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Exodus 13:3-10
So much of what the Law teaches the Israelites is to do things that will then teach their children. The knowledge of God that they had was supposed to be passed down from generation to generation.
The same is true for us today as Christians. Some people, such as the great apologist Josh McDowell, are saying that unless we do more to reach the young people, this generation may be the last Christian generation. I don’t know that to be true, but it does give us pause to think. Are we doing all that we can to reach the young? Are we doing all that we can to teach the children? Are we doing all that we can do to pass on this faith on to others?
Think about it. When you were young did someone pass the knowledge of the faith down to you? We should do likewise. A preacher once told John Wesley that he was called to be a Methodist preacher but did not fill called to spend time with children. Wesley replied, then you are not called to be a Methodist preacher. It is vital for the church, it is vital for us, and it is vital for the children that we must pass this faith down to them.
New Testament Lesson
1 Corinthians 15:41-50
In the miracle of Christmas, God became flesh, Emmanuel, God is with us! One of the Early Church Fathers wrote “The divine became human so that humans could become divine.” That is what Paul is talking about in this text.
Through one man, (Adam) sin entered the world. Through one man, (Jesus) life entered back into the world. Through Adam, we are each condemned in our sin, through Jesus Christ; we can be freed from our sins and live in the newness of life. Through Jesus, God was drawing us back to Himself. Through Jesus, we will the victory of sin, death and the grave, and through Him our bodies will be resurrected, not in this sinful, broken state; but instead raised to complete and prefect life. All is this it through Jesus, who became human so that you and I could come back to God.
Gospel Lesson
Matthew 28:16-20
A couple of things can speak to us today through this passage. First, He is with us. Take comfort in that fact. He is with us. He has called us to great things, but He did not leave us along. He is with us, even to the end of the age.
Second, He has called us to go, make disciples, and to teach them to obey every thing I have commanded you. That is what it means to be a disciple, to obey Jesus. It is not about having warm fuzzys, it is not about having the hairs on the back of our necks raised, it is about obeying Jesus Christ. Now, if we obey Him, will get all the other good stuff and warm fuzzys. But, we must first start with obedience, and we must teach others that while God is love and God does forgive, once you have met Him, He expects you to follow and obey.
We must do likewise. We must follow and obey. Or as the old hymn puts it
Trust and obey
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus
But to trust and obey.
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