14th Sunday after Pentecost Rally Sunday 9/02/07 Text: Deuteronomy 6:1-9 Title: Christian Responsibilty
14th Sunday after Pentecost
Rally Sunday
9/02/07
Text: Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Title: Christian Responsibility
Today, as you know is Rally Sunday. It is that one Sunday a year when we focus on the importance of studying God’s Word. I think a better title would be, “Christian Education Sunday.”
I say that because one’s Christian education never ends as long as one lives. It seems like we think Christian education, and when I say that I mean the studying God’s Holy Word, is finished when one has been confirmed, or at the latest for most people until they graduated from High School.
I find that attitude toward God very troubling, for even though we confess our faith every week we have on an average Sunday only 8 to 10 children attending Sunday School. That is out of 35 children who should be in attendance.
I do not think any sitting here this morning would say that was good. But it get worse, for out the 300 plus members that consider themselves at least somewhat active, we have on a really good Sunday 34 in Bible class. That is only a little over 25% of those who came to worship on any given Sunday.
Something is wrong with that picture, and I have not been able to put my finger on it. We have great Sunday School teachers, so that is not the problem. We have a great Christian curriculum, so that is not the problem. We have well prepared adult Bible studies that teach the faith and apply the Word of God to our lives.
I just do not know and it saddens me. It saddens me, for I know from personal experience that studying the Word of God not only strengthens your faith, but it makes life better. And who would not want that?
The more I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that people do not want to study God’s Word because they do not have a personal relationship with God. What I mean by that is that I think it is quite possible to believe in Jesus as one’s Savior and yet not have a personal relationship with him.
I think for those that do not see the importance of studying God’s Word it is a one-sided relationship. God gives the faith, God forgives, and God sanctifies one’s life. God provides for all of one’s needs and there is nothing or at least almost nothing happening in response to all that God has done and does for them.
The Bible is full of God’s commands to do this or that all according to his holy will. He tells us that as a Christian we are to bear fruit, we have no choice. He tells us that we are to be in the Word so that we can better serve others. Paul says, “Work out your salvation.” He does not mean that you have to work out your salvation in the sense that God did not do it all, for it is a gift, you are saved. Paul means that life is tough and there is a lot of temptation so stay in the Word of God, so you need to stay in the Word, by studying it.
I have mentioned this before, but I believe it is worthwhile mentioning it again. The more I study the Word. The more I meditate on the Word, the better life gets. It is awesome. Life is busier than ever, but hurriedness, the worry is gone. It is wonderful and I want all of you to share in it.
I know you might be thinking, “That is well and good, but you are a pastor and so have time to be in the Word of God.” The problem is that that is wrong thinking for when I am preparing for Bible studies or a sermon my knowledge of the Bible grows, but my faith grows when I am in a Bible class or sitting quietly as I pray to God. That is when I have grown in my faith.
God in his Word tells us that he wants us to study his Word. There are all sorts of passages, but the one that is the clearest of all is Deuteronomy 6:1-9. Moses is talking to the people on behalf of God. “Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the rules that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
There are a couple of things that I want to make note of before I go on. The word translated as God in verse 1 is in the Hebrew plural. The text, to be really accurate should read, “the Lord your Gods” instead of the Lord your God. I mention that because we tend to think of the trinity as being a New Testament thought, but it was not. The idea of three Gods in one was already formed in Moses’ time.
The other interesting thing in this reading is that in verse nine where we read, “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” we think that God was actually commanding them to physically do those things, like putting the words of God on their forehead, actually tying the word of God on their hands, and actually putting the word of God on their doorposts and gates.
That is what we would think and thus we would say that these holy instructions from God do not apply to us, because we know that we are free from those types of laws. That is what we would say and we would be right, if in fact that is what God meant, but it was not.
You see God’s intent was and still is that his Word is to fill the lives of his people. It is to be number one in their lives, for it is only in the Word that we can learn about the Triune God.
He could not have been talking about the physical act of tying and writing his Word, because this was not actually practiced by Jews until much later in history, some scholars think that it wasn’t practiced until the time Christ came to be one of us. Whatever time it was it was not being practiced until the Jewish people had forgotten that their future lay in their faith and not in their deeds.
Those words that God told the people through Moses so long ago still apply today, for we are to keep God’s Word in front of us at all times. We are to study it, we are to meditate on it, we are to pray it, and we are to teach it to our children.
That is right mom and dad, you are to teach it to your children so that they may live their lives as God wants them to do, that is know him, keep him number one in their thoughts and serve others.
Now you might think that if your children have grown or you do not have any you get a free pass on this command of God. You do not, for you are part of this fellowship of believers who call themselves the people of Saint John.
And because you are, you, everyone one of us, are to teach the children, youth, and adults of this congregation about our awesome God, the God who came to this earth, died, and rose again for them. We are to teach them all things.
You say you don’t have the ability to teach. Well, you sell yourself short, for each one of you is a teacher. Each one of you by your very actions are teaching the young children and youth of our congregation what it means to be a Christian.
You see, when you do not attend Bible classes you are teaching that God really is not that important in your life, that an hour on Sunday is plenty. Children learn by watching. If you do not think so, all you have to do is look at your own Bible study and prayer habits.
It is well known that those whose parents were not good church goers, or Bible study attendees, or did not spend time in prayer, or only gave their congregation the left-over money raised children who grew up to be adults that were the same way.
Now that is not always true of course, because some of you here might come from those kinds of families and you are not like that all. One’s worship habits, prayer habits, and giving habits are nothing more than a reflection of how you feel about your relationship with God. It is really that simple. The good news is that you can change. You do not have to be stuck in that attitude towards God. God wants you to grow in your relationship.
Before I close let me ask you three questions. I firmly believe that if Jesus were here today he would ask the same questions. First, do you believe, I mean truly believe that you are a sinner? Second, do you truly believe that you cannot on your own be worthy of God’s love and forgiveness? Third, do you truly believe that it is only because of Jesus’ death on the cross that you are forgiven and have been given eternal life, even though you are still sinning just as I am?
If you have answered yes to those questions and I hope you did, why are you not responding to God’s love by studying his Word, and spending time in prayer?
You see, I am not sure how one can respond positively to those question and not give God some priority time, not left over time. You might not think that you are teaching our children and youth, but they are watching and learning from each one of us, so we need to show them how important God is in our lives; don’t we? Of course we do, for that is what followers, actually slaves of Christ do. Amen.
Rally Sunday
9/02/07
Text: Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Title: Christian Responsibility
Today, as you know is Rally Sunday. It is that one Sunday a year when we focus on the importance of studying God’s Word. I think a better title would be, “Christian Education Sunday.”
I say that because one’s Christian education never ends as long as one lives. It seems like we think Christian education, and when I say that I mean the studying God’s Holy Word, is finished when one has been confirmed, or at the latest for most people until they graduated from High School.
I find that attitude toward God very troubling, for even though we confess our faith every week we have on an average Sunday only 8 to 10 children attending Sunday School. That is out of 35 children who should be in attendance.
I do not think any sitting here this morning would say that was good. But it get worse, for out the 300 plus members that consider themselves at least somewhat active, we have on a really good Sunday 34 in Bible class. That is only a little over 25% of those who came to worship on any given Sunday.
Something is wrong with that picture, and I have not been able to put my finger on it. We have great Sunday School teachers, so that is not the problem. We have a great Christian curriculum, so that is not the problem. We have well prepared adult Bible studies that teach the faith and apply the Word of God to our lives.
I just do not know and it saddens me. It saddens me, for I know from personal experience that studying the Word of God not only strengthens your faith, but it makes life better. And who would not want that?
The more I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that people do not want to study God’s Word because they do not have a personal relationship with God. What I mean by that is that I think it is quite possible to believe in Jesus as one’s Savior and yet not have a personal relationship with him.
I think for those that do not see the importance of studying God’s Word it is a one-sided relationship. God gives the faith, God forgives, and God sanctifies one’s life. God provides for all of one’s needs and there is nothing or at least almost nothing happening in response to all that God has done and does for them.
The Bible is full of God’s commands to do this or that all according to his holy will. He tells us that as a Christian we are to bear fruit, we have no choice. He tells us that we are to be in the Word so that we can better serve others. Paul says, “Work out your salvation.” He does not mean that you have to work out your salvation in the sense that God did not do it all, for it is a gift, you are saved. Paul means that life is tough and there is a lot of temptation so stay in the Word of God, so you need to stay in the Word, by studying it.
I have mentioned this before, but I believe it is worthwhile mentioning it again. The more I study the Word. The more I meditate on the Word, the better life gets. It is awesome. Life is busier than ever, but hurriedness, the worry is gone. It is wonderful and I want all of you to share in it.
I know you might be thinking, “That is well and good, but you are a pastor and so have time to be in the Word of God.” The problem is that that is wrong thinking for when I am preparing for Bible studies or a sermon my knowledge of the Bible grows, but my faith grows when I am in a Bible class or sitting quietly as I pray to God. That is when I have grown in my faith.
God in his Word tells us that he wants us to study his Word. There are all sorts of passages, but the one that is the clearest of all is Deuteronomy 6:1-9. Moses is talking to the people on behalf of God. “Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the rules that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
There are a couple of things that I want to make note of before I go on. The word translated as God in verse 1 is in the Hebrew plural. The text, to be really accurate should read, “the Lord your Gods” instead of the Lord your God. I mention that because we tend to think of the trinity as being a New Testament thought, but it was not. The idea of three Gods in one was already formed in Moses’ time.
The other interesting thing in this reading is that in verse nine where we read, “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” we think that God was actually commanding them to physically do those things, like putting the words of God on their forehead, actually tying the word of God on their hands, and actually putting the word of God on their doorposts and gates.
That is what we would think and thus we would say that these holy instructions from God do not apply to us, because we know that we are free from those types of laws. That is what we would say and we would be right, if in fact that is what God meant, but it was not.
You see God’s intent was and still is that his Word is to fill the lives of his people. It is to be number one in their lives, for it is only in the Word that we can learn about the Triune God.
He could not have been talking about the physical act of tying and writing his Word, because this was not actually practiced by Jews until much later in history, some scholars think that it wasn’t practiced until the time Christ came to be one of us. Whatever time it was it was not being practiced until the Jewish people had forgotten that their future lay in their faith and not in their deeds.
Those words that God told the people through Moses so long ago still apply today, for we are to keep God’s Word in front of us at all times. We are to study it, we are to meditate on it, we are to pray it, and we are to teach it to our children.
That is right mom and dad, you are to teach it to your children so that they may live their lives as God wants them to do, that is know him, keep him number one in their thoughts and serve others.
Now you might think that if your children have grown or you do not have any you get a free pass on this command of God. You do not, for you are part of this fellowship of believers who call themselves the people of Saint John.
And because you are, you, everyone one of us, are to teach the children, youth, and adults of this congregation about our awesome God, the God who came to this earth, died, and rose again for them. We are to teach them all things.
You say you don’t have the ability to teach. Well, you sell yourself short, for each one of you is a teacher. Each one of you by your very actions are teaching the young children and youth of our congregation what it means to be a Christian.
You see, when you do not attend Bible classes you are teaching that God really is not that important in your life, that an hour on Sunday is plenty. Children learn by watching. If you do not think so, all you have to do is look at your own Bible study and prayer habits.
It is well known that those whose parents were not good church goers, or Bible study attendees, or did not spend time in prayer, or only gave their congregation the left-over money raised children who grew up to be adults that were the same way.
Now that is not always true of course, because some of you here might come from those kinds of families and you are not like that all. One’s worship habits, prayer habits, and giving habits are nothing more than a reflection of how you feel about your relationship with God. It is really that simple. The good news is that you can change. You do not have to be stuck in that attitude towards God. God wants you to grow in your relationship.
Before I close let me ask you three questions. I firmly believe that if Jesus were here today he would ask the same questions. First, do you believe, I mean truly believe that you are a sinner? Second, do you truly believe that you cannot on your own be worthy of God’s love and forgiveness? Third, do you truly believe that it is only because of Jesus’ death on the cross that you are forgiven and have been given eternal life, even though you are still sinning just as I am?
If you have answered yes to those questions and I hope you did, why are you not responding to God’s love by studying his Word, and spending time in prayer?
You see, I am not sure how one can respond positively to those question and not give God some priority time, not left over time. You might not think that you are teaching our children and youth, but they are watching and learning from each one of us, so we need to show them how important God is in our lives; don’t we? Of course we do, for that is what followers, actually slaves of Christ do. Amen.
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 5:24 PM
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