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Great Gifts for Kids

11/3/2017

The holidays are now less than two months away. The Toys ‘R Us catalog arrived in our mailbox last week, and our kids have already poured over it. It is easy to confuse being a good parent with overindulging our children with things.

Even Jesus talked about parents’ ability to give good gifts in Matthew 7:7-11. In doing so, he compares us to our Heavenly Father. Do you want to give good gifts to children today? Here is a list of gift idea that will bless any child at any time:

Time Too many children today have time at the top of their wish list. They need undivided time and attention of the adults in their lives, time to be a kid, and time that is not filled with busyness. Time is one gift we all possess in equal measures, but it is also a gift we unthinkingly throw away (James 4:13-17).

Play Although Jesus is making a bigger point in Matthew 11:16-17, his point is based on the fact that children are made to play. Free play stimulates creativity, promotes physical health, and when done with others, it builds social skills.

Less Stuff We often think about what more to get kids. Maybe the best thing we can get them is less stuff, and in doing so, teach them that life does not consist in the abundance of things. Such a mindset will cost one’s soul (Luke 12:13-21).

Responsibility If the transformation from child to adult does not happen overnight, neither should the expectation of responsibility. Low expectations of children and teenagers may make life easier for them in the short-term, but in the long-term, it is setting them up for delayed adulthood. Just as God wants us to grow up, we should want our children to mature appropriately too (1 Corinthians 13:11).

Discipline Do you want to be a good parent? Then be like the best parent. God’s discipline in Hebrews 12:7-11 is more about instruction and less about punishment. When we practice instructional discipline with our children, we are blessing their lives with something for their good.

Service One of the best truths we can teach our children is that the world is not all about them. One of the best ways to learn or be reminded that the world is not all about you is through service to others (Matthew 20:25-28).

Worship “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth” (Ecclesiastes 12:1) is difficult for children who do not worship God regularly. By having our children among the church consistently, we set their lives and hearts on a path directed towards God.

The Gospel Each person makes the decision to come to Christ on his/her own, but parents can put the Gospel at the forefront of our homes. If our children have the Gospel, there is no other gift that can take its place.

His Name Was Joseph

10/20/2017

His parents named him Joseph, but we don’t know him by that name. That’s because the apostles gave him the nickname for which he would forever be remembered in Scripture. Barnabas means “son of encouragement,” and it’s obvious why the apostles named him that. Nearly every time we read of him in the New Testament, he is doing something to lift up others.

The world needs more encouragers today. Morristown Church of Christ needs more encouragers. Anyone can be an encourager, and encouragement is not a work reserved just for a select few. How can we encourage each other?

Is someone missing from worship or church events? You can encourage them! Let them know that they’re missed, that you’re praying for them, and see if there’s something you can do to encourage them spiritually. And encourage others by being present yourself!

Is someone sick, recovering from surgery, or shut-in? You can encourage them! Give them a call, send them a card, visit them, or bring them a meal. When you encourage others in such ways, you will be amazed by how God encourages you.

Is someone being overlooked or forgotten by others? You can encourage them! Barnabas stood beside Saul (Acts 9:27) and Mark (Acts 15:39) when they most needed a friend. There are people around us today who need our friendship too.

Are negativity & criticism overwhelming your life? Few things are as discouraging as a pessimism, and it is easy to let the darkness dim your light. Satan always wins when we hide our lights under the bushel (Matthew 5:14-16). However, you can choose to break through the darkness by encouraging others. A compliment, a word of thanks, and praise for that which is good are far greater than criticism, ingratitude, and complaining.

Does someone need the Gospel? You can encourage them by telling of God’s good news and his plan of salvation through Jesus. After all, that is what we find Barnabas doing more than anything else in Scripture. Because he was a “son of encouragement,” Joseph’s identity was forever changed for his impact on others. May we be like him by using our presence to encourage others and point them to Christ.

More than a Song

10/5/2017

It’s no secret that the United States is deeply divided today. This is not the first time, however, for deep divisions among us.

The 1960s and early 1970s witnessed changing cultural norms, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Vietnam War. The Cold War and the assassinations of John Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert Kennedy intensified people’s fears and insecurities. Politics were intense, protests were common, and many people feared that the nation was coming apart at the seams.

In the midst of the tension and hostility, a song arose. It was not a new song, but it seemed to be received in new ways by the American public. The folk singer Judy Collins released an a cappella version of it in 1970. It reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained on the charts for 15 weeks. Shortly thereafter, the British Army recorded an instrumental version featuring bagpipes. It peaked at #11 on the U.S. charts and was #1 in Canada. Popular versions would also be recorded during that time by Aretha Franklin, Rod Stewart, and Johnny Cash.

About the song, Collins said, “I didn't know what else to do . . . I had marched, I had voted, I had gone to jail on political actions and worked for the candidates I believed in. The war was still raging. There was nothing left to do, I thought . . . but sing ‘Amazing Grace.’”

I’m not so naïve as to think that a song single-handedly fixes everything. We all would do well, however, to let God’s grace sing to our hearts and then extend that same grace all around. When we unleash it, grace will amaze us.

Jesus in Samaria

8/14/2017

Jesus grew up in a society where “his people” didn’t associate with “those people.” That’s just the way things had been for generations, and that’s the way things continued into his lifetime. “His people” were the Jews. “Those people” were the Samaritans. To modern sensibilities, the differences between first-century Jews and Samaritans would be impossible to distinguish. Nonetheless, the Samaritans were different because they were not full-blooded Jews. Therefore, Jews saw themselves as the superior people.

The antipathy between Jews and Samaritans was so strong that the most zealous Jews would take an alternate route around Samaria if traveling between Judea and Galilee. When Jewish children in Jesus’ day would ask their parents, “Why don’t we save time and walk through Samaria?” their parents might have responded with something like “That’s not what our people do” or “It’s best just to leave the Samaritans alone” or “They’re not like us.” Maybe they perpetuated far-worse falsehoods. After all, some Jews traced the Samaritans’ origins back to Shechem, the man who raped Jacob’s daughter Dinah in Genesis 34. Some Jews also gave the Samaritan city of Shechem the epithet of “City of the Senseless.”

All of this serves as the backdrop of John 4 where we’re told Jesus “had to pass through Samaria” (v. 4). Even with the necessity in mind, Jesus’ disciples would have expected their party to stay to themselves and pass through Samaria as quickly as possible. Jesus, however, had other plans. He stopped. He was tired from traveling and needed a drink of water. So Jesus approaches a woman at a well and asks her for a drink. Stunned, the woman asks, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” In case the reader is not familiar with the sentiments of the day, John 4:9 states, “For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” Jesus’ request is even more shocking in that it involves the transfer of a drink of water. According to the Jewish religious traditions of Jesus’ day, receiving a drink from an unclean Samaritan would make the recipient unclean as well. This would exclude the person for a time from observing certain religious ceremonies and make one an outcast among Jewish brethren.

Upon seeing the interaction between Jesus and the woman, his disciples were also aghast (John 4:27). They thought to themselves things like, “Why is he raising a ruckus?” and “Why doesn’t he leave ‘well enough’ alone?” Such challenges didn’t concern Jesus, and he certainly was never swayed by the prevailing thinking of his day. Instead he demonstrated the depth of agape love, tore down walls of discrimination, and demanded of his disciples, “Follow me.” Follow Jesus they did into the villages of the Samaria in Acts 8, declaring the good news of Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection. In doing so, they brought together two peoples who had unnecessarily hated one another for centuries.

We who are disciples of Jesus must ask ourselves if we’re willing to follow him into the Samarias of today. Do we speak out against prejudice and racism when it is easier to be silent? Do we serve as ministers of reconciliation when it is easier to disappear? Do we sacrificially and counter-culturally love those we were once taught to avoid, look down upon, or even hate? Yes, it is easier to maintain life as it is. But Jesus never called us to that which is easy (Matthew 7:13-14).

Jesus said “the way is hard that leads to life.” He traveled the hard way through the roads of Samaria into the streets of Jerusalem and up to the cross of Calvary. His hard way led to eternal life for all of us. And one day we will see “a great multitude that no one [can] number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9).

A Back-to-School Prayer

8/7/2017

Father God, it’s the beginning of another school year, and as your child who is trying his best to be a father, I come to you today.

I praise you for beautifully making each of my children in their own special way. I thank you for entrusting them to their mother and me and ask that you give us the fruit of the Spirit so that we raise them to Your glory and honor and not our own.

I pray not only for my children, but for all of the children within their school and throughout this community. You have made each of them just as beautiful and special as my own children. May I view these children and their homes not as competition to my own but as those who contribute to the mosaic of this community and all of Creation. May we truly rejoice in their unique blessings, specialized talents, and personal successes. May we also sincerely mourn with them when disappointment, struggle, or grief comes their way. May we love as You have loved us.

I pray for the schools in which they will spend so much of the coming year. I thank you for teachers who sacrificially and lovingly serve our family and this community. May their passion for children’s education be sustained and emboldened this year. Help me, Father, to show appreciation and lend support to my children’s teachers and all of the staff of their school.

I thank you for our school and those who lead and oversee it. Give them wisdom in their guidance. Give them purity in their motives. Give them boldness in vision. Give them humility in spirit. Help them to see the stewardship to which you have entrusted them – the precious souls of hundreds of girls and boys.

I also humbly ask for the spiritual and physical protection of our children this year. I recognize that this is a fallen world. Harmful influences exist, children get sick, bad things happen to the innocent, and sometimes it seems that evil prevails. Nonetheless, Father, I ask that you lead us not into temptation and that you deliver us from evil. In spite of the world’s darkness, Father, use our family to redeem that which is ugly and to be light and salt.

May we also remember that school serves as a place of refuge, family, and hope for many children today. I thank you, Father, for the opportunity that education provides all, for the world that can be opened in a book, and for the community that can be found in a classroom. I pray that the littlest and least of these are lifted up in their schools this year.

I praise you for the Beauty of Art, the Laws of Math and Science, the Fun of Recreation, the Lessons of History, the Transcendence of Music, and the Gift of Language. Creation declares Your majesty over and over. I pray that all children come to know You better through their studies this year.

Father, you have blessed my family and me in Your Son. Our knowledge of Him has forever changed us. Thank you. Use us this year to bless those around us in His name. Amen.

Jesus Grew

6/14/2017

Opening Conversation: No matter how young or old you are, how can you glorify God at your age? In what ways could Jesus have glorified God when he was a child and a teenager?

Introduction: The Bible tells us about Jesus’ birth and early life in Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2. Except for one passage, the remainder of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell us about Jesus as an adult. The only passage that tells us about Jesus between his birth and adult life is in Luke 2.

Read Luke 2:41-51

Devotional: In this passage, we find Jesus and his family going to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover that took place every year. Passover was a special time of worship and celebration of God freeing the Israelites from Egyptian slavery during the days of Moses. At this particular Passover, Jesus was twelve years old. Jesus’ family traveled from Nazareth to Jerusalem by walking with a crowd of people. When it was time to return home, Mary and Joseph assumed that Jesus was with the group. After a day’s travel, they realized that he was not with them and returned to Jerusalem to search for him. They found him in the temple among a group of Jewish teachers. Even though he was only 12-years-old, Jesus amazed the teachers with his understanding of Scriptures. As his parents saw this, they were amazed too. But they also asked him why he had stayed behind in Jerusalem. Jesus responded, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” That was Jesus’ way of saying that learning about God’s was of greatest importance to him. Even though Jesus was still young, we learn three things about him: (1) At the age of twelve, Jesus knew Scripture very well. (2) Jesus wanted to know even more things about God and His Word. (3) Jesus put God first in everything that he did.

Read Luke 2:52 — Luke chapter 2 ends with the special words of verse 52. That verse tells us the kind of person Jesus was in his younger years and all throughout his life. Even though he had great understanding at a young age, he continued to grow in wisdom. He also grew “in stature,” meaning he grew up physically. Finally, Jesus “grew in favor with God and man.” That tells us that Jesus grew in his relationship with God and his relationships with all people. Even though this verse is about Jesus, all of us can grow in these ways no matter how young or old we are.

DISCUSSION: How can we grow in wisdom, stature, and favor with God & man?

Prayer: Thank God for helping us grow up and pray that we grow in Him in all ways.

Daniel Prays

5/16/2017

Opening Conversation: If someone told you that you were never allowed to pray again, what would you do? What if praying to God was against the law?

Introduction: Daniel was a prophet of God who lived about 500 to 600 years before Jesus. When he was quite young, he and his friends were captured by the Babylonians and taken away from their homes in order to work for the king of Babylon. Living in a new place with a different language, their names were even changed. In Babylon, Daniel’s name was changed to Belteshazzar; Hananiah became Shadrach; Mishael became Meshach; and Azariah became Abednego. While going through all of these changes would have been difficult, Daniel and his friends continued living for and obeying God in the foreign land of Babylon.

Read Daniel 1:8-17

Devotional: Daniel was young when he was taken from home, and he would grow old in this foreign land. In Daniel’s lifetime, the kingdom of Babylon was replaced by the kingdom of Persia and its leader, Darius. Daniel continued serving Darius just as he had served the kings of Babylon. In Daniel chapter 6, however, we find that Darius made an usual law. At the request of other leaders in his kingdom, he made it illegal for anyone to pray to God. If anyone was caught praying, that person would then be thrown into a den of lions! Knowing this new law was now in place, the old man Daniel had a decision to make for himself — “Do I keep praying or do I stop?”

Read Daniel 6:10

DISCUSSION: What would you have done if you were Daniel?

As you see, the new law did not stop Daniel from praying. While living in a foreign land would have been difficult in some ways for Daniel, he was always someone who gave thanks to God. But just as Darius’s new law said, Daniel was going to be thrown into a den of lions because he kept praying. Darius knew he had made a foolish law and didn’t want to throw Daniel into the lions’ den, but he was not allowed to change the law. On the night when Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den, Darius could not sleep. When the next morning came, he rushed to check on Daniel.

Read Daniel 6:19-23

God’s angel kept the lions from harming Daniel! Both in his youth and his old age, Daniel always trusted God and never stopped praying to Him. May we do the same!

Prayer: Thank God for allowing us to always pray to Him, no matter what others might think. Ask God for a heart like Daniel’s to always be thankful.

Before You Were Born

5/7/2017

Opening Conversation: Before you were born, what do you think God knew about you?

Introduction: Jeremiah 1:1 tells us that the prophet was born in the 600s BC. This was a very bad time for the people of Judah. They continued to worship idols and disobey other commands from God. God had warned them over and over again through the prophets that their enemies would conquer them unless they turned back to God. This is called “repentance.” God chose Jeremiah as one of the last prophets to warn Judah about their ways, and God always had very special plans for Jeremiah’s life.

Read Jeremiah 1:4-5

Devotional: The first thing God tells Jeremiah is that He had always been paying attention to Jeremiah. Even before Jeremiah was born, God knew who Jeremiah was! This is not just true for Jeremiah. This is true for all of us! Every life is special in God’s eyes, and God pays close attention to each person. The Bible tells us just how special we are in God’s eyes in that He created both man and woman “in His own image” (Genesis 1:27). Besides being known by God before he was born, Jeremiah also learned that God’s will for Jeremiah’s life was for him to be a prophet.

Read Jeremiah 1:6-8

When Jeremiah learned that God wanted him to be a prophet, he became afraid and made excuses. He first excuse was “I’m too young.” To this, God told Jeremiah that he was not too young to be sent by God. Not matter how young or old we are, we all can tell others about the Lord. But Jeremiah then wondered, “What if I don’t know what to say to people?” God replied by telling Jeremiah that He would give the prophet the right words to speak. When we speak to others about God, we have the Bible to show us the message to share with others. Because Jeremiah lived in times when many people disobeyed God, he was also probably scared of how others might treat him. Finally, God says, “I am with you.” No matter how afraid Jeremiah might have been and no matter how others may have treated him, the prophet could go forward every day knowing that God was with him. After all, if God knew Jeremiah since before he was born, then God could surely stay with him all the days of his life. The same is true for each of us.

DISCUSSION: When do you most need to know that God is always with you?

Prayer: Thank God for always watching over you and being with you. Ask for God’s help to know how to speak to others about Him and His will for our lives.

His Name Shall Be Called . . .

4/30/2017

Opening Conversation: What would you like to know about the future?

Introduction: In the times of the kings of Israel and Judah, many of the people chose to disobey God by worshipping idols and treating one another in ways that broke God’s commands. They often treated their families unkindly. They did not help people who needed it most, like the widows and orphans. They were greedy and refused to share with their neighbors like they should. Because of all of the sins being committed, God sent prophets to both Israel and Judah to tell the people they needed to change their ways. Some of the prophets spoke to the kings in their palaces. Some of the prophets spoke to the people throughout the communities. But they all spoke similar messages — “It’s time to change your ways.”

Read Isaiah 1:15-17

Devotional: Unfortunately, the nations of Israel and Judah did not change their ways after hearing the prophets. Because of this, both of the nations would be punished and be conquered by their enemies. When God warns us about what is right and what is wrong, we must remember that disobedience comes with consequences. The people of Israel and Judah learned this the hard way. However, God still showed the people mercy through the prophets by delivering a message of hope. Many of the prophets in the Old Testament end on a positive note that speak of a better day.

Read Isaiah 9:6-7

Although Isaiah told the king that times of punishment were ahead, he also revealed that something — and someone — far greater would come later in Israel’s history. This was not just a prediction of something that might happen. It was a prophecy, a promise from God of something that would happen. This prophecy speaks of a future king. Who might this king be? In the days of Isaiah, no one was exactly sure, but those who believed Isaiah’s prophecy looked to the future with hope. When we get to the New Testament, we discover that this prophecy and so many other prophecies from the Old Testament were talking about Jesus. When the angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will have a son, she learns that Jesus is the one of whom the prophets spoke. Jesus has been and always will be the hope for all of us!

Read Luke 1:26-33

DISCUSSION: What was so special about the prophecies about Jesus from the Old Testament? What do they tell us about God?

PRAYER: Thank God for giving us hope in Jesus and ask for His help to both believe in Jesus and to follow His example.

Chariots of Fire

4/25/2017

Opening Thoughts/Conversation: Have you ever thought about the fact that there are angels watching over us right now? What do you think they are doing?

Introduction: Elisha was a prophet in Israel during the times of the kings. Prophets were special people appointed by God to reveal His will to others. Sometimes they performed miracles like providing food for the hungry or bringing the dead back to life. Even though Elisha lived at a time when many Israelites - including the kings - did not obey God, he continued to trust in God and tell others about Him. On one special occasion, he helped his servant see that God and His angels remained in control of everything around them.

Read 2 Kings 6:15-16

Devotional: The Syrians were one of Israel’s enemies, and the two nations often battled with each other. On one particular morning, Elisha’s servant woke up to discover that the Syrian army had surrounded the city of Dothan where Elisha was living. They had come especially for Elisha. The servant was very afraid because the Syrians had a strong army, horses, and chariots. It looked like he and Elisha would soon be captured or killed because they had no one to protect them. But Elisha knew something that his servant did not know.

Read 2 Kings 6:17-19

Elisha asked God to help his servant see something special. When the servant looked up again, he suddenly saw the mountains filled by an army much bigger than the Syrians. This army was not made of men. It was an army of angels and their chariots of fire! Elisha knew that these angels would protect him and his servant from the Syrians. So Elisha then prayed that God would temporarily strike the Syrians with blindness. When God did, Elisha led them into the Israel’s capital, Samaria. Now that God had given the Syrians to Israel, the king of Israel was tempted to kill them. Instead Elisha teaches the king to treat the Syrians with kindness.

Read 2 Kings 6:21-23

DISCUSSION: How would you have felt if you suddenly saw an army of angels all around you? What do we learn from how Elisha tells the king to treat the Syrians?

Prayer: Thank God for giving us His angels to watch over us and ask Him to help us know that He is always taking care of us.