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From the Heart 2003I So ResolveTrain Yourself How Do You Train for Godliness? Setting Priorities The Promise of Godliness Part I The Promise of Godliness Part II Training By Doing I SO RESOLVEWhat are your goals for the new year, for your family, your classroom, yourself? As I think about what I hope and pray to accomplish I see three steps to achieving the desires of my heart:[1] Keep the goal in mind: Every goal worth accomplishing, from raising kids to strengthening a marriage to seeing the students in your classroom experience God in new ways, requires overcoming obstacles and perseverance in the daily struggles of life and change. In the dirtiness and wearing drudgery of ministry or family life don't forget what you want to see God do! Spend time each week envisioning a picture of a righteous child walking with Christ in holiness, or of a classroom excited to learn from God each week and encouraging each other in godliness. [2] Do whatever it takes: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart." (Colossians 3:23) You may need to change old habits of behavior, or rearrange your class schedule to see your vision realized. Don't give up! All the work is worth it! [3] Trust the Lord: We need not be afraid to change our goals as we see God accomplishing something totally different in us or through us. We need not be surprised that what actually comes to be is better than anything we could have planned anyway! "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." (Proverbs 16:9) Pastor Nate TRAIN YOURSELFTrain yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value. But godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. I Timothy 4:7-8The children's ministry theme for 2002 is "train yourself." You can find this exhortation by Paul to a young pastor in I Timothy 4:7-8. Godliness does not happen instantly. Yes, we are justified (declared not guilty) in God's eyes by the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. This is a free gift by grace through faith. But justification is only the first step in a lifetime of sanctification (becoming more like Jesus). Sanctification must be worked on. It is not that we earn it; this is not salvation by works. But over and over we are encouraged, instructed, even commanded to work out the ramifications of our salvation (Philippians 2:12), to take heed lest we fall (I Corinthians 10:11-13), to continually put on the new man and kill the old man (Ephesians 4-6), to walk in light, not darkness, (I, II and III John) to live out our faith by works (James 2). This is a battle that never lets up until the day we die and are glorified (totally freed from sin and its consequences). So godliness is a growth process that will only be achieved through commitment and hard work. Like the athlete and the warrior we need to train ourselves. Pray to God, committing yourself to this difficult but rewarding growth in godliness and asking Him to strengthen you for the task. He will rejoice that His heart's desire has become yours. Our prayer is that serving the Lord through children's ministry continues to be an important aspect of this training in godliness for you. Pastor Nate HOW DO YOU TRAIN FOR GODLINESS?So how does someone train himself?Recently I have discovered that the main branch of the Mansfield Public Library has tutorial programs in their computer lab. For one or two hours a week, whenever I have a free hour or so, I can learn more about the different programs I use for work. Wouldn't it be neat if we could do that in our Christian life and in our ministry area -- just plug into some computer program and learn all we need to know? Actually, I'm glad it doesn't work that way! I believe that training in godliness takes place in community. Even though the book of First timothy (in which the command to train yourself is found) is written to an individual, it is written within the immediate context of the local congregation and within the larger context of the church universal. So when you strive to train yourself in godliness, through Bible study, prayer, fasting, Scripture meditation, and observation of the ordinances, do not attempt to do so absent the community of your local congregation, small group and Sunday school. And ministry preparation obviously takes place in this same context of community. Observe others, ask questions, attend enrichment seminars and study your curriculum helps and other books and videos we provide. Will we be stronger Christians and better ministers by the end of this year than when we started? We can be, if together we train ourselves! Pastor Nate SETTING PRIORITIESWe have glimpsed the challenge in living out this year's theme, "Train Yourself." But God's Word also encourages and compels us to trust in His Spirit to empower us for a godly life. Paul explains in I Timothy 4:8 how setting priorities frees him to achieve his best.He understands that "physical training is of some value but godliness has value for all things." Both are good, but one is better. Both are important, but one is essential. Both please God, but one is more beneficial. If two different banks gave differing returns on your investments, wouldn't you choose the bank with the best percentage rate? In the same way, there are many good things that call us to serve them. But we have chosen children's ministry as the most pressing and rewarding of them all. We have investigated the posted returns and found that spending ourselves to see children come to know Christ and grow in Him is the better, the essential, the more beneficial of all the choices. We train ourselves to be godly that we might glorify and please Him who died for us. In training ourselves we became sharper tools in His hand to benefit the children and the church. Thank you for committing yourself this year in serving Christ by serving kids! Many hearts have been healed and God has been blessed by your sacrifice. And we see His blessings returned, pressed down to overflowing! Pastor Nate THE PROMISE OF GODLINESS (PART 1)Is the hard work worth it? Why should I die to myself, beating my body and soul into subjection? What do I get out of it? These may seem like selfish questions, but Jesus recognized the honesty of this attitude. In a discussion of discipleship and the rigors involved, he suggested we count the cost and see if we have what it takes to do it before we begin the venture (Luke 14:28-35).We can trust in the promise God makes in our theme verses that there are earthly rewards for those trained in godliness. When we follow God's commandments and hold true to His precepts, blessings come, not always in the manner we thought they would, but they are promised by God. Just like there are physical laws governing the universe (such as if you drop a pencil from over your head gravity will surely bring it to the ground), God has established spiritual and moral laws that cannot be broken. So as you go through the rough training of the Lord, look at the immediate benefits! And know some eternal ones are waiting for you as well! Pastor Nate THE PROMISE OF GODLINESS (PART 2)So we recognize that godliness has value for this present life: there are earthly rewards for those who walk in righteousness. But Paul tells the young pastor in this year's theme verse (I Timothy 4:8) that godliness also "holds promise for…the life to come."This becomes the strongest motivator for working toward the spiritual formation of children. When a child seems closed to the gospel, when four preschoolers all need to use the potty but at different times during the lesson, when a boy from an undisciplined broken home causes distractions in your class to get what little attention he can for his hurting heart, when the come-every-week girls in your class reject and make fun of the visiting girl, it helps to remember that there are rewards for striving after godliness. Not only do I long to be holy, I long for the children under our care to become holy. Not only are there rewards awaiting me for my own acts of righteousness, when I train others toward godliness, all their righteous acts can, in a way, be placed on my account. And when the children that we train in godliness grow and train others in godliness, like a series of spiritual dominoes, we shall reap the rewards of a work well done. Have a great summer, train yourself to be godly, and spend yourself in building godliness in the lives of others, especially children. Pastor Nate TRAINING BY DOINGI would like to take a brief minute to list ways that serving in children's ministry can be an important tool in training yourself to be godly. Have you experienced any of these blessings during the past year of service?
Pastor Nate Berean - Children's Ministry - Who We Are Berean - Children's Ministry - Introduction |
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