"Will You Tell Them For Me?"

I was honored with the privilege to speak at the Detroit Church of Christ yesterday. The people there are always so friendly and welcoming to both my family and myself. We enjoyed our visit and look forward to returning in the future.

As I studied for things to speak on last week, it dawned on me that this would be the last sermon that some of the kids would hear there prior to returning to school this week. My wife and I often fear the worldview that is presented to our children at school and I avoid the level of piety to believe that we are the only Christan parents who have these concerns. Long story short, through my studies I realized that a good lesson for both the children returning to school, the adults there, and also myself would be a lesson based around how Christians are given the ability to take Christ anywhere they want with them. We can talk to Christ anytime through prayer and we are shown in scripture how to take full advantage of this precious gift. We looked at Christ's models of prayer given in scripture and how quickly we can recognize our God at anytime.

While I tried to make sure the lesson was aimed at all in attendance, I wanted to make sure the children heard what the Word of God said. So, my first act was to have the school age (college too) children move forward to the front pews. I was able to talk to them and I had some trouble controlling my emotions (nothing new there) as I made eye contact with some of these innocent and beautiful children. Rather the Word of God that I repeated to them made a lasting impression, only God knows. I know that God promises great things if we simply teach the word though so I have faith that those who were there will be the exception when people claim that there is no prayer in school.

This brings me to my reason for posting this entry. After church services last night, I was speaking with one of the mothers whose daughter was to begin her very first day of kindergarten the next day (today). Knowing the emotions that any parent feels over sending their child to school, I asked the mother how she was holding up with this change looming. She expressed some nervousness and we talked about how much faith plays a part in being a parent, no matter what age your child or adult child is. The mother thanked me for the lesson from the morning and asked me if she saw what happened with her daughter during the lesson.

One of the facts that I pointed out during the lesson was that there were going to be children in their school who had never even heard of Jesus just like there are adults in the world who have never heard of Jesus. The mother pointed out to me that after I said this, the little girl tugged on her mom's shoulder and asked, "will you tell them about Jesus for me?" The mother said that this really hit home with her and she realized that while her daughter had been in preschool, it was a Christian pre-school and her daughter has never been around people who did not know of Christ. We then joked about how fun it would be to send a note pinned to her daughter saying, "do you know Jesus?" This sweet little girl and her parents were all in my prayers last night and this morning.

I have thought about the little girl's question several times since hearing it though. "Will you tell them about Jesus for me?" Is this not the same request that Christ made (Matther 28:18-20)? Is our sole purpose as Christians not to tell others about our Savior Christ? Is there a child in my children's school who doesn't know about Christ because I have never sought out the opportunity to tell their parents? We want to complain about the public schools not having Christians in them but then those same complainers are doing absolutely nothing to even try and make one more Christian. Sure, we insulate ourselves with Christian brothers and sisters, relishing in the joy of Christian fellowship, and we care for our very own children, but have you ever thought about what would have happened should God have treated His Son the same way?

What would your answer be if your child, grandchild, or any other loved one who is currently incapable of sharing the gospel came up to you and asked "have you told anyone about Jesus for me?" Would your answer be no? Why?

I see Christ in this dear little girl's question. This little girl represents all the children in the world to me. Both the children and more importantly Christ are asking, "Will you tell them for Me?"

Sharing the Blessings

The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble. 10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You. 11 Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people. 12 When He avenges blood, He remembers them; He does not forget the cry of the humble. Psalm 9:9-12

I tell myself and others often that if you look around, you will always see someone who has it worse than you do. Never has this been more obvious to me than yesterday as a contingency of Christians from three separate congregations of Christ's church came together to feed and comfort evacuees from Hurricane Gustav's destruction in Louisiana. This was a great effort and one which made me thankful to have the example of Christ to follow. These three small churches, Kingsville Church of Christ, Detroit Church of Christ, and Sulligent Church of Christ, were able to prepare and serve enough food to serve over 150 men, women, and children and have enough left for seconds. Two things stood out to me:
1. When we as Christians band together great and marvelous things can be accomplished with little preparation and planning. We tend to fall into a trap where we think that even the smallest ministry effort takes arduous planning and thought. What does that say about our faith that we don't believe that anything is possible through Jesus Christ. This effort these three churches made was planned and accomplished in less than 48 hours. It honestly went off without a hitch. Further, there is a mind set among smaller churches (you know, the ones that primarily make up the kingdom of heaven) that we do not have enough members or man power to "pull off" extraordinary efforts. This can be true. Thank God we can call upon other members of the kingdom from other congregations to help. We can work together and still consider ourselves autonomous.
2. Treating someone as Christ would can go further than any pamphlet, sermon, television broadcast, or extravagant meeting. Christ tells us what we do to the very least of people we do to Him. I met the least yesterday and I can testify that treating them with a sincere and unreserved kindness touched them and made them curious about what I was doing there. How do I know? One of the people there asked specifically for more information about this Church of Christ. This curiosity was sparked by nothing more than a group of Christians who long to serve Christ who acted on that calling.

If you would like to see photos of this effort, click here.