A Godly Influence

When I think back over my life, there is one person who stands out in my mind as having exerted the greatest influence. Her name was Debbie Foster, and she was my piano teacher, Sundayschool teacher, Pastor's wife, and role model.
As my piano teacher she opened up the world of music to me and taught me to appreciate the great composers of the past, such as Chopin or Beethoven. She taught me not just to play notes on a sheet, but to put expression into it - to make my music an extension of who I am.
As my Sundayschool teacher she taught me values and principles that have stayed with me through the years. By maturity I have come to realize more and more just how full of wisdom her instruction was.
As my Pastor's wife she was an example of a Godly help-mate in ministry. She did not hide the harder aspects of the ministry, but gave herself wholeheartedly to the work. I was greatly inspired by her example, and was encouraged in my own desire to go into ministry.
As a role model, she was someone I admired and looked up to in all the roles she filled - wife, mother, pastor's wife, teacher, and musician. I saw in her marriage a love and commitment that I desired for my own future marriage. In her mothering, I saw the frustrations and grief of motherhood, yet also its' joys and rewards.
She was in many respects, someone I wanted to copy as I grew older, and that desire has affected me as I have gone through all the changes and events of life. Debbie was someone who drew out my talents and inspired my dreams and for that I will always consider her to be one of the most influential people in my life.

Object Lesson on Pride

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

You will need a simple house or barn made out of construction paper.

When you begin your lesson, hold the house up and ask them what it is. Set it down where they can see it and describe how nice it looks, how it is strong and not falling apart. Tell them that today you are going to talk about pride and how destructive it is.

Destruction is a big word so I'm going to illustrate it for you.Lets pretend this house is on a farm somewhere and one day a tornado comes along and with it's powerful winds destroys it! Pick the house up and smash it with your hands. Put it down for them to see. Now, that is destruction and that is what the Bible says pride will do to you.

Pride is a problem that all of us have, it is part of being a sinful human being. Pride causes you to want your own way, to put yourself first, to be selfish and unkind to others. How do you know if you are prideful? Well, do you listen when someone tells you what to do? Do you like to boast about the things you have done? Those are both things we do when we are being prideful.

Now, the reason God warns us not to be proud is because He knows just how dangerous it is to be that way. You see, pride is actually going against God in our heart. When we are proud we are saying to God " I want to do what I want, I don't want to obey You or listen to You." That is bad news kids, you can only get in a mess when you don't follow God.

The Bible tells us that we as humans are in serious trouble because we have broken God's laws and refused to listen to Him. Each of us deserves to be punished for sinning against God. "But," you say, " I haven't disobeyed God." Are you sure about that? Have you ever lied? Have you ever taken a cookie when mom said no, or taken a quarter from the counter? Have you ever disobeyed something your parents said to do? If you have, you have broken laws God has about lying, stealing, and disobeying parents. Now we are in big trouble and what will we do?

Well, we know that we can't save ourselves. Only Jesus' blood can wash away your sin and my sin and make us clean. God loves you and He has made a way through Christ for you to be cleansed of your sins. Isn't that just an amazing gift?

Now we know that we have sinned against God and the only way to have those sins washed away is through Jesus Christ. But wait. We have a second problem. If we are prideful we will think to ourselves, " oh I'm not a very bad person. I mean, everyone lies or steals sometime. I guess I'm good enough on my own. I don't need to be sorry for what I did!." You see, pride is very sneaky. It tells you that you really aren't so bad and you can do it on your own without God. Pride can keep you from trusting in Christ. It can keep you from repenting for your sin and believing that only Jesus Christ can make you right with God again.

Do you see why pride is so destructive? It will not only make you unhappy and unkind on earth, but it will keep you from believing in Christ. This is why God warns us against it in this verse. What should we do when we feel prideful? We should see it for how dangerous and sinful it is, and repent of it - that means to feel sorry for it and turn away from it. Then we can know that through God's love and grace, Jesus can pay for our sins and make us clean again.

Psalm 107:1

The following is adapted from a short lesson I gave on the memory verse for this month in Junior Church.

O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is so good, for His mercy endureth forever.

The first thing I noticed in looking at this verse is the reason we are told to give thanks is because God is good. Not because of the food we have, the warm house we sleep in, the job that provides income, the freedom we live in - no none of these things are listed. Instead the Psalmist points to the character of God and says, give thanks for who He is.
Then he adds just one trait that makes God so good, and that is His unending mercy. I phrased it for the kids this way : give thanks to God because He is so good, because His mercy endures. God is good because He is merciful.
Now, mercy is not getting what you deserve. To illustrate what mercy is let me give you an example.
Suppose one day as a child you decide to build a house for your pet. You need wood, nails, a hammer, and a saw but since you don't own any you borrow your father's without asking first. You build the house but as you are finishing, mom calls you for dinner and the tools get left out overnight in the rain. By the time you remember them after school the next day, they are starting to show the result of being constantly wet. You can't return them that way! So the solution is to hide them under a bush and hope he doesn't ask you for them.
Well a few days later dad discovers them and finds out that you are the culprit. However when he talks to you about it, he tells you that he forgives you and will not punish you this time. You deserve punishment but he decides not to give it to you, because he is being merciful. Remember, mercy is not getting what you deserve.
So in applying that definition to our verse today, we are taught to thank God not just for the things He gives us materially, but for the attributes He displays toward us. If it was not for His great goodness and mercy we would not know forgiveness of our sins. We deserve full punishment for our sin but as Christians we have been redeemed through the shed blood of Christ and brought near to Himself through His great love, grace, and mercy. Even more, we have assurance that this display of love and mercy will never end! Our verse says His mercy endures forever. Forever and ever, in the countless ages to come God will continue to show us increasing depths of His rich love and mercy.
Doesn't that just wow you? When was the last time you thanked God just for being Himself?

God's Call on Our Lives

If you ask me the question, "What is God's will for your life?," one of the first things I will ask you is, "What has God burdened you with in your life? What has God put on your heart?"
- Dr Michael A. Milton Discerning God's Call For Your Life Reformed Theological Seminary
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