Thank God For Teachers!

Thank God for Teachers!

Galatians 6:1-18

Sermon by Rick Crandall

McClendon Baptist Church - July 29, 2007

*We are not always as grateful as we ought to be. Here’s part of a quiz Richard Burkey put together to help measure your gratitude.

*Question 1: You are in the 10 item, cash only line with your 2 cans of green beans, 1 can of soup and a fresh $20 bill in your hand.

-The person in front of you has 15 items and a checkbook in their back pocket.

-How do you respond?

A. Gratitude for the Green Bean Bake your family will enjoy.

Or B. -- Yell at the cashier, “Checkout line violation! 15 items! 15 items!”

Question 2:

*You are driving your daughter to school, and as you drop her off, the car in front of you decides to just park there -- trapping you in the school parking lot.

-How do you respond?

A. You look out the window and give thanks for this time to stop and smell the roses and car fumes.

B. Grab the steering wheel tighter as steam comes out of your ears.

Or C. -- Honk your horn continuously until you sound out in Morse code: “Move your car!” (1)

*We are not always as grateful as we ought to be -- But today is Teacher Appreciation Day, and we really should be grateful for our teachers. Their faithful service is priceless!

*How can we show our appreciation to our teachers? There are all kinds of things we could and should do:

-Tell them.

-Send them a card.

-Have a party in their honor.

-Give them a token gift of appreciation.

*All of these things are good, but the best way to honor your teacher is to live out the truths they are teaching you.

1. In these verses, this first means treating other people with mercy.

*Godly teachers teach us to have mercy, as Paul does here in vs. 1-2, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

*“Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” He is talking about the law of love that the Lord gave us in John 13:34&35, where Jesus said:

34. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

35. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

*The only way that we can fully obey the law of love is to bear each other’s burdens. This takes kindness and love -- But sometimes it also takes forgiveness and mercy, because vs. 1 reminds us that Christians can be overtaken in sins and failures. He’s not talking about a sinner being caught by people. He’s talking about a believer being caught by sin.

*That could be you -- And it could be me, so what are the rest of us supposed to do? Paul says, “You who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”

*God wants us to restore them. It means to mend or repair or strengthen or supply. The word picture is a medical term having to do with a dislocated joint.

*What you have here is a dislocated member of the spiritual body. And I have never had a dislocated joint, but I know it’s very painful to have shoulder or hip knocked out of place. So restoration can be a painful process, but God wants us to forgive. God wants us to gently help the person to repent, and find the forgiveness that He wants to give.

*Pastor Larry Sarver once said:

-“When I was a police officer, I responded to several traffic accidents, some of them with very severe injuries. At the scene of these accidents there are three groups of people, each with a different response toward those involved in the accident.

*The first group is the bystanders and onlookers. They are curious and watch to see what happens but have little active involvement. The second group is the police officers, of whom I was one. My response was to investigate the cause of the accident, assign blame, and give out appropriate warnings and punishments. The third group is the paramedics. They are the people usually most welcomed by those involved in the accident. They could care less whose fault the accident was and they did not engage in lecturing about bad driving habits. Their response was to help those who were hurt. They bandaged wounds, freed trapped people, and gave words of encouragement.