The Faith of a Mothers Child
The Faith of a Mother’s Child NV 5/13/01 AM Deuteronomy 6: 4-9
OS: A On Mother’s Day, my seven-year-old son couldn’t wait to present me with a book of poetry he had written about me. Part of it was an acrostic of my name, Victoria, with an adjective describing me next to each letter. Beside “I” he had written “intelligent,” next to the “C” “caring,” and for the “O,” “outstanding.” I was swelling with pride until I came to the final “A.” Next to it my son had written “able to scream.”
Things My Mom Taught ME!!
My mother taught me…TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE -
"If you're going kill each other, do it outside - I just finished cleaning!"
My mother taught me RELIGION -
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."
My mother taught me LOGIC-
"Because I said so, that's why."
My mother taught me FORESIGHT -
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."
My mother taught me IRONY -
"Keep laughing and I'll "give" you something to cry about."
My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS -
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper!"
My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM -
"Will you "look" at the dirt on the back of your neck!"
My mother taught me about WEATHER -
"It looks as if a tornado swept through your room."
My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY -
"If I've told you once, I've told you a million times - Don't Exaggerate!!!"
My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION -
"Just wait until we get home."
My Mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE -
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."
My Mother taught me about WISDOM OF AGE -
"When you get to be my age, you will understand."
And my all time favorite... JUSTICE -
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you....then you'll see what it's like."
No one deserves a special day all to herself more than today's Mom. A cartoon showed a psychologist talking to his patient: "Let's see," he said, "You spend 50 percent of your energy on your job, 50 percent on your husband and 50 percent on your children. I think I see your problem."
What would be the most common wish for Christian Mothers? That their children would know God and spend eternity in heaven. So our lesson this morning has to do with raising our children. So this lesson is for Mothers, Dads, and church.
Our lesson will come from Deu. 6
At the end of four decades of frustrating wandering in the desert, Moses spoke to the Israelites about what life would be like in the Promised Land. They were about to be scattered throughout the land. They would be confronted with and impacted by people whose values, lifestyles, and faith were altogether different from theirs. This is what our children face as they live in today’s world.
It was essential to the Israelites that they devise a strategy for surviving and thriving as the people of God in a hostile environment.
Ancient and contemporary Jews referred to Deuteronomy 6: 4-5 as the Shema. It comprises the most important scriptural command that they would ever learn. It's repeated at the beginning of each new day by those who seriously long to live a godly life.
The Faith of our children depends on us. I believe we can find some principles in this text to help us pass on our faith. (Reading – B)
I. C EXPERIENCE (*Vs. 6) EXAMPLE
A. Did you notice Moses' first concern? Before parents can reasonably hope that their children will have faith in God, they must model their faith. It must be "... upon your (own) heart," Moses said, "before your children will ever try it out for themselves."
1. Children watch their parents. They recognize whether or not there is a connection between their parents faith and the way they live. A little boy asked his mother, "Mommy, what is a lie?" His mother answered by saying, "Son, a lie is an abomination unto the Lord ... but a very present help in time of need!"
2. Children also watch their church members!
3. I'm not much of a gardener. Once I took a seed catalog and started out the door. "Where are you going with that?" my wife asked. "I'm going to show it to my tomatoes," I explained.
B. Children model what they see, especially in their homes.
Children who see physical violence between their parents are six times more likely to abuse their own spouses after they marry. If those children were also hit by their parents as teenagers, they are 12 times more likely to abuse their spouses.
C. At the close of a national youth conference in Washington DC, a questionnaire was conducted of 12 reasons on why children raised in Christian homes might possibly reject the Christian faith. Three of the top five responses related to the influence of non-Christian friends. The remaining two of the leading five responses related to the breakdown of Christian influence. "Hypocrites in the church" was the second most frequent response. The fifth most frequent response was "poor Christian role models in my home."
D. For many years Monterey, a California coast town, was a pelican's paradise. As the fishermen cleaned their fish, they flung the offal to the pelicans. The birds grew fat, lazy, and contented. Eventually, however the offal was utilized, and there were no longer snacks for the pelicans. When the change came the pelicans made no effort to fish for themselves. They waited around and grew gaunt and thin. Many starved to death. They had forgotten how to fish for themselves. The problem was solved by importing new pelicans from the south, birds accustomed to foraging for themselves. They were placed among their starving cousins, and the newcomers immediately started catching fish. Before long, the hungry pelicans followed suit, and the famine was ended.
II. D EXPOSURE (*Vs. 7a)
A. The KJV uses the two words, "teach diligently," while the New International Version translates the Hebrew as "impress." The literal meaning is "to say something twice" or "to repeat." The Hebrew word originally referred to the sharpening of a blade or a tool by rubbing it repeatedly against the whetstone. The word evolved in its meaning: first, from the act of sharpening; then, to a piercing action; and finally, to the process of teaching.
1. You remember what is repeated most. (Phone numbers, SSN, Address)
2. That is why we have the Lord’s Supper week after week. To impress the death, burial, and resurrection on our minds and in our hearts.
B. Think for a moment of how much time is spent impressing things of God on the minds of our children.
1. Sunday morning class (45 min.), Wednesday night class (45 min.) = an hour and a half. That is not enough!
2. We pound into our children's heads the necessity of making good grades, and the urgency of getting a good college education. We repeatedly talk to our children about responsible social behavior. We prod them toward success in everything they do. We spare no expense to make them pretty, poise, popular, positive, and prepared to face the world --and apparently, we do it all with little or no reference to God, Jesus Christ, or to the Christian faith. Parents, what have you done to prepare your children to face God and eternity?
C. Think about this redundancy thing.
1. For every 1 time you tell your children its wrong to lie, the world tells them 50 times that telling an untruth is okay as long as its legal.
2. For every 1 time you tell your teenagers that sex before marriage is wrong, the world tells them 50 times that it’s a natural tendency that they can’t help.
3. For every 1 time you tell your children that drugs and alcohol abuse is sin, the world tells them 50 times that it’s fun and even glamorous.
TS] Whatever our kids are exposed to most, they will become!
III. E ENCOURAGEMENT (Vs. *7b-9)
A. Something you talk about all the time, and something you write on your doorpost and wear as clothing is something you are excited about and that’s encouraging.
1. Ephesians 6 4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
2. Do we get as excited about the church work of our children as we do their school work? How encouraging is that.
B. We need encouragement!
1. Everyone needs recognition for his accomplishments, but few people make the need known quite as clearly as the little boy who said to his father: "Let's play darts. I'll throw and you say 'Wonderful!'"
2. Abraham Lincoln carried with him a newspaper clipping stating he was a great leader.
3. Edward Steichen, who eventually became one of the world's most renowned photographers, almost gave up on the day he shot his first pictures. At 16, young Steichen bought a camera and took 50 photos. Only one turned out -- a portrait of his sister at the piano. Edward's father thought that was a poor showing. But his mother insisted that the photograph of his sister was so beautiful that it more than compensated for 49 failures. Her encouragement convinced the youngster to stick with his new hobby. He stayed with it for the rest of his life, but it had been a close call. What tipped the scales? The vision to spot excellence in the midst of a lot of failure.
C. Our homes and our church should be a place of encouragement for us all, and especially our children.
1. We should never have to come to church, we should get to come to church.
2. Everything we do here and in our homes needs to be an encouragement for our children to make Jesus the Lord of their life.
3. You make a difference in the life of a child and you make a difference that continues long after you’re gone from this world.
TS] Remember this passage. Experience (example), Exposure, Encouragement
F In honor of our Mothers, and for the sake of a mother’s love, let us work together to provide what our children need to really know God.
Will Your children have faith?
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