Today is the first Sunday of 2008! Happy New Year! We have a lot to look forward to this year. As we begin this new year, we also begin a new look at the Lord and his church through the eyes of Luke. It all starts with God’s “Planned Parenthood” for Zechariah and Elizabeth and Mary and Joseph. That’s what we read about in the first two chapters of Luke’s gospel.
Let me also share our new theme for this year: The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone! I love that! That’s also Luke’s focus. Jesus comes to us and the gospel he brings spreads from Israel to the entire world. That’s why we are here today. That gospel is given to us so that we will also spread it to others. May God bless us to be faithful and fruitful and increase 30, 60, or 100 fold! May God open our eyes to see how he moves through the unexpected little things to work his wonderful power to make and change the universe.
But back to Luke… The first part of this story is so familiar many of us know it by heart. But let’s look at it again and see what new message God will bring to us this time. Luke one is our text for today, Luke two will be next week. In chapter 1 Luke opens by telling Theophilus that he has carefully investigated the events of Jesus life and is writing them down so that he can know with certain assurance the truth about what he has heard. That’s a strong claim! In our day, when so many are attacking the gospels as made up, Luke says he is careful here to tell the truth. Do you believe it? I know you do! Our faith is what God uses to overcome the world. May he increase our faith more and more and use us to accomplish all he has planned for us.
Where does he start? What does Luke tell up front that God inspired for us to know? I find it very interesting that Luke didn’t start with Mary and Joseph like Matthew did. He didn’t open with John and Jesus as adults, like Mark. Luke doesn’t go back to creation and give us the heavenly view of Jesus that John does. Luke, the Gentile, starts his gospel at the temple in Jerusalem and an old, childless married couple from the priestly tribe of Levi and line of Aaron. Luke starts in the heart of Judaism. Luke knows that the hope of the Messiah was first a Jewish hope. It was a hope for a Jewish redeemer who would redeem Israel. It is a subtle reminder that the gospel is to the Jew first and also the Gentile. We Gentiles need to remember that today. We need to know our roots. Jesus is the root of David, the bright and morning star. He hasn’t changed. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. Our hope was born in Bethlehem, the city of David.
Scholars have noticed that the first two chapters of Luke sound very Jewish. So Jewish, in fact, that some liberal scholars once argued that a different author wrote them. That’s hog wash! But it shows us that God wants us to remember where we came from. We all have roots in God’s promise to Abraham: I will bless all nations through you! We all share a hope that was originally the hope of Israel and has become our hope according to God’s plan to redeem all man through Jesus Christ. Three quarters of our Bible is directly to the nation of Israel, and the entire Old Testament is in Hebrew! As far as we know, Luke is the only Gentile who the Holy Spirit inspired to write scripture, and he begins the gospel with a focus on the heart of the Jewish hope of the Messiah as redeemer of Israel.
We meet Zachariah as he enters the temple and receives a visit from the angel, Gabriel. The angelic message is just too good to be true to Zachariah. He just can’t believe his ears. God is giving him and Elizabeth a son in their old age. This is a prayer Zechariah and Elizabeth have prayed about for years: “Oh, Lord! Give us a child! Please! We want to have children. Lord, don’t let us die childless… Lord? Are you listening?” What prayers do you have for your family? The long years pass and now Zachariah and Elizabeth are too old. They’ve accepted that parenthood is just not part of the plan. They have come to terms with the reality of a barren womb and a house without a crib or diapers or brag books. In Zachariah’s mind, all that is settled. His hopes for a family are just a faded memory. Perhaps he can’t remember the last time he prayed for a child. But, guess what? God hasn’t forgotten his prayers. God’s schedule is a bit unique, and often surprising. God’s plan doesn’t depend on Zachariah’s plans. His plan for their parenthood entails a lot more than Zachariah ever imagined. And when the memo came, Zachariah didn’t believe it. Has God told you things that you find hard to believe?
God seems to take delight in doing the unexpected for those who trust him. Luke 1-2 are loaded with unexpected parenthood plans that completely surprise everyone.
How many parents are here today? Raise your hands. How many of you are praying for your children? Raise your hands. How many of your children know that you are praying for them and what exactly you are praying for them?
Parents, and those of you who think you might be a parent some day: take a piece of paper from the pew and write the answer to this question – What type of Christian do I want my children to be? Think about that a minute. Put down at least three or four things. What type of Christian do I want my children to be?
While you’re thinking about that notice that Zachariah and Elizabeth were told what their son would be. Isn’t that interesting? God already had the life of John the Baptist mapped out before he was conceived. God knew. But it looks like God was also selective about who he chose to have this child and when they would have him. These parents were upright and blameless. They were faithful and prayerful. They were active in their religious services even to the point of taking part in the temple worship.
Now for a follow up question to the one you are writing about, answer this: Do I want my children to have a faith like mine? Let me repeat that: Do I want my children to have a faith like mine?
To a large degree most of our children will tend to follow the leader. They will tend to turn out much like what they witness in us as parents. This raises lots of questions. Do I want my children to have the same kind of love and compassion for those in need as me? Do you want them to have your attitude toward church? Your desire to reach out to those who are not saved? Your ability to resist temptation? Your love and obedience toward Jesus? Your devotion to reading the scriptures and spending time in prayer? Everybody had enough? This is not to say that you are responsible for their choices ultimately, but we need to realize that we as parents are major players in our children’s lives.
One thing I’ve learned about parenting is that it is a marathon, not a sprint. Parents can’t leave the faith and spiritual development of their children up to others, primarily. We can’t expect church Bible classes to be the main instruction in God’s word for them. Church isn’t designed to undo poor parenting.
And, get this: parenting isn’t just about getting our kids to behave like Christians. In fact, we can be so concerned with appearances that we may fall back on negative attitudes and become overly critical and discourage the very faith we want to instill in them. I heard this from my son, Tim, just last week when I asked what one thing do you see as the most damaging to faith. Tim said in Bible class, sitting right their on the third row next to Stephanie. He said: Believing I can never be good enough is the hardest thing to me.
So, parents? What is the bull’s eye to shoot for to help your children know and follow the Lord? What can you do, above all else, that makes the most difference?
Look at John and Jesus. They turned out pretty good, wouldn’t you say? Was their anything in their upbringing that seems central? What I see is two things: love and discipline. Love for God, love for their children first, and a model of discipline coupled with the practice of discipline second. The bull’s eye is this relationship with God that is practiced in relationship with one another.
God said to Zechariah that this son would be a joy to them. Zechariah and Elizabeth delighted in this child. And you can be sure they lived out their faith before him and disciplined him in it with them.
Jay Kesler has studied Christian faith development and outlines them in his book Energizing Your Teenager’s Faith.
1. Children in grade school who talk about God and Jesus are echoing the words they have heard from adults. This early faith is when important patterns of spiritual development can be formed. Lot’s of biblical stories and memory verses and heroes of faith can become central figures for them.
2. Junior highers have an “affiliated faith” that sees their beliefs in terms of a relationship. Jesus becomes a friend. Faith grows through youth interaction and parental mentoring.
3. High Schoolers develop a searching faith. Tough questions begin to be asked as they sort out whether to personally accept what they’ve experienced. Parents would be wise to spend lots of time discussing these tough questions and not brushing off their children’s struggles here.
4. Young adults begin to develop and “owned faith.” Having accepted Jesus Christ as true Lord and Savior and reaffirming their decision to follow him, they begin to incorporated biblical values as their own. (Most of this material was taken from: Faithful Parents – Faithful Kids by Greg Johnson and Mike Yorkey).
Whether he’s correct or not about these, it is true that we all go through stages of faith development and all of us need guidance from mature mentors, especially parents, who model the faith for us and pray for us and help us.
As we reflect on the kind of faith we hope our children will have, we know we all need God’s strength and guidance. We need to remember that God hears our prayers. God wants good things for us and our children. He didn’t send Jesus to die on the cross so that we would fail. God has a huge stake in our future. His plan for parenthood hasn’t changed.
Where are you on the parenting spectrum? Are you on your way into parenting in the future? Are you in the midst of parenting? Are you finishing up the final product of parenting your children into adulthood? Listen… the kids you raise will raise your grandkids!
Parents, listen, none of us is fully responsible for our children’s choices. God has given them the same free will that he gives parents. That means two things: first, it means that none of us can gloat too much when our children do really well. Second, it means that none of us should feel overly guilty if they fail to follow Jesus. What we need most to do is this… are you ready? We as parents must first determine to take responsibility for following Jesus ourselves. Let us decide to be the best Christian we can be to God’s glory. If you see yourself as way behind, start today! Start now! God’s timing and God’s grace are redeeming! He wants your heart. Listen, you can’t give your children’s heart to God, only they can. But you can give God your heart! Do that! God will work his wonderful grace in your and your life. Don’t give up. Don’t think it’s too early or too late. Today is the day to follow Jesus Christ. Now is the time to be saved and walk in His will!
