Discipleship Choices

Well that was fun. Been a minute since I was able to sit in the glass cage! Thank you music team. Well done this morning.

Well, good morning Church!

Good morning to those of you who are joining us on the live stream we're glad you could join us here this morning.

Well, you may have noticed things are a little different this morning, as you came in you were greeted by some much younger greeters, We had some additions to the worship team, I had a great introduction and scripture reading by one of our girls. A little later instead of having an elder come up and give announcements, those are going to be handled as well by some who are much younger.

You may wonder what’s going on? Well if you are new here, or maybe you just forgot, as a church family we recognize how blessed we are to have so many children and young people among us, amen?! And we value and cherish each one of these kiddos and we just want to take a Sunday from time to time to honor them and and so the elders and the staff have determined to use every fifth Sunday throughout the year to do just that. Every fifth Sunday is going to belong to these kids because we want them to know how much we love and appreciate them, AND we also want them to know that they can have a place of service here in their church family as well.

So we have designated fifth Sundays to allow them to have that opportunity I have the distinct privilege this morning of being the oldest kid involved in the service today... by just a little.

I am going to approach the message this morning a little different than I normally do and since we are honoring and appreciating our kids today and now that they've all gotten settled into their seats I'm going to ask them to come back down here because I want to talk to them this morning and so all you adults will just have to spectate today while I spend some time with these kiddos.

So I want what I want to do this morning is invite all of our LFB kids to come down here in the front join me on the steps because this is where I'm going to be preaching from this morning.

So if Mom and Dad are okay with it, come on down here hang out with me for a little bit. I may need one of you to help me up when we're done okay?

Good morning you guys. I'm really glad to have you guys up here joining me this morning.

Like always I had to bring my tablet because I am old and forgetful so I don’t want to take the chance of forgetting something today.

Introduction

Okay, Well for the last few weeks us adults have been in here talking about what it means to be a disciple. Can anyone tell me what a disciple is?

So a disciple is someone who follows his teacher very closely.

If we are a Christian, then the teacher we are called to follow is Jesus. So we are each called to follow Jesus.

As Christians, we want to spend time with jesus, learn to be like Jesus and do what He does.

Now Jesus is not here so how can we spend time with Him?

We can Pray and talk to Him right?

How can we learn from Him, Well, a lot of what Jesus taught is written down for us in the Bible so we can read the words of Jesus and learn from Him that way yes?

We can also read in the Bible how Jesus treated others and the kinds of things He did to make sure people knoew who He was and how much He loved them.

So we can start to practice treating others the way jesus treated others. We can start doing the other things we see Jesus do like Pray to His Father in Heaven and teaching people about Him.

So a disciple of Jesus spends time with Jesus, learns to be like Jesus, and practices doing what Jesus did.

Anyone think they might like to be a disciple of Jesus? Have you ever thought what your life might be like if Following Him was the most important thing to do?

You know I started following Jesus when I was about the same age as some of you. And one thing I can tell you is, there is nothing else in my life that has been better than following Jesus as His disciple. Spending time with Him anf learning from Him and practicing doing the things He did. Best thing I have ever done.

Hey! Hang on. I just remembered I have a treat for you guys this morning…You guys wait here and let me see if I can find it,

let me see if I can remember where I put it…(Goto Suitcase - Open and start rumaging, then ask for a helper)

I might need a little help here. Would one of you come give me a hand…one of the bigger kids. That treat si somewhere in here but I need you to hold a few things for me if you would.

(Start handing items) Those treats are in here somewhere, hang on…could you hold this too?

(Fill up kids hand with a bunch of stuff then Find the candy.)

Ah here it is! I need you to do one more thing. Can you open this and dump it into this bowl for me so all the kids can pick a treat?

Hmm…it looks like we have a problem here.

What do you think you need to do to get those treats open? That’s right! You will have to let go of the things that are in your hands in order to get these treats ready for everyone. OR you could just hang onto all that stuff and skip the treats. Which would you rather do? Kids, what do you want him/her to do?

Seems like you all think the candy is more valuable that all that stuff. Putting all that stuff down to get the candy is worth it? You’d much rather have the candy than those other things. You wouldn’t mind letting go of the books to pick up the candy?

O.K.

Well you know, sometimes things in life work this way. It might sound strange, but there are times when we need to let go of one thing in order to have another thing. Because we can’t always have EVERYTHING. It’s too much to try and manage isn’t it. AND it isn’t always as easy as choosing between heavy items and candy, but it is important to recognize that through life we have to make and those decisions will mean letting go of one thing so we can have the better thing.

In fact, In that passage we read a while ago, we heard Jesus tell the crowd that if they wanted to follow him as disciples, they would have to give up some other things. Jesus calls US to do this. He invites us to be His followers, and sometimes that means we leave other things of life behind, but boy I can tell you it is sure worth it! Best trade ever!

When Jesus first called His disciples, He invited them to work and learn with Him. In order to do so, they had to leave their jobs. The Bible tells us they did this immediately.

They didn’t wait until it was a convenient time or sit looking at pros and cons. They left their boats and fishing nets, and followed Jesus. They knew that what He had to offer was even more important than their jobs and making money. They were willing to leave behind what they knew and some of the things they liked to do, in order to do something better. And it was worth it! Following Jesus cost the disciples their jobs, and eventually their lives. But they made a difference for all of us. They were part of establishing God’s Kingdom on Earth, and part of witnessing the life of Jesus as Savior and Lord.

As Christians, you and I have the same call on our lives. You don’t have jobs just yet, but someday you probably will. This call to follow doesn’t mean we have to lay aside all of our hopes hopes and dreams, but there might be other sorts of choices that we face. We might not get to do all of the things that sound fun, because we can only hold so much in our hands at once. We can’t do it all. We sometimes need to set aside one thing to pick up another, and we might have to leave one job or hobby or desire in order to spend time with Jesus. But He is always worth it!

Jesus promises blessing beyond what we can imagine, and His ways are far greater than ours. Jesus takes away our sins and gives us eternal life. That’s worth much more than anything we might let go of in return. It’s definitely better than candy! We can trust that following Him is always the best choice for our lives.

Why don’t we pray now and thank God for letting us be His followers and then you can all have a treat.

Children’s Prayer

Dear God, Thank you for calling us to follow You. You are worth more than anything else Help us to love and serve you. Thank you for your love We love you, God! In Jesus name, Amen!

If you have nut allergy’s stay away from the snickers. If Mom and Dad don’t allow you to have candy, then I guess I just got us all in trouble. Grab a treat and head back to your seats. Just take one for now and i will put the rest in the back if you want to take one home for later.

Following Jesus. Kingdom Living. It’s what we have been talking about and will continue to talk about because, like I said to the kids, there is nothing more important than that.

If you are here tins morning and you are still on the fence about whether not not following Jesus is the best choice, I pray you will take a small step of faith and begin to follow Him.

If you are like me and you have been striving to follow Him for a while, then my encouragement to you this morning is to is to take a little inventory of your days and ask yourself, Am I living my life as though the importance of being an apprentice of Jesus Christ is apparent in the way I spend my time, in the way I conduct my affairs and in the way I make daily decisions. If not, what do I need to turn loose of so I can more thoroughly embrace Jesus, His teachings and His ways.

Jesus is always the best choice

Col 3:1-17 NLT - 1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. 5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don't be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. 7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. 12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. 16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Let’s pray....