Faith, Dedication, and Nurturing Future Generations
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Sermon Clips
"Nine months before we started this process, we had the, we had the opportunity to buy our youth building. But the problem was it was, it was a little risky because we hadn't gotten permission to do it yet. We hadn't gotten permission. And the risk was if we bought a building before we had the permits, it was a possibility. They say no to what our plan was. And we'd have to do something with the building or that we'd have to move it at a different spot at a different date that costs more money. Here's the problem I found or our team found. And we had the opportunity to buy this, the building and save about $80,000. That's ties and offerings to our church. And so we did it. We actually, I made the executive call. We bought this thing on a whim, but here's the big reveal. Here's the thing we celebrate is this is a miracle. This is by faith. We bought this building literally seven days after our transfer of our funds. All of our permits were approved and sent to us. That's pretty amazing. That's pretty amazing. That's miraculous. And I'll say it because by faith, we bought this thing hoping and praying that it would be approved, but that's God's timing. And that's just a constant reminder for me and hopefully for our church that that's how God works and moves in our life. It's by faith that we do these things. And so what you see behind us is this is our approved site plan that we got. I know for a lot of people, this doesn't mean anything, but that little gray building in the middle is where our, building will be placed. It's approved and designed thumbs up from the County." [00:22:56] (100 seconds)
"So here's how there's two ways you can get, get involved in the next couple of weeks. Here's the first way is next Sunday night. We have a worship night and this worship night is to celebrate and worship what God has done, what we believe he's going to do. But then most importantly, you got to show up right at six 30 because we are going to dedicate that land to God. We're going to dedicate that land and pray over our youth ministry. Now, when we started this building process, this is some getting our building up. It was roadblock after roadblock after roadblock. And it wasn't until we actually dedicated the land that something happened. I always say that we're as spiritual as we are physical. Well, something spiritual happened when we dedicated our land five years ago and it opened up a bunch of doors for us to actually begin the project. So what we're going to be doing is next Sunday night at six 30. I want you to meet me here. Rain shine. It doesn't matter. Bring your raincoats and umbrellas dark. It doesn't matter. We're going to go. We're going to pray over. We're going to pray over each corner of that building. We're going to pray that God not only uses that and helps the project go quickly, but also that God blesses our youth ministry, that God blesses our youth pastors. So that's my, my invitation. Come join us next Sunday night at six o 'clock. We'll talk about it next week as well. And then here's the other part is that we've saved a ton of money all the way along the process. I want to tell you what we've done. Obviously we saved about $80,000 buying that building. Ahead of time. We actually had the guy who developed all of the land for this building being built. His name's Brian Menard. Brian has donated his work for all of the land, the land work we need to do. That's going to save us a couple hundred thousand dollars, which is pretty amazing." [00:25:00] (109 seconds)
"And I also know that I am a pastor asking for money and I've asked for money before for this. But the reality is I want to think about it, not in necessarily having to finish a project, but we are creating a home for our youth ministry. We're creating a home where people are going to come and maybe attend a AA meeting for the very first time. We're going to create a home where people can come and gather. We're going to gather in a Bible study outside of a Tuesday night. Those are the types of things that we're going to be doing. So I want to ask you, would you prayerfully consider by faith helping us by filling the gap? And how we do that is there's an actually building fund button that you can hit that and it goes all right to our youth building. And we're going to see that thing. I'm praying that we can have this completely filled in a week. That's my goal. So would you guys pray with me? Let's pray and ask God to provide for our church and provide for our youth ministry. Lord, we're thankful for you. We're thankful that you have provided every step of the way for our church." [00:28:41] (64 seconds)
"Week two, last week was all about marriage, how to build a strong marriage, how to build a strong dating relationship on your faith. And this week, the next layer is we want to talk about parenting and kids and how to do it because we all know how difficult and hard that it is and how much the landscape has changed in the last 5, 10, 15, 20 years from when we were kids to now that we have kids. I was reflecting on this idea because one of the favorite things I like to do when I was my son's age was me and my friend, we'd get on not nice bikes, right? Not these nice specialized bikes that kids have now. I get on a Huffy, a mountain bike. And we would ride all the way into Snohomish. And if you know the Xtapa restaurant in Snohomish, there was a little tiny store there right next to it. It used to be called Vicks Market. And I'd go to there to Vicks and I'd have a five bucks in my pocket and I'd buy Jolt soda and I'd buy Starburst and I'd buy candy bars and I'd eat a bunch of candy. And then I'd ride with my friend all the way back home. Now, this morning I was Googling from where my old house was to where that store is. It was 11 miles one way. So when I was 11 years old, I was riding 11 miles to eat a bunch of candy and then come back. Now, if you were to come to me and say, Brian, would you let your 11 -year -old son ride 22 miles to go somewhere on his bicycle? And I would say, if hell froze over, I might. There's no way." [00:33:46] (108 seconds)
"And it's because like landscape has changed, right? Culture has changed. Now, parenting changes, but also I think there's some of these established principles that we can learn from. And we've been in this book of Ephesians for the last series. It's been actually a lot of fun because Ephesians is a guy named Paul writing to a young church like ours. And he's writing instructions on how to love God. He's writing instructions about how to try and build a healthy relationship with God. And then following immediately the scriptures that we were in last week, the next set of scriptures in Ephesians chapter six, he talks about how to be a parent or how to raise your kids. Now, here's the deal though. I'm a little vulnerable to feel a little vulnerable talking about this because I have young kids, right? My kids have not crossed into teenage years yet. My kids have not crossed into adulthood yet. My kids don't have kids yet. You are already there. And so just know what I want to do today. I want to just walk through the scripture of what Paul tells us and what Paul talks about parenting and kids. And I'm also acutely aware that there are a lot of people here that don't have kids." [00:35:57] (76 seconds)
"Well, one of the things that I also learned in this process for those here today, that are connected to that is that Paul actually talked to them, not about how to raise kids, but rather how we're supposed to be adults, how we, how he's developing us. And as he develops us, it actually impacts the people around us, i.e. our kids. So that's my hope for those that are here today. You're like, well, this sucks. It's talking about parenting. No, I'm actually talking about us. How do we be adults? And so here's what Ephesians chapter, six verse one says, children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord for this is the right thing to do. So I think you start with obedience. That's kind of the groundwork, but I don't know about you. The word obedience lands as well in my life as the word submit landed well last week. You know, I don't like the word obey, right? I buck the system. When anybody tells me anything to do, I just, I don't like the word obey. I don't like the word obey. I just don't like the thought and the concept of having to obey blindly." [00:37:29] (69 seconds)
"And in fact, we're supposed to take the understanding of that word obey in the same way we took the understanding of the word submit last week, meaning that we're supposed to take that within the context of love, forgiveness, and needing God to be a part of every single step of that situation. And when I think about submit again, I think about the fact that like every teen boy struggles, right? When I, when I got into be a teenager, it was like everything my parents said was wrong, not because it was wrong, but because I was a teenage boy, right? And that happens. And the reality is the, the reason why he says, obey your father and your mother, it's because for the most part in January, realities, parents care about their kids, and parents love their kids, and parents want the best for their kids. I know I can speak on behalf of myself and my kids. I want the best for my kids, and so I do what I hope, and I tell them what I hope will make them have the best life that they can. The problem is there's this part of us that pushes back, that rebels." [00:38:51] (68 seconds)
"The law of God supersedes those things, and so I hope you know it doesn't mean we have to blindly obey. What I think it means is understanding in most situations, parents care deeply, parents want the best, and in, I think, the rare situation, if it's unbiblical, immoral, or unethical, we're not called to follow and to listen, but I think that's important, and here's the other aspect to it as well. It's not about parents and kids. Here, what it's about is you as an adult, and me as an adult, asking ourselves the greater question, are you willing to obey God, not outside of parenting at all, in your life? Like, if God's our father, and we're his children, do we trust him with our life? Like, are you willing to say, I'm going to focus my life and my direction on you, God? I'm going to be bold and say that I'm a follower of Jesus today. If somebody, like, that's the type of things where we obey. Are we willing to obey? I think the greater question is not about kids and parents, but rather about our will as adults and God the Father." [00:41:27] (71 seconds)
"Because when you honor your parents, or let's say your parents aren't involved in the picture right now as adults, your grandparents, those that are older than you, when you honor those around you, they invest back into you. And that's what we're going to do. We're going to do that. And it lends itself to that because we know that phrase that it takes a village to raise a child. Well, it takes multi-generations to raise a child. Right? And this is why the church is actually equipped this way. We're the unique organization in the world where there's multi-generations that are part of the church. And when lived perfectly next to each other, the old pour into the young. The young need the old and the old need the young because the old stay young when they hang out with the young. So there's this beautiful, like, relationship that happens. But it does take a village. And I'm able to watch it with my kids' grandparents. They're lucky enough to have both grandparents right now that are a part of their lives. My son, Roman, both grandpas love to fish." [00:43:12] (70 seconds)
"See, God calls us to include the generations because we're going to learn a lot from each other if we're open to it. In fact, he says, things will go well for you. What that means is that you won't make dumb decisions. And he says, you're going to live a long life. What that is, is not for us young people, not for us parents. He says, you're going to live a long life if you're a grandparent or the age of a grandparent investing back into the young. Statistically, grandparents live longer if they connect with young people on a regular basis. It will go well for you. Brian, you're not going to make stupid decisions or less of them. And then you will live a long life. So then, then it comes to the actual only behavioral instruction that Paul gives the church. It's in Ephesians chapter six, verse four. It says this fathers do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord. I'd summarize that to just say, what if we could disciple instead of discipline our kids?" [00:46:18] (76 seconds)
"And what would be the differences in what that looks like? Well, I think discipleship looks like this. So when I was a high school pastor, I had a group of high school boys. We let a Bible study. And what we do is every week we get into the Bible together. We talk about life. We talk about how to apply the subject that we were talking about in the Bible. How do we apply it? We would apply it to their life, helping them understand the truth, right? Hey, you really live in that way is not going to help you. Here's what the Bible says about it. And then the next week we come back together. And one of those kids were like, oh man, you know, that thing we talked about last week. We're not supposed to do. Well, I did it this week. This was kind of the feeling and the conversation that we'd have all the time. But in the process of that Bible study, I love them. I forgave. I gave grace to them. But then also, I told him the truth. And I think sometimes I, as a parent, default too much to like discipline. Here's the guardrails, and if you step out of the guardrails, it's no Fortnite. It's no video games. But like, I'm willing to have these conversations with these other kids, but I jumped to conclusions for myself as a parent. Well, the cool thing is, when I graduated all those high school boys, 60% of them walked away from God in college. But most of them have come back around now that they've become adults and had kids and have families, and they attend a church, some here, some in other churches. So that foundation laid is important. But then it says, don't provoke your kids. That word provoke is like picking. I don't know about you, I pick. It's a bad trait, right? There's this bully part of me that I have to tamp down. And Christian will even call me on it sometimes. I'm just picking. If you're a picker, you know. You're pushing the buttons. You know the buttons of all the people around you." [00:47:48] (123 seconds)
"And the Bible says, don't provoke your kids. Don't point and push the buttons of your kids. And here's the deal. It's not saying that we're never gonna do that. I think what this means is, when we do it, be willing to be the first one to say, I'm sorry, and ask forgiveness. I think that's what provoking, don't provoke. I think it just means, hey, lead by example. And the example meaning, you're gonna fail at some point. You're gonna be not a great example. Well, that's your opportunity to ask forgiveness. Give me an example. This last week, I get my kids up. I get them fed and get them out the door to the bus. And my kids are at the age where they can find a reason to fight about air, right? I mean, anything that's out there, they fight about it. Sitting next to each other, they're too close, right? I mean, whatever. And so, I, that morning, for whatever reason, woke up, I'm angry. I'm just in a bad mood. I don't have my coffee. I don't know what it is. And I'm making them their breakfast, and they're just fighting. And they always fight. Nothing ever changes. But for whatever reason, this morning, and I try not to. I know you guys don't ever do it, but I raised my voice. And I didn't just raise my voice, but I just exploded, and I screamed. And my kids sat there looking at me like this, quietly. And then, for the rest of the breakfast, it was quiet. And then, they get into the car 15 minutes later, and we go down to the bus, and I say, I love you. And I think about how awkward this is. But I felt bad about it all day. So then, I went to go pick them up at the bus. And on the way home, I just stopped. I said, guys, hey, I'm sorry. I should not have risen my voice. And it's not like, I'm sorry you guys were fighting. No, I just needed to own my peace and say, guys, I'm sorry. I should not have yelled. And it doesn't happen all the time. But you know what they did? They reciprocated, and they said, man, we should have been fighting. We're sorry, too. Now, I know that's not going to happen all the time, but it was one of those beautiful moments where I just needed to eat my bad part of it. I needed to just ask forgiveness and hope that God would work through it. And for that little moment, it's this little glimpse of hope of like, no, no, no. No, part of this is always me, and I just got to be willing to lead by example in that way. But it's hard to sometimes." [00:49:35] (149 seconds)
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"So here's how there's two ways you can get, get involved in the next couple of weeks. Here's the first way is next Sunday night. We have a worship night and this worship night is to celebrate and worship what God has done, what we believe he's going to do. But then most importantly, you got to show up right at six 30 because we are going to dedicate that land to God. We're going to dedicate that land and pray over our youth ministry. Now, when we started this building process, this is some getting our building up. It was roadblock after roadblock after roadblock. And it wasn't until we actually dedicated the land that something happened. I always say that we're as spiritual as we are physical. Well, something spiritual happened when we dedicated our land five years ago and it opened up a bunch of doors for us to actually begin the project. So what we're going to be doing is next Sunday night at six 30. I want you to meet me here. Rain shine. It doesn't matter. Bring your raincoats and umbrellas dark. It doesn't matter. We're going to go. We're going to pray over. We're going to pray over each corner of that building. We're going to pray that God not only uses that and helps the project go quickly, but also that God blesses our youth ministry, that God blesses our youth pastors. So that's my, my invitation. Come join us next Sunday night at six o 'clock. We'll talk about it next week as well. And then here's the other part is that we've saved a ton of money all the way along the process. I want to tell you what we've done. Obviously we saved about $80,000 buying that building. Ahead of time. We actually had the guy who developed all of the land for this building being built. His name's Brian Menard. Brian has donated his work for all of the land, the land work we need to do. That's going to save us a couple hundred thousand dollars, which is pretty amazing." [00:25:00] (109 seconds)
"And I also know that I am a pastor asking for money and I've asked for money before for this. But the reality is I want to think about it, not in necessarily having to finish a project, but we are creating a home for our youth ministry. We're creating a home where people are going to come and maybe attend a AA meeting for the very first time. We're going to create a home where people can come and gather. We're going to gather in a Bible study outside of a Tuesday night. Those are the types of things that we're going to be doing. So I want to ask you, would you prayerfully consider by faith helping us by filling the gap? And how we do that is there's an actually building fund button that you can hit that and it goes all right to our youth building. And we're going to see that thing. I'm praying that we can have this completely filled in a week. That's my goal. So would you guys pray with me? Let's pray and ask God to provide for our church and provide for our youth ministry. Lord, we're thankful for you. We're thankful that you have provided every step of the way for our church." [00:28:41] (64 seconds)
"Week two, last week was all about marriage, how to build a strong marriage, how to build a strong dating relationship on your faith. And this week, the next layer is we want to talk about parenting and kids and how to do it because we all know how difficult and hard that it is and how much the landscape has changed in the last 5, 10, 15, 20 years from when we were kids to now that we have kids. I was reflecting on this idea because one of the favorite things I like to do when I was my son's age was me and my friend, we'd get on not nice bikes, right? Not these nice specialized bikes that kids have now. I get on a Huffy, a mountain bike. And we would ride all the way into Snohomish. And if you know the Xtapa restaurant in Snohomish, there was a little tiny store there right next to it. It used to be called Vicks Market. And I'd go to there to Vicks and I'd have a five bucks in my pocket and I'd buy Jolt soda and I'd buy Starburst and I'd buy candy bars and I'd eat a bunch of candy. And then I'd ride with my friend all the way back home. Now, this morning I was Googling from where my old house was to where that store is. It was 11 miles one way. So when I was 11 years old, I was riding 11 miles to eat a bunch of candy and then come back. Now, if you were to come to me and say, Brian, would you let your 11 -year -old son ride 22 miles to go somewhere on his bicycle? And I would say, if hell froze over, I might. There's no way." [00:33:46] (108 seconds)
"And it's because like landscape has changed, right? Culture has changed. Now, parenting changes, but also I think there's some of these established principles that we can learn from. And we've been in this book of Ephesians for the last series. It's been actually a lot of fun because Ephesians is a guy named Paul writing to a young church like ours. And he's writing instructions on how to love God. He's writing instructions about how to try and build a healthy relationship with God. And then following immediately the scriptures that we were in last week, the next set of scriptures in Ephesians chapter six, he talks about how to be a parent or how to raise your kids. Now, here's the deal though. I'm a little vulnerable to feel a little vulnerable talking about this because I have young kids, right? My kids have not crossed into teenage years yet. My kids have not crossed into adulthood yet. My kids don't have kids yet. You are already there. And so just know what I want to do today. I want to just walk through the scripture of what Paul tells us and what Paul talks about parenting and kids. And I'm also acutely aware that there are a lot of people here that don't have kids." [00:35:57] (76 seconds)
"Well, one of the things that I also learned in this process for those here today, that are connected to that is that Paul actually talked to them, not about how to raise kids, but rather how we're supposed to be adults, how we, how he's developing us. And as he develops us, it actually impacts the people around us, i.e. our kids. So that's my hope for those that are here today. You're like, well, this sucks. It's talking about parenting. No, I'm actually talking about us. How do we be adults? And so here's what Ephesians chapter, six verse one says, children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord for this is the right thing to do. So I think you start with obedience. That's kind of the groundwork, but I don't know about you. The word obedience lands as well in my life as the word submit landed well last week. You know, I don't like the word obey, right? I buck the system. When anybody tells me anything to do, I just, I don't like the word obey. I don't like the word obey. I just don't like the thought and the concept of having to obey blindly." [00:37:29] (69 seconds)
"And in fact, we're supposed to take the understanding of that word obey in the same way we took the understanding of the word submit last week, meaning that we're supposed to take that within the context of love, forgiveness, and needing God to be a part of every single step of that situation. And when I think about submit again, I think about the fact that like every teen boy struggles, right? When I, when I got into be a teenager, it was like everything my parents said was wrong, not because it was wrong, but because I was a teenage boy, right? And that happens. And the reality is the, the reason why he says, obey your father and your mother, it's because for the most part in January, realities, parents care about their kids, and parents love their kids, and parents want the best for their kids. I know I can speak on behalf of myself and my kids. I want the best for my kids, and so I do what I hope, and I tell them what I hope will make them have the best life that they can. The problem is there's this part of us that pushes back, that rebels." [00:38:51] (68 seconds)
"The law of God supersedes those things, and so I hope you know it doesn't mean we have to blindly obey. What I think it means is understanding in most situations, parents care deeply, parents want the best, and in, I think, the rare situation, if it's unbiblical, immoral, or unethical, we're not called to follow and to listen, but I think that's important, and here's the other aspect to it as well. It's not about parents and kids. Here, what it's about is you as an adult, and me as an adult, asking ourselves the greater question, are you willing to obey God, not outside of parenting at all, in your life? Like, if God's our father, and we're his children, do we trust him with our life? Like, are you willing to say, I'm going to focus my life and my direction on you, God? I'm going to be bold and say that I'm a follower of Jesus today. If somebody, like, that's the type of things where we obey. Are we willing to obey? I think the greater question is not about kids and parents, but rather about our will as adults and God the Father." [00:41:27] (71 seconds)
"Because when you honor your parents, or let's say your parents aren't involved in the picture right now as adults, your grandparents, those that are older than you, when you honor those around you, they invest back into you. And that's what we're going to do. We're going to do that. And it lends itself to that because we know that phrase that it takes a village to raise a child. Well, it takes multi-generations to raise a child. Right? And this is why the church is actually equipped this way. We're the unique organization in the world where there's multi-generations that are part of the church. And when lived perfectly next to each other, the old pour into the young. The young need the old and the old need the young because the old stay young when they hang out with the young. So there's this beautiful, like, relationship that happens. But it does take a village. And I'm able to watch it with my kids' grandparents. They're lucky enough to have both grandparents right now that are a part of their lives. My son, Roman, both grandpas love to fish." [00:43:12] (70 seconds)
"See, God calls us to include the generations because we're going to learn a lot from each other if we're open to it. In fact, he says, things will go well for you. What that means is that you won't make dumb decisions. And he says, you're going to live a long life. What that is, is not for us young people, not for us parents. He says, you're going to live a long life if you're a grandparent or the age of a grandparent investing back into the young. Statistically, grandparents live longer if they connect with young people on a regular basis. It will go well for you. Brian, you're not going to make stupid decisions or less of them. And then you will live a long life. So then, then it comes to the actual only behavioral instruction that Paul gives the church. It's in Ephesians chapter six, verse four. It says this fathers do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord. I'd summarize that to just say, what if we could disciple instead of discipline our kids?" [00:46:18] (76 seconds)
"And what would be the differences in what that looks like? Well, I think discipleship looks like this. So when I was a high school pastor, I had a group of high school boys. We let a Bible study. And what we do is every week we get into the Bible together. We talk about life. We talk about how to apply the subject that we were talking about in the Bible. How do we apply it? We would apply it to their life, helping them understand the truth, right? Hey, you really live in that way is not going to help you. Here's what the Bible says about it. And then the next week we come back together. And one of those kids were like, oh man, you know, that thing we talked about last week. We're not supposed to do. Well, I did it this week. This was kind of the feeling and the conversation that we'd have all the time. But in the process of that Bible study, I love them. I forgave. I gave grace to them. But then also, I told him the truth. And I think sometimes I, as a parent, default too much to like discipline. Here's the guardrails, and if you step out of the guardrails, it's no Fortnite. It's no video games. But like, I'm willing to have these conversations with these other kids, but I jumped to conclusions for myself as a parent. Well, the cool thing is, when I graduated all those high school boys, 60% of them walked away from God in college. But most of them have come back around now that they've become adults and had kids and have families, and they attend a church, some here, some in other churches. So that foundation laid is important. But then it says, don't provoke your kids. That word provoke is like picking. I don't know about you, I pick. It's a bad trait, right? There's this bully part of me that I have to tamp down. And Christian will even call me on it sometimes. I'm just picking. If you're a picker, you know. You're pushing the buttons. You know the buttons of all the people around you." [00:47:48] (123 seconds)
"And the Bible says, don't provoke your kids. Don't point and push the buttons of your kids. And here's the deal. It's not saying that we're never gonna do that. I think what this means is, when we do it, be willing to be the first one to say, I'm sorry, and ask forgiveness. I think that's what provoking, don't provoke. I think it just means, hey, lead by example. And the example meaning, you're gonna fail at some point. You're gonna be not a great example. Well, that's your opportunity to ask forgiveness. Give me an example. This last week, I get my kids up. I get them fed and get them out the door to the bus. And my kids are at the age where they can find a reason to fight about air, right? I mean, anything that's out there, they fight about it. Sitting next to each other, they're too close, right? I mean, whatever. And so, I, that morning, for whatever reason, woke up, I'm angry. I'm just in a bad mood. I don't have my coffee. I don't know what it is. And I'm making them their breakfast, and they're just fighting. And they always fight. Nothing ever changes. But for whatever reason, this morning, and I try not to. I know you guys don't ever do it, but I raised my voice. And I didn't just raise my voice, but I just exploded, and I screamed. And my kids sat there looking at me like this, quietly. And then, for the rest of the breakfast, it was quiet. And then, they get into the car 15 minutes later, and we go down to the bus, and I say, I love you. And I think about how awkward this is. But I felt bad about it all day. So then, I went to go pick them up at the bus. And on the way home, I just stopped. I said, guys, hey, I'm sorry. I should not have risen my voice. And it's not like, I'm sorry you guys were fighting. No, I just needed to own my peace and say, guys, I'm sorry. I should not have yelled. And it doesn't happen all the time. But you know what they did? They reciprocated, and they said, man, we should have been fighting. We're sorry, too. Now, I know that's not going to happen all the time, but it was one of those beautiful moments where I just needed to eat my bad part of it. I needed to just ask forgiveness and hope that God would work through it. And for that little moment, it's this little glimpse of hope of like, no, no, no. No, part of this is always me, and I just got to be willing to lead by example in that way. But it's hard to sometimes." [00:49:35] (149 seconds)
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