DEEP // WIDE // LIGHT

Prayer is a private practice, but not one we should keep for ourselves.  Jesus said in Matthew 6:9 , “Therefore, you should pray like this…” Adults, may I ask a difficult question of us? If I am charged with making followers ( Matthew28:19-20 ), and if I am charged with passing on my faith to the next generation ( Deuteronomy 6:4-7 ), then am I passing on my thoughts on prayer? If Jesus taught his followers, am I not to teach others as well?  Most of our young people learn prayer from sermons and lessons they only partially listen to, and from the public prayers they hear in worship. I believe that is insufficient. You might believe you do not know enough to teach. I would suggest not that you teach necessarily, but that you  pray with them.  Educators understand the principle of teaching by doing. I encourage you to use the recommendations of Deuteronomy 6:7 . Pray with them at home, on the road, at nighttime, and in the morning. Turn off the radio while drivi...

Graduation.  Softball and baseball.  I have been thinking about both of them a lot lately. There are few things more fun to watch than 4 and 5 year olds playing tee ball. But those young children grow up before our very eyes. I see this most clearly when I think about our upcoming milestone of high school graduation, remember that those young adults were once young children, enjoying sports and dance recitals and school ceremonies. Our student ministry at FBC Philly is a ministry of milestones. We celebrate the growth of a child from their Parent/Child Dedication (when we commit to support the parents as they spiritually guide their growing child) to Baptism (when they commit to following Christ) to Youth Group rites of initiation (when they become a young man / young woman) to True Love Waits ceremonies (when they commit to purely follow a pure God) to Graduate Recognition (when we celebrate their passage to adulthood). At each milestone, we pause ...