While the language of this sermon is directed to parents, I want to give a word to the non-parents here. You might be an aunt or uncle or friend of someone younger who needs to see a questionable life. This sermon is for you. Children, perhaps you are here and your parents’ faith is lacking. This is not a critique or weapon to be used against them, rather it is a tool for you to evaluate your past in order to make informed decisions about a faithful future.
Children are not born with the knowledge of God. (Deuteronomy 31:12-13)
- I’m afraid that too often we think that children will just automatically gravitate to a vibrant faith if we take them to church. They won’t! If you add up all the hours the church has with your children, it’s less than a week. We can’t compete with you!
- Psalm 34:11, “Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.” They do not naturally fear God, they must be taught. True more is caught than taught, so we must be intentional about our actions.
- I know a man who’s daughter didn’t want to go to church. He was a leader in the congregation and often found “work” outside of service. I asked him, “When was the last time you sat in church?” He said, “It’s been awhile.” I asked, “Do you think you’re modeling a healthy spirituality for your children?” He said, “I’ve never thought about it like that before.”
- Jenny and I try our best to be in church when we have a week off, because I feel that it’s important my children know I want to be in church even when I’m not “paid” to be here.
- Deuteronomy 11:1-7, tells us the responsibility for faithfulness is with the adults who have seen the work of God. This is why we do not baptize children. Children do not know and are not held responsible for the weighty knowledge of God, yet as they grow they must be taught about God. We only have a limited time to train them before they are responsible.
- The church will not be a substitute for your spiritual guidance at home. We can supplement your teaching, provide another adult and role model, but if they’re not saying the same things you are then it doesn’t matter.
- Every week with our elementary students we are sending home sheets with the Bible stories, preschool students get refrigerator magnet cards, our junior and senior high students have online presences available through the church website.
We must be intentional in our example and teaching. (Deuteronomy 31:12-13)
- We need to seize these opportunities because it is our job to train our children. If you continue in Deuteronomy 11:18-21 we see that the responsibility doesn’t end with us, it passes on to our kids. We must prepare them! Our job is to teach faithfulness to our children who will then learn to obey God.
- The ways we do that is myriad, look at Deuteronomy 11:19-21. We teach them, we talk about God at home and along the way. We need to turn off the TVs in our vans and tune into each others’ lives!
- Festivals and feasts were created for this purpose. In the Old Testament Festival of Booths in Deuteronomy and the Passover in Exodus. Today we have feasts called Christmas and Easter. We need to find shared ways of celebrating faith.
- I don’t know why we as evangelical and conservative Christians have abandoned the observance of Pentecost. This is the day our ancient forefathers looked forward to, the day the very spirit of God would be poured out on his children. We have the Spirit of God in us! Why shouldn’t we celebrate this day!
- If Christmas is the fulfillment of the Father’s greatest promise and Easter the fulfillment of the Son’s greatest promise then Pentecost is fulfillment of the Spirits!
- Is the Spirit somehow less equal that we don’t observe his working? No, we should celebrate his work in our lives.
Suggestions for leading a questionable life.
- Start early (Genesis 17:12, Exodus 13:2)
- Boys in the Old Testament were circumcised; it was a mark on their body that lasted for life. We have baby dedications and give you a Bible to read with your children.
- If you didn’t start early then start now. Start with repentance and transparency, invite your children in to help create a family worship time.
- Make traditions (Exodus 12:25-26)
- Celebrate Biblical events and traditions: Passover, Pentecost, Christmas, etc.
- Reclaim old church traditions. I.e. Advent, Lent, Easter season, etc. Church seasons are so relevant to us today. Celebrate Lent, not because you have to but because stillness and self-denial are needed in our culture of over indulgence.
- Remember your faith journey (Exodus 12:27)
- Exodus 12:27, remember that you once were in slavery to sin. Don’t be afraid to tell your children you weren’t perfect, and be proud of your redemption. Salvation is not your work of holiness, it is God’s work of grace.
- Children are not impressed with unrealistic tales of faith, but honesty and growth.
- Be consistent and persistent. (Proverbs 22:6)
- Training a child in the right paths is an ongoing command. As you journey and grow so too must your children. If you try something and it doesn’t work, try something else. If it should work, stay with it and keep trying.
- If your children ask questions and say, “What’s going on?” Tell them and say, “I want to make sure that we as a family celebrate our faith and grow in it.”
This is the children’s Bible I mentioned, we use it for morning stories. I think this is a great devotional for our toddlers.
The most common question I hear from our parents is, “Is my child ready to be baptized?” Needless to say, this is a very important question, one with which parents should and do wrestle. There are a few checkpoints to assess your child’s readiness, but there is no hard and fast rule. There is no universal age where all children reach an age of spiritual maturity. There is also no “right answer” because there is no “right question.” There is no standardized test and required score. Baptism is a lot like a marriage, at some point you’re ready but it’s different for different people.
Our church allows for the Spirit to work – not forcing a decision at a set time or after a set class. We have no baptism class, but believe that as the truth about God is taught, as a spiritual life is modeled in the home and as the Spirit brings conviction a child grows into their faith. Just as sunshine, rain and nutrients provide an environment for a plant’s growth – so do Sunday school teachers, parents and God’s Spirit foster a child’s growth.
As your child approaches that time where they consider baptism I would suggest three key conversations to have with them about baptism…
- What did Jesus do for you?
This conversation focuses on a knowledge of the work of Christ and the application it has to us today. We can not be baptized into Christ without some knowledge of his work. A child can demonstrate a grasp of this simply by saying, “He died for me.”
- Do you have sin that needs to be forgiven?
This is the most important conversation to have! It focuses on the need to apply the work of Christ to us. We should not be baptized into Christ if we don’t realize we need it! A child easily can show how they understand this simply by saying, “Yes, I was wrong to hit my brother and Jesus needs to forgive me!” When a child understands they have sin and need forgiveness from God – why should you wait?
- What will be different after you’re baptized?
This will be the start of many future conversations which will start with, “What do you think Jesus would want you to do?” Of all the conversations a deep understanding of this is least important as they can not know all the changes that will come as a result of following Jesus! An understanding as simple as, “I’ll be a Christian,” or “I’ll be special to God,” could show that your child gets the idea that baptism means a change in their life.
Your child might not have the “right answer” to all these questions – but if they show comprehension and conviction then they might be ready. Understanding the consequences of sin and the need for forgiveness, coupled with a serious conviction is a sure sign of the Spirit moving them to baptism. After all how many of us truly, fully understand what Jesus did and where he’ll lead us once we surrender to him? These are answers we grow into, baptism is just the start. Baptism doesn’t celebrate a fully mature faith, it celebrates a healthy maturing faith! The work is not over, it is starting and it is thriving.
Don’t be afraid to have these conversations early or often – have them at their prompting or as you see God at work in their heart. These conversations will probably come after their own friends are baptized. While peer pressure can lead some into baptism prematurely it can also signal a readiness among a group of children who have had shared experiences and most likely a common maturity.
There is a delicate balance, a hesitation to baptize too early and a fear against waiting too long. This balance can only be achieved through prayer. Pray as a parent, pray with your child and pray that the Spirit will lead you into the truth.
You can never have too many toys on an airplane with two toddlers but you can have too many carry-ons…my suggestion is to see if the airline will check your children.
The TSA is serious about not bringing any liquids, gels or aerosols on the plane with you.
Every animal in the zoo has a fan, just ask my daughter she likes the hyenas.
Diesel is over $5 in California.
People deserve to be heard, given second chances, popular opinion is not always right. I learned this at Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Summit, more on this later.
If you live by email you die by email.
Turning off cellphones and laptops is needed. We all need to unplug! It’s good for your soul, but not blog readership…
