Menu
Teaching the Children Diligently
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” – Deuteronomy 6:4-9
The mission of the church is to “go and make disciples of all nations.” On April 30, 2017, we were blessed to witness the confirmation of Lindsey Chalmers, Morgan Chalmers, Mason Kelkenberg, Emma Scarantine and Christine Wood. Confirmation celebrates the teaching part of the mission that Jesus gave to us, the Church: to go “baptizing… [in the name of the Triune God] and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20) Confirmation expresses publicly – “in the presence of God and this congregation” — the beliefs “confessed” by one who has been baptized and now taught the basics of the Christian faith.
But the Church is not done “making disciples” of Lindsey, Morgan, Mason, Emma and Christine on Confirmation Sunday. Confirmation is not graduation! And as long as you breathe, the Holy Spirit is not finished making a disciple out of you yet, either. You only “graduate” when you see Christ face to face, either in heaven or when He returns in glory.
In the meantime, the Holy Spirit continues to shape you. He does this by His means of grace – His Holy Word and the Sacraments – where you receive the forgiveness that remakes you to reflect the image of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In Hebrew, the phrase “teach them diligently” implies repetition, like sharpening a knife blade over and over again on a whetstone. “Teaching our children diligently” is not just the work of the pastor, or just our Sunday School teachers, or even just the parents of the children in our congregation. It is the task of everyone in the congregation – but first and especially the family of the children: parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters, brothers, etc. Any Christian can, and should, repeat God’s Word to children. In doing so, we are building up the body of Christ, right here at Holy Cross.
God instructs us to “teach them diligently” by repeating His Word to them. When? How about:
“when you sit in your house” … like parents having a designated Bible story time at home
“when you walk by the way” … like when driving to or from church, school or a sports practice
“when you lie down” … like having a Bible story time and prayer before bedtime
“when you rise” … when you get up, have breakfast and perhaps read Portals of Prayer together.
Here’s a challenge: How many ways can you think up to encourage children in the one true faith by speaking God’s Word to them? When you encounter children at Holy Cross, what is ONE Bible verse that you can share with them? The Apostle Thomas is known for saying, “My Lord and my God” when he encountered the risen Jesus Christ. (John 20:28) What verse would you like to be remembered for saying? How about something simple like, “Peace be with you,” as Jesus says in John 20:19? How about something encouraging like, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God,” as Paul says in Romans 8:14? Perhaps your own confirmation verse?
-Pastor Nickel
