INTRO.- Children are wonderful. How dull life would be without them! And remember we were once children too!
ILL.- Teacher to student, “What are you – animal, vegetable or mineral?” The boy replied, “Vegetable. I’M A HUMAN BEAN.”
ILL.- It was the little girl’s first day at school and the teacher was making out her registration card. “What is your father’s name?” She said, “Daddy.”
“Yes, I know he’s your daddy, but what does your mother call him?” “Oh, she don’t call him anything. SHE LIKES HIM.”
ILL.- The teacher said, “Why don’t you brush your teeth? I can see what you had for breakfast this morning.”
Boy, “What did I have?” Teacher, “Eggs.” Boy, “You’re wrong! THAT WAS YESTERDAY!”
ILL.- A girl student to a boy student, “Too bad you flunked the test. How far were you from the right answers?” Boy, “TWO SEATS.”
ILL.- A father was examining his son’s report card. He said, “One thing is definitely in your favor. WITH THIS REPORT CARD YOU COULDN’T POSSIBLY BE CHEATING.”
ILL.- A librarian said, “Please, be quiet. The people next to you can’t read.” The little boy said, “What a shame! I’ve been reading since I was six.”
ILL.- Johnny’s first day of school the class was to put their right hands over their hearts and repeat the Pledge of Allegiance.
The teacher watched the children as he started the pledge, "I pledge allegiance to the flag..."
She stopped when she noticed Johnny’s right hand over the left side of his rear end. "Johnny, I will not continue until you put your hand over your heart,” the teacher said.
Johnny replied, "Ma’am, it is over my heart." After several attempts to get Johnny to put his hand over his heart, the teacher asked, "Why do you think that is your heart?"
"Because whenever my Granny visits, she picks me up, pats me here, and says, ’Bless your little heart,’ and my Granny doesn’t lie!"
ILL.- Little Mary, just home from her first day at school, was asked by her mother, “Honey, what did you learn today?” “Not much,” replied Mary, “I’ve got to go back tomorrow.”
Back to school. Back to life. Back to reality. These words don’t sound the best, but reality is something that we all have to face whether it’s school, work, people or whatever.
PROP.- I want to share some thoughts that will help you in school and in all of life. In fact, these words apply to both young and old.
1- Pay attention to all in authority
2- Don’t give in to peer pressure
3- Make Christ the Lord of your life
I. PAY ATTENTION TO ALL IN AUTHOIRTY
Prov. 1:8-9 CEV “My child, obey the teachings of your parents, and wear their teachings as you would a lovely had or a pretty necklace.” Pay attention to your parents, your teachers, and all people in authority.
ILL.- A boy said to his father, “Dad, the principal said for me to invite you to a small meeting at the school.” “How small is the meeting, son?” asked the father. The boy replied, “IT’S YOU AND ME AND THE PRINCIPAL.”
Young people, if you don’t pay attention in school you could be asked to attend a meeting like that one! I’ve been to one of those before and I didn’t like it!
ILL.- My dad, who was a truck driver, used to say to me when I was a boy, “Pay attention to what you’re doing.” I guess he figured I had a problem with paying attention.
It’s always pays to pay attention in life. Not paying attention can get anyone into trouble regardless of what they’re doing.
ILL.- Let me tell you what happened to me one time because I didn’t pay attention. I don’t know how old I was, but my older brother and I were riding our bikes around town. We went down one street which was really great. It was all downhill and we could coast really fast. The problem was; I wasn’t looking in front of me. I was looking at my brother who was beside me and I was probably trying to talk to him.
Suddenly, I hit the back bumper of an old Ford, which was parked. BAM! My bike stayed where it was and I went flying over that Ford. I flew over the entire length of that Ford! I landed on my back with my head just in front of that car.
I don’t know what hit the pavement first; my head or my behind, but it knocked me out. When I woke up my brother was standing over me. He probably thought he had a dead brother on his hands. AND IT COULD HAVE HAPPENED! And all because I was not paying attention to my bike riding. And this is often why people have car wrecks. They are not paying attention to their driving. They are talking on their cell phones, combing their hair, putting on makeup, drinking something, etc.
Young people, it pays to pay attention to what you are doing!
I Peter 2:13 “The Lord wants you to obey all human authorities…” That means: parents, schoolteachers, Sunday School teacher, the police, etc. When you don’t pay attention to all human authorities, or when you don’t obey them you’re just asking for trouble.
ILL.- In high school I had a music class and the teacher’s name was Mr. Lawson. One day, I was playing around, not paying attention and Mr. Lawson caught me. DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO ME? Care to guess?
Mr. Lawson made me stand in front of all the other class members, bend over and grab my ankles and then he paddled me with a board!
What would happen today if you didn’t pay attention in school or didn’t obey? I don’t know, but one thing that might happen is that you might fail the course. Or perhaps you might get moved to the front of the classrooms or be sent to the principal’s office. I’m sure there are several things that could happen and I don’t think of any of them would be good.
Prov. 1:8 “Listen to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.”
Eph. 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right…”
ILL.- A little girl, when asked if she always came when her mother called her, said, “Yes, but sometimes I go so far away I can’t hear her call.”
What would happen to you if you didn’t hear your mother or daddy call? Or what would happen to you if you didn’t pay attention to your parents or obey them? I know what happened to me when I was young. I got into trouble with mom and dad.
ILL.- My parents told me to come straight home after elementary school and one day I didn’t do it. I went home with a friend of mine to play a while after school.
My buddy took me home some time later and my daddy was standing in the front yard waiting for me. WANT TO KNOW HOW HE GREETED ME? With his belt!
I paid the penalty for not paying attention to mom and dad.
Paying attention to all those in authority in life will pay you! You’ll be blessed for doing what you’re told to do whether it’s mom or dad, the schoolteacher, the police officer, boss, etc.
God will bless you for paying attention to all those in authority.
II. DON’T GIVE IN TO PEER PRESSURE
What does it mean, “don’t give in to peer pressure?” It means that you don’t do everything that everybody else is doing.
ILL.- A farmer saw a lot of crows picking up the seed he had sown in his field, so he took his shotgun and fired at them. All the birds flew away except one that lay wounded on the ground.
Going to the wounded bird, the farmer was astonished to find that it was his own pet parrot. Somehow it had escaped its cage and joined the crows in the field. Its wing was broken. The farmer picked up the wounded parrot and said, “Polly, this is what happens when you keep bad company.”
As he neared his house his little girl ran out to meet him. “Have you shot any crows, Dad?” she asked. He said, “I shot Polly,” and before he could say anything else, the parrot piped up and said, “BAD COMPANY! BAD COMPANY!”
I Cor. 15:33 “Don’t fool yourselves. Bad friends will destroy you.”
If nothing else, bad friends will get you into trouble.
ILL.- Benjamin Franklin once said, “He that lieth down with dogs, shall rise up with fleas.” If you don’t want fleas, don’t play with dogs that have them. If you don’t want to cuss, don’t run around with people who do. If you don’t want to get into trouble, don’t run with troublemakers.
ILL.- George Washington is reported to have said, “Associate with men of good quality if you care about your reputation; for it’s better to be alone than in bad company.”
Prov. 1:10 “Don’t be tempted by sinners or listen when they say, ‘come on!’”
When some people are saying, “Come on, let’s go do something even if it’s wrong,” DON’T YOU DO IT!
ILL.- I went all 12 years of school in Webb City, MO, which is near Joplin, MO. We lived only a short distance from Kansas, maybe 10 miles or so. WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT KANSAS? At that time you could buy beer in Kansas when you were 18 years old. I had many high school friends who were going to Kansas to buy beer even before they turned 18.
Some of them would say to me, “Come on, Steve, let’s go get some beer!”
Some temptations to do wrong are very obvious. Some are not so obvious.
ILL.- My dad smoked all his life. I knew that smoking couldn’t be good for a person, because I tried to smoke when I was young and all it did was make me cough. Besides, I had to wash the car windows inside dad’s car and they were horrible. He smoked in that car so much that the windows were stained with a yellow scum. I DIDN’T LIKE TO CLEAN THOSE WINDOWS.
But when I was about 18 years old I met a girl! A pretty girl! A girl I wanted to date, but she smoked. GUESS WHAT? I started smoking too. Bad news.
I didn’t smoke very long and I also didn’t date that girl very long, even though she was pretty.
Some people will tempt you in very clever ways. BUT DON’T YOU GIVE IN TO THE PRESSURE, TO THEIR TEMPTATIONS TO DO WRONG!
ILL.- One time a spider built a beautiful web in an old house. He kept it clean and shiny so that flies would come in. The minute he got a “customer” he would clean up on him so that the other flies wouldn’t get suspicious.
The one day a fairly intelligent fly came buzzing by the clean spider web. Old man spider came out and said, “Come in and sit with me.” But the fairly intelligent fly said, “No sir. I don’t see other flies in your house, and I’m not going alone.”
Soon after that he saw on the floor below a large crowd of flies dancing around on a piece of brown paper. He was delighted! He was not afraid since lots of other flies were there. SO HE CAME IN FOR A LANDING.
Just before he landed, a bee zoomed by, saying, “Don’t land there, stupid! That’s flypaper!” But the fairly intelligent fly shouted back, “Don’t be silly. Those flies are dancing and having a good time. There’s a big crowd. That many flies couldn’t be wrong.” AND YOU CAN GUESS THE REST OF THE STORY!
That so-called fairly intelligent fly was not so intelligent after all. Young people, be smart. Just because everybody else is doing something, it doesn’t make it right. Think before you do something. Don’t always follow the crowd. Don’t follow some people. BAD FRIENDS CAN GET YOU INTO TROUBLE.
III. MAKE CHRIST THE LORD OF YOUR LIFE
I Pet. 3:15 “Honor Christ and let Him be the Lord of your life.”
ILL.- One time a Sunday School teacher tried to encourage a boy to attend Sunday School, telling him that he would learn how to be a good boy and he replied, “There’s no use in my going to Sunday School. I already know how to be a better boy than I am.”
Most of us probably do know how to be better people than we are, but going to church and Sunday School can help us to become better people. Attending Sunday School and church are very important!
ILL.- In the 1930’s John Dillinger was the most notorious criminal in the country. He was a brutal thief and a cold-blooded murderer. From September, 1933, until July, 1934, he and his violent gang terrorized the Midwest, killing 10 men, wounding 7 others, robbing banks and police arsenals, etc.
He might have been different if some parents had been more understanding and compassionate. As a boy, John Dillinger was arrested for minor crimes and placed on probation. He was sent to Sunday school. But parents of the other pupils in the class protested and threatened to withdraw their children if this “criminal” remained in the class.
As a result, Johnny dropped out of class. He never returned. In less than twenty years he was Number One on the list of most-wanted criminals. SUNDAY SCHOOL AND CHURCH COULD HAVE MADE THE DIFFERENCE IN JOHN DILLINGER’S LIFE, but he wasn’t allowed to go. How sad and cruel.
The most important education you can get in life is in Sunday School and church, because you learn about Jesus. And Jesus is the one person who can make you into a better person.
But Jesus does even more than just make us into better people. HE SAVES US FROM OUR SINS AND PROMISES TO GIVE US A HOME IN HEAVEN WHEN WE BELIEVE IN HIM AND TRUST HIM!
The smartest people in the world are those who make Jesus the Lord of their lives. We all need to do this.
ILL.- The latest movie to hit the theaters is “Gigli” with Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, and most affectionately referred to as “Jenfleck.” And many people are Ben and Jen crazy. But I have read that if these people go see this latest movie that Ben and Jen made they think a whole lot less of them. NEVERTHELESS, BEN AND JEN ARE VERY POPULAR WITH THE AMERICAN PUBLIC! Boys are crazy about Jen and girls are crazy about Ben.
When I was a youngster one of my favorite stars was the King of the cowboys, Roy Rogers. And Roy Rogers was a lot different than many Hollywood actors today. He did more than just wear a white hat. HE WAS A GOOD GUY AND EVEN MORE THAN THAT, HE WAS A CHRISTIAN GUY!
Young people, who’s your favorite movie star? More importantly, who’s the star of your life?
ILL.- I saw a TV interview last week with Wynonna Judd, country western singer. She was asked the question: “Who is the one person you would like to talk to if you could?” DO YOU KNOW WHOM SHE SAID? Jesus.
Could it be she is a lot smarter than many of her counterparts in the entertainment world? I THINK SO.
ILL.- Someone said it this way: “Jesus is the only Somebody you can’t match.” How true! And this is because He is God’s Son and the Savior who died on the cross for us!
JESUS IS THE ONLY SOMEBODY NOBODY CAN MATCH! Young people, please make Jesus your Lord, Savior, King, Master, Hero! Believe in Him, trust Him, obey Him, be baptized into Him, live for Him!
CONCLUSION------------------------------------
ILL.- Some years ago a 9-year old boy robbed a bank in New York City. CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT? Yes, in our day and time, you can imagine that. You can imagine almost anything.
That 9-year old boy was 4’ 9” tall, and weighed only 90 lbs. He is reported to be the youngest bank robber in history.
But he wouldn’t have robbed that bank if he had paid attention to his parents, if he had listened to his schoolteachers and Sunday School teachers, and if he’d been following Jesus!
