Sermon: Foster Your Spiritual Connections
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
“Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:20-25
“In the future your children will ask you, ‘What is the meaning of these laws, decrees, and regulations that the LORD our God has commanded us to obey?’ “Then you must tell them, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand. The LORD did miraculous signs and wonders before our eyes, dealing terrifying blows against Egypt and Pharaoh and all his people. He brought us out of Egypt so he could give us this land he had sworn to give our ancestors. And the LORD our God commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear him so he can continue to bless us and preserve our lives, as he has done to this day. For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the LORD our God has given us.’
"Pastor, I need you to talk to my child..." I have heard this request many times through the years and I have been happy to fulfill the request. However, sometimes I have been asked to talk with an adult child about spiritual matters that the parent has no desire to do so himself. In these cases, the parent is saying, "It's not my job to talk to my children about spiritual matters, its the pastor's job." In reality, every Christian has been called to represent God to others, particularly to his family. Christianity is not a private affair; it is a public relationship with God that is designed to impact those around us, especially our loved ones.
The Scripture above shows the instruction that God gave to the Israelities to ensure that their families continued to walk with God - they were to talk to them about what God had done, teach them His laws and make sure that God's instruction was always before them ("tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders..."). God not only gave the job of teaching the law to the priests and religious leaders - He gave that job to every person, especially parents.
Christians today have the same job. The Apostle Paul reminds us that we are all "ambassadors" for Christ (II Cor. 5:20), and as such, we are to represent God to the world. The place where we are best and most equipped to do this is in the home and among our loved ones. And it is where we have the most influence.
So how can we best influence our loved ones spiritually? By fostering our spiritual connections. We will talk about how to do this on Sunday as we continue our sermon series, "All in the Family." Hope to see you then!
