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Pastor's Point - August 2024

Dear Church Family,

As you read this article, we will have completed our series of messages in the book of John that we began at the beginning of the New Year. The goal of this series was to see Jesus displayed in each of the chapters of the book of John. By God’s grace I pray that this task was accomplished. Seeing Jesus and keeping our eyes on Him is going to be necessary as we look to finish 2024 with a right focus.

There are many benefits to focusing on Jesus in our lives. With Jesus in our sight, we can find the strength, courage, and focus that we need to face the challenges that this life brings. And the challenges are many and they are varied. Many people face family crisis, financial strain, political unrest, safety concerns, and spiritual battles. These are a few things that make it so important to stay focused on our Savior.
 
To focus on Jesus as our Savior in this life means that we live our lives in full surrender to Him. In John 19:30 it states… “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (emphasis added). The thought of Jesus giving up His spirit was a powerful reminder that even Jesus our Savior lived His life marked by a purposeful surrender.

This is Jesus voluntarily, by His own will, chose to surrender His life. Jesus came in full surrender to the will of God the Father to do for us what we could not do on our own.

I love a quote that I found by George McDonald where he talks about Jesus willingly giving up His Spirit. “The last act of our Lord in bowing His head and giving up His spirit was only a summing up of what He had been doing His whole life. He had been offering this sacrifice, the sacrifice of himself, all the years, and in thus sacrificing he had lived the divine life.”

Throughout all His life Jesus was marked by a full surrender to His heavenly father. Every day was another day to embrace full surrender. And on His last day on earth, we see Jesus choosing full surrender as His last act in his earthly ministry.

What a great reality to focus on from the life of our savior Jesus Christ. Full surrender should be our aim in our lives as well. We should choose to live crucified lives just as He did. The Bible is full of scriptures which encourage us to live surrendered lives. Here are just three that can be helpful to us as we consider living lives in daily surrender.

Galatians 2:20 states… “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Luke 9:23  And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

I Peter 2:24 states… “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”

Dying to self is a daily pursuit. It can be a struggle at times to be surrendered in EVERY area of our lives. But it only makes sense for us to strive to live that way. When we trust Christ as our Savior, we also know Him as our Lord. I love this quote by R.C. Sproul. He states…

“If God is the Creator of the entire universe, then it must follow that He is the Lord of the whole universe. No part of the world is outside of His lordship. That means that no part of my life must be outside of His lordship.”

This understanding has practical implications on how we live our lives. All areas of our lives. John Stott states… “When Jesus is truly our Lord, He directs our lives and we gladly obey Him. Indeed, we bring every part of our lives under His lordship - our home and family, our sexuality and marriage, our job or unemployment, our money and possessions, our ambitions, and recreations.”

I am so thankful that we see in Jesus a perfect model of surrender in life. He has accomplished for us what we never could. But, in His accomplishment we look to His example and strive for daily surrender as we are bathed in the grace and mercy that He provides us. Let’s keep seeing the Savior throughout the rest of 2024!

I love you and I love being your pastor!

Family Ministry Moments - August 2024

IS MY CHILD READY?

Recently I have had the joy of meeting with several parents and their children as I follow up on VBS decisions.  It is one of the greatest privileges of my life to help parents lead their children to Christ.  Some of the children I have met with are ready to follow Christ and some need more time.  Parents ask the question, “How can I know if my child is ready?”  A few years ago I published an article in the Oakleaves Newsletter and I thought it would be helpful to run it again.

Originally Published June 2019
One of my favorite parts of being a family minister is seeing little children become followers of Christ.  This is such a special opportunity! It’s truly a wonderful, God-glorifying decision. I love getting to help parents counsel their children in this process; however, many parents struggle to know when their child is ready.  This can be difficult but don’t worry, I have listed some important steps to help you know if your child is ready.

Start with Prayer – Never, never, never underestimate the power of prayer.  Pray that God would speak to your child and call them to be saved.  Pray for wisdom to know if they are ready. Just pray for your child in general.  We can never pray for them enough.

Be Patient – The last thing you want to do is rush this process.  If your child is not asking questions or doesn’t seem interested or even if they say they are not ready, don’t
worry.  They should make that decision on their own rather than pressure from you. However, if they are asking questions and seem to want to know more then don’t wait!

Salvation vs. Baptism – Often kids equate salvation with baptism.  Baptism can spark an interest in the child, but they need to understand that being baptized is not the same as being saved.  We make the decision to follow Christ prompted by the Holy Spirit apart from baptism. Baptism is that symbol of spiritual cleansing that unites us with the church.  It is the first step in living out our new faith publicly. We want children to be baptized, but only after they have made a
profession of faith.

Use a Good Resource – Find a good resource that will help you share the gospel.  I love “God’s Plan for Me” from Lifeway. It is designed for children to know and understand the timeless truth of the gospel.  It is also easy to use and helpful for parents who may not be comfortable with sharing. Lifeway also has a workbook called “What is a Christian?” that I find fun and helpful.

Use Scripture – It is very important to take the time to look up the scriptures from “God’s Plan for Me” in the Bible and read them out loud.  Kids need to connect their faith back to the Word of God.

Avoid “Churchy” Words – Be careful saying things like “lost”, “confess”, or “ask Jesus into your heart”.  Kids are concrete thinkers and can be confused with these words. Try to brainstorm ways to say these things in plain language they can understand.

Ask Open-ended Questions – Make sure to avoid yes-no questions.  We can falsely lead children to make a decision they are not ready for.  Ask them things like “Can you tell me why you want to do this?” or “Tell me what you understand about how to become a Christian?”

If They are Ready – Lead them to pray a prayer of commitment, then rejoice with them!  Share that decision with your pastors and schedule an appointment to talk about baptism.

I hope these steps help you as you talk to your children about following Christ.  Please feel free to reach out to me anytime with questions or to set up a meeting.  Email me at