Welcome to First Works Baptist Church.
If you could, could you please stand with me?
Turn your handles.
So song number 159.
Blessed be the name.
Song number 159.
Blessed be the name.
On that first verse.
All praise to him who reigns above the majesty supreme, who gave his son for man to die, that he might...
great seeing welcome to First Works Baptist Church we are having our
kindergarten graduation this morning this is why we have the balloons and
everything we want to honor the kiddos who accomplish that in their lives today
and of course their parents as well and so we're looking forward to a great
service let's go ahead and pray and we'll get started following we thank you so
much for this day we're thankful for our salvation we're thankful for Jesus Christ
and we're thankful for our church Lord thank you so much for parents who have
and all matters of life and education Lord and I pray that you bless this service and all
they're in Lord and I also pray that you bless the singing and most importantly bless the preaching
of your word please fill me with your spirit and your power Lord to edify the believers and I pray
that all things be done for your honor and for your glory we pray the things in Jesus name amen you
On 27, on that first verse.
Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to
Welcome to First Works Baptist Church.
Just a few announcements here before we proceed
with our graduation service.
If you did not get a bulletin,
go ahead and raise your hand.
One of the ushers can get one for you.
Some important information on there.
Of course, we welcome you to come back
to our evening service at 5 p.m.
We are having our high school graduation tonight.
And so we welcome you to come to that.
There will also be preaching and there'll be cake thereafter.
And so hope you can make it to that.
We also have a Thursday night Bible study at seven o'clock.
We are currently going through the book of Isaiah.
We're nearing the tail end of the book,
and so we're excited about that and hope to see you there.
We are a family integrated church,
and so infants and children stay with their parents
in the service, but for your convenience,
we do have mother baby rooms located in the building.
If you need to step out for a little bit,
maybe your child is getting a little fussy,
a little out of control,
you can ask one of the ushers
where those rooms are located,
and they can direct you to them.
Changing tables are available there as well as speakers and screens so you can still tune into the preaching and come back in at your discretion.
You see the so many times in teams listed there in the middle and the list of expecting mothers and we have an announcement to make.
We have a new mom on the list and so can I get it? Can you do drum rolls? I forgot. Can you do that? No?
Can you do it with your mouth?
No, I'm just kidding.
Well, we want to say congratulations to the caries.
Mr. Cole, I'm going to carry.
Congratulations to them.
And so we will be adding her to the list there.
It's exciting.
And then you see there the Stats for Salvation and Baptisms
for the month of April, great month there.
By the way, the team went out to Mexico yesterday
and they went out for about,
I want to say two hours or so,
two and a half hours, they got 11 salvations.
And so that was exciting.
On the right hand side is the upcoming church events.
We have, of course, the graduation ceremonies today.
And so much of the pre-service today
will be dedicated to the graduation,
but we also have preaching this morning.
And as I mentioned,
we have a graduation high school service tonight.
And so hope to see you then.
We do have an end of school party on Saturday, May 31st.
Parents, if you'd like to participate in that,
you can talk to my wife, Sarah, for more details.
Ladies, prayer breakfast is coming up on Saturday, June 7th,
meaning at the building at 10 a.m.
And ladies, I wanna encourage you to participate in that.
If you have any questions about that,
you can talk to my wife, not my wife, Sarah.
You can talk to Janelle Gonzales.
She's the one who heads that up.
And they go over, of course, they have a prayer list.
and all that, but they're really girly,
so you know, they decorate,
they have all kinds of nice little snacks and stuff.
The guys per meeting is a little different.
We just get pizza and soda and that's it.
But the ladies put a little more effort
into the atmosphere there,
and so ladies wanna encourage you to participate in that.
And then we have a Father's Day hike.
And yes, I will be participating, believe it or not.
Okay, on Saturday, June 14th,
we're gonna be meeting at 6.30 a.m.
And you see the address there, we're excited about that.
And so I'm actually getting into hiking, believe it or not.
Everyone's doing it, so I'm trying to follow the trend here.
But we're excited about that.
And so, man, I wanna encourage you to participate.
That'll be on that Saturday.
And we'll give you more details thereafter.
Please make sure you silence your phones
during the preaching, so as to not be a distraction
during the service.
And then, are you announcing this, are you doing this?
Let me just announce it.
There's gonna be cake and lemonade in the foyer.
After the service, so please allow graduates and their families to be dismissed first and we'll remind you
As soon as the service is over. Okay at this time again, we are going to be having our
K-5 graduation service where we honor and recognize those who have completed kindergarten
And so at this time the children are going to be making their way into the service
All right, at this time,
we'd like to acknowledge the parents
that put in all the work, of course,
to educate their children.
And so parents, if you could do us a favor,
please stand so we can recognize you.
All the parents, please stand.
Let's give these parents a round of applause
for all the work that they do.
Thank you, parents.
You may be seated.
At this time, we will be presenting diplomas to our K-5 graduates.
Feel free to take photos of your graduate.
Ms. Ashley will also be taking photos of each of them as well.
Graduates, please stand to receive your diploma for completing your course of study
and graduating into the first grade.
Leon Camacho.
Violet. Carry.
Naomi Gonzalez.
Lea Hernandez
Nicholas McEwen
Azayus Mejia.
David Rios
Let's give these kiddos a round of applause
Good job kids great job parents
Kids you are now dismissed little ones. You're now dismissed to go sit with your parents
So go ahead and you can go sit with your parents. Let's give them one more round of applause. They head back to their seats
All right, let's go ahead and sing our next song four hundred and fifteen victory through grace song number four fifteen
Number 415, your handles.
Sing our power song, victory through grace.
On that first verse,
conquering now.
for the offering, please turn your bibles to Proverbs chapter 23, Proverbs 22, Proverbs
chapter 22.
Proverbs chapter 22 Proverbs chapter 22 in the Bible reads the good name is
rather to be chosen than great riches and loving favor rather than silver and
gold the rich and poor meet together the Lord is the maker of them all a prudent
man foreseeeth the evil and hideeth himself but the simple pass on and are
punished a humility and fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life
Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward.
He that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.
Trannibal child in the way he should go,
and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
The rich ruleeth over the poor,
and the borrower is servant to the lender.
He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity,
and the rod of his anger shall fail.
He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed,
for he giveth of his bread to the poor.
Cast out this corner, and contention shall go out,
yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
Ye that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.
The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge, and ye overthroweth the words of the transgressor.
The slothful man saith, there is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.
The mouth of strange women is a deep pit, he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein.
Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far
from him.
Ye that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich shall
Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.
For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee, there shall be with all be fitted
in thy lips.
That thy trust may be in the Lord I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.
Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, that I may make
thee know the certainty of the words of truth, that thou mightest answer the words of truth
to them that send unto thee?
Rob not the poor because he is poor now they're oppressed the afflicted in the gate for the Lord will plead their cause and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them
Make no friendship with an angry man and with a furious man thou shalt not go. Let's now learn his ways and get a snare to thy soul
Be not that one of them that strike hands or of them that are sure at ease for debts
If thou has nothing to pay why should he take it thy bed from under thee?
Remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set
See a style man diligent in his business. He shall stand before kings. He shall not stand before mean men
Let's pray to Lord God. Thank you again for everything that you bless this way
I just ask that you would bless pastor me healing out with your Holy Spirit as he preaches unto us and please just give us
Years to hear it in Jesus name. We pray amen
Amen, okay, we're in Proverbs chapter 22 this morning and look down at your Bible as a verse number six
It says train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old
He will not depart from it and we'll get to that passage in just a bit
But the time I sermon this morning is in it for the long haul be in it for the long haul now typically for a graduation
You know the sermon would be directed towards the graduates, but you know, they're like five years old, you know
They don't really have a whole lot of sins or anything like that that I can really hit on and so we're not gonna
I'm not necessarily addressing them this morning and you know
Although much of what I am saying this morning does apply to them and of course they hear tons of sermons throughout
Throughout the year and throughout their lives are gonna hear a lot of sermons
I'm gonna specifically address the parents of the graduates. Okay, you know the children
I'm sure have done a great job and have merited this day of recognition for their accomplishments
But I really want to honor the parents because, you know, it takes a lot of work to educate
and homeschool your kids.
And so I do want to honor you and just kind of recognize you for your labor and for your
efforts.
But let me just say this is that the road is not complete.
The job is not done.
There's still a long ways to go.
And I want to encourage the parents of those homeschooling these little ones to stay in
it for the long haul.
Stay in it for the long haul stay homeschooling your kids for the long haul
And of course although I am addressing the parents this basically applies to everyone because the principles of this sermon applies all across the board to just being a Christian
And, of course, more specifically, for those of you who are going to be parents, you're
going to get married, you're going to have a family, you're going to remember this sermon
in the time to come.
You know, you still have a long ways to go.
We still have a long ways to go as parents.
Proverbs 22 instructs us as parents to train our children.
What does that mean?
It means to instruct our children, to equip our children.
mentally and, of course, more importantly, spiritually, right, putting them on the right
path, which, of course, we know to be God's path, so that when we are no longer in the picture,
we can, when we can no longer govern their lives and make them do the things that they're supposed
to do, protect them, make decisions for them, when we're no longer in the picture,
To help them, we can rest assured that the training we so heavily invested will not be in vain.
Because they will not depart from that path. They will not veer off the road that we have placed them on and so
That's why it's important for us to take this command serious to train up a child in the way
He should go so we leave no stone unturned. We leave no effort on the table
We put it all there in the lives of our children. We invest everything that we can to make sure that when we're gone
Years have passed that we're no longer in their lives so to speak
They are making the decisions that we envision for them to make to serve God and to be successful
This side of eternity. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, right?
You know, there are instances where this doesn't happen their instances where maybe children grow up and they choose the wrong path
despite our every effort
to help them to maintain the right one.
But let me just say this is that these exceptions should never deter us from trying.
It should never deter us from praying, from working, from weeping, and from loving our children on the path to doing God's will.
And so you say, well, I know of a horror story, but that should not deter you from still obeying this command to train up a child in the way that they should go.
The promise of Proverbs 22 is still true for us today.
I believe it and I hope you do too this sermon of course no directed towards the parents is applicable to everyone in
This room now go with me if you would turn with me if you're in Proverbs 22 go to Deuteronomy chapter 6 Deuteronomy chapter 26
I'm sorry Deuteronomy chapter 6
I'm gonna give you a couple principles this morning as far as how to be in this thing for the long haul
And again these principles apply to us as Christians just in general
And what do I mean by being in this thing for the long haul?
It means that you're not just like,
you don't just fizzle out in the first couple of years
of homeschooling.
You don't fizzle out as a Christian
in the first couple of months, in the first couple of years.
You're determined to serve the Lord
and grow in grace until the very end.
And you know, sometimes it is gonna be a bitter end.
Sometimes it might be a sweet end.
No matter what happens though,
we stick it out to the very end,
no matter what takes place.
We need to determine as Christians as parents that we stick into this thing for the long haul
Nothing's gonna deter us from fulfilling our responsibility as parents
And so I want to give you a couple principles on how we can do that
To be in this thing for the long haul number one
Let me let me start off by saying is that it begins what they biblical conviction
You see, homeschooling, educating your children, has to be a Biblical conviction.
Why?
Because if it's a conviction that's found in the Bible, it doesn't matter what circumstances
you find yourself in.
It doesn't matter what circumstances or situations may come about, it doesn't matter what afflictions
or trials you may experience, you're going to stay in this thing for the long haul because
it's your Biblical core conviction to do so.
You see, homeschooling isn't easy.
And one of the driving forces that keeps us and will continue to keep us doing it
is the biblical conviction to do it. Now let me say this is that, you know,
homeschooling is actually pretty popular right now, believe it or not.
It wasn't in times past, but now it's like a trend.
People like homeschooling, they think it's a great thing.
And in fact, over the last couple of years, in California alone,
300,000 students were removed from the public school system
and placed into homeschooling.
showing us that this is, you know, it's catching momentum.
Parents are recognizing the importance of educating
their own children, not placing them in the care
of someone else to do their job for them.
And so it's really popular, it's trending,
you know, it's somewhat of a flex.
You're like, oh, you know, what school do your kids go to?
Oh, I homeschool my kids, actually.
You know, I'm actually their teacher, you know.
Moms love to, you know, flex a little bit sometimes
and, you know, and post how they're homeschooling
I think it's a wonderful thing to homeschool and you know and by the way
reality is this though because we have little ones it's a lot easy it's very
easy right now okay and it's enjoyable right
But then you know it is gonna get hard though. Let me just be honest with you, okay, and it's gonna get more difficult
It's gonna get harder, especially when you get into the junior high years and the high school years and you know
You have we have the biblical conviction of having many children and so all of them have to be homeschool
It's gonna get tough. It's gonna get rough. It's gonna get difficult
It's gonna get hard and so it's during that time that we need to do it
Not because it's trending, not because it's popular, not because it's the thing to do,
not because you're flexing on your family, you're flexing on your neighbors, or flexing on whoever,
you do it because the Bible demands you to do it.
It's a Biblical conviction that you have and you say I'm going to do it no matter what whether it's easy or it's hard
I'm going to do this because the Bible demands for me to do it. It's out of conviction
You know and by the way you say where's the command? Well, how about Proverbs 22 verse 6 train up a child in the way?
He should go and obviously you can say well, what is that referring to specifically well specifically is just addressing all matters of life
Because when we talk about training our children,
it includes education, it includes training them
in their future vocation, it includes training them
on how to have social skills, it includes training them
how to work, how to have a work ethic,
how to possess wisdom, it includes just everything in life.
You're training them for life is what you're doing.
And of course, at the top of that
is training them spiritually.
Cultivating a heart for God because we want our children not just to be successful
educationally, but we want them to be successful spiritually more than anything else
To make their decisions based off of the word of God in other words to make decisions the way you make decisions
Which is out of conviction
Not out of convenience right look at Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse number 4
It says oh hero Israel the Lord our God is one Lord
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all
thy might.
And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart.
Notice the Bible is saying, you know, God's commanding us to love God, to cultivate a
heart for the Lord, to read the word of God, to obey the Lord.
This is the greatest commandment a Christian could ever keep is to love the Lord our God
with all our hearts, our mind and strength.
And it says that this commandment shall be in our hearts, meaning that we need to keep
this on the forefront of our minds day in and day out as adults, right?
and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children."
and shall talk of them when thou sittest in thine house,
and when thou walkest by the way,
and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up,
and thou shall bind them for a sign upon thine hand,
and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes,
and thou shall write them upon the post of thy house,
and on thy gates."
What does the Bible tell us here?
It's commanding parents to love God
with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength,
but then it says you need to make sure
that you also teach your children how to love God as well.
Now, someone may look at this passage and say,
well, this is only referring to spiritual matters.
Not necessarily because the Bible is telling us here
that we need to teach how to love God to our children,
but it talks about just making sure that we teach them
the Word of God.
And the Word of God encompasses not just loving God,
but it encompasses also how to live this life.
Because the Bible has everything that pertains to life and godliness.
Okay?
And it specifically says, you need to make sure
that you love God, you teach your children,
and you do it when they rise up in the morning,
when they go to sleep at night.
As they're going about their day,
you need to communicate wisdom,
you need to communicate the word of God.
Why is that?
Because you're training them for life.
And you know what?
That doesn't take place in an hour sitting here in church.
It doesn't take place in the Sunday school setting.
You know the majority of the education of your children comes from you.
Day in and day out training them.
And it even says, you know, bind these things upon your heart, put them on your walls, put
them on your doors, make sure that the Word of God is at the forefront of the minds of
your children because you want them to be molded in the Word of God to have that conviction.
Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 9 if you would.
1 Corinthians chapter 9.
Again, this passage is mainly talking about teaching our children about how to love the
Lord.
But this is the base from which your child's education should be built, right?
You want to make sure that your children get an education,
but you want to make sure that the greatest education they get
is from the Word of God.
You want to make sure that they are educating themselves
through the filter of God's Word
and gaining wisdom along with knowledge.
The biblical conviction to homeschool our children
is based on the fact that God entrusts us, as parents,
to educate our children in all areas of life.
That's what education is for, by the way.
is to equip us, to equip our children, for life.
I don't know about you, but I feel like
when I was in the public school system,
I didn't get a whole lot of education about life.
I got a whole lot of information about things
that I just don't use today as an adult.
Whereas, what the Bible is teaching is that parents should educate, of course, mathematics
and all types of academics and English and literature.
These things are important, but it's also important to just help them to be a successful
adult when they grow up.
To learn how to make the right decisions, to have the right judgments, to be successful,
to be diligent, to have character.
And let me say this is the responsibility according to the Bible lies solely upon the parents
He said, well, how do you know?
Well, the Book of Proverbs really is a record of a father
repeatedly instructing his son to give
he to his and his mother's laws, right?
He's like, my son, give heed unto my instruction.
And what does he address throughout the Book of Proverbs?
Well, having the right kind of company.
Let me say this, that is necessary for a successful life.
All I'll say this is that when I was in the public school system,
they're always getting an education.
I didn't have the right company.
The Bible teaches you need an education with the right company.
The book of Proverbs teaches children how to have the right company,
how to possess wisdom.
In other words, not just to have knowledge,
but how to actually display knowledge to have wisdom
to make the right decisions.
You can have a lot of knowledge.
You could have a lot of information,
but do you have the right judgment?
You have the right application of that knowledge the book of Proverbs is a father addressing his son
Educating his son regarding not just possessing wisdom not just having the right company, but also abstaining from destructive vices
This is part of education
It's not just educating them in mathematics, but it's also teaching them stay away from these sinful habits that could destroy your life
Stay away from destructive habits and sinful habits
and vices that can lead you down a path of destruction
and can destroy your life.
It also has wisdom.
It's a father addressing his son
to not just possess wisdom from destructive vices
to stay away from the wrong people,
but also to avoid debt.
A lot of instruction in the Book of Proverbs
about avoiding debt,
whereas it seems the public school system today
encourages debt.
Avoiding debt. How about this?
He also instructs his son to avoid laziness.
Man, that's so important.
Avoid laziness by being diligent.
We saw in Proverbs chapter 22 in verse 29,
he sees a style of man diligent in his business.
He shall stand before kings.
He shall not stand before mean men.
He's instructing the sun saying you know have you seen men who are diligent they have character in their vocation in their business
That man will rub shoulders with great men. He's not gonna rub shoulders with average men
That's what he's telling his son. This isn't necessarily a spiritual verse
This is a verse addressing success this side of eternity.
You see how the father is instilling within his son,
instilling within the listener,
the conviction of having a good education.
Education is not just mathematics,
it's not just literature, it's not just English.
It's just a well-rounded understanding
of how the world operates
and being able to function within that world.
Avoid debt, avoid laziness, have a good work ethic.
Hey parents, let me say this, if you want your children
to be successful, it's not necessary about the knowledge
they have, though that's important.
It's about them obviously making sure that they have
a good work ethic.
That in all labor there is profit, teaching them
how to have a job, teaching them how to work,
teaching them how to earn a paycheck, right?
Having a good work ethic.
It's something that is emphasized in the book of Proverbs,
possessing wisdom, abstaining from destructive vices,
avoiding debt, having the right type of company,
avoiding laziness.
It also teaches them how to get married.
That's your responsibility too, parents.
Making sure that you train your children
how to choose the right spouse.
Is that really education?
Absolutely.
Because let me say this, if your children have the greatest
of
Education they have the greatest of mental knowledge, but they choose the wrong spouse
It can end up
It could be in vain so to speak
to a certain degree
The book of Proverbs emphasizes this the book of Proverbs also as a father instructing his son how to have a budget
Hey, that's important. I wish
Schools would teach this, right?
I don't remember them talking about this stuff.
We were too busy doing like squares and triangles
and learning the hypotenuse of the what not.
Teach me about taxes.
Teach me about having a budget.
Teach me about Excel spreadsheets.
This would have been something that is profitable, right?
And I'm not saying all schools don't do this,
but in general, he's teaching his son
how to have a budget.
He's teaching his son how to handle money, how to be generous, but also how to be frugal.
These are wisdom principles that a father was instructing his son.
Hey, he taught his son, listen to this, how to be honest in business.
That's a wonderful virtue. So he's not only teaching them education
He's not only teaching them how to handle money how to get married how to have a work ethic
He's also teaching him virtue. He's also teaching him honesty
He's teaching him to be a functioning member of society that is pleasing unto the Lord and
Of course by doing this will allow God to bless your son bless your daughter in these areas
And then of course he teaches them how to just be a lifelong learner
that no matter how old you get,
education does not stop at when high school is over,
does not stop after college.
It continues, education continues
because we should be lifelong learners
to become better at what we do.
What am I saying?
What I'm saying here is that it should be
our biblical conviction as parents
to educate our children in life.
Now, please don't misunderstand me and say,
well, I'm just gonna teach my kids a budget,
but I'm not gonna teach them literature.
I'm not gonna teach them how to read.
No, they need to learn how to read.
And in fact, from what I've seen,
as far as high school is concerned,
some people graduate high school
without learning how to read,
which is absolutely insane.
And I remember being in school,
and I don't necessarily know what the age is now,
where children are learning how to read,
but I remember being in the second grade.
I specifically remember being in the second grade
and not knowing how to read.
And I remember having the understanding
that I didn't know how to read.
And I went into the second grade, and I went to my teacher,
and I vividly remember this.
I went to my teacher, and I said,
are we going to learn how to read here?
And she said, yeah.
And I said, good, because I don't know how to read.
And I think I told her that because I
was afraid that she was going to call on me to read.
It wasn't like a noble desire that I had like,
oh man, I want to learn how to read,
so I can just consume books.
It was out of embarrassment, you know?
It was like, man, because you know,
the teachers would be like,
Mr. Bruce, go ahead and read, you know, the paragraph,
and then you're just like, uh.
So I was just kind of like letting her know like,
hey, don't call on me, okay?
Until I learn how to read, right?
But hey, somehow, you know, and by the way,
this is an example.
You know that teacher so I don't remember how she did it, but she taught me
And obviously I had brothers and sisters who are also aiding me in that by the third grade
I was just consuming books and
So obviously it's important for us to realize that
Education is important learning how to read is important
You know what and by the way as a Christian learning how to read is extremely important
I would say is the most important thing a person can learn because our life is based around a book that we read every single day
Point that I'm making here is that making your conviction to educate your children and you think to yourself. Well, man
I'm not doing that. Well, you can start today though
You can start having that conviction today. The Bible says in Proverbs 19 verse 21
There are many devices that a man's heart nevertheless the counsel of the Lord that shall stand
It's a lot of ideas a lot of philosophies that are being pushed a lot of ideologies that are being promoted
But at the end of the day, we should have the conviction to say hey the counsel of the Lord that shall stand
It doesn't matter how convincing this trend is,
it doesn't matter how convincing this philosophy is,
at the end of the day, what does the Bible say
about my child's education?
I'll tell you what it says.
It says that you should be the one responsible
for educating your children.
If you're gonna be in this thing for the long haul,
you gotta make it a biblical conviction
to homeschool your kids and recognize
that it is in the Bible.
Secondly, let me say this is the,
if you're gonna be in this thing for the long haul,
you must be fueled by vision.
You gotta have vision.
I don't mean like a weird dream or anything like that.
You know it says train up a child in the way he should go
and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
You know what the Bible's trying to do here
is trying to get you to think of your children
when they're older.
Trying to get you to envision your children
when they are your age, when they are older.
You know what the Bible's doing here?
It's casting vision for the future.
essentially showing us that the decisions we make today will affect our
children when they're older tomorrow.
Train up a child in the way he should go when he is old. He will not depart from it
You know why we sacrifice today? You know why we bring our children to church today?
You know why we read the Bible today?
You know why we serve God today because we know that in the long term there's gonna be a time when they are older and
We don't want them to depart from the ways of the Lord when they are
Proverbs 29 verse 18 says where there is no vision the people perish, but he that keepeth the law happy
Is he?
Proverbs 27 verse 13, listen to this.
I had fainted.
I'm sure a lot of moms could attest to this here when homeschooling.
I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the
living.
I'm sure there's times when moms are just like, man, this is driving me crazy.
You know, I gotta learn this math.
I gotta learn how to teach them.
I got all these kids.
We gotta finish up school by the end of summer.
Not the end of summer.
Hopefully you've already finished school.
You know, I gotta finish up school.
They got their paces and it's just like, man,
I feel like I'm gonna faint because this is so hard.
But the Bible says here that he had fainted unless he had believed to have seen the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living
Meaning that he had the vision that his labor his work would be recompensed in the long run, which kept him going
Philippians 1 6 is being confident of this very thing that he which has begun a good work
And you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. I hope that you have a vision for your kids
Not just for today, not just for tomorrow, but for when they are older in the Lord. Look at 1 Corinthians 9 24
1 Corinthians 9 24 says no you not that they which run in a race run all
But one receive at the price so run that you may obtain and
Every man that strive it for the mastery is temperate in all things now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown
But we an incorruptible I therefore so run not as uncertain he's so fight I
Not as one that beat at the air. What is he saying?
The reason the Apostle Paul
Serve God in the capacity that he did with such fervor and zeal is because he was striving for an incorruptible crown
What is he saying? He had a vision for the reward that he will receive in the long term
And you know what let me say this for Christians, you know, you're not gonna stay in the Christian life very long
If you don't have a vision for your life
You know you should have goals as a Christian to say you know what I want to win a certain amount of people to Christ this year
By the end of the year, I want to see this many this many people saved
I want to be able to get this many people say, but you know what that's gonna cause you to make sure you go soul-winning today
That's gonna cause you to go soul-winning the next week
Why because you have a vision that by the end of the year you want a certain amount of people saved well in like manner
This also applies to our children
We want our children to be successful. We want them to prosper. We want them to serve God. Therefore, we shall sacrifice through thick and thin
Therefore, we will do all that we can to invest the time and effort into our children's education today
No matter how arduous no matter how difficult it may be
Why because we see that in the long term it will pay off
You know, I don't know about you, but I want my kids to have a great education, but I also want them more importantly to be pleasing unto the Lord
I want my kids to serve God
You know, I know that's not popular out there in the the public school system
That's not popular out there with the world
But you know it's it's important to God and it's important for us to raise children that yes
Are smart and have intellect and are very intelligent but more than that
It's more important for them to have the wisdom of God to please God and to serve God all the days of their life. I
Prefer my children to have God's hand of blessing on them
Then to have a quote-to-quote education now. I think they can have both and
I'm gonna strive my wife and I are gonna strive for them to have both
Let me just say this if I have to choose I would choose serving God
But thankfully I don't have to choose
Thankfully the Bible instructs me to educate our children in all matters of life
You know, I envisioned my children in their 20s
I envision my children in their thirties and you know how I envision them successfully serving God
Successfully winning people to Christ successfully leading a spouse
Successfully having children successfully training their children to serve God
We need to have vision
For our kids go to Psalm 127 if you would we're gonna go back and forth from the New Testament to the Old Testament
Psalm 127, strive for that incorruptible crown.
The Bible also says in Galatians chapter 6 verse 7,
Be not deceived, God is not mocked.
For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
For he that soweth to his flesh shall have the flesh reap corruption.
But he that soweth to the spirit shall have the spirit reap life everlasting.
And let us not be weary in well-doing.
For in due season, we shall reap if we faint not.
Hey parents, don't faint homeschooling.
Why because in due season you will reap if you faint not?
And
You know it could be a little weary
You can sometimes fall behind
Sometimes you feel like man. I just don't feel like I get enough in the day
I feel like we're just kind of not progressing as much as I would like to
But you know what? Take it one day at a time. Don't fain. You will reap the benefits of educating your children.
Look at Psalm 127 verse 3. It's a great passage here regarding children. It says low verse 3
Children are in heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his reward. Now. What does that tell us?
It tells us that we should or it shows us should I say
That we should lead our children in the ways of the Lord because God merits it
The children belong unto God
My children belong to the Lord
It's not necessary my decision of how to mold my children
No, in fact, the Bible specifically says that the fruit of the womb is his reward, right?
Says in verse 4, as arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of the youth
Essentially showing us that God views our children as mighty arrows in the hand of a mighty man
Why is that? Why does the Bible give us that that that that type of illustration?
We think of an arrow that's being shot from above goes further than the person who's actually shooting it goes
You know what we strive to have a quiver full of children in our church and we do have a quiver full
You know just stick around after the service, and you'll see the stampede of children just running around just watch her ankles
you know
But you know what the goal is is to take those children
Put them in that bow so they can go further for the Lord that we've ever gone
You know I want to succeed in the Christian life, but part of my success is making sure that my children succeed more than me
That's a great that's that that's a success story in my opinion
I want my children to win more souls to Christ to do more for God to be more successful
Prosperous in the ways of the Lord than I am look at verse 5
Happy is the man to have this quiver full of them. They shall not be ashamed
But they shall speak with the enemies in the gate go to Luke chapter 14 Luke chapter 14
You know to be in this thing for the long haul folks. We need to envision how far that arrow is gonna go
Think of each and every one of your children. Hey, man. I say I hope you're praying for your children
Every single evening every single night every morning that you're praying for the success of your children
praying for the new school year
praying for the and by the way, let me say this is that you know
along with praying for them
regarding their salvation, regarding them loving the Lord.
We need to pray that they become intelligent people,
functioning members of society who have a great education.
You know, part of letting our life's shyness Christians
is making sure that we as Daniel in Daniel chapter one
are 10 times better than what's being offered out there.
We wanna make sure that we produce
a pedigree of children, right?
that serve God, love God, but are also educationally on par,
if not more than what the world is offering.
You know, because a lot of people in the world,
they look down on Christians and like,
oh man, you Christians don't really know much,
and you know, we talk about real education.
Well yeah, we do offer a real education.
Now we don't have a Christian school,
we don't believe in Christian school.
We don't promote Christian school. I think that's more of
Christian churches trying to be like the world
Using principles of the Bible to try to promote that
But here's the thing is that the Bible does promote Christian education part of that Christian education is not just academics
But all but it's also teaching them righteousness
Justice mercy virtue things that will truly help them succeed in this side of eternity to be in this thing for the long haul
You better make it your conviction to be in this thing for the long haul you better have vision for your children
To be in this thing for the long haul. Let me say this it also requires sacrifice
It's a flex to say that you homeschool your kids, but let me say this it requires a lot of sacrifice
A lot of time goes into it
Look at Luke 14 verse 26
It says if any man come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brother and sisters
Yeah, his own life also he cannot be my disciple and his whoever does not bear his cross and come after me
Cannot be my disciple. What is Jesus saying? He's saying that the Christian life requires sacrifice
There's some things that got to go sometimes, right?
Even your own life also, it says.
And I want you to notice verse 28, for which of you intending to build a tower, siteth
not down first and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it.
Lest happily, after he hath laid the foundation and is not able to finish it, all that behold
saying this man began to build and was not able to finish.
Now what is this saying?
It's saying, you know, Christians, if they're not careful,
don't count the cost of what it takes to be a Christian,
to serve God.
And what ends up happening is that as they're building their spiritual tower,
they don't count the cost.
They experience persecution, affliction, hardships,
and what do they do? They quit on the Lord.
And what happens?
They feel like they don't have sufficient to finish.
They don't have the sufficient tools.
They don't have the sufficient resources
to finish the tower, the spiritual tower.
And then others say, oh, see, it was just a phase.
Oh man, see, I knew the whole Jesus thing was a phase.
I knew it was just the thing you were going through.
I knew it was just like a window.
You always do something like this.
Today is Jesus tomorrow, it's Buddha.
And what do they do?
They begin to mock you, right?
Which, by the way, this is a great motivation to just stick it out in the Christian life.
You know, we want to go ahead and show everyone, no, this isn't a phase.
I'm a saved Christian. I want to serve the Lord.
And I'm going to do it to the very end.
And here's the thing, though, is the Bible saying that, you know, he didn't count the cost
whether he had sufficient to finish it.
Why is it saying that? Does that say that we don't have sufficient resources
to finish in the Christian life?
No, actually, we have the sufficiency.
I think what the Bible is telling us here is that the person who does not finish does not take into account that he does have
Sufficient to finish it
He thinks he doesn't and therefore he does not finish the Christian life
But let me say this we all have the sufficiency which is of God to finish the Christian life
And may we apply this to homeschooling and say you have the sufficient resources
the will and the power
To finish your children's education before you send them out on your own on their own
Bible says the 2nd Corinthians 3 5 not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything of it as of ourselves
But our sufficiency is of God 2nd Corinthians 9 8 says and God is able to make all grace abound toward you
They ye always having all sufficiency in all things may abound to every good work
Go to 2nd Corinthians chapter 12 if you was 2nd Corinthians chapter 12
We have the sufficiency
You know, I think parents if anything understand what I'm saying here
Those who are homeschooling your kids because sometimes you think like I just don't think I have the smarts
To start homeschooling or to finish homeschooling. This is just really hard
But let me just remind you that what God commands. He also enables to do
If God commanded you to be a soul winner
He's gonna enable you to be a soul winner if God commanded you to provide for your wife and your children
He's gonna enable you to provide for your wife and your children
If God's commanding you to do some incredible feat
that you previously did not do,
and you feel like you're just insufficient for the task,
God will enable you to do so.
He always provides the sufficiency
to fulfill what he's commanding us to do.
It's not like God just drops commands on our laps
and just says like, you figure it out.
I don't know how you're gonna do that.
But you better do it though.
If not, you know, it doesn't work that way.
Now, let me say this, we go through seasons of feeling insufficient, not because we're
lacking sufficiency, but so that we seek the Lord for the sufficiency.
Because part of educating our children, part of serving God, is relying upon God, is depending
on the Lord, is having faith in God, so that we pray into God, we ask God for wisdom.
If any of you lack wisdom, let them ask of God, right, who give us to all men liberally
Hey mom if you feel like oh man, I just don't have the wisdom to complete this task. Let me ask you something
Have you prayed for wisdom?
Pray say God give me the intellect give me the sufficiency give me the knowledge
Give me the wisdom to impart it to my children in order to help them in their education
It's possible, my friends.
Look at 2 Corinthians 12 or 7.
And lest that should be exalted above measure through the abundance of revelations, there
was given to me a thorn in the flesh.
That's how homeschooling sometimes feels.
It's like a thorn in the flesh.
The messenger of Satan to buffet me.
Lest that should be exalted above measure, so that you don't become so prideful because
you're homeschooling, God often will allow it to be hard so that you don't become exalted
Verse 8, For this thing I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me, and He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness, most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me, therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in homeschooling.
in distresses for Christ's sake for when I am weak,
then I am strong.
What am I trying to communicate here?
I'm trying to tell you that you have the sufficient resources,
the sufficiency to fulfill your job as a homeschooling parent.
You can do it.
And we often tell parents, you just
got to know a little more than your kids.
Now, obviously, as the years go by,
you're going to have to learn a lot more.
But at the end of the day, I'm trying
to encourage you to stick it out for the long haul.
Staying it for the long haul. It's gonna get hard. It's gonna be tough. It's gonna be difficult
But at the end of the day, we need to make sure that we recognize that we will always have sufficient to finish
Always have sufficient to finish
Terminating if you went to Philippians chapter 3 Philippians chapter 3
Todd of the sermon is in it for the long haul
What a cute graduation, you know
They've got the little gowns, they've got their diplomas, took pictures, balloons, time
of celebration.
It's going to get hard though later on.
We need to make sure that we have these principles in mind when we do so.
If we're going to be in it for the long haul, we need to recognize that it requires sacrifice,
You know what homeschooling requires?
For you to have grit.
What's grit?
Firmness of character, indomitable spirit, courage,
fortitude, resolution, we could say stubbornness.
You know, a lot of people lack grit in our society today.
What do I mean by that?
They just quit.
Things get hard, it's just like, I quit, that's too hard.
They just can't handle when the going gets tough.
Folks, we need to build some grit,
some determination, some firmness about ourselves.
We need to be adamant, and you know what?
We need to be a little stubborn too.
Some stubbornness is bad, and we don't want to be
a negative stubborn type of person
where we just are not willing to adhere and listen.
We're talking about stubbornness so that we don't quit
when the going gets tough.
We need stubbornness in the Christian life.
Then when it gets hard, we don't just throw in the towel.
I'm just gonna look for a new church.
Well, I'm just gonna take a break from church.
Or I'm just gonna, you know,
I'm just gonna stop reading my Bible.
I'm just gonna take a break from Christianity
because you're just too hard.
Folks, it's when it gets hard,
when you push through that hard time,
then you become stronger as a Christian.
That's when you learn the most.
That's when you gain the most wisdom.
That's when you gain the most knowledge.
Don't throw in the towel when the going gets tough.
Because if you do, the lesson reoccurs once again.
And it gets harder each time because you quit.
You know, God allows afflictions in our life
in order to make us stronger emotionally, mentally,
and most importantly, spiritually.
And one of the things that I have to do as a pastor
is constantly encourage people, don't quit, don't quit.
I know it's hard, stick it out, keep going to church,
keep reading the Bible, keep winning souls.
You're almost there, it's gonna be okay.
And then once they come out of that trial, they're like,
hey, wow.
That's crazy. I was gonna quit
That's one that's like that's a large percentage of being a pastor it's just helping people not to quit
If we could just tell people like you're almost there
Like there's still light at the end of the tunnel. You're almost there and you're gonna be there
It's gonna it's hard right now, but it's gonna get easier tomorrow
Sufficient into the day is the evil thereof just stick it out. Just stick it out build some grit
And let me just say this, is that you need to teach your
children how to have some grit, too.
We don't want to raise up a generation of quitters.
Just when it gets hard, it just gets this, ah, this math
problem's too hard.
All parents know that voice.
Myself included.
It's just too hard.
You know, and sometimes we have to just motivate them,
incentivize them, you know, and give them rewards,
but sometimes we just need to be like,
you just need to sit down and do the math work,
you know how to do it.
Finish it up, you got this.
They need to learn how to do the hard things.
And not just quit when it's hard,
just because it's multiplication is hard,
just because division is hard,
just because literature is hard,
just because English is hard.
They just need to get it done.
and teach them to push through those hard things.
Because folks, if you are an adult in this church,
you know that life is just hard.
And there's a lot of hard things in this life.
And we don't have the luxury parents to just quit.
Work is hard, but you can't just quit.
That bill's to pay.
Life is just hard, but you just can't quit.
Why?
Because we have a life to live.
We have people to provide for.
People are depending upon us.
You know, we have a job to do.
And so the point that I'm making here is that
we need to make sure that if we're gonna be in this thing
for the long haul, we need to have some determination.
We need to have some grit and not just run away
from our problems, but we need to face our problems head on.
And with our kids, you know, it starts off with education.
Don't run away from the math problem, face it head on.
Don't run away from your homework.
Face it head on.
Don't leave it, don't sandbag the homework
and leave it to the very end.
Face it head on.
But parents, you need grit
and you need to stick it out for the long haul.
You need to have determination.
The Bible tells us that a just man falls seven times,
but it doesn't end there.
It says he rises up again.
So, you know, you might have had a hard school year this year, that's okay, get back up,
do better next year.
Look at Philippians 3, verse 10.
Let's look at the principle here, it says in verse 10, that I may know him in the power
of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering, be made conformable unto his
death.
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect, but I follow after if
that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do for getting those
things which are behind and reaching forth into those things which are before, I press
toward the mark for the prize of the High Calling of God in Christ Jesus.
I like what he says here.
You know, the Apostle Paul, we would say, according to our standard, that he did attain.
The man knows the Bible the man is godly the man started churches the man one souls to Christ
But what is he saying? He was like, I'm not gonna act like as though I've already I've already apprehended
I'm not gonna act like I've already attained. I'm gonna continue to strive for that prize
To strive for the mastery and parents if you did well this year great strive even more next year
Let's not rest on our laurels, right?
of this past year, do better next year,
improve next year, have grits.
When times get tough, do what is right for today,
especially if the future seems bleak.
Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
And you know what, you like,
yeah, I don't know what's gonna happen next year.
Well, you know what, take no thought for tomorrow.
For tomorrow shall take thought for the things of itself.
I just don't know what the future holds, none of us do.
But you know what? Take care of today. Take care of the paces today. Take care of the homework today.
Take care of the education today and leave everything else in the hands of God for tomorrow.
If you're gonna be in this thing for the long haul, you need to make sure you have some grit about yourself.
Have some stubbornness about yourself. Be determined to educate your children no matter how hard it gets.
Turn with me if you would to the book of Proverbs. Go to Proverbs chapter 13 if you would. Proverbs chapter 13.
Proverbs chapter 13. Let me just briefly review here. To be in this thing for the long haul, it begins with the biblical conviction.
It also, in order to be in this thing for the long haul, requires you to be fueled by vision.
Have a vision for your children. It requires sacrifice, counting the cost.
It's going to require you to maybe get out of your comfort zone in order to educate your children. Not only that,
but it also necessitates grip. Be determined. Be a little stubborn.
Just because it gets hard doesn't mean you should quit.
Just because it's hard doesn't mean that it's wrong to do.
Something that yields a good reward is often hard.
But next, let me say this,
is that to be in this thing for the long haul,
it does involve others.
You know, it's important for you to have a community.
Right?
Surround yourself with people who have what you want.
And this applies not just for homeschoolers,
it just applies for Christians, period.
Okay, you know if you want to succeed in the Christian life if you want to be in this thing for the long haul
You need to be around the people who want the same thing that you want and have the things that you want
Be around people who have succeeded in the areas that you want to succeed in right?
Surround yourself with people who are striving towards the product that you are seeking to obtain
Look at Proverbs 13 verse 20
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed
You know, it's important for us as Christians to be recognized man
If I want to be a successful Christian who win souls to Christ
I got to be around successful successful Christians who are winning to be put to Christ
If I want to be a Christian who's pleasing unto the Lord holy and righteous
I got to be around other holy righteous Christians
If I want to be a Christian who's knowledgeable
about the Word of God, I gotta be in a church
that's knowledgeable about the Word of God.
Why?
Because our environment ends up molding us,
helping us, exhorting us towards that desired goal.
You know, parents, one of the best things you can do,
this is why they have homeschooling groups, right?
This is why we have a homeschooling group, because what better people to help you to homeschool than those who also have the right convictions from the Bible?
Because not everything that's homeschooled is is Christian.
Okay, a lot of weird groups out there and
you know sometimes
You know you get around people who don't necessarily they have the right objective when it comes to homeschooling, but they don't have the right spiritual objectives
And remember, the spiritual is the top tier.
That's what's most important.
And so get around people who are striving
for the same spiritual targets
that you are striving for, for your children as well.
Go to Proverbs chapter 15.
Proverbs 15, I'll read to you from Proverbs 11 verse 14.
It says, where no counsel is, the people fall.
But in the multitude of counselors there is safety the Bible says hey
If you're struggling to homeschool get around the homeschoolers of our church get around those who have succeeded in that area
Get some advice get some counsel. Don't try to do it alone
You're more likely to quit you're more likely to throw in the towel when you don't have people who have succeeded in that area
But for some reason, you know, we obviously know that misery loves company, but so does success
When we see other people succeed in that area
that we want to succeed in,
as long as you're not a hater,
you're like, you know what?
There's hope for me.
Haters would be like, you know.
Don't be a hater, you'll be good to go.
But if you see someone succeeding in the area
that you want to succeed in, you're like,
okay, that gives me a lot of vision.
That gives me a lot of hope.
That gives me something to strive for.
These parents have succeeded in this particular area.
Let me go ahead and emulate what they're doing.
Let me ask them questions.
Let me get around them to help me in this area.
Where no counsel is, though, people fall.
Look at Proverbs 15, verse 22.
Once again, without counsel, purposes are disappointed.
You might purpose within your heart to start homeschooling this year
You're like, oh man, we're gonna homeschool and I'm gonna be posting on Instagram about homeschooling
Everyone's gonna see that I'm a homeschooler
But then if you don't it gets kind of hard it gets a little difficult your purpose might be disappointed
So what's the remedy? But in the multitude of counselors, they are established get around people who can help you
educate your children
Not by them educating your children, but by imparting it to you some of the things that they did in order to succeed in
Homeschooling Proverbs 24 verse 6 says for by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war and in multitude of counselors
There is safety the Bible says what's the point that I'm making?
Point that I'm making is that if you're gonna be in this thing for the long haul you need to involve others
Who have the same objectives as you do? Okay?
Go to Psalm actually go to John chapter 21 John chapter 21
Here's my last point
My longer sermon is for it's tonight
For brother Josh. I'm just kidding. Where's he at around here somewhere usually sits over here
Where is he?
Oh, there he is.
He's graduating tonight.
Here's my last point.
If you're going to be in this thing for the long haul,
you better enjoy the process.
We like the beginning, and we definitely like the end.
But really, as a Christian, you just
got to enjoy the process.
In order to endure, I mean, in order to really make it through,
no, you're our endurance sometimes,
you have to enjoy what you do.
And you know what?
Enjoy the process of homeschooling your children.
Yeah, it's frustrating.
Yes, it's hard.
Yes, there's spankings involved, hopefully.
Amen.
There's discipline, you know,
but at the end of the day,
it's a wonderful thing to be able to educate our little ones.
To see them reach these milestones of reading arithmetic learning new things reading books
It's a blessing to see that and you know you have to love the process
You know when it comes to powerlifting you have to love the process
We all love the PRs and the days when we lift
Insurmountable amount of weight and you know all that but really the week-to-week work is the most important thing though
And that's the part you have to enjoy the most
to make it through.
The PRs are just like the party days.
It's the weekend, week-out work that you put in.
And you know what?
This is the PR, right?
The graduations are the PRs.
But, hold on a second.
It's easy to like the PRs.
It's easy to like the graduations.
It's the weekend, week-out work that you put in
to educating your children you have to fall in love with.
Look at John 21 says,
Verse 19 this fake he signifying by what death he should glorify God and when he had spoken this he saith unto him
Follow me then Peter turning about see the disciple whom Jesus loved following. This is referring to John
Which also lean on his breast at supper and said Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?
Peter seeing him say to Jesus Jesus Lord and what shall this man do?
Jesus sayeth unto him, if I will that he tarry till I come,
what is that to thee, follow thou me?
Now what is the Lord telling Peter?
Stop worrying about what everyone else is doing.
Focus on you following it.
You need to make sure that you follow me,
serve me, walk with me.
Who cares what I have this guy do?
And let me say this, you know, stop looking at everyone else
and what everyone else is doing.
How everyone else succeeded and you didn't or how everyone else did not succeed and you did
You need to make sure that you do you
Hey, you do you
Comparison can often rob you of contentment and happiness and
Often we need to compare notes in order to help us right in our endeavors
But at the end of the day you need to make sure that you enjoy what you're doing with your kids
That you're enjoying your schedule with your kids that you're enjoying the process of homeschooling your children
That you're enjoying those moments of education of teaching them
And you know what don't compare yourself to other families other homes
Oh, man, there's just seems as though they're doing so much better than us
Oh, why don't you just enjoy what you're doing with your kids though?
You know what every kid grows at a different rate
You got one kid that's really good at English another kid is really good at math other kids
Just not good at either, but they're good at history. They're good at they just grow at different rates
different paces right
We just need to make sure that we enjoy whatever it is that God enabled them to do and help them to strive to be the best
They can be to help them reach their peak
To help them to be educated to do what they're supposed to do enjoy the process with your children
Enjoy this day with your children
Why because you know if you're gonna be in this thing for the long haul you have to enjoy the process you have to enjoy homeschooling
It's not always arduous. It's not always difficult. Sometimes it is but you know most of the time is just enjoyable. It's just what life is
Enjoy it. What's the sermon this morning? The sermon is for the parents
great job parents
But I hope you're in it for the long haul I hope next year
We can meet again that your children are still being homeschooled
They're still being educated. There's they're still learning
They're still increasing in their knowledge because of the effort that you and your husband have put in
May you be in this thing for the long haul and Christians in general be in this thing for the long haul
You're gonna experience a lot of great days in the Christian life
Wonderful days, exciting days, successful days.
Oh man, but there's a lot of valleys too though.
And I hope that when you hit the bottom of the barrel,
when you hit the valley, you don't think to yourself,
well, it's time to move on.
No, it's time to keep on keeping on,
is what you need to say.
You know, the going gets tough, well, keep going,
no matter what.
Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word. Thank you for the principles thereof.
Thank you for parents who have made it their priority to
educate their children, Lord. And it's not an easy task.
We have a long trek ahead of us, Lord, and through the decades of our church,
these little ones who graduated today, one day we're going to be celebrating their junior high graduation.
One day we're going to be celebrating their high school graduation.
Lord, one day we're going to be celebrating their marriage.
One day we're going to be celebrating their first child.
One day we're going to be celebrating the successes that they have in their life.
I hope that we as parents can envision that, that we can think about that.
Because it's pleasant to think upon, but it's also motivating us to make the right decisions today.
To discipline today, to educate today.
And I pray that you help us as parents to do so.
Please give us wisdom, Lord, to help our children
to be successful this side of eternity,
but more than anything, not just successful
in their education, but successful in the Christian life.
That they would love you with all their heart,
soul, mind, and strength.
Help us to train them in the way they should go
so that when they are old,
they will not depart from the ways of the Lord.
We love you.
We thank you.
Pray the sins in Jesus' name.
song number 288 I am resolved song number 288 song number 288 on that first verse
I am resolved no longer to linger charmed by the world's delight
dismiss the graduates and to be able to go back and enjoy the food back there.
We'll go ahead and dismiss them first if you could and then after that everybody else behind them. Thank you.
Thank you very much.