Build His Kingdom

You know, normally this is when we share our Joys and concerns and I'd kind of trim that down because of knowing we had a lot of other things in the service. But one thing I did want to pass along and stout called me this morning, giving an update on Donna, lukenbill saying that she is in afib and has some fluid around her heart and just not doing well overall. So if you could continue to remember Donna, in your prayers, that would be spectacular. So I just wanted to pass that along this morning to our church family, you know, the verse that you'll see on her t-shirts and a lot of things that Cheryl puts out there has always been Psalm 127 verse 3 Sons are a Heritage from the Lord. Children. A reward from him. You know, that's always been the key verse that we share. And I think, you know, the great thing about that verse is that it's just telling us that we need to acknowledge that blessing that our children are that they are a blessing, a reward that God gives us but you are wrong with that blessing. There comes a lot of responsibility. Here we is a church. Think it's a blessing and a privilege that we get to do what we do with the preschool and that we have the ladies that we have doing what they do. It's a big blessing but like I said it comes with a lot of responsibility and I want to talk about some of that responsibility this morning real quick and we're going to look in Deuteronomy 6. Any of the set the scene a little bit. You know, Moses has been Leading the People or they've been walking around for forty years in the desert just wandering around. And they're finally on the verge of getting into the promised land and he's giving them some final instructions because he's not going to be able to go with them. And I want you to know that his final instructions had nothing to do with farming or shepherding or economics or military strategy or any of those things.

the thing that was on his mind and on God's heart before that was that, you know, they have to make sure to pass on the faith that they possess. And you know, our parental responsibilities, you know, have to break them down into five different verbs that we're going to talk about. They are to learn to live to lead. And to lunch and I left out love in the middle of that. But as we start to look at those things, you know, the first one is to learn. You don't we think of learn we often think of children, right?

But what he's talking about is us. The first task is that, you know, we're called to learn God's word for ourselves. In Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 1 and 2. We read these are the commands decrees and laws, the Lord, your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess

So that you your children and their children after them.

May fear the lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you and so that you may enjoy a long life. Notice how he works the task into their of, passing it from generation to generation.

He knew that it was important for him to teach the people because they can't teach their children, what? They don't know for themselves. So that's why to learn is one of the first ones. The second one is to live. You know, it's not enough. Just to learn God's word. We must also live it out. Deuteronomy chapter 6. Verse 3 says here, Israel and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in the land flowing with milk and honey. Just as the Lord, the god of your ancestors promised you.

You know, you can talk to your kids, all that you want to about God. And they hear it. but the way that you live at has the greatest impact,

you know, Ralph Waldo Emerson said Who you are speaks so loudly that I can't hear what you're saying.

You know, that is a very true statement. Because if our kids here is saying one thing about God and Jesus but see us living in a total different way. That's what they're going to hear.

The third one is love. Deuteronomy 6:4 is hear o Israel. The Lord Our God. The Lord is one You'll for Jewish people that's pretty significant cuz that's the beginning of what they call the Shema. And what it is is that is basically their pledge of allegiance to God.

You know, we say the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of every day at school but this was their pledge of allegiance to God. It defines their relationship with him. That there is one God and God is first above everything.

The very next verse Deuteronomy, 6:5 challenges us to love God with everything we've got. love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength,

We all know that love is much more than just a feeling. You know, you and I have to make a conscious decision to love God with all of our heart, with all of our mind with all of our strength. With More Than Just Words, you love is a verb or an action, you know, it's not just an emotion. It is lived out in a relationship. That's what love really is in our kids need to see that.

Going on to route to Deuteronomy 6:6. These Commandments that I give you today, are to be on your hearts. You know, there are a lot of people out there in this world that have a lot of Bible knowledge. But if it never makes that trip from your head to your heart and none of it matters. It is all irrelevant if it isn't showing in the way that we love other people.

So as parents, you know, God has to be all important to us. If we want him to be all important to our children, And that is something that we have to live out. And part of the way we do that is by Leading.

And you know, when we leave, we have to teach truth intentionally. You know, we have to look for ways that we can pass it along to them, show them what our faith. Really means who we believe in what we're doing. Why we are living the way we're living? Why we love people? The way we love people, we need to find ways to do that. And one of the ways that we do that is we talked true relationally.

Deuteronomy 6:7 says talk about them. When you sit at home and when you walk along the road and when you lie down, and when you get up,

Notice that this is a whole lot more than make sure you wake your kids up in time for church on Sunday once a week. This means bringing God, bringing the Bible into everything that you do as a family.

you know, that is the way that you're going to make a lasting impression on your children that, you know, when you're sitting at home, you might be discussing, what went on during your day at work or their day at school, but can you bring God into that conversation? Can you use scripture to teach them? Truth about those things?

another one is the way we lead is to transmit, truth practically You know, Deuteronomy verse chapter 6 verses 8 and 9 says, tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on your door frames of your houses and on your Gates.

Now, what are the Jewish? People actually take this quite literally that they have little boxes called flag trees, that they'll write the scriptures on, usually the Deuteronomy 64 and they put it in a little box. Nate are on their head. They took that scripture quite literally but, you know, I think the ideas for God's word to be so Central to your life that every direction that your children turn, They see it.

And, you know, I used to kind of think, you know, I don't like knick knacks all stuff all over the house stuff on the walls. but if some of that stuff is God focused, it's just a reminder to them that God is in this place. It's just a practical way to do it. In the last one, probably one of the hardest ones is to Launch. You know, after we learn for ourselves after we've done our best to live it out, after we loved other people and loved our children and we LED them to the best of our knowledge. It's time for us to launch them out into that world around them. What's that? Is a scary proposition always. You know, we want to pass that belief baton On to the Next Generation but that can be scary.

and if you know anything, about running a race, you know, if that transition isn't smooth that messes up, everything, As I Was preparing for this, this week, I thought of one of my son's track meets where after they passed off the Baton, the kitty pasta to got confused and pass the Baton back to him. Well, they were disqualified.

you know, that kid didn't take the Baton for himself and run his leg of the race, but how fitting of an illustration is that, you know, if we don't pass that off to our children, Enable them to run their leg of their faith race. Then we haven't done what God's asking us to do.

Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 10 and 11 says, when the Lord your God brings you into the land. He swore to your father's to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you a land with large flourishing cities. You did not build houses, filled with all kind of good things. You did not provide Wells. You did not dig and Vineyards and Olive Groves. You did not plant then when you eat and are satisfied, you know what, God's trying to remind them of right here is I'm moving you into this land of milk and honey which means it is going to be a great place when they've been walking around a desert for 40 years. So it's not going to take much to be an improvement, right? but he's taking them into this great place and he's like, you're going to be giving everything you've ever wanted and dreamed about

But when that happens, when life is good, don't forget about me. don't forget that, I'm the one who has provided that Don't allow your face to grow stagnant because well, you know, Life's good life's comfortable. We don't have anything to worry about.

We have to be on watch that, we don't do that. Then going on in 2 verse 12 is his be careful that you do not forget the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. Your God wants them to be careful. Not to forget. To make sure that the things of life that the schedules of life, don't crowd out, the very Giver of Life.

You know, I think we need to remember here that it's an interesting thing that God wants them to remember where they used to be. You knows I was thinking about this mean they've been wandering around for 40 years, part of the reason they wandered around for 40 years was so that the defiant generation had died off by that time. It was now their children that were going to be Crossing into the Promised Land.

So they had no direct real memory of what it meant to be slaves in Egypt of what God had delivered them from. If those parents hadn't done their job to pass that on, It would be lost that is what God's reminding them, remind them of his grace of what we've been set, free from what Jesus did on the cross. We have to remind them that

and then we see at the very end of his life. Moses gave this message at the end of the book of Deuteronomy where he says in 3247. They are not just Idle Words for you. They are your life by them. You will live long in the land. You're crossing the Jordan to possess

You know, that's what we have to pass on. That's what our children have to see is that these aren't just Idle Words, you know, the church isn't just something we go do on Sundays because, well, that's what everyone else does. It is a vital and important part of our lives. We have to see his parents that we must pass along our faith to them. It's not always easy but it's the task. We've been given and we do that by learning living loving leading and one day launching them. Please bear with me in prayer.

Heavenly father as we come to you. But we just thank you for the awesome blessing that children. Are we thank you for the responsibility that it is to have them in our lives? But Lord also just the joy that they bring Lord, I pray that you will give all of us here. What we need to raise them in the way that they should go Lord, to raise them in a way that helps them to see that the Bible is not just mere words. That our faith isn't just something that we say we believe but Lord it is how we live our life. It is the way we have the strength to live our life And Lord, may they always see that in the way that we love them. And the way that we love others, we pray this all in your most, holy name. Amen.

so at this time, the moment you have all been waiting for allow Miss Cheryl and Amy to bring the children forward, so Here they come.

Would everyone please join us in singing? This Little Light of Mine.

I'm going to do this little girl. Thank you is real quick, but we'd really like to thank Cynthia Everett and Taylor Street. They're there with us every day at school, and they keep us organized and going and anything we forget, they remember. So, it's just wonderful. And we also want to thank all the ladies of the church that's gotten all this food prepared. For all of us are cooking and setting up. Donating stuff. And also whoever helped set the tables up. Awesome. Thank you, that was one less thing we had to do and wait till you go. Wait till you come.

Tables down there. Connie sprung or decorated the tables. They are just beautiful and I'm their Snowman on the tail. And if you would like some, you can get one and it's free will donation. She made those in honor of the preschool. And so then also, whoever helps clean up and are serving crew and we all

breeds and all these wonderful things that just keep our program going and we never worry about it. It's just always taken care of and all your family that came today and supported all your little preschoolers. They have been so excited for you guys to come some nervous but that's okay. We're just so thankful for Pastor Dave, and our church family and everything that they do for us and it's just been a blessing to have your kids and we just love them to Pieces. So thank you for being here and supporting them and I have one more little thing. She needs to say, can you say it now? You won't do it. She wanted to tell somebody happy birthday today.

Happy Birthday Mimi. If you wanted to tell me, happy birthday. Play today. Self. Thank you again, so much. Please stay for lunch. These ladies have been working so hard and we have

Thank you so much again for coming and supporting us. So, thank you.

I think Amy always gets voted because Cheryl cries, so that's why.

Yeah, you don't lead with that. Yeah, I was just glad they didn't throw the Bibles, like the gloves.

I was waiting for the first one, but I don't care. Whose kid will that be? Brian and Jamie are going to lead us in a closing song and then I'll come up and give you guys some instructions for going down to eat with us. But thank you for allowing us to do what we get to do with your children. It is our pleasure to do that. So Ryan and Jamie. You'll say anything with us.

Call. bother you or your

I have no ride.

Bother you.

In the world.

You hold down the law.

YouTube ad song.

That's the way.

Oh my God.

I will sweetie.