There was a sermon that I preached a couple of years ago called “Watching You: Stewarding the Rising Generation.” I wrote kind of a plea at the end of that message that bears repeating:
There is so much more that I could and want to say about this subject. So many more specific things that I just couldn’t fit in to one message. I live this and breathe this stuff each and every day. And I am very passionate about seeing our children and youth be transformed by Jesus, living wisely, and responsible stewards of God’s ongoing story in the world.
One thing that I will say as your children’s pastor and as the community children’s pastor: Our world doesn’t pull its own weight in teaching and modeling to our children and youth about the ways of God. In fact it is horrible at it. Our culture is more interested in how much money it can extract from our student’s hands (via your wallet); creating and sustaining an insatiable thirst for more and better entertainment (TV, video games, theme parks, etc.); and keeping them busy for all of the waking hours in a day (sports, after school programs, events, clubs, etc.).
I’m not criticizing any one thing over the other (although there are some things that are inherently bad that we need to protect our children from).
The point I want to make is this: Our students are immersed in the ways of the world exponentially more than they are immersed in the ways of God. Remember: more is caught than taught.
Think:
- how much does my family need to be watching TV?
- how much does my family need to be playing countless sports?
- how much does my family need to be kept busy all the time?
My encouragement as a children’s advocate in the Hayward community is be intentional with the time you spend with your family and make sure it is strategic. Make sure that something eternally important isn’t being missed in the pursuit of raising your children.
This isn’t a plea for more students to join our “church” things, although we are extremely intentional about how we immerse the students into the ways of God. Moreover, it is a plea to do something. Again, make sure something isn’t eternally missed in the fast pace of our lives.
I want my children to see their Dad on his knees often praying and seeking the LORD. I want the children in this community to follow my example, as I follow the example of Jesus Christ.
And you should want that, too.
They are all WATCHING YOU!!
I used these two powerful videos in the sermon “Watching You”:
