope found in Jesus Christ.  So, whether you go to church, sit in your room, watch tv, or sleep in tomorrow, I pray that you open your heart a little more than normal.  Jesus can do some remarkable things... who knows - maybe you'll even get the "adoption bug".

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"Orphan Sunday calls people to boldly turn their hearts to children who are often forgotten: America's foster children, who are dismissed as 'unadoptable' because they are over a desired age, or the 'unseen' orphans in third world countries. Orphan Sunday acknowledges the needs of these children, and launches a tangible hope that stretches far beyond the scope of our reach." 

-Vanessa Vasquez

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Sunday, November 3 will not be a typical Sunday. Orphan Sunday is a very profound demonstration to the world about who the church of Jesus Christ is. And it’s happening among thousands of congregations around the world as they all focus on God the Father’s heart for, and work on behalf of, the world’s fatherless.
Prayers go up, people are sent out, and orphans are brought into families.

Faith in Jesus is more than a belief

Faith in Jesus is a belief that is like believing in the existence of a loved one. You don’t just say, “I believe my wife exists,” and that be that. Instead, you demonstrate it by talking with her and learning what her desires are and then serving her in those.
Orphan Sunday is a clear demonstration that we know our God and care about what He cares about by caring for orphans and vulnerable kids.

Our Father is good

Orphan Sunday sheds a public light on the inner life of the church. No one in the church is a disinterested bystander in the cause of the fatherless, since every one of us was rescued by God the Father and brought into His family through Jesus. When we get together to focus on that, we remind ourselves and those around us that our Father is good.’

The Holy Spirit is building a family

Through biblical teaching on Orphan Sunday, there will undoubtedly be many who are moved by the Father’s goodness to faith in Jesus. Others will be moved to take steps toward adoption, foster care, or child sponsorship. All will clearly see the big story through the Bible is about the Holy Spirit turning people into God’s children as hearts cry, “Abba, Father!”

The gospel is a message of hope for all creation

Everyone knows the world is messed up. We see it in the news, we smell it in the pollution, we feel it when we experience tragedy. No one is immune from the world’s brokenness.
Orphan Sunday is just another opportunity to share the gospel’s message of hope for all creation. This is a truth that sticks out in Romans 8:21,”Creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” Speak out on November 3 that there is a future hope for the whole world and its found in Jesus Christ.

-Global Fingerprints