Sermon for June 1, 2008

“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your heads and bind them on your foreheads.  Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up!”

             You are probably  familiar  with  the  comic strip, "FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE."  It is  about family life, a father and a mother  and  2  children.   In  one  episode,  the  first 3 segments picture Dad and Mom  tossing  and turning in bed one night as they are talking about  their  10 year old son named Michael.  They are asking  themselves,  "Are  we too tough on Michael?  Are we too easy? Do  we  give in too often or not enough?  Do we  listen?   Do  we  understand?   Do we nag too much?  Are we good parents?  Where are the answers?  How does a person know what to do?
       In the last section  of  the  comic strip we see Michael lying awake in bed  saying,  "THE  TROUBLE  WITH GROWNUPS AND PARENTS IS THAT  THEY  THINK THEY KNOW EVERYTHING!"  Parents and adults don't know  everything ‑ particularly about raising children but God has promised  to  give  us  his help and his guidance and it is contained right here in God's Word!
       As Deuteronomy 11:18‑19 tells  us:  "FIX THESE WORDS OF MINE IN YOUR HEARTS AND  MINDS;  TIE  THEM AS SYMBOLS ON YOUR HEADS AND BIND THEM  ON  YOUR  FOREHEADS.  TEACH THEM TO YOUR CHILDREN, TALKING ABOUT THEM  WHEN  YOU  SIT AT HOME AND WHEN YOU WALK ALONG THE ROAD, WHEN  YOU  LIE DOWN AND WHEN YOU GET UP!"
       I would like to ask you a personal question or two today.  "IS YOUR LIFESTYLE HELPING YOU TO GROW CLOSER TO JESUS?"  "ARE YOUR EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES  ENABLING  YOU  TO BE NOURISHED WITH GOD'S WORD AND ITS POWER TO  STRENGTHEN  AND TO HELP YOU GROW IN YOUR CHRISTIAN LIFE  AND  FAITH?"   I  know  that this is a question that  is  often  asked  at  Pastor's conferences and often many pastors admit  that  the  answer is "NO!"  We know what we are supposed to do in making time for God's Word, yet putting it into practice is often  a challenge for us as well as for many other Christians!
       I read a story recently about a family that has something they called the “FIVE MINUTE RULE!”  What this “FIVE MINUTE RULE” involved was the family would get ready to go to church or to school or to work 5 minutes before they actually had to leave.  That extra 5 minutes was PRAYER TIME for the Father and the Mother and the children TOGETHER.  The place for prayer was wherever the family happened to be when they were ready to leave- the kitchen, living room or den or even on the porch.
       All the children would fold their hands, bow their heads  while the Father and Mother would PRAY A BLESSING ON EACH CHILD asking for God’s protection and love or help if they had a test at school that day!  When the prayer was finished there was a kiss for each child and they were off to church or school or work.  As the author of the story stated, who was one of the children in the family, "THOSE WERE 5 OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AND SPECIAL MINUTES FOR EACH OF US EACH DAY!"
       This was one family’s way of “TAKING GOD’S WORD TO HEART!"  What special way does your family “TAKE GOD’S WORD TO HEART” that you and your children will remember as a special blessing in their life?!
       I know it is easy to say, “Pastor that sounds nice to have a 5 minute rule, but it would never work in our family with our hectic schedules.  We don’t LEAVE the house at the same time and we always seem to be at LEAST 5 minutes late whenever we do leave the house.  Besides we could never SPARE 5 minutes in the morning to pray together or to read God’s Word or to have a short devotion BECAUSE WE ARE ALWAYS RUNNING LATE. 
       I read a quote which responded to that situation which said, “YOU ALWAYS HAVE AND FIND THE TIME FOR THE THINGS THAT YOU PLACE FIRST AND ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU IN YOUR LIFE!"
       The way to “TAKE GOD’S WORD TO  HEART” and to HONOR GOD AND TO BE BLESSED BY GOD THROUGH HIS WORD is to HEAR, READ AND OBEY what it says as we ask the Holy Spirit  to help us and to guide us each day of our life as a Christian.  We are to let God’s Word circulate and  work in our lives “FROM OUR EAR TO OUR HEART, FROM OUR HEART TO OUR LIVES, FROM OUR LIVES TO OUR LIPS AS WE SHARE IT WITH OTHERS!
       And this applies to our families as well.  We are  told  in  Deuteronomy 11 that we are to “TEACH GOD’S WORD TO OUR CHILDREN.” The greatest need  that  our  children  have is to learn about the  love  of  Jesus  Christ.  THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT WE CAN TEACH  OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN IS TO PUT GOD FIRST IN THEIR LIVES!   “If our children know the love of Jesus Christ in their life,  THEY ARE PREPARED FOR LIFE IN THIS WORLD WITH THE GREATEST POWER IN THEIR LIFE ‑ THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST!”
       What are our children learning  about God from us?  What are they learning  about studying  God's  Word, about having DAILY DEVOTIONS  AND  PRAYERS  in  our families?  Of course, "ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS"  but  words are needed too ‑ especially the Word of God in the Holy Bible!  "TEACH THEM TO YOUR  CHILDREN",  God   says   in   Deuteronomy.   That  word "TEACHING"   means   more   than   lecturing   or  presenting information one or two times.  It involves an ongoing process of instruction and  training.   It  is  living  the  way that someone has been taught and that  means living by the Word of God who loves us, forgives us and saves us from our sins!
       A visitor stopped by a house one day and found a young mother with her baby on her lap reading a Bible story book to her child and showing her the pictures.  The visitor said, “Don’t you think your child is a little too young to have the Bible read to him because he doesn’t understand it?!"
       The young mother replied, “I  am sure that he probably doesn’t understand it now, but I want his earliest memories in his life to be of HEARING GOD’S WORD."  It may seem foolish and silly to other people, but it is important to me and IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO OVERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF READING AND HEARING GOD’S WORD ALL THROUGHOUT YOUR LIFE- NO MATTER WHAT YOUR AGE!
       That is one of the reasons God has given us our Church “EPIPHANY LUTHERAN” to help in the process of “TAKING GOD’S WORD TO HEART” at home and at church. I went to Sunday School  and  Church almost every Sunday when I was growing up as a  child  and when I was in High School.  I can't remember when we didn't  go to church and Sunday School, even when we  were  out  of  town  or on vacation.  Attending Church and Sunday School was a  top priority in my family and one that I  try  and  teach  and  live  in  my family today.  Sometimes I didn't always feel like going, but God blessed me in many ways despite my  complaining and  excuses, even when I didn't realize it or appreciate it at the time!
       We simply must FIND TIME, TAKE  TIME  and MAKE TIME to be in God's Word so that our  Christian  faith might be built up in our hearts and lives.  There is a quote which says that we always "HAVE TIME  AND  MAKE  TIME"  for  the things that "WE PLACE FIRST IN OUR  LIFE",  which  are most important to us.  And God's Word promises to bless us when we make the time for it in our daily life.
       A Habit has been defined as something that you do for 21 days straight so that it becomes a regular part of your daily life.  Has your family had  Daily devotions and Bible reading the last 21 straight  days?   If  not,  what better time than today  with the beginning of a new month to get started and to "MAKE TIME FOR GOD'S WORD!"
       A WORD OF CAUTION  HOWEVER.   Reading  God's  Word , the Bible, is  "HABIT‑FORMING".   REGULAR USE causes  a loss of anxiety, a decreased  appetite  for  worry,  frustration, and feelings of emptiness.  SYMPTOMS  of Reading God’s Word and Taking God’s Word to Heart” include  an increased sense of joy,  peace  and  contentment!   What  better  medicine or better use of our time could we ever have in our life than “TAKING GOD’S WORD TO HEART!”