Good afternoon parents! Last night marked the final lesson in the Disconnect series, and we discussed the topic of belief vs. commitment.
Remember that one of the central themes of this series has been that our actions and decisions show what we truly believe, rather than our words. It's easy to say certain things, but it will be our lives that show whether we truly believe what we say.
In the first week, we looked at Romans 6:1-14, and talked about grace. Many people, although they say they are thankful for God's grace, show by their lives that what they truly believe is that since God will forgive whatever they do, they have the freedom to sin as much as they want. But God's grace should not cause us to live badly, but better.
In the second week, we looked at Matthew 7:21-23. There are a lot of people whose lives show that they believe that Christianity is about fulfilling a religious checklist. Going to church, praying and reading their bibles, trying to follow the ten commandments, etc. But Jesus said in this passage that the ones who will be in heaven are those with whom he has an actual relationship. The things on the religious checklist are good things, but they are not the same thing as being in a committed, intimate, daily relationship.
Last week we talked about the world's urge for people to "follow your heart." But Jeremiah 17:7-10 tells us that the heart is deceitful and wicked. Even so, by following their hearts, so many people are showing that they believe in their feelings more than they believe in the Word of God. Instead of framing every decision with the question "what would God want me to do," people usually make their daily decisions based on the question "what do I want to do."
Finally, last night, we talked about Luke 9:23, where Christ commands us to follow him. To access the powerpoint for the lesson, click HERE. Unfortunately this week, there is no video, as our sound and media tech had a family medical emergency. Hopefully, reading over the powerpoint as well as my post here will give you a good idea of what the lesson looked like.
Put in its simplest form, the lesson taught that it is very easy to say that you're a christian, but Jesus desired that we actually obey and follow him rather than just giving him lip service. In Luke 6:46 he asked, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and not do what I say?" Simply ascribing to him the proper title means nothing if we do not also obey his commands. Throughout the daily discussions, I will outline the main points of the lesson.
Thursday:
Pull up slide number 8 from the powerpoint, entitled "The 'Christian' Nation." Talk to your kids about the statistics listed there, and talk about what it really means to be a Christian. Isn't it incredible that out of all the people who claim to be Christians, only 17% percent attend church? Isn't it incredible that only half of the people who attend church view their faith as being important to their every day lives?
Here is the heart of the disconnect: making verbal claims that our lives don't reflect. I'm not saying that a person has to be perfect to be a christian, or even close. But they do have to be committed to Jesus. The word "christian" means "follower of Christ" after all. Can a person who does not follow Christ truly call themselves a follower of Christ? Of course not. So what is required for a person to be a Christian? The same sorts of things that are required to be in a functional marriage: Commitment, exclusivity, faithfulness, communication, relationship, etc. People don't have to wonder whether I'm married to Alison. There's plenty about my life to give evidence of that fact. I'm certainly not a perfect husband, but I'm a committed one. The same should be true with our relationship with Christ. Talk all this out with your kids. Ask them what being a Christian means. Ask them what Jesus requires of us. Look again at Matthew 7:21-23, and Luke 6:46.
Pray together. Talk about what you'd like to do together as a family this weekend.
Friday:
Ask your kids what they believe about Jesus. Expect that you will probably receive some very typical answers ("I believe he's lord," "I believe he's the son of God," "I believe he's the savior" etc). Now ask them to dig deeper. What do those things really mean? What does it mean for him to be Lord? (Lord means "Master, owner, ruler, boss). What does that mean for our lives every day? Are you treating him as Lord every day, or more of an afterthought? Do you really ask Jesus before making decisions, "Lord, what do you desire?"
It will important here to be honest with your kids. You may want to say, "You know, I'm guilty of not doing that too," if indeed that is the case.
Pray together. Hopefully by now you're getting in the habit of doing so, and it's becoming familiar to talk about what the real prayer needs of your children are.
Saturday:
Bring up slide 12 from the powerpoint, "Cleaning your room." At this point in the lesson, I made the following point:
"Lets say your mom came to you and said, 'Go clean your room.' Then two hours later, she came back and four that you had not cleaned your room. She would probably get upset and ask you why you hadn't cleaned it. And lets say you responded, 'Mom! Great news! I memorized what you said. You said 'Go clean your room.' Isn't that great?' Your mom would say, 'I don't care that you memorized it! I want you to actually clean it!'
Or lets say she came back to your messy room and you said, 'Mom! I learned how to say 'Go clean your room' in Greek!' Or what if you said, 'Mom! Guess what I did! I invited some friends over, and we got in a small group and talked about what you said. We even wrote a song about it, and sang it together! Then we discussed your command, and what it would look like for someone to obey it!' Isn't that great?'
No. It's not great. And you would be grounded. Why? Because you never actually did what your mom said! Even if you believed that she meant it, even if you talked about it, sang songs about it, or told your friends about it, if you didn't actually do it, it wouldn't matter. The same is true with Jesus. It doesn't matter to him how much we go to church and talk about his commands. He wants us to actually obey his commands. If we see the above scenario with your mom as ridiculous, why don't we see it that way with God?"
Discuss this with your kids. Ask what are some of the things that Jesus commands, and discuss whether they (and you) are following them.
Pray together. Make sure that everyone gets to bed at a good hour, because you're going to church tomorrow!
Sunday:
As usual, pay attention during the sermon so that you can discuss it later. If you missed church, go to the church website and view a video of a different service you missed. Even if you couldn't physically make it to church, It's important to remain connected.
Pray together.
Monday:
Pull out your Bibles and have your kids read Luke 9:23 out loud. Then discuss each of the phrases and definitions found on slide 19. Before giving the definition of each, ask your kids to define them. "What does it mean to deny yourself?"
Pray together. Ask how school went, and if there are any things about school that you can pray for. Talk about what's coming up this week and pray about those things as well.
Tuesday:
Review with your kids the main points of the Disconnect series (a summary is at the beginning of this blog post). Make sure that they have a firm understanding of each one. If there is still any confusion or questions, talk it through.
Pray together.
Wednesday:
Take your kids to youth group! Seriously. Take them. Help them with their homework if you have to. Remember: if you don't make it a priority, neither will they. And remember also that you're in charge, and can make them go even if they're not interested ;-)
Discuss with them afterwards what they learned!
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