[0:00] All right, I'm just going to share one short verse with you and then pray. There's a bounce house out there that needs to be bounced on. All right. Appreciate the kids listening so well. Thank you for the songs that you have sung.
[0:11] I love all of them. And how many of you in here grew up in Awana? How many of you? I know my wife really knows the Spark song. I was hoping she grew up in Awana. She knows it really well.
[0:21] All right. And some of you, it was sweet to hear the kids thank Caroline. And Caroline grew up here in the church. And then to see Brother Greg up here leading.
[0:32] And to get to watch people who come through the ministry here and then get involved in serving. On the screensaver of my computer, it says that God has given us the gracious gift of the dignity of real responsibility.
[0:48] Let me try that again. All right. God has given us the gracious gift of the dignity of real responsibility. There's no place that I feel that more in my life than as a parent.
[0:59] I care about all of you. I care about my responsibility towards all of you. But it's my responsibility towards my children that is the one that weighs upon me the most. The more that I have a responsibility in their life and a joy and a privilege.
[1:13] And so I am grateful for the help that is given to me by other people. And Miss Whitney said it so well. Awana is not, they're a part of that.
[1:24] Your kids came to know Christ and they learned the Bible at home. They have other people teaching them. Awana is part of that. But it's a big part of it. And I'm thankful for their help. Teach the kids the Word. John 17, 17.
[1:35] It's up there in real big letters for you. So you can't miss it tonight. All right. Why don't we say this together? Bible memorization isn't this for little kids. It's for all of us. John 17, 17 says, Sanctify them through thy truth.
[1:48] Thy word is truth. So Jesus in John 17 praying for the disciples. The ones that he knew his responsibility to instruct those disciples.
[1:59] He wanted them to come and to grow through the truth. And that's our responsibility as parents towards our kids is to help them grow in the truth as well. So anybody that's going to bring my kids truth, I'm thankful for.
[2:12] I've never received an Awana Award. I didn't grow up in Awana. But tonight, Salem got a perfect attendance award. And David said that's really a parent award. So I'm pretty proud of that.
[2:23] And so I may put that in my office on the wall. I have a perfect attendance for Salem. You know, like all types of investments, the earlier you put it in the bank, the better, right?
[2:36] Some of you, you can start putting a quarter in the bank a week and you'll retire a millionaire. A million dollars won't be worth much by the time you do, but you'll have millions of dollars to do it. The earlier you start an investment, the better.
[2:47] I am sincerely envious as I go over there and I look in that window to see the kids memorizing the Bible and how quickly they just soak it up and they say it.
[3:00] They read it and they say it. Sometimes I go and sit beside them and I try to do the same thing and it doesn't work the same, all right? And such a prime time to make that investment in their life, to sanctify them through the truth.
[3:13] God's given us this responsibility and this privilege. And so we ought to pause and we ought to consider that. And we ought to thank God for that, that He has given us the dignity of real responsibility in our lives, that we get to train our children up to serve the Lord.
[3:29] We're getting the greatest opportunity of influence in the life of a child. A lot of people would like to be an influencer today or to run a YouTube channel. If you are a part of a church, if you're a parent here, you are an influencer.
[3:42] Not just the truth they learn, that's the most important, the truth. Sanctify them the truth. But the Bible tells us that whom you learn the truth from matters. Remember, you know, remember the truth you have learned and whom you learned it from.
[3:55] It matters how you learn the truth from the people that teach it to you and the way that they live their life. Your whole life around them makes a difference. So as they hear the truth and want them, and then they watch you live it out, and they want to see if it's effective, they can memorize a scripture sitting at a table, but it's watching our lives at home, and as we work together, they need to know that the Word of God is powerful and effective.
[4:21] And so we have that incredible influence in their lives. Let me give you four truths real quick, and then I'm going to pray, and then I'm going to ask Stephen if we can sing the song that we've already sung tonight, and y'all did a good job clapping.
[4:35] Not so great. You don't have a lot of rhythm. We need to do a little bit better on our clapping, all right? I will call upon the Lord, and we will end with clapping to that song and enjoying that song together because that would be a good prayer for one of them as we want our children to call upon the Lord, that they would see Jesus as Lord.
[4:51] So it's such a great song for us to end on. But in giving this great influence, first of all, I want to remind you, the eternal destiny of each child entrusted to our care is the most pressing matter in his or her life.
[5:06] Our children have an eternal destiny. They have a soul. The world sees our kids as consumers. The world sees our kids as another person that they can sell their product to, and they can mold for their own selfish gain.
[5:20] But all of us in here see that our children have a soul that will live forever. And so it's the most pressing need is their soul. So we pray for our kids.
[5:31] The want-to-workers, they not just teach the kids, but they pray for them. Like this quote by a pastor that said, In every step you take about them, that's the children, and every plan and scheme and arrangement that concerns them, do not leave out that mighty question, how will this affect their souls?
[5:50] That's the question we've got to ask when we make decisions, is how will it affect the souls of the children in which we're given a responsibility? And just as a side note, Commander Whitney knows that.
[6:01] She knows that as a church we are very much committed to Awana, because the verse there, sanctified them through the truth. Awana has been a great servant to the church in helping us get the kids to the truth.
[6:14] And as a church, you've made a radical and a strong commitment. Last year you paid this building off, and we think about building another building, not just for the comfort of adults, but for the security and the safety for our children, and giving this current building over to the next generation, because it has to become, it has to be a priority to us.
[6:35] We have to continue to make way for them. Space in our buildings, and space in our lives, and more workers. It's the most pressing matter in life. Number two, we need to be radically consistent and authentic in our faith, not just in our behavior, yes, but in our affections, in our affections.
[6:55] That, not just in our behavior, but in our affections, they need to know people, that we are people that love Jesus. Not just people that obey God's Word, but we're people that obey God's Word, because we love God.
[7:07] And they need to see that, and they need to hear that. There's times throughout the week, that they expect us to talk about God. There's times when you're standing in front of a whiteboard, in certain rooms in here, where they expect you to bring up a Bible verse.
[7:21] But having the right affections means that, even when they're not expecting it, off property, out in a parking lot, we talk about the things of God, because it's who we are. It's not just something we do.
[7:32] And then, parents, we need to be part of a Bible-saturated, loving church. Kids need to be surrounded by other believers, not just mom and dad. Our missionaries have the great challenge.
[7:45] On the back wall, they will go to a place, and they will raise children, and it's quite difficult, before a church is started, because they are the only influence, in the life of the child, in loving Jesus.
[7:56] And so they want to see a church started, for those people in that community. But they need a church started, for their kids, because it is a challenge, in raising kids, that know the Lord, and to serve Him. And so we say thank you, to anybody that will help us do that.
[8:10] We thank you, all that are involved in this. And then lastly, it is a heavy responsibility. It's a real responsibility, but we need to entrust our children, into the hands of God.
[8:20] We do all that we know to do right, and then we apologize, and we teach repentance, when we do wrong. And we thank God, for the real responsibility, to get the parent, and the eternal soul.
[8:32] We're told that we can cast, our cares upon the Lord. And we can even cast the cares, upon the Lord, that come to us, from our children. And He has given us to them, but He didn't leave us, when He gave us children.
[8:44] He's there with us. And so we trust Him, and we pray to Him, and we ask Him to lead, and to guide us. Before I pray, Wanda workers, thank you so very much. And I am grateful for it, as a parent.
[8:57] I'm super proud of my kids, as you saw. Tinsley Glitter Sparkle Cornwell, she did a good job, all right. And then Carson, you gotta embarrass them, and Salem. And then I am, they all benefited from it.
[9:09] It's been wonderful, to see Trek. That was a great improvement. And I like the program, and how it's worked, and it just continues, to teach them. But we're not, this is serious business, the teaching of young people, the Bible.
[9:21] And workers, volunteers, thank you for taking it, in a serious manner. We don't take ourselves seriously, but we take the work, of the Lord seriously. And I appreciate that.
[9:31] I want to say a word of prayer, and then when I do, I'm gonna have you stand up, we'll sing this song together, one more time. In my prayer, I'm gonna thank God, for the refreshments, that we have. Hope you'll stick around, get some pictures, with the kids, enjoy the time of fellowship, we have.
[9:44] And don't miss out, on Vacation Bible School, we will have in July, there's a meeting, about that today. We have a great Vacation Bible School, we have a kids camp, and a teen camp, and you can speak, with Brother Greg over here, if you don't have the information, you need about that.
[9:58] It's a great time, and we want to do all we can, to help serve families, to help point kids, to Jesus. Heavenly Father, I thank you for, what we saw tonight, what we got to be part of, and just the reflection, of time well spent.
[10:12] Lord, people that rushed here, from after work, that invested, that sat with kids, as they memorized scripture, and I'm thankful, Lord, for the truth, that's being taught, and I'm thankful, for the people, and the lives of my kids, that are teaching them, their example, that they provide, for them.
[10:31] Lord, there's people in my life, as a child, that I will never forget, them when they taught me, the lesson, and it's forever, lodged in my heart, Lord, the lesson that they taught, and how they taught it, and how I knew, they cared about me, and Lord, it continues to shape my life, Lord, I know that's happening, all around us, especially Lord, all these nights, where these kids, are in these rooms, and studying your word, in Jesus name I pray, Amen.