The kids are watching
Watching you music video?
Gather kids…talk to them about Father’s day, favorite memory of their dad…Share mine
It’s interesting to hear kids’ perspectives on their dads isn’t it? You’re never quite sure what they’ve picked up on. Fact is that they are always watching us. Not just dads either. All of us have an impact on kids. We tell our 7 and 9 years olds that they have a huge influence on what their 4 year old brother learns.
Important to realize this because the reality is that the kids of today really are the future of the world. They are the leaders of tomorrow and the things we teach them have a direct effect on what they will do as adults. We need to be careful what we teach them. Proverbs 22:6: “Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it.”
In fact that is exactly why we put such emphasis on kids and teens here. We want to be known as a church that cares about kids. Sunday school and youth group right from the start…VBS our first Summer…kid’s worship song-model worship…if it’s important to all of us it’s important to them…we need to support them and participate with them if they are going to learn to value worshipping God.
The kids are watching you…What you do has a greater impact then anything you tell them…Kids watch you teens and decide they want to be like you in a few years. They watch all of us adults to see what’s really important to us. The fact that you are here at church has an impact on them. They way you react to your job and the people you work with has an impact on them…(other examples….people cutting you off on the road, shortchanged, someone says something to hurt you…..someone compliments you…does something nice for you….etc. Kids are watching at every step)
If they like something you are doing or saying, you will become a role model for them. My son decided he wants to play drums after watching and listening to drummers in church…can have a big impact things from how he dresses to how he talks to other people…Kids are watching you…
So are you feeling a little bit of pressure now? Dad’s do you feel like you’ve messed up with your kids a few times? Moms? Brothers/sisters did you realize the impact you have on your younger siblings? Everyone else? Did you know that so many kids were watching you? You never know what they will be picking up on. That pressure and feeling of inadequacy reminds be of a biblical personality we’ve been following the past few weeks…Moses. Have you ever read Moses’ first encounter with God? Exodus 3.
God spoke to Moses out of a burning bush…first time God had spoken directly to anyone in over 400 years! Huge honor. Look how Moses responded…(walk through. Moses not good enough for the task…God says doesn’t matter)
With God as your guide, it doesn’t matter how good YOU are. God will provide you with what you need.
Take a look at another person in the bible who is concerned about his own weakness…apostle Paul who wrote 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 12:7-9. Paul prays for “thorn in flesh” to be taken from him…lots of speculation about what this is. The point is that it was a weakness that tormented him, but God responded “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.
God knows we have weaknesses. He doesn’t need to take them away from us to make us better and more powerful… God is your eternal father and will work through you, teach you and transform you into a person who will have a positive impact on the future…
There is another point to take from these biblical examples. God tells both of these men that He is what is important to them. This is also the most important thing for us to teach to our children and the kids of our community. We need to continually point toward God, our heavenly Father, so that they, too, will turn to Him. When our kids turn to God and trust their lives to Him, He will teach and guide them. Nothing can have a greater and more positive impact in their lives than that!
So if you are going to have a positive impact on the kids who are watching your life, the best thing you can do is model a relationship with God.
If you haven’t been living your life for God up to this point and allowing Him to work in your life…you can start today. He is a loving father who will accept you with open arms just as you are…
There are a lot of things you can do…
It begins with…daily time with God…we keep saying this, but it really is the key to a solid foundation! Let the kids see you reading your bible. Let them hear you talking about it with others..They’ll be watching and they’ll see it’s important to you.
Let them know what you are praying about…they’ll be listening
If you’ve just now come to the point of realizing that Jesus is the son of God and that he sacrificed himself to take the punishment for all you’ve done wrong in life and enable you to have a relationship with God…share that with folks around you…the kid’s will be watching and see the difference it makes in your life…
This July 15th we’re having our first baptism service…if you’ve never make a personal and public declaration the Jesus is lord of your life…come and be baptized. As you are plunged under the water and symbolically share in Jesus’ death and resurrection…the kid’s will be watching…
As your life is transformed when God heals you from past hurts and breaks down barriers that are holding you back in life…the kids will be watching!
And as you mature in your faith and discover God’s purposes for your life…as you find ways to be a minister to others within the church and the community…or perhaps you step out in faith to go to another country to help people discover Jesus...or maybe you even leave this church to go help plant another church in another community…the kid’s will be watching…
In all these things…the kids will be watching you depend upon your heavenly father and they will see the difference it makes in you and in the world around you….And then they will being to look to that Father, too…A Father who will guide them and help them to make a difference for God in this world, too!
If you are concerned about the future, and realize that the leaders of tomorrow are learning from you right now….turn to your heavenly Father. Trust Him to guide you and continue to point kids around you toward Him...everything else they need will come through Him!