Sermon Tone Analysis

Showing & Telling

November 12, 2006

 

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I realized recently that there’s been a deficiency in my sermons.

It’s been over eight months since I’ve shown a picture of my girls.

Let’s remedy that.

Last week Marilyn and I got into a bit of an argument about how our kids should behave in a restaurant.

Basically, she thinks they should behave.

I’m starting to see her point.

Once time when Grace didn’t get her way, she screamed so loud the whole restaurant went silent.

The only sound was Marilyn and I scrambling to hide under the table.

*The generation that doesn’t know*

 

In the OT, there is a pretty regular pattern: God *saves* His people, they *follow* Him, then they *rebel*, then He *punishes* them, so they ask for *help*, then He *saves* them.

*Repeat*.

This is a bit misleading.

We get the impression that one day the Israelites watch God break down the walls of *Jericho* and within a year, they’re *sacrificing* their first born to an *idol*.

The reality is less *cartoonish*, and it carries a *warning* for us.

See if you can catch it.

The people served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the LORD had done for Israel.

...After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.

Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals.

They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt.

They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them.

/Judges 2:7, 10-12 NIV/ 

 

Do you see what happened?

It’s not that *Joshua’s* *generation* turned their backs on God; they *failed* to pass their *commitment* to Him on to the next generation.

Think about that for a moment.

In one generation, the nation went from *serving* God to *ignoring* Him.

This is the nature of things: Each *new* *generation* must either build on the faith of the fathers, or drift from it.

In 19th century France, Jewish immigrants faced the same problem.

They observed:

 

·         “The grandfather prays in *Hebrew*, the father *reads* the prayers in *French*, and the son does not pray at all.”

This drift is just as likely in 21st century American.

·         The church is only one generation from extinction.

[picture]

 

It’s unlikely that the church will disappear that quickly, but a heritage of faith can be undone in one generation.

And so if you were to ask me what concerns me the most about raising my little girls, I will tell you it’s much more than *dinning* *etiquette*.

I worry about teaching my girls to *love* *God*.

You think it’d be easy as a *pastor*, but in some ways it’s harder.

I’m *hypersensitive* to them feeling like PK’s, like I’m always preaching.

I’m afraid I’ll overcompensate by say nothing.

As Christian parents, our highest ambition must be that our children *know*, *love*, *obey*, and *serve* God.

Sure, I want them to grow up to be *happy*, *well*-*adjusted*, and *successful*.

·         But more than that, I want them to have eternal life.

·         I want them to know Jesus.

*What’s our job?*

But I know that I can’t make my girls love Jesus.

One of the *scariest* parts of *parenthood* is knowing there’s no *guarantees*.

I can do everything *right* as a parent, *teach* them everything they should to know, and be a perfect example but they can still choose to *rebel* against God.

It’s called “*Free* *will*.”

·         That’s basically what happened to God with Adam and Eve.

Ultimately, it’s up to them.

But how I *live* my *life* and what I *teach* them will be a primary reason they *accept* or *reject* Jesus.

*Whose job is it?*

The *primary* responsibility for teaching kids to know God belongs to the *parents*.

We all know “the greatest commandment”:

 

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

/Deuteronomy 6:4-5 NIV/ 

 

Jesus said this was the greatest command and the second was to love our neighbors as ourselves.

But do you know what comes immediately *after* the first command?

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.

Impress them on your children.

Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up./

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 NIV/ 

 

·         It’s almost like the 3rd great command.

Sometimes we think it is *church’s* job to teach our kids about God, but it is the parents’.

The parents spend the *most* *time* with the kids, and have the *most* *influence*.

·         A child’s most influential theology teacher will be their parents, regardless of what they teach.

The question is not *IF* parents should teach their children about God, it is *WHAT* will they teach children about God?

 

·         Silence is teaching.

Not talking about God teaches that Jesus does *not* *matter* much, that Mom and Dad don’t consider him nearly as important as new *furniture*, good *grades*, or Dad’s *job*.

·         To *not* teach the *infinite* value of Christ is to teach that He is not *worthwhile*.

*Partners in parenting *

 

However, teaching the next generation isn’t only the parents’ responsibility.

It’s the *parent’s* job to *teach* their kids, it is *church’s* job is to *equip* and *partner* with parents.

None of us can do it alone.

I know that better know than before I had kids.

Even at our best, we all need help raising our kids.

I remember the relief I felt the first time Grace brought home her CC lesson and told me about how *Moses* saw a burning bush, talked to Ro, *turned* into a *snake*, *died*, then came *back* to *life*.

·         The details were off, but I felt a burden lifted from me when I realized Marilyn and I are not alone, we had help.

How much more important is it for the church to fill in the *gap* when the parents *can’t* or *won’t* teach their children about God.

Q   Who is the church?

·         We are.

Each of us is responsible for keeping the church from extinction.

Teaching our kids about God in an *authentic* way that encourages them to *follow* *Him* requires all of us: *grandparents*, *aunts* and *uncles*, *friends*, Children Church *teachers* and *helpers*, and youth group *volunteers*.

BTW: Do you know that you have already promised to help?

When we hold *child* *dedications*, we stretch out our hands symbolizing *blessing*, *agreement, *and* Support.*

·         The parents commit to raising their kids in the ways of God.

·         We the church commit to helping them.

*Showing and telling *

 

Together, the *parents* and the *church* have one goal: Help the next generation *follow* *Jesus*.

·         Show Jesus though example.

·         Tell about Jesus through teaching.

Both the *showing* and the *telling* are absolutely crucial.

Neither one is sufficient by itself.

*Showing *

 

To show Jesus is to *model* Him and his *character*.

It means letting children to *see* the change the God has made in your life, talking about what *He* *means* to you and your relationship with Him

·         And every one of us – parents, aunts, grandparents, friends, and neighbors – has the power to show Jesus.

·         We cannot tell about Jesus until we show Him.