31

Jump Start # 2173

Posted on August 31, 2018 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2173

Acts 2:41 “So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls.”

NOTE: Monday is a holiday, so there will not be a Jump Start.

Our verse today shows the origin of the first church. The church is saved people. It’s not the building, the real estate, pews, but people who have been called out of sin by the saving grace of Jesus. Peter preached and three thousand responded. Amazing. Every preacher’s dream.

God is showing that people do listen to the Gospel. Lives can change. People who grew up Jews could become Christians. There were many changes in store for those new Christians. For centuries their families had observed the Sabbath. Now, the first day of the week, Sunday, would be the day of worship. For the first time, they would remember the death of Jesus through the Lord’s Supper. No longer did they need animal sacrifices. No longer did they need to go to the Temple. No longer was incense burned to God. So many changes.

There are many things the Holy Spirit doesn’t share with us about those first Christians that our curiosity wants to know. Practical items. Logistic things. For instance,

Where were they to assemble? Three thousand people is a massive crowd.
How would everyone hear? No mics, no loud speakers, how could the message be heard?
How did they do the Lord’s Supper? Who taught them what to do? Where would they find enough items to use for such a crowd?
With a church of new converts, how was it possible to get the congregation mature?
People bring issues, baggage and problems. With that large of a crowd, who handled all of that?
Was it possible for the twelve apostles to do all of this themselves?
Did anyone fall through the cracks? Did anyone slide back into Judaism?
How often did they meet during the week?
Did they know each other?

We look at this and imagine 3,000 at our Sunday worship. That would be amazing. But then we think, where are they all going to park? Where are they all going to sit? Do we have enough cups for the Lord’s Supper? How could the shepherds take care of that many people? So many questions.

Some how the Holy Spirit didn’t seem to think that these details mattered. We are not told. From this, we can make assumptions, guesses and speculation, but there is no foundation to support that other than trying to reason things from our perspective. Some how it worked. The first church took off. Instantly, more and more were added to this number. It exploded in size.

First, what all of this tells us is that the N.T. is not a manual detailing every single move and action of the first church. Acts is not written like a detailed car manual, this piece fits on top of that piece. That’s not the intention. What we have within the N.T. are the principles that allows a congregation to operate. We understand the purpose of worship and the elements necessary that God wants. We understand shepherding and how that works.

Second, with that, each congregation will have it’s own way of fulfilling these principles. For instance, there isn’t an edict from Heaven declaring that our worship must begin at 10:30 Sunday morning. We need to stop saying, “We meet at the Scriptural time.” While that’s a cute saying, it’s also misleading. There is no Scriptural time other than Sunday. What time on Sunday is left to each congregation. There isn’t a flyer that outlines what every congregation is going to do that particular Sunday. Start with a song, or start with a prayer? Or, start with announcements? Or, start with a greeting to the audience? How many songs? How many prayers? Lord’s Supper before the sermon or after? The offering immediately following the Lord’s Supper or later in the worship? Sing a song during the giving or sit in silence? End with a prayer or end with a song? I’ve seen all of these. Each congregation was fulfilling the principles of the New Testament. They were doing these things as it works best for that group.

Third, because a congregation does things in a different order than what you are accustomed to does not mean that it is wrong. Each congregation has it’s own flavor, just like a family meal. In some homes, everyone passes the food and you wait until the food comes to you. In other families, everyone reaches for what’s in front of them, and you might get stabbed with a fork if you are not watching. Everyone is fed, it’s just doing it in a different fashion.

Fourth, our worship is to honor God and encourage each other. When we get upset because things weren’t done well, or to our liking, the purpose of worship has been ruined for us. Some go home more discouraged than when they came. Some come in a good mood, only to go home mad. Some allow little things to upset them and that is just Satan’s way of getting our mind off of God. Satan doesn’t mind if you go to church, as long as you do not worship. He can fool us into believing that we’ve done a good thing, when our minds, our attitudes and our focus has been on anything and everything, except God and His word.

I’d love to see a video of the early church worshipping. I have in my mind how I think they may have sat, but I can’t build a Biblical case for that. Just my thinking. But what I must take from that first church is the passion that they had for the Lord and the love that they shared for each other and the commitment to the kingdom that they had made. That is something that we can follow, repeat and establish among ourselves. How they sat and how they functioned is not the point. It’s what they did and now, it is what do I do.

We gather on Sunday like those early disciples, like believers do all around the world. We honor God and thank the Lord. We preach His word. We teach, encourage, pray and draw our hearts together to the One who has saved us, blessed us and kept us safe. It matters little whether we are in a portion of the temple, in church buildings, in store fronts, in living rooms—wherever a congregation gathers, we ought to be there. We need to support, help, and defend our congregation. We need to be active, doing what we can, as long as we can. We need to be one who is dependable and can be counted upon.

Far too many are letting wonderful opportunities to honor God, learn His word and grow, slip through their fingers because they do not participate in these things. They let the world control their faith. As a result, they are weak spiritually and they make unwise decisions. Folks around the world would love to have the opportunities that they have. Heaven doesn’t understand why these folks stay on the outside of opportunities. There are classes that teach the Bible, but some never come. There are wonderful times that the word is preached, but some won’t be there. There are times to share and teach others, but some never think to do that. They have lived their lives barely experiencing and barely knowing the Lord. It’s enough for them. They have kept one foot in the world and have surrounded themselves with people of the world. And, as their congregation grows, develops and matures, these folks just drift along missing one of the greatest advantages ever offered to anyone. These things I do not understand.

Work with your congregation. Be active. Be visible. Be one that can be counted upon. Someday, we’ll get to meet those first Christians. Won’t that be a conversation!

Roger

30

Jump Start # 2172

Posted on August 30, 2018 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2172

Romans 10:15 “And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things.’”

 

Preaching—it isn’t always easy. Oh, it looks easy. The finished product on Sunday inspires, encourages, fills the heart, chases doubts away and brings God to the forefront of our eyes. The people of God love sermons. The world that isn’t committed to God doesn’t have the same taste for sermons. For them, they want to be entertained. Comic relief, sprinkled with a few bits of wisdom is what the ear tickling community hungers for. But for God’s folks, it’s that preached word that they want to hear. They never tire of hearing it.

 

Last night, we finished a summer series of preaching. Each Wednesday evening for the past two months we had a different preacher come and present a specific lesson on a theme. The topics and the preachers were matched on purpose. Many churches are doing this. For us, we fly preachers in from all over the country for one evening. Young preachers. Old preachers. All talented, gifted and amazingly passionate about the Lord and His word. It ended for us last evening. It ended well. You could see and feel the joy and enthusiasm among the congregation as folks left. Some, with tears in their eyes, were saying that this series was some of the best that they have ever witnessed in their lives. EVER. What we did takes enormous planning. It is very expensive. The upside benefits simply cannot be measured.

 

And, all of this takes us to our verse today. The beautiful feet of those who preach. The Holy Spirit is quoting an Isaiah passage about bringing glad tidings, or good news. The beautiful feet is not in references to how lovely the toes are of preachers. It’s about how wonderful it is that they come when they are sent for. And for generations, this is the message of God. Preachers go and preach. They travel long and far to preach to whoever will show up. Sometimes the meeting place is filled. Other times, there are just a handful. But it’s the preached word intersecting with honest and good hearts that bring glory to God. Long ago preachers rode on horseback, often scribbling a few notes as they traveled down roads. Then it was riding trains. Today, it’s by car and airplanes. Preachers have preached in front rooms of homes. They have preached in tents. They have preached in store fronts. A church was renting a room out of a funeral home. I came and preached for them. Out in the county and in the midst of busy cities, preachers come to preach.

 

Good things happen when God’s word is preached.

 

First, it reminds us once again that the world doesn’t have the final word. Satan doesn’t win. Even though some days may seem very dark and God’s people may seem very few, the message of hope, goodness and salvation in Christ is what will triumphant in the end. There is a coming judgment. Jesus is victorious.

 

Second, preaching reminds us of what is right. Our times sure has that upside down and inside out. But it just isn’t our times, it’s always been that way. Isaiah wrote about those who call evil good and good evil. That’s backwards. That’s all mixed up. Jeremiah talked about seeking the old paths and the people would have nothing to do with that. Folks today are so confused. They frown on smoking tobacco, but embrace smoking marijuana. Strange. They want to endorse marrying anything and anybody, except one man to one woman. Strange. They want to keep criminals alive but they are for aborting innocent babies. Strange. They deny the existence of God, yet they believe in aliens. Strange. Our times will tolerate anything except what is right and decent. They take a pill for everything and drink alcohol as if it were oxygen. There are a thousand channels on cable but nothing worthwhile to watch. We blame everyone except ourselves. Social media has taken private things and made them too public. No wonder people are confused and mixed up. Nothing is wrong and everything is right. Then comes along some really good preaching. Stakes are put in the ground right where God wants them to be. Things are defined. Terms are set by Heaven. A sense of stability, absoluteness, and boundaries are established. Some things are just wrong, because God says so. Others things are right, because God says so. Laws come and go. Loud voices come and go. But God’s word remains the same. We need that. We need that kind of preaching. We need to know that some things are simply wrong, Period. There is no way you can make wrong right.

 

Third, preaching teaches us that we control our own destiny. Our marriages can be good, right and an illustration of Heaven itself, if we choose that. It takes work. It takes some effort and want to. But it can be done. Our families can be wholesome, good and right. Our homes can be a positive refuge from this crazy world we live in. But more than that, you can be holy and righteous. You can please the Lord. You can be a child of God. You can live differently. You can live better. You can change. It doesn’t matter what you have done. It doesn’t matter what your past has been. Don’t hang your hat on those nails. You can be a spiritual leader in your home and in your community. Preaching brings us to Jesus. He is so holy and we are not. He’s right and most times we are not. But through His grace and mercy we can change. We can repent. We can be molded and shaped like He is. We can think like He thinks. We can please God and preaching shows us just how that is done.

 

Fourth, preaching puts us before the cross of Christ, the greatest event in the world. His sacrifice. His death. His resurrection. His ascension. His reign. His victory. We can forget about the Lord in our busy world. Meetings. Phone calls. Deadlines. Hurrying here and there and before long, the day ends and we’ve not given much thought to the wonderful blessings of the Lord. We haven’t thought much about the Lord. Preaching changes that. It puts within our heart the glorious love of God. The Lord who never gave up on us. The Lord who wants us to spend forever with Him. This kind of preaching helps us with our perspective. It helps us with our priorities. It helps us understand that He is the center of the universe and of our lives and it’s not about us, but it is about Him. More, more about Jesus, is what we need.

 

Preaching, God’s kind of preaching, changes lives. We need to crave for this kind of preaching. We need to find every opportunity to put this kind of preaching in our lives. Good things will happen if we have a honest and good heart. Changes will come. Goodness follows. Forgiveness, grace and kindness are the by products of hearts that have been touched by the Gospel of Christ.

 

There are a lot of good preachers out there in the kingdom. They love the Lord and are just doing their best to help God out. Say a prayer for these men. Encourage them, when you can. Help others to become one of them. And, more than anything else, bring an open heart, listening ears and an open Bible as they stand before you.

 

When my kids were small and at home, they’d take their little Bibles and have visiting preachers sign them. They still have those Bibles. Those names are our heroes. Good men with beautiful feet who traveled the world to preach the saving message of Jesus Christ.

 

Roger

 

29

Jump Start # 2171

Posted on August 29, 2018 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2171

Psalms 27:13-14 “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.”

David’s words in this Psalm shows an honesty and a hope that is grounded in the Lord. So often, that seems to be missing. People have a hope that all will get better, but there is no substance for that. It’s not a true hope, it’s just a wish. What kept David going was the Lord. What was going to keep David going was waiting for the Lord. Twice in the final sentence, as if talking to himself and assuring himself, David says, “Wait for the Lord.”

Consider the two major thoughts here:

First, the honest truth about his condition. “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord…” I would have given up. I would have been crushed. I would have no reason to carry on. David’s past victories over fierce animals and over a giant, weren’t accomplishments that sat on the shelf in his home. He knew that it was the Lord who gave him those victories. Without the Lord, there was no going on.

Unless I had believed, shows the raw reality of where David was. Have you ever gone down that road before? Had it not been for the Lord, unless you had believed, where would you be today? Think about this for a moment. If you were not faithfully walking with the Lord, what do you think your life would look like today?

How many marriages do you think you would have gone through by now if you were not a Christian?
What kind of relationship would you have with your kids today if you were not a Christian?
What kinds of attitudes would you have if you were not a Christian? Would you be mean and grouchy?
How would you run your business or be as a worker if you were not a Christian? How dishonest would you have turned out?
What language would you use if you were not a Christian?
Would you have served time in prison by now if you were not a Christian?
Would you be addicted to alcohol or drugs if you were not a Christian?
Would you even be alive today if you were not a Christian?
Would you even think about God at all?

God has changed our lives for the better. “I would have…unless I had believed,” is a serious look at what could have been our story, had someone not shown us Jesus. Being a Christian is not about sitting in a church building on Sunday mornings. It’s about a life that has been transformed by Christ. Our belief in Jesus has rewired our thinking, changed our behavior, molded our attitudes, and made us who we are today. The person that so many admire, love and are benefited from, would certainly not be this way had it not been for Jesus. The Lord has changed us. The Lord has given us a purpose to pursue and a work to fulfill in His kingdom. Life is all the better because of the Lord. Indeed, the abundant life has made a better today and a much brighter tomorrow. There is hope because of the Lord.

Second, David tells himself to wait on the Lord. “In His time,” is more than a hymn that we sing, it’s a principle in the Bible. Abraham had to wait twenty-five years to see a promise of God fulfilled. The bent over woman suffered for eighteen years before her healing came. Patience may be a virtue, but it’s hard to deal with. Our instant society doesn’t like long lines, traffic jams and no cell service. We become impatient. And, when that happens, we try to take matters into our own hands. I’ve seen cars driving through the grass because the drivers couldn’t wait in the long lines of construction traffic. I’ve seen cars making U-turns, right in front of No U-turn signs. I’ve also seen many of these folks getting pulled over by the police. Impatient. I want it and I want it right now. ATM’s, self-check out, instant oatmeal, are more than convenient, they satisfy a society that is impatient.

But here, David realized that he had to wait upon the Lord. Wait for the Lord. The Lord will come through. The Lord will help. The Lord is the answer. But you must wait upon the Lord. Keep praying. Keep worshipping. Keep trusting. Don’t lower your hope. Don’t drop the banner and go home. Don’t give up. Wait for the Lord.

Why does the Lord make us wait? We are not told why, other than He is the Lord. He doesn’t work for us. He is not our servant that comes running when we ring a bell. That may have something to do with this. But also, we are not the only person in the universe, nor are we the only person praying to Him. Two people, living close to each other. One prays for sunshine so he can play with the kids outdoors. The other prays for rain so his garden grows. Two prayers. God will answer them as He sees fit.

And our having to wait, becomes a test of our faith. God grows patience in us by having us wait. How do you handle waiting? Sometimes one has to wait, like in traffic. It’s not a choice. But while waiting, what happens to you on the inside. Upset? Bothered? Impatient? Demanding? Boiling? There is a difference between waiting and patience. Often, we have to wait. Some do well with that and others become unglued. Wait on the Lord. What are you doing while you are waiting? Are you praying? Are you trusting? Are you worshipping? Are you still with the Lord? Maybe God waits to see what you will do. Waiting is hard on little kids and much too often it’s hard on us big ones as well.

Wait for the Lord. Wait, for the Lord is coming. Wait, the Lord will come through. Wait. Don’t seek alternative solutions. Don’t find other answers. Wait. While you wait, pray. While you wait, turn to Scriptures. While you wait, continue doing what you know is right. In His time. The Lord’s not in a hurry. The Lord made time, but we made haste. Just slow down. Breathe. Reflect. Observe. Wait for the Lord.

Great words for our times. Great words for busy schedules and lives that seem rushed all the time. Where would we be without the Lord? Wait on the Lord? The Lord has waited on us. It took some of us a long time to believe. It took some of us a long time to get serious about our faith. The Lord never gave up on us. He never said, “Too late, you missed it.” He waited and so can we.

Roger

28

Jump Start # 2170

Posted on August 28, 2018 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2170

Matthew 25:40 “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’”

Our verse today comes from the judgment parables of Matthew 25. Three pictures of the coming judgment. The parable of the wise and foolish virgins tells us to be ready because you do not know the hour. The parable of the talent emphasizes the basis of the judgment is what we have done. The parable of the coming king illustrates how we treat one another is an indication of the judgment.

In our verse today, Jesus says that He was hungry, thirsty, naked and in prison and the disciples came and took care of Him. Who among us wouldn’t do that to Jesus? We love Jesus. We believe in Jesus. We follow Jesus. The bridge that Jesus builds here is that the way we treat one of His, is the way we treat Him. And, in this we find this little expression, “even to the least of them.” What and who are the “least of them?”

First, one thing the system of Christianity taught was equality. The arguing apostles, trying to determine which among them was the greatest, was quickly solved by Jesus. The one who is the greatest is the servant. The one who acts like a humble child is the greatest. There wasn’t a pecking order among the apostles, although it’s easy to manufacture one. Peter’s name usually heads the list and Judas’ name is always last. There was that inner group of three, Peter, James and John. It would be easy to assume who is among the top. Jesus wouldn’t have it.

Although the roles of shepherds, deacons, and preachers are different, there is an equality among them. They are all sheep in God’s flock. The roles of men and women are different in the kingdom, yet there is an equality among them. They are all Abraham’s children and joint heirs of salvation.

The least does not refer to least in value to God. The soul of the least is loved and blessed by God. The blood of Jesus was shed for the salvation of the least. In the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, the last one hired, at the eleventh hour, who worked just one hour, received the same pay as the one who worked all day long. The master made them equal and the master was generous with his pay.

I’ve had heard folks through the years declaring what they couldn’t do. “I can’t lead singing.” “I can’t preach.” “I’m not a teacher.” From that they conclude, “I’m just not worth much to God.” WRONG. Our value isn’t measured by what we do publicly. Everyone is important. Everyone carries different roles. Everyone has different opportunities. The simple stay-at-home mom, who spends the day with her kids, is just as valuable as the man who is preaching overseas. It may not seem that way in our book, but it is in His book. Raising those children to be God-fearing, decent, servants of Christ is just as important as sitting down and studying the Bible with someone. Without that mom, those kids could easily grow up into wild weeds that turn their backs on the Lord and live carelessly and irresponsibly.

Jesus said whoever gives a cup of cold water to a disciple will be rewarded by Heaven. A cup of cold water is nothing. It doesn’t even cost anything. Now, to dig a well, or bring in a truck load of bottled water, that’s impressive. But just one cup, is seen and remembered and rewarded by Heaven. How about one card sent? One word of encouragement? One helpful deed? Didn’t change the universe, but it certainly made a difference to one person.

Second, Jesus may well have used the concept of least in comparison to Himself. I was in prison. I was naked. I was hungry. They were following Jesus, not each other. It was Jesus who was changing the world, not them. It was Jesus who had fed them, healed them, taught them and sacrificed for them. Many of the crowds followed Jesus for what they could get from Him. A free meal. A healed child. A question answered. But, if the roles were changed, they would help Jesus. But would they help each other? Would they help one of the followers?

We would love to help the greatest. Help the movie star. Help the super star athlete. Help the celebrity. But what about a no-body? What about one of the common folks? What about one of us? Why feed one of us? Why take water to one of us? Why visit one of us?

When you help one of the greatest, maybe they will reward you. Maybe they will let you sit with them. Maybe they will get you tickets. Maybe they will make you feel important for a moment. But a common guy can’t do any of those things. A common guy can only tell you “thank you.” The least may be us. So, why would I feed one of us? Why help one of us?

Because it’s the right thing to do, and in doing that, it’s like helping Jesus.

Third, Jesus connects the least to Him. You cannot ignore the least, and be right with Jesus. To do nothing to the least, is to do nothing to Jesus. We can’t be ugly with each other and right with Heaven. How we treat one another is a reflection of our love and our faith in God. If we can’t forgive each other, God won’t forgive us. If we can’t love each other, we really don’t love God. If we can’t be kind towards one another, we really aren’t kind towards God.

This parable is set in the picture of the judgment. Jesus would be leaving earth for Heaven. The apostles would set the pace, but they weren’t God on earth. They never took the place of God. They weren’t to be worshipped, honored or followed. It was always Jesus who was to be followed. But out there, among the multitudes, would be people like little Zacchaeus, a social outcast, but one who wanted to see Jesus. There would be the Canaanite woman, who was an outcast, but came to Jesus because of a possessed daughter. There would be the woman at the well in Samaria, who had so many broken marriages, yet she came to believe. The audiences were full of broken, outcasts, and troubled people. Take care of them. Love them. Help them. Be there for them. This is what Jesus did.

The woman with the issue of blood. The bent over woman. Unnamed in the Bible, yet known to Heaven. Not leaders in the church. Not penmen of the books of the Bible. Not apostles. Not preachers. We don’t even know what happened to them after their brief encounter with Jesus. The end of the story, their story, was never revealed. Unimportant, we may assume. Easy to forget. Least, but not to God.

The least is important to God. How the least is treated matters. The little guy needs the big guy to help him. We are all connected to each other. The preacher needs an audience to preach to. The audience needs a preacher to teach them. Shepherds need a flock to lead. The flock needs shepherds to follow. Who is most important? Why do we even ask that question? Why does it matter? The least will get into Heaven, just as the greatest will, by their faith in God.

No one is too big for God. No one gets to bend the rules of Heaven. No one gets a pass. Each of us must use our talents and the opportunities placed before us to do the most good that we can. What we do may seem like nothing to some. That’s ok. We are not trying to please some. We are trying to honor God.

Even the least matters in the kingdom.

Roger

27

Posted on August 27, 2018 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2169

Acts 8:30-31 “And when Philip had run up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ And he said, ‘Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.”

Our verse today is the lead in to the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch. He had been to Jerusalem to worship. On the way back home, he was reading from Isaiah. The very idea that he had his own personal copy of the Isaiah scrolls is impressive. I doubt that Philip had a copy. They were rare, expensive and not readily available. God sent Philip away from the incredible work he was doing in Samaria to go talk to this Ethiopian. It shows the value of one is as important as many.

As Philip approaches the chariot, he hears the Ethiopian reading Isaiah. Obviously, he must have been reading out loud. A simple question follows. Do you understand what you are reading? The answer, I need someone to help me. Philip is invited to sit and explain the passage. The Ethiopian must have concluded that Philip knew something about the passage.

It is in this that we want to spend some time thinking with you. How can I unless someone guides me, is a great statement. The question is, “who will that Someone be?” When it comes to our children, this responsibility falls to the parents. In order to guide someone, you must know where you are going. If not, we have the blind leading the blind.

In too many homes today, the thought is, “I don’t want to cram religion down their throats.” So, nothing is done. Instead secular media crams bad words, sorry attitudes and immoral impressions down their throats. Assuming that nothing is done, the child will be neutral and then grow up and make up his own mind is so shallow and wrong. They will learn, the question is from who? Who will guide them? They may learn from TV. They may learn from professors. They may learn from friends. They may learn from the effects of sin. They may learn from Satan. They will learn, but just who is it that will guide them?

Consider the topic of love, Biblical love. This love is a choice, not a feeling. It is one directional. It is not based upon how the other person acts. “For God so loved the world,” isn’t written about how loveable we are. We weren’t. We were rebellious, sinful and disobedient. God chose to love us even though we weren’t loving Him at that moment. Biblical love is demonstrated in actions.

We are to love God with all of our heart. We are to love our neighbor. We are to love brethren. Paul defined this kind of love in 1 Corinthians 13. It is unselfish. It thinks of the other. It wants the best for the other. This love is rare and is founded upon Biblical teaching.

Now, your child will learn about love. They may learn that you love only those who love you. This way, love is a reaction and not a choice. Enemies are despised and hated, not loved. Your child may learn that you love only if there is something for you in it. Therefore, to serve is of little value unless it helps you out. They may be taught that lust is the same as love. They may learn that love is the same as happiness and you do whatever you can to be happy. Do you want your child to learn love from you, the parent, who has sacrificed, devoted and shown this kind of love to them, or do you care that they learn love from the person that they are dating, or a movie, or a lustful book? Your child will learn about love. Either the right way from you or the wrong way from the world.

Consider the topic of the Bible. Your child will learn about the Bible. Either from you, the right way, or from the world. You can teach your child that God’s word is inspired and that every word is of value. You can teach them to respect and honor and obey God’s word. They can learn from you the importance of conforming their lives by God’s word. It is God’s word that will judge us.

Now, your child will learn about the Bible. They may learn from a denominational preacher that we do not have to do everything the Bible says. They may learn from a college professor that the Bible is a collection of ancient stories and fables and they were written by man, and that God does not exist. They may learn from a friend that being happy is what God wants, so it doesn’t matter what your lifestyle, sexual orientation or gender feeling may be, as long as you are happy. Subjects of divorce, morality, life after death, are all addressed in the Bible. Without that knowledge, your child will do what every he feels like. Your child may have the Bible close to their heart all of their life, or they may stick the Bible in a box up on a shelf and rarely ever open it for the rest of their lives. Your child will learn about the Bible. The question is, “who will guide them?”

Other important life lessons, who is God, what about the church, how are we to worship—someone will teach your child. Even the basics such as salvation, your child will hear things. He may just assume that if a person is good, he will go to Heaven. Good people go to Heaven, even if they know nothing about the Lord. He’s heard this.

Who will guide them? But before this question is answered, we must ask, “Who is guiding us?” Are we in the same boat as our children? Are we influenced heavily from friends, Google, Facebook, and family more so than by brethren and God’s word? Who shapes our opinions? It’s kind of hard to guide our children, if we are not being guided the right way. How important therefore, to be part of a congregation where trained, experienced men are in charge of feeding the flock God’s word. They understand the value of our hearts being shaped by God’s word. They are serious about teaching God’s word and all of God’s word. They want the Word to be taught accurately and honestly.

The Ethiopian ask, “How can I unless someone guides me?” Who that someone is, determines whether or not a person is guided in the right direction.

Roger