TRAIL GUIDE: Something Stinks
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
SPOTTER, LESSON 2: God is Faithful to Forgive
Ben Franklin is quoted as saying, “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.” I think the same thing could be said about sin. If we attempt to hide sin, to cover it up, to “regard” it in our hearts, it is only a matter of time before it will begin to stink up the place. Numbers 32:23 tells us that we can be sure that our “sin will be discovered. It will be brought out into the open.” In Hebrews 4:13 we are reminded that “Nothing God created is hidden from Him. His eyes see everything. He will hold us accountable for everything we do.”
So how does sin begin to stink? King David, the subject of our case study, gives us detailed insight into the very real physical effects of un-confessed sin in the life of a believer. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. (Psalm 32:3-4)
Only when David, after being confronted by Nathan, recognizes his sin for what it is and despises it as God does, does he find forgiveness. Then I admitted my sin to you. I didn’t cover up the wrong I had done. I said, “I will admit my lawless acts to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. (Psalm 32:5)
Belonging to Christ involves a change of mind, the adoption of a new worldview in which sin is seen through the eyes of God for what it is. Confession begins with seeing and hating our sin. Don’t let sin be a guest in your house.
“Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.” -Ben Franklin
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
Psalm 32:3-5, 38:18, 139:23-24
Numbers 32:23
Proverbs 28:13
TRAIL GUIDE: Confession
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
SPOTTER, LESSON 1: God is Faithful to Forgive
Confess (v): “to say the same thing about” (Greek – homologéō) “to make known, declare, tell.” (Hebrew – Yada)
To confess a sin is to uncover it and call it exactly what God calls it. Effective confession must be accompanied by the willingness and desire to turn away from it. Having a “change of mind” about the sin (repentance).
The pattern we see with King David in his sin against God with Bathsheba, the murder of Uriah, the attempt at hiding those sins, the physical results of that attempt, and his subsequent confession in Psalm 51, serves as a case study for God’s promise of forgiveness.
Over the next several weeks, we will walk with our students through the hard truth that even David, a “man after God’s own heart,” failed the test and sinned against heaven. Were it not for God’s promise of forgiveness, this reality could cause us to lose all hope of ever being useful in the hands of our Lord. But the truth is that our God is faithful to forgive for the sake of his own Name and because He is, we can say to God, just as David did, “Let me hear you say, “Your sins are forgiven.” (Psalm 51:8)
“He will do it through Jesus Christ our Lord.” -Romans 7:25a
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
1 John 1:5-10
Romans 7:7-25
Psalm 51
TRAIL GUIDE: God’s Word is Our Strength
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
FREE CLIMBING, LESSON 4: Victory Over Sin
“It’s an open-book test.” Those words can indeed be beautiful to hear in the face of a difficult exam. I remember clearly the first time I heard them in a high school chemistry class. At once, my heart jumped because I had not studied well for the test. In fact, I hadn’t studied well for the whole year in that class. I thought, “This is a gift!” Sadly, my joy turned to nervous sweat as I frantically thumbed pages and scoured the index of a book I had barely cracked all semester. I quickly learned that, without a good working knowledge of the book, an open-book test isn’t much easier at all. I needed the answers now and there just wasn’t time to find them because I didn’t know where to look.
The temptations or tests that we face in our spiritual lives are “open-book” tests too. “Your Word is like a lamp that shows me the way. It is like a light that guides me.” “How can a young person keep his life pure? By living in keeping with your Word.” The psalmist says that the one who meditates on the Word day and night is “blessed.” When Jesus was tempted in the desert after forty days without food, his weapon of choice against the Devil was the Word. “It is written…” Jesus answered three times and Satan retreated. When Satan distorted the words of God, Jesus knew how to answer him. What if Jesus had, like Adam and Eve, simply listened to Satan’s lies and had no response? Rather than being hyper-vigilant and sheltering our children, we must exhort them to be prepared for what WILL come. And when they are tempted they will be able to say, “I have hidden your Word in my heart so that I won’t sin against you.” It’s an open book test. Know the book.
“How can a young person keep his life pure? By living in keeping with your word.”
“I have hidden your word in my heart so that I won’t sin against you.” (Psalm 119:9,11)
“So obey God. Stand up to the devil. He will run away from you.” -James 4:7
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
Psalm 119:9,11
1 John 5:4-5
Matthew 6:9,13
James 4:7
TRAIL GUIDE: God is Faithful
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
FREE CLIMBING, LESSON 3: Victory Over Sin
If he could do it, it would be a personal best. 305 pounds. He had trained at slightly lighter weights and thought he could chest press that much one time, but now, looking up from the bench at all that weight, his confidence was slipping. He was about to get up from the bench and leave it for another day when a human mountain, an offensive lineman, who he had seen press this weight multiple times, stepped up to the bar and said, “Do you need a spot? Come on – you got this.”
Our faith may fail. But God’s faithfulness never will. What does it mean to say God is faithful? Is it merely the textbook definition of faithfulness in human terms? Let us hope not. Faithfulness for a finite, limited creature is still, in the end, only wishful thinking or a good intention. The fulfillment of man’s promises, even a very good man, is limited by his humanity. Faithfulness for Almighty God is not only a good intention but a FACT, a reality which can be depended upon without reservation or doubt. When God makes a promise, there is no possible situation in which He would not be able to fulfill that promise. There are no extenuating circumstances capable of keeping God from fulfilling his faithfulness. It is His character.
The reality of God’s faithfulness becomes ever so important when we are tried, tested, or tempted. God allows testing and trials in our lives, just as He allowed Job to be tested, just as He allowed Peter to be tested. This testing is often a means to our spiritual growth. Just as a muscle will atrophy if it is not used and grow when it is pushed up to the edge of what it can bear, so it is with our faith. Faith that is never tested will never grow. God knows how much you can bear and has promised to never allow you to be tested beyond that. He will be your strength to stand up under it. He is standing with you saying, “I’m here. Come on – you got this.”
But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. -2 Thessalonians 3:3
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
2 Thessalonians 3:3
Hebrews 4:14-16
Isaiah 41:10
Luke 22:31-32
TRAIL GUIDE: Anatomy of Temptation
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
FREE CLIMBING, LESSON 2: Victory Over Sin
Helping our children understand the nature of temptation is an important step toward demystifying it and overcoming it using Biblical principles empowered by God’s Spirit. When preparing to face an opponent, whether in athletic endeavors, war, or any other arena, we should study their tactics. From which direction will they come? A close study of scripture reveals to us the sources of temptation.
Temptation begins with a carnal thought pattern. “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.” (James 1:13-14)
Then, it is stoked by a world-system that is in opposition to the will of God. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.” (1 John 2:15)
Finally, it is grasped by Satan, the great tempter, to bring it to fruition by questioning God’s truthfulness, making the sin appear attractive and filling the heart with desire. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1) “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.” (Genesis 3:6)
“All the great temptations appear first in the region of the mind and can be fought and conquered there. We have been given the power to close the door of the mind. We can lose this power through disuse or increase it by use, by the daily discipline of the inner man in things which seem small and by reliance upon the word of the Spirit of truth.” – Amy Carmichael
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” -James 1:13
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
James 1:13-14
1 John 2:15
Genesis 3
1 Peter 5
Introducing Courage Quest
According to data collected in 2009, one out of every five households in the United States has at least one child with special healthcare needs. These needs may include physical, cognitive, communicative, and behavioral challenges. This represents a significant segment of the nation’s population and the numbers seem to be trending upward. This same trend is reflected in our church family and that is why I am so excited to share with you the realization of a dream that we have had for RBC Children’s Ministry for many years. It is our desire that EVERY CHILD be able to engage with the timeless truths of the Bible and grow in a joyful relationship with Jesus Christ, not the least of these are our children with special needs.
Courage Quest, or CQ, is a new special needs initiative within the Children’s Ministry of Reston Bible Church. CQ exists to aide and empower all of our children to actively and significantly participate in all aspects of the Children’s Ministry and to provide appropriate support and accommodations when necessary. CQ accomplishes this goal by providing RBC Children’s Ministry volunteers with appropriate tools,resources and instructions to carry out their calling to minister to all children including those with special needs and disabilities.
On January 26th, we will be holding a special training for current Children’s Ministry Volunteers and people interested in learning more about becoming a Courage Quest Volunteer. This training is essential for all, as it will…
• Introduce the Courage Quest team members and their roles.
• Explain how Quest/Awana volunteers can, with and without direct CQ help, better minister to children with a variety of special needs including behavioral, developmental, and physical.
• Introduce new resources to help all Children’s Ministry volunteers know how to respond when issues arise with any child.
Please consider joining us for this important training. By helping a child engage with the Savior you are inviting the presence of Christ into your life. “And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” Matthew 18:5
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE FOR THE JANUARY 26 COURAGE QUEST TRAINING EVENT.
When: 1/26/14 – Right after the second service from 1:00 to 3:00pm.
Where: Quest Clubhouse
What: Lunch and free childcare will be provided. (If your children cannot eat pizza, please provide a bag lunch for them.)
I look forward to seeing you there.
Blessings,
Mike Meyers, for the RBC Children’s Ministry Staff
TRAIL GUIDE: Victory Over Sin
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
FREE CLIMBING, LESSON 1: Victory Over Sin
“The temptations in our high-tech culture are so much worse than our parents had to deal with.” This is in a sense true, but in another very important sense, it is not. While the Internet, a permissive culture, and a lot of other factors certainly facilitate sinful behavior, they have not created “new” temptations. “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). The temptations or enticements themselves are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. The selfish desire for riches, power, physical pleasure, and fame are still the “sticky” places in our flesh that Satan uses to hook us into sin just as he has for millennia. The good news is that, just as the temptations are the same, the Bible’s answer to them continues to be effective.
Before we were saved and found “in” Christ, we were “dead in our sins.” We were essentially slaves to our sinful or fallen nature. We operated within a closed system where sin had dominion. The Bible teaches us that something changed the day the light of Christ shined on us. We were freed from the rule of sin over our lives. “For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin” (Romans 6:6). If we are freed from sin are we sin free or temptation free? Clearly not, but it does mean that we are no longer trapped in the closed circuit. We are free to choose the right path. Free to resist temptation. Free to pursue holiness in Christ. For the believer this makes life more complicated. Before Christ we sinned because that was our nature through and through. Once we were “rescued from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of the Son” we became a “new creation” called to be holy as God is holy. That can be a scary thought given that we are still living in mortal flesh, but God has given us his word that we will not be tempted beyond what we can bear, according to the grace given to us, and that when we are tempted He will always provide an escape route for us to take.
In the coming weeks we will be walking our young people through God’s promise to give us victory over sin in our lives because Christ defeated its power over us. There is great hope to be found in this truth. Christ, our great High Priest, does not command us to do that which He hasn’t already done and equipped us to do. Unencumbered by the sin that entangles us we are free to climb the peaks God has called us to in Christ.
Jesus was “tempted in every way, just as we are – yet, He did not sin.” -Hebrews 4:15b
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
Ecclesiastes 1
Romans 6
Colossians 1
1 Corinthians 10:13
Hebrews 4:13-15
Matthew 4:1-11
Remembering God, Part 6: In Traditions
At the start of this series, I began by laying out four things we risk when we do not remember who God is and all that He has done. These were:
- Falling into idolatry/trusting ourselves or our possessions (Deut. 8:13-14)
- Never growing in trust of/faith in God (Isa. 40:20-21)
- Stumbling into sin and suffering the Father’s discipline (Deut. 8:19)
- Forfeiting a generation to the enemy (Judges 2:10-11)
So how do we, as parents, make sure that our family is all about remembering God? So far we’ve looked at remembering Himin the Word, in song, and in prayer and in fellowship. This post, I’d like us to look at how the people of God remember him in our traditions and memorials.
In the modern Bible church movement there has, in my estimation, been an almost complete purge of tradition, ceremony, and memorial from church life. In our defense, I think that this has largely been a reaction to “traditionalism.” This I will define as the elevation of a tradition, or memorial, to the point where the original meaning and intent are lost. It is often replaced by the wholesale worship of the tradition itself. A rejection of such idolatry is just and right. I am afraid, however, that we have thrown the baby out with the bath water, so to speak.
Wouldn’t a more conservative approach be to recapture the true meaning and purpose of tradition and memorial in our lives? To answer this question we must first understand the answer to two other questions. First, where did we get our traditions, memorials, or ceremonies? The second is why did we get them? Let’s look to scripture as our guide.
“Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”
(Joshua 4:4-7)
And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19)
These are only two of many, many examples you can find in both the Old and New Testaments, but I think they answer our two questions. Tradition and memorial are gifts to us, ordained, and in many cases commanded, by God. God intended their use as a tool for helping us to remember who He is and all that He has done for us throughout history.
Tradition and memorial are gifts to us, ordained – and in many cases, commanded – by God.
Does this mean that the only traditions or memorials that are okay are the ones explicit in Scripture? I would say no. You can also find places in scripture where a memorial or altar is erected, without direct instructions from God, in order to worship Him and remember something specific He had done.
Two RBC families come to mind when I think of creating tradition and memorial. The first family told me a story of their “Memorial Shelf.” This is a prominent shelf where they display items that remind them of something specific God did on their behalf in answer to prayer. To most people it might look like a shelf full of junk. But they always ask, “what is the story with all that stuff?” and then this faithful family can tell them the stories of God’s grace and mercy in their lives.
The second family created their own tradition at Christmas. It involves the dad doing a dramatic reading of the Luke account of the birth of Jesus. As they get to each new character in the account the children must go out and find that figure for the nativity. When they find it is always sitting with a pile of gifts, one for each person in the family, and they open those gifts before moving on in the story. They’ve told me this can take all day but the emphasis on the true gift of God in Jesus is rich in this family tradition and is never lost.
What am I getting at? God gave us tradition as a tool to help us and our children and their children, to remember. We must not forget and we must not allow the next generation to forget either. Don’t let traditionalism rob you of this God ordained tool. Embrace the historic traditions, make up your own, set up memorials, but don’t ever lose the reason behind the tool.
It is my prayer that, as you’ve read through this series of devotions on remembering God, you have discovered new ways for you and your family to make remembrance a vital part of your spiritual lives. In song, in prayer, in the Word, in fellowship, and in tradition – being careful, “so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.” (Deuteronomy 4:9)
May your Christmas be one of blessed memories,
Mike Meyers, Director of Children’s Ministry
Remembering God, Part 5: In Fellowship
In our introduction I began by laying out four things we risk when we do not remember who God is and all that He has done. These were:
- Falling into idolatry/trusting ourselves or our possessions (Deut. 8:13-14)
- Never growing in trust of/faith in God (Isa. 40:20-21)
- Stumbling into sin and suffering the Father’s discipline (Deut. 8:19)
- Forfeiting a generation to the enemy (Judges 2:10-11)
So how do we, as parents, make sure that our family is all about remembering God? So far we’ve looked at remembering Himin the Word, in song, and in prayer. This week, I’d like us to look at how the people of God remember him in their fellowship.
What comes to mind when we think of fellowship? Is it Christian friends gathered around a game of monopoly and a bowl of chips and salsa, having little more than small talk?
Please don’t misunderstand. There is nothing wrong with monopoly and salsa, of course. In fact, I think salsa is one of the greatest inventions in history. However, that is not the kind of fellowship that the Scriptures are speaking of. So what is and how can Biblical fellowship serve to help us remember God? Let’s look at what Biblical fellowship consists of and I think we’ll find our answer.
We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3)
What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. (1 Corinthians 14:26)
When Paul and John spoke of the fellowship of believers, I think they envisioned the kind of fellowship shared by Jesus’ closest friends. A group of the faithful gathered around the person of Jesus. They shared with one another what God had done (1 John 1:3), prayed together, worshiped together, and broke bread in communion together. If you are host to this kind of fellowship in your home then you are blessing your children more than you know. If you are not then I strongly encourage you to seek it out like a thirsty man seeks water. Like the ancients before us, gathered round the campfire telling the stories of our great God in action, we need to remember, together in fellowship, everything that God is and has done.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
As Christmas approaches, next time we’ll look at remembering God through our traditions and memorials.
Remembering God, Part 4: In Prayer
In our introduction I began by laying out four things we risk when we do not remember who God is and all that He has done. These were:
- Falling into idolatry/trusting ourselves or our possessions (Deut. 8:13-14)
- Never growing in trust of/faith in God (Isa. 40:20-21)
- Stumbling into sin and suffering the Father’s discipline (Deut. 8:19)
- Forfeiting a generation to the enemy (Judges 2:10-11)
So how do we, as parents, make sure that our family is all about remembering God? So far we’ve looked at remembering Him in the Word and remembering God in song. This post, I’d like us to look at how the people of God remember him in prayer.
How do we teach our children to pray? I know that all too often I fall into the pattern of thanking God for the day’s blessings, asking forgiveness, and making requests. These are all biblical and worthy topics for prayer. But when it comes to remembering God for who He is and all He has done, we want to have something more than short-term memory.
In the book of Nehemiah we find a beautiful example of prayer that truly remembers God in all His glory. In the ninth chapter of Nehemiah the priestly Levites are leading a gathering of the people in worship after the wall has been rebuilt and many of the remnant of Israel have returned. In verse five, they call on the people to stand. Then there begins a rather lengthy prayer.
I think that in this prayer we can find a model for remembering God. First God is recognized for who He is. “Blessed be your glorious name,” they begin. “You alone are Lord.” Many of God’s attributes are then declared in prayer. He is praised as the creator of all things seen and unseen. Immediately following this they begin recounting to God the history of His interaction with them beginning with Abraham. Miracle by miracle, grace by grace, blessing by blessing, they revisit God’s hand at work among them and their own failings throughout the relationship. Wow! It is based on this detailed memory that they are able to cry out to God in the end and say, we know we have failed, we have sinned, but You are compassionate and forgiving and we are turning back to You. How sad it would be if no one present could remember any of it? Where would that have left them?
When it comes to remembering God for who he is and all he has done we want to have something more than short-term memory.
So how might our family emulate this example of memorable prayer? Here are two ideas for you to consider.
- Sit down as a family and record your family’s spiritual history. Include when people were saved, God provided in a different or special way, answers to prayer, etc. Go back as far as you can. Hearing about how grandpa or grandma came to Christ is exciting and interesting for your children. Include the failings as well, where age appropriate, but focus on how God worked through and in these struggles.
- Pick a time when the family can gather for prayer and worship. During your prayer time pray through your recorded history to God. Remember back to Him, as the priests in Nehemiah, who He is, all that He has done in your relationship, and acknowledge Him. Try to do this with some regularity, whether it’s once a month thing or something you do at a specific time of year. You will also need to keep the story updated as God continues to work in and through your family.
Tune in next time when we talk about remembering God through fellowship.
Remembering God, Part 3: In Song
In our introduction I began by laying out four things we risk when we do not remember who God is and all that He has done. These were:
- Falling into idolatry/trusting ourselves or our possessions (Deut. 8:13-14)
- Never growing in trust of/faith in God (Isa. 40:20-21)
- Stumbling into sin and suffering the Father’s discipline (Deut. 8:19)
- Forfeiting a generation to the enemy (Judges 2:10-11)
So how do we, as parents, make sure that our family is all about remembering God? So far we’ve looked at remembering Him in the Word. This week I’d like us to look at the how and why of remembering God in song.
We learn in the book of Job that God our Maker “gives songs in the night.” The Psalmist reminds us over and over that God IS our song. In Nehemiah we see that choirs were assigned to sing at the dedication of the wall around Jerusalem. In Ephesians we are commanded to speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. As the Israelites came up from the Red Sea their first response was to sing. So the evidence is overwhelming. We are to remember God in song. But why? Why not just the written or spoken word? Here are a few thoughts on why the Lord gave us music.
How many of you still sing your ABC’s? Who among us can recite the states and their capitals only in song? How many of us can easily recall a favorite song from our youth, word for word? If you are answering “no” to all of these then I’d like to know what planet you’ve been living on. Our Maker knows that music helps us remember. Imagine that.
Music goes beyond just a simple memory tool. It does something to us. It affects the way we respond to words.
If I were to read to you the lyrics of The Star Spangled Banner, it would probably not illicit much in the way of a physical or emotional response. Imagine now that I played for you a recording of Whitney Houston singing it at the Super Bowl. Goose bumps, teary eyes, and an overwhelming patriotic feeling, anyone? How about these lyrics from the song “Amazing Love” – ‘amazing love how can it be that you my King would die for me?’ When I read that, my mind understands the words but my heart is not engaged fully. Add music and a couple of hundred of us singing on a Sunday morning and I can’t get through the first verse without being choked up with awe and gratitude. Of course our Creator knows us perfectly and He knows that music has the unique ability to connect our minds to our spirits. For this reason music is a powerful way to meditate with ones whole being on the greatness of our God, His deeds, our salvation, His promises, and so much more. I encourage you to help your children take the example of the Apostle Paul when he said, “I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.”
Here are two practical ideas for helping your family remember God in song:
- When you are singing along to your favorite song, praise chorus, or hymn in the car or at home, take a minute to ask your children what they think the song means and where in scripture the words or ideas came from? Don’t let a teachable moment get away.
- Search out music that teaches, that recalls the greatness of God and the joy that we have in Him, that sings scripture, and fill your lives with it. The songs they learn now they will carry with them for their lifetime. Let it be a lifetime of remembering God in song.
Tune in next time when we talk about remembering God in our prayers.
Remembering God, Part 2: In His Word
In our introduction I began by laying out four things we risk when we do not remember who God is and all that He has done. These were:
- Falling into idolatry/trusting ourselves or our possessions (Deut. 8:13-14)
- Never growing in trust of/faith in God (Isa. 40:20-21)
- Stumbling into sin and suffering the Father’s discipline (Deut. 8:19)
- Forfeiting a generation to the enemy (Judges 2:10-11)
In our exploration of remembering God, we’ll begin with his written revelation. God’s Word is our primary means of remembering who He is and all that He has done throughout history. As parents our most important duty in the kingdom is to take the words of God and, “Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home. Talk about them when you walk along the road. Speak about them when you go to bed. And speak about them when you get up” (Deuteronomy 11:19).
God’s Word is our primary means of remembering who He is and all that He has done throughout history.
When Josiah, the child-king who reigned in Jerusalem for thirty-one years, was twenty-six years old, an amazing discovery was made during repairs to the temple. You can find the account in 2 Kings 22-23. Hilkiah, the high priest, found the Book of the Law in the Temple. There are a couple of interesting things to note here. First, the Book was “found” which means it had come into disuse, it was “lost,” it was not being read and proclaimed to the people. When the Book is given to Josiah he had apparently been unaware of its existence or what was written in it. At this time in Jerusalem the very Temple was filled with statues dedicated to other gods. On every high hill in the country there were altars to foreign gods where the people of Israel would sacrifice even their own children. This was a culture that had forgotten God’s Word, forgotten his covenant promises, forgotten who He was and what He had done to make them his people, and as a result, had fallen into the deepest, darkest pits of demonic idolatry. The second point of interest is Josiah’s reaction upon being exposed to the Holy Scriptures for the first time.
When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, … “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”
Josiah’s response is one of repentance and a newfound zeal for the Lord. His heart was turned from idolatry and he was spared the discipline that the Lord would eventually bring on Judah.
There is a lesson to be learned here. God’s Word must hold an active and prominent place in our family life and in our homes. We cannot let it lapse into disuse because, if we do, inevitably something else will come in to fill that vacuum as it did in Jerusalem. It must be ever before us as a reminder. We are the spiritual descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, of Peter, Paul, and John. Children need to know where they came from if they are to understand where they fit into the bigger picture and where they are going. They need to have a sense of history and their place in it. They must understand where they fit in to God’s redemptive plan.
So how can we be a family of the Book? Every family is different but here are two ways straight out of the good Book itself that any of us can employ right away and to great affect (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).
- Place the written word of God in strategic places throughout your home. These can be anything from a plaque over the door to the artwork on the wall to a white board by the breakfast table with a verse of the day. Select a verse that speaks to you about each of your children and place that prominently in their bedroom. Use notecards or sticky notes on the bathroom mirror or in their lunchbox. Whatever form it takes, fill your home with His Word.
- Make reading of the Word aloud part of your family routine. This could be as simple as having a new verse or passage to read at the dinner table each evening. If you have readers, allow them a chance to do the reading. Then give the family some time as you break bread together to discuss it. Even with pre-readers this can be a precious time and generate some great questions.
The most important thing we can do is lead by example. Show them how to approach God’s Word with respect, in prayer, and with the expectation that God will speak to you through it. Even if you think you are weak in this area you’d be surprised what your children are picking up on and how far a little faithfulness on your part will go.
Tune in next time when we talk about “Remembering God in Song.”
Remembering God, Part 1: Introduction
Why is it that God spends so much time in the Bible telling His children to “remember” Him?
I’d like to venture four reasons I believe are grounded in scripture and then, over the next several weeks, give you five practical and biblical ways to remember the Lord as a family. When we fail to remember God we risk…
- …Falling into idolatry/trusting ourselves or our possessions (Deut. 8:13-14)
- …Never growing in trust of/faith in God (Isa. 40:20-21)
- …Stumbling into sin and suffering the Father’s discipline (Deut. 8:19)
- …Forfeiting a generation to the enemy (Judges 2:10-11)
So how can we be a family that is all about remembering God? As we head toward Thanksgiving and Christmas, two big “reminders” built into our culture, I want to take some time to discuss each of the five ways, listed below, that God has ordained for us to remember Him, who He is, and all that He has done. I’ll also include some practical ways for us to incorporate these into family life.
- In His Word – God’s Word is our primary means of remembering who He is and all that He has done throughout history. As parents our most important duty in the kingdom is to take the words of God and, “Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home. Talk about them when you walk along the road. Speak about them when you go to bed. And speak about them when you get up” (Deuteronomy 11:19).
- In song – Remembering God in song is a theme we see in scripture over and over again. How wonderful it is that our Creator gave us music, knowing the power it has to help us remember as well as to connect our heads to our hearts and emotions.
- In prayer – Prayer should not only be about asking for help but about remembering to God all that He has done. When we thank God in our prayers we are “remembering” that God alone is responsible for providing our every need. (Nehemiah 9)
- In true Christian fellowship – Fellowship is much more than potluck dinners or bowling night. It is about gathering together to remember God to one another. (1 Corinthians 14:26)
- In traditions and memorials – Traditions and memorials are things that we, in the bible church movement have largely banished from the life of the church. While a healthy dose of caution about tradition becoming idolatry is warranted, the Bible is also clear that God has given us tradition and memorial to help us “remember” who He is and all that He has done. (Joshua 4:4-7, Luke 22:19)
I hope that these “reminders” will serve you well in making your home, for this holiday season and throughout the year, a place where you are remembering God for who He is and what He’s done. Tune in next time when we’ll look at what it means to remember God in his Word.
TRAIL GUIDE: Static on the Line
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
FIVE BY FIVE*, LESSON 4: God answers prayer.
When our Internet connection or phone connection quality takes a dive, we typically begin a process of troubleshooting. We might start by rebooting. We then move to check all of our connections to confirm they are firmly in place. Then we confirm our settings and passwords. When that doesn’t work we’ll find a way to contact our service provider and pursue a solution until our connection is restored. What is our troubleshooting process when we sense that God is not hearing (by hearing, I mean in the active sense of hearing and responding) our prayers?
Our owners’ manual gives us some things to check on. In Psalm 66:18-19, the psalmist gives us the first and easiest place to look for trouble. “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.” Is there some area of my life that I have intentionally held on to and not surrendered to Christ? Do I have some “pet sin” that I am trying to hang on to? Maybe that’s not the problem. Perhaps I have some unresolved issue with a brother or sister in Christ? According to Matthew 5:24 we should first reconcile ourselves to our brothers before we come into communion with the Lord. Another place to look for trouble is in the heart behind the prayer. James the brother of Jesus tells us that sometimes we don’t receive what we have asked of the Lord because our motives are wrong. Why are we praying the way we are praying? Are we really praying in keeping with God’s will or for some other purpose?
If all of these things check out, we need to remember what God promises in regard to prayer. He promises an answer (yes, no, or wait) and He promises peace. In Philippians 4:7, He says that when we present our requests to Him in thanksgiving we will receive his peace regardless of the answer. Where God’s sovereignty and the prayers of his people meet and work together is a mystery, but of this we can be sure, prayer molds our relationship with God, prayer moves God to action and prayer changes things. This is the great privilege of the believer, to enter in to the presence of God and participate in the eternal purposes of God in prayer. “So let us keep on coming boldly to the throne of grace, so that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” – Hebrews 4:16
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.. -James 5:16
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
Philippians 4:6-7
Matthew 5:24
Psalm 66:18-19
James 4:3, 5:16
*What does “5 by 5” mean? In spoken communication over two-way radios, a transmitting station may request a report on the quality of signal they are broadcasting. “Five by five” means a signal that has excellent strength and perfect clarity — the most understandable signal possible.
TRAIL GUIDE: Confident Prayer
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
FIVE BY FIVE*, LESSON 3: God answers prayer.
Confident prayer flows from a personal, experiential trust in the character of God. Trusting that God will answer your prayers, and always in the very best way possible, begins with the knowledge of the revealed character of God in scripture. “As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.” (2 Sam. 22:31)
Scripture is clear; God answers the prayers of his people when they turn their hearts toward him. But how does He answer? What can we expect?
Consider these questions as you prepare your heart this week to lead your students. Would our God be good if He gave us what we asked for even if it was not the best? Would He be a loving Father if He gave us that which would, in the end, do us harm or send us on a detour from His perfect plan?
While the answers to these questions seem clear theoretically, we still struggle with them in practice. Especially when what we’ve asked for seems good and right to us. The truth is that what we ask for may in fact be good and right but not best and not God’s will in that circumstance.
Accepting the fact that God is more interested in our character than He is in our comfort, and believing in His goodness even when it doesn’t seem good to us, is a very real part of the Christian walk, a critical feature of a Christian worldview, and one that we must teach the children early before the storms of life come to shake their faith.
This is the confidence we have in approaching God… -1 John 5:14a
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
Jeremiah 33:3
Ephesians 3:20
Matthew 7:11
James 1:17
Isaiah 55:9
*What does “5 by 5” mean? In spoken communication over two-way radios, a transmitting station may request a report on the quality of signal they are broadcasting. “Five by five” means a signal that has excellent strength and perfect clarity — the most understandable signal possible.