Make Room For Sunday School

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Sunday School Appreciation Day 2003

Introduction

In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, we read Moses words to the people of Israel, and more specifically, to the parents among the people of Israel. Read the verses with me.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou listest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine head, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thine house, and on thy gates.”

Moses goes on to tell the people that when God blessed them, they needed to be careful not to forget Him in their prosperity. This is a problem that is not unique to the Israelite people – it seems that no matter who, when, or where the people are, when God blesses, they forget. How could they guard against forgetting the Lord and raising up a generation of people who wouldn’t know the Lord? God gives the answer through Moses.

Put the Lord first in your own life.

You can’t teach what you don’t know – and you can’t pass down what you don’t have, so it’s an absolute necessity that you have and maintain a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might…” In other words, with everything that lies within you – love the Lord! Who is the Lord to you? We’re not talking about church – we’re talking about you and your God. Is there evidence in your life that supports what you say about your love for God? Does He have first place in your thoughts, in your actions, in your choices? Does the Lord have first place in your business? In your home? In your marriage? In your finances? With all your heart, soul and might, with everything you’ve got, love the Lord!

Honor the Word of God in your life.

Moses said, “These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in your heart…” I like what David wrote in Psalm 119:9-16. Listen to the words…

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes. With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.”

I think those are awesome words – words of a man’s love for the Word of God – and it’s obvious from God’s estimation of that man that he meant it. Parents, and all of you who are hear today, let me challenge you as emphatically as I know how to honor the Word of God in your life. I want you to determine to be a life-long student of the Word of God. You’ll never exhaust its teachings, you’ll never run out of stories, you never come to the place where you’ve figured it out. So, study, study, study!

The Word of God is more than dry history. It is more than boring doctrine. It is so much more than a few flannel graph kid’s stories. This book contains the Word of life! Jesus said to the disciples, “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Let me tell you something about the Bible – you’ll never experience anything so exciting as what you’ll discover if you’ll just apply yourself in study to its contents. I have never felt so alive as I do when I am studying the Word of God, and in the quiet moments of that time the Holy Spirit of God gently speaks Words of truth to my soul and inspires me, motivates me, encourages me, convicts me, and brings me to see the glory and the greatness of the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ. Now, Moses said to put God first, honor His Word, then he said…

Teach the Word of God to your children