Grace and Peace on this Saturday. I’m glad we can end the week together in the Pastor’s Workshop.
As you know Saturday is our time to “prepare with prayer”. Saturday gets us spiritually ready for what happens on Sunday. And particularly with tomorrow being a “Re-Opening Day” at Spring Valley, where we’ll begin onsite, inside worship at 11:00, prayer is important!
As we return to “inside church” we’re in the midst of our Stewardship Emphasis, “Rise Again”. Our Scripture base for the series is from II Corinthians 4. The Apostle writes, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; … For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” As we re-emerge from under the “cloud of Covid” to be the church God calls us to be, we let the love of God in Christ shine in our hearts and show through our life together.
A special and specific way we shine the light and show the love of God in Christ at Spring Valley is by “Raising Up the Next Generation in Faith”. This priority is one of the “four pillars” we practice. It is an anchor of our ministry.
Tomorrow’s worship will lift up that focus on Children and Youth. The message will highlight that ministry emphasis.
The Scriptural text is Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Our specific emphasis is on verse 6 and 7, “6 Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7 Teach them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.”
Since I missed being with you on Thursday (where I outline my talking points for Sunday), I thought I might take today to touch on some highlights for tomorrow.
Here’s my thoughts for the message:
When we have kids (children or grandchildren or our church children), we want the best for them.
We quickly realize that “wanting the best” is not so much about what we can give them, as much as about what we can teach them. In learning about life they become strong and independent and can make their own best way in the world.
And there is so much to teach and to learn. ABC’s, 123’s, art, music, how to be strong, be fair, be kind, and on it goes.
Robert Fulghum wrote an insightful book a number of years back, Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. And although he makes lots of good points, we don’t learn everything we need to know in Kindergarten.
The main thing I want my kids and grandkids and church kids to know they learn in Sunday School. They learn about a great love that is the salvation of their lives. “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so.”
As we want our children to learn about that great and gracious love of God, we join with faithful across the ages. The Scripture this morning reflects that same heart of love for God and raising up children in the faith, “keep the commandments and teach them to your children”.
This Scripture, called the “Shema” in Judaism, is at the center of Jewish prayer life. Jesus as a child would have prayed the “Shema”. “Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is One.”
We have a One and Only God, who loves us in a “one and only way”, in a way that God loves us more than his own life. Jesus Christ on the Cross is that outpouring of God’s love for all.
Our faith focuses on that gift of love. We receive that “one and only love” from our “One and Only Lord” in ways that our reception gives rise to reciprocation. In God’s grace there grows in our hearts a love for God. Our love would be a response where we “love the Lord with all our heart, our soul, and our strength”.
Even as we love God in that way, that love becomes a “light” that leads us on a path of life we call the Commandments. The Ten Commandments are a path of life that builds Connection with a God of love and with our neighbors in love.
As people of faith we walk this path and we take the hand our children as we walk. We teach them the commandments as a way of life and of love for God and neighbor.
The Shema opens our eyes to the opportunity to see the world as a “classroom”. Everyday there are lessons to be learned. So we talk about following the Commandments and living in love with God “at home” and “on the road”, when we “lie down” and “rise up”. Our house and family becomes a home for God, where all are part of God’s family.
This is a commitment we make at Spring Valley to help our children, youth and families “walk and talk” this pathway of faith. This priority is at the heart of our ministry. We practice this priority through all our ministry activities with children, youth and families, on Sunday and during the week.
Yes, we want the best for our kids. We believe God provides that best in love and invites us to live in that love, in ways that our kids will know the blessing of life God has for them in Christ. Yes, we teach our children this truth of faith in ways they will walk in it forever.
These are a few of my talking points for tomorrow. Of course, as always, they will be expanded and enriched.
As you listen to this message and think about your family and/or the children in our church family, I invite you to consider how we work together to “Raise Up our Children in faith” and what you can do personally today to bring that blessing into the lives of those you love.
In the gift of that opportunity, I look forward to being with you tomorrow in worship!
Prayer: Gracious God, thank You for the gift of our children and our youth. Thank You for the privilege of raising them up in faith. This is our responsibility, our stewardship for their lives. We trust You to lead us in that blessing as we live in light of Your love and Your way. We praise You for that opportunity through Jesus Christ, our Lord.