Confession or Excuse?

KiDZ Message

Prep: One sheet of paper, rolled into a cone on stage

SLIDE - KiDZ Message

OPENING

Ask: Has anyone ever felt like they weren't good enough to do something?

Let them answer — validate it

Tell them even people in the Bible felt that way

JEREMIAH

Read 1:6 — Jeremiah says I don't know how to speak, I'm just a kid

Read 1:7–9 — God says — then puts words in his mouth go, I am with you

Key point to land: God didn't make Jeremiah more confident. He made him more obedient.

OBJECT LESSON

Roll the paper into a cone in front of them

Pick a quieter kid — not the natural performer

Have them whisper just to you "God can use me"

Ask the group if they heard it — they didn't

Hand the child the megaphone, have them say it again

Key line: "Same kid. Same voice. Same words. But now the truth could travel."

THE POINT

Transition away from the megaphone here — set it aside

God wants to speak through you, but you have to actually do something

Name concrete examples kids recognize:

praying with a friend who is sad,

telling someone Jesus loves them,

inviting someone to church

God doesn't need you to be ready. He needs you to say yes and take the step.

SLIDE: BIG IDEA

You don't have to be ready. You just have to say yes.

And when you do, God will do some amazing things through you!

Close with the group saying together: God — can — use — me

CLOSING PRAYER

Direction: Thank God for using ordinary, imperfect kids

Ask Him to show them this week the specific moment when He is inviting them to say yes

On-Ramp

The most dangerous excuses are the ones that sound humble.

Most of us don’t hear the call to help someone else follow Jesus and say, “No, I refuse.” We say things that sound much more honest:

“I’m not ready.” “I don’t know enough.” “I’m not mature enough.” “I need someone to disciple me first.” “I don’t want to mess anyone up.”

And some of that may be true.

You may not be ready. You may not know enough. You may have real gaps in your prayer life, your biblical understanding, your emotional maturity, your courage, your consistency, or your holiness.

But the question is not, “Do I feel adequate?” The question is, “What am I doing with my inadequacy?”

Because feeling inadequate is not the problem. Letting inadequacy make you passive is the problem.

So before we go any further, I want you to start by considering an area of your spiritual life where you feel inadequate.

Maybe it is prayer. Maybe it is Scripture. Maybe it is talking about Jesus. Maybe it is leading your family spiritually. Maybe it is helping someone younger in the faith. Maybe it is emotional maturity — the ability to respond with patience, humility, and love when things get tense.

Now ask this: Is that inadequacy a confession, or has it become an excuse?

SLIDE - Confession - Excuse

A confession tells the truth about where I am right now.

An excuse makes a case for why I should not have to grow.

A confession says:

“I am not comfortable praying out loud.” “I have not read much of the Bible.” “I do not know how to explain why I follow Jesus.” “I do not know what my next step of growth is.” “I get defensive when faith conversations become uncomfortable.”

But an excuse takes that same confession and adds a period where Jesus is putting a comma.

“I am not comfortable praying out loud, so I won’t pray with anyone.” “I have not read much of the Bible, so I won’t open it with someone else.” “I do not know how to explain why I follow Jesus, so I will avoid the subject.” “I do not know what my next step of growth is, so I will wait until someone else tells me what to do.” “I get defensive when faith conversations become uncomfortable, so I will blame the other person and stop trying.”

That is the difference. Inadequacy can be a confession, but it cannot become an excuse.

Because when inadequacy becomes an excuse, we stop being steadily formed as followers of Jesus. And when we stop being formed, the next generation of Christians goes without people who are ready to help them draw closer to Christ.

That is why this matters in this series.

Faith does not get passed on by accident. Someone taught. Someone prayed. Someone showed up. Someone invited. Someone endured awkwardness. Someone decided their faith could not stop with them.

But faith does stop with us when we keep postponing maturity.

Faith stops with us when inadequacy becomes our excuse to stay immature.

So the question today is not, “Am I ready to pass faith to the next generation?”

The question is: Am I confessing my inadequacy to Christ, or am I using my inadequacy as an excuse?

You may not be ready to keep pace with the next generation. But you are responsible to go after Christ until you get there.

Jeremiah also felt inadequate. His objection sounds familiar. But God does not let inadequacy have the final word.

Open your bible to Jeremiah 1

Exposition - Jeremiah

SLIDE - Jeremiah Points

1) It’s God’s Call, not Jeremiah’s

Walk through Jeremiah 1:4–5.

Emphasize God’s action: God forms, knows, sets apart, appoints, and sends.

God does not begin with Jeremiah’s résumé. God begins with his own plan.

The call to make disciples doesn’t start with what we feel we are skilled at or capable of.

It starts with God’s design for us. And the same is true for our call to make disciples.

Jesus does not call experts to make disciples; he calls disciples to do it.

The mission we’ve been given is not rooted in our readiness.

Instead, the mission itself is how God readies us.

Simply put, it starts with the call, not the confidence.

2) Jeremiah makes an Excuse

Walk through Jeremiah 1:6.

Translate Jeremiah’s objection in modern language “I’m not good at that kind of thing” “What do I say?”

Acknowledge that Jeremiah’s limitation is real.

Jeremiah is not wrong that he is young and unskilled. He is wrong to believe his inadequacy gets the final word.

Your limitations may be real too. You most likely need growth, help, practice, correction, and patience.

You need to step into things you are NOT good at in order to be obedient to the call of God.

But Inadequacy does not get to decide whether we obey.

Your limitation can help you identify your next step of obedience.

Your limitation can keep you humble

Your limitation can drive you toward Christ

But do not let your limitation become your master.

3) God does not say “believe in yourself”

Walk through Jeremiah 1:7–8.

Contrast God’s response with common encouragement:

Not “believe in yourself.”

Not “you are enough.”

Not “you’ve got this.”

God does not answer Jeremiah’s inadequacy by telling Jeremiah he is adequate. God answers Jeremiah’s inadequacy by giving Jeremiah his presence.

Show the difference between self-help and Christian discipleship.

Self-help says, “Believe in yourself.” The gospel says, “Believe in Christ.”

We are not trying to replace insecurity with ego.

We are learning dependence.

The answer to inadequacy or low self esteem is not self-confidence and encouragement. The answer is dependence on Christ.

We often try to help people feel strong enough in themselves.

Scripture teaches us to help people draw near to God.

The gospel does not say, “You’ve got this.” The gospel says, “Christ has you.”

4) God provides, but Jeremiah still participates

Walk through Jeremiah 1:9–10.

God puts words in Jeremiah’s mouth.

Jeremiah still has to go. Jeremiah still has to speak.

God provides the word, but Jeremiah still opens his mouth.

Define dependence: Not passivity. Not spiritualized avoidance. Not “Jesus take the wheel” while we take a nap.

Dependence on Christ is not throwing your hands off the wheel. It’s also not making all the decisions.

Jeremiah shows us how God responds to our excuses.

All of this is showing that God’s call is more powerful than whatever limitations we have,

but, we must depend on him to live beyond those limitations

Paul gives us a clear summary of all this in 2 Corinthians 3

SLIDE - 2 Corinthians Points

Exposition - 2 Corinthians 3:1-6

Context

Paul is writing a letter back to the church in Corinth. He is explaining all the amazing things Gad has been doing in and around him

He starts the chapter by holding this self-sufficiency idea in check...

2 Corinthians 3:1-3 - Are we commending ourselves?

He is saying that the testimony of the lives of the people in Corinth are all the proof they need to know their ministry is good and aligned with Christ.

He could go on to say, don;t doubt yourselves, YOU are AMAZING PEOPLE. Look at all you’ve done.

But instead he does the following...

1) Paul does not pretend to be self-sufficient

Walk through 2 Corinthians 3:4–5.

Paul’s confidence is not self-confidence. It is confidence in Christ.

He does not say, “I discovered I was enough.”

He says, “our confidence comes through Christ.”

The gospel does not ask us to pretend we are sufficient. It teaches us where to return when we are not.

This means inadequacy should not push us away from obedience. It should push us toward Christ.

If our competence comes from God, then our inadequacy should drive us toward Christ and his mission, not away from responsibility.

2) God’s sufficiency creates resilient ministry

Walk through 2 Corinthians 3:6.

God made us as ministers.

People who Love God the way Christ did and taught us to

People who Love People the way Christ did and taught us to

People who Make Disciples the way Christ did and taught us to

God makes us competent so that we might do the work.

God’s grace did not ignore Paul’s inadequacies, not make Paul inactive.

It made him faithful under pressure.

It made him durable.

Durable to resist those who may point to our inadequacies as a way to demand adherence to the letter of the law that kills.

Durable to stay focused on the Spirit, when the world demands obedience to lesser God’s

Durable to obey Christ, even when we feel inadequate to justify ourselves against a world that is against him.

Summary:

Despite inadequacy, Jeremiah still opens his mouth to speak God’s words.

Despite pressure for proof, Paul still points to Christ.

So dependence is neither self-sufficiency nor passivity.

Dependence empowers obedience.

When we rely of Christ, he gives us what we need to trust and obey.

Application

The lesson from Jeremiah and Paul is not:

Believe in yourself.

Deny your inadequacy.

Wait until you feel ready.

The lesson is:

Rely on God as you obey beyond your own ability.

Actively pursue the growth needed to make disciples.

Trust Jesus to provide what you need as you go:

opportunities, lessons, mentors, experiences, correction, courage, wisdom

The gospel does not ask you to pretend you are adequate. It invites you to rely on Christ while you obey beyond your ability.

But we make excuses.

SLIDE - Excuses

Excuse 1: “No one ever discipled me.”

This may be true. Some people really were not mentored, trained, taught, or spiritually invested in well.

But waiting passively for a mentor usually does not create a mentoring relationship.

Personal example:

Every good mentor I have had was someone I pursued. I asked for the meeting. I brought the questions. I named what I needed. They taught me, but I took initiative.

If you do not know how to disciple others, pursue someone who can help you learn.

Christ has called us to be ready to teach the next generation.

If we do not know how, we are responsible to seek wisdom from someone who does.

Question: Who do you know who follows Christ that you can pursue wisdom from?

Excuse 2: “I do not know enough Bible.”

This may be true.

You will learn some by coming to worship, but not enough to faithfully pass faith on to others.

Learn to study Scripture yourself.

You cannot show people Jesus without spending time in Scripture. Not just devotionals.

Free resources are more available than ever.

Expect to grow and be corrected over time.

Personal example:

I would take back parts of my earliest sermons because I have learned better.

That is not failure; that is growth.

Because you are responsible to teach, you are responsible to learn.

If you seek wisdom, Christ will provide.

But he will not force-feed formation you refuse to pursue.

If you are waiting for the church to do all your learning for you, you will be waiting forever.

Excuse 3: “I am afraid I will hurt someone.”

This fear may come from real experience.

Being cautious about spiritual abuse and misuse of authority is honorable.

Stay humble. Stay correctable. Do not pretend to know what you do not know.

But silence does not protect people. Your lack of growth will not protect anyone from harm.

It only means there is one fewer person who can faithfully point others to Jesus.

Avoidance is not humility.

Do not assume someone else will do the work God has called you to do.

The next generation will be discipled; the question is by whom, into what, and toward which kingdom.

Discipleship Shift — Do Not Just Receive This; Teach It

Invite the band up here

My hope is that today, you are seeing your mission more clearly.

When you come to worship and listen to sermons, you are not only being taught how to follow Christ.

You are also being taught how to teach others.

The messages you hear and the lessons you learn as you follow Jesus can't stop with you.

The cost of silent Christians is far too great.

When your child is scared, don’t say: “There is nothing to worry about.”

Say: “Jesus is with you. Let’s ask him for courage together.” and then pray with them.

When a less experienced believer says: “I do not know enough.” Don’t say: “You’re fine.”

Say: “yeah, you probable don’t, Let’s meet up this week to read and study together.”

When a friend feels overwhelmed by life, don’t say: “You’re strong. You’ve got this.”

Ask: “May I help you bring these situations to Jesus so he can show you his way forward?”

The gospel does not point us inward for strength. It draws us nearer to Christ.

This is what the next generation needs: Not perfect Christians. Not experts with every theological answer. Not people pretending to be enough.

They need people who can honestly say: “I am not sufficient in myself. Christ has met me. Let me show you how to draw near to him too.”

Conclusion / Call to Prayer

I want to offer you a prayer to help you respond to the scriptures today.

SLIDE - Prayer

Jesus, I feel inadequate to pass faith on to others because ____________________. Forgive me for letting my confession become an excuse. Show me what I need to do to grow in this area, and I will trust you to provide what I need as I go. Amen.

Examples for the blank:

“I do not have enough time.” “I have not read the Bible enough.” “I am afraid they will hurt my feelings or offend me.” “No one ever taught me how.” “I am tired.” “I don’t want to feel pushy.” “I just do not want to.” “I do not talk well.” “They do not care what I have to say.”

Some of those are fears.

Some are wounds.

Some are weariness.

Some are excuses.

Some are sin.

All of them can be brought to Christ.

Jesus is not asking you to hide your inadequacy. He is asking you to rely on him as you obey beyond your ability.

So take a moment, fill in that blank for yourself, and then we will pray that prayer together.

Give a few moments of silence

Pray this out loud with me, but fill in your own blank.

Jesus, I feel inadequate to pass faith on to others because ____________________. Forgive me for letting my confession become an excuse. Show me what I need to do to grow in this area, and I will trust you to provide what I need as I go. Amen.