Kindergarten Sisdom

But like the prophets of old, we are people of unclean lips who dwell amidst a people of unclean lips.

But we are not to fear, for we have a God who promises to forgive us our transgressions.

If we but come to him with honest repentance, let us silently confess our sins.

Rock of ages, be our fortress and our shelter in troubled times, be our strength and our courage when we are afraid.

Be our grace and our forgiveness when we fall short.

Be our inspiration and our guide when we strive to serve you and your world fully.

In hope and gratitude we pray.

Amen.

Let us silently confess our sins.

Amen.

We come here to the waters of baptism and are reminded that we are made clean, that we are given life and love, hope and peace.

Know that you are forgiven.

Praise be to God.

Amen.

It's a little bit different today.

But we have something special happening.

And there's the little baby.

Jameson.

Can you say Jameson?

Or can you say hi to Jameson?

Hi, Jameson.

Hi.

Oh, he's so cute.

You have a little bitty baby, Ricky, yes, that was just born.

Well, he's a bit bigger than Ricky.

Yeah.

So I wondered today for a baptism.

Uh we celebrate him being part of the church family.

And since we're all God's children, no matter whether we've been baptized or not, we're all God's children.

We're all part of this family.

And it's important for all the children at First Press to make some promises of what we'll do to help Jameson as he grows.

And so there's going to be someone who asks a question for the congregation.

And that's part of you guys.

But I thought we could answer some pro we could say some promises that we'll make for Jameson.

And I thought you could help me.

You think you can do that?

Because you guys have a different role because you're kids.

And sometimes kids listen to big kids, don't they?

Way better than parents sometimes.

Sometimes not that great though, huh?

But they might learn from you and you can teach them.

You think?

So I when I'm gonna say what I'm gonna say is I'm gonna ask you each promise, and I'll say at the very end, will we?

And I'll say, will we?

And then you'll say, we will.

You got that?

So let's practice.

Will we?

Question, question, question, question, question.

Will we?

We will.

Okay, you think you can do it?

Are you ready?

So we're promising to God and to Jameson.

Okay?

So these are big important promises.

Okay, will we tell Jameson that God loves him?

And will we tell Jameson that we love him?

Will we?

We will.

Oh, good job.

Will we pray and help Jameson?

Will we?

We will.

Will we share the stories of Jesus with Jameson?

Will we?

We will.

Okay.

You made some good promises.

Yeah, and he heard you.

He says he's ready.

He's ready for you to pray for him and remind him how much he's loved.

So I want to show you something that we have for Jameson and their family.

We have a framed picture with his name on it, Jameson Michael, and it has the baptism date, August 23rd, so that they can hang it and remember this day.

And then we also have this book, The Baptism of Your Children.

Oh, there we go.

The pastor has way too much stuff in his pockets.

And now he has dead batteries.

I won't put those back in my pocket.

I could throw them away.

So I have a little prayer that I want to say with you.

A blessing for Jameson.

You think you can help me?

If I can find it, huh?

So here it is.

Here it is.

Too many papers.

And I got batteries now.

Huh.

Old batteries.

Okay, this is a prayer together.

I want you to repeat after me.

This is for Jameson.

Jameson, may God bless.

Jameson.

May God bless and keep you.

And keep you now and forever.

Amen.

He's saying the prayer too.

That's so good.

Okay, now you guys get to sit with Miss Siobhan up here, I think.

Okay, we'll have you up here.

Gotta get rid of all this stuff like my wallet.

That's not even helpful, is it?

Hi, Jameson.

Jameson, Michael Casson, son of Adam and Erica Casson.

Hear the words from Holy Scripture.

In baptism, God claims us and seals us to show that we belong to God.

God frees us from sin and death, uniting us with Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection.

By water and the Holy Spirit, we are made members of the Church and the body of Christ and joined to Christ's ministry of love, peace, and justice.

Let us remember with joy our own baptism as we celebrate this sacrament.

On behalf of the session, I present Jameson Michael Cassen, son of Adam and Erica, to receive the sacrament of baptism.

Adam and Erica, do you desire that Jameson Michael be baptized, do you?

And relying on God's grace, do you promise to live the Christian faith and to teach that faith to your child, do you?

Do you, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ, promise to guide and nurture James and Michael by word and deed with love and prayer, encouraging him to know and follow Christ and to be a faithful member of this church?

If so, say, we do.

We do.

Trusting in the gracious mercy of God, do you turn from the ways of sin and renounce evil and its power in the world?

Do you?

Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Lord and Savior, trusting in his grace and love?

Do you?

Will you be Christ's faithful disciple, obeying his word and showing his love?

Will you, with God's help?

Good job.

We got this.

Let us pray.

We thank you, O God, for the water of baptism.

In it we are buried with Christ in his death.

From it we are raised to share in his resurrection.

We ask you to pour out your spirit upon us and upon this water, that this font may be your womb of new birth, and may all who pass through these waters be delivered from death to life, from bondage to freedom, from sin to righteousness.

Bind them to the household of faith, guard them from all evil, strengthen them to serve you with joy until the day you make all things new.

To you be all praise, honor, and glory through Jesus Christ our Savior, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns forever.

Amen.

There we go.

James and Michael, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Oh Lord, uphold James and Michael by your Holy Spirit.

Give him the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence both now and forevermore.

Jameson Michael, child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and grafted into Christ forever.

Amen.

And now it is my pleasure to introduce and welcome our newest member of our church family.

Can you say hello?

These are your church, this is part of your church family.

And our task, we've made some promises that will help you.

Help mom and dad.

Learn about God.

He's doing good.

This is part of your church family, and we're gonna love you and care for you.

And when things are tough and you might not listen to mom and dad, you can come here and we can, you can, we'll listen to you.

We'll help you.

What a joy to welcome.

Yeah, it's such an exciting day, huh?

To welcome Jamis and Michael.

Oh, I see that smile.

Well, blessings on you.

Oh, there's a smile.

You did so good.

We're so glad you're part of our church family.

To prepare our hearts for scripture, let us pray for elimination together.

The blessed Lord, who caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning.

Granct us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

The first scripture reading is from Proverbs chapter 1, verses 1 through 9.

Proverbs 1:1–9

Let us listen to the word of God, the Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, King of Israel, for learning about wisdom and instruction, for understanding words of insight, for gaining instruction in wise dealing, righteousness, justice, and equity, to teach trueness to the simple, knowledge and prudence to the young.

Let the wise also hear the gain in learning, and the discerning acquire skill.

To understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Hear, my child, your father's instruction, and do not reject your mother's teaching, for they are a fair garland for your head and pendants for your neck.

This is the word of the Lord.

I'm sorry to have my back to some of you.

You're not missing much.

This is just one of my favorite songs about joy.

The spirit of it, the text is maybe something we can all take with us into the week when we leave this place.

It's called That's Where the Joy Comes From.

He is the giver with the receivers, so what you see in me is only a gift from the Spirit of life who fills my heart constantly.

From the Lord of love, this joy that I have that I'm singing of is from the love.

Every perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of light, from the Lord of love, this joy that I have that I'm singing of is from the Lord, from the love.

That's where the joy comes from.

That's where the joy comes from.

But they don't hold the key that leads into the time to hurry.

Where God's mirror lives in music is the builder.

I am the temple.

So what you see in mute is what is making and safely protecting until I stand completely.

From the Father of light, from the Lord of love, there's joy that I have that I'm swinging of.

From the Father of Light, from the Lord of love, this joy that I have that I'm swinging of.

From the love.

And whatever else you get, get insight.

Prize her highly, and she will exalt you.

She will honor you if you embrace her.

She will place on your head a fair garland.

She will bestow on you a beautiful crown.

Hear my child and accept my words that the years of your life may be many.

I have taught you the way of wisdom.

I have led you in the paths of uprightness.

And when you walk, your step will not be hampered.

And if you run, you will not stumble.

Keep hold of instruction, do not let go, guard her, for she is your life.

Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evildoers.

Avoid it, do not go on it.

Turn away from it and pass on, for they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong.

They are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.

They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence, but the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.

The way of the wicked is like deep darkness.

They do not know what they stumble over.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

If you had the chance to share your wisdom.

With younger generations, I wonder what kinds of things you would tell them.

Imagine if you had a chance to raise your children over again with your added years of wisdom gathering.

What pearls of wisdom would you bestow upon this next generation?

Proverbs is a collection of wisdom that one generation is passing on to future generations.

Proverbs 4, 7 says, The beginning of wisdom is this.

Get wisdom.

Prize her highly.

Notice that wisdom is a she.

Maybe C.S.

Lewis had it right in Prince Caspian.

Just as the children are lost, one brother says to the other, That's the worst of girls.

They never can carry a map in their heads.

And the sister replies, That's because our heads have something inside them.

The word in Hebrew for wisdom is Hakma.

It's related to skill or care and came to imply skill in living.

And those who created the word probably knew that it was best to be a feminine noun.

Because they've got more than maps in their heads.

Being taught wisdom is like being led in paths of uprightness.

If we follow the instruction of the wise, if we don't let her go, we will not go down the path of the wicked.

And we'll fulfill Proverbs 4.18, which says the path of righteousness, brightness, righteous, is like the light of the dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.

Today, as we celebrate a baptism, we're reminded of how we have promised to pray for and nurture and help children in receiving God's love.

Just as Proverbs 3, 3 through 6 says, let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.

Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways, submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Author and Pastor Robert Fulgrim wrote a book entitled All I Really Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten.

Listen to what this author says about wisdom learned as a young child.

He says, Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandpile at school.

These are the things I learned.

Share everything.

Play fair.

Don't hit people.

Put things back where you fatten them.

Clean up your own mess.

Don't take things that aren't yours.

Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.

Wash your hands before you eat.

Flush.

Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

Live a balanced life.

Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon.

When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.

Be aware of wonder.

Remember the little seed in the styrofoam cup, the roots go down and the plant goes up, and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice, and even the little seed in the styrofoam cup.

They all die.

And so do we.

And then remember the Dick and Jane books and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all.

Look.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere.

The golden rule and love and basic sanitation, ecology and politics, and equality and sane living.

And the kindergarten essay continues.

Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk at about three o'clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap.

Or if all governments had, as a basic policy, to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.

And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it's best to hold hands and stick together.

The book of Proverbs are much like these pearls of wisdom, little nuggets, simple phrases of wisdom.

Every child, youth, or adult can benefit from these pearls.

Just want to share a few proverbs that sound a little like this kindergarten wisdom.

A cheerful heart is a good medicine.

Do not wear yourself out to get rich.

The root of the righteous will never be moved.

If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, or else having too much, you will vomit it.

It's in there, 2516.

It's not wrong either, is it?

Another one, iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens the wits of another.

Let your eyes look directly forward and your gaze be straight before you.

Keep straight the path of your feet, and all your ways will be sure.

Do not swerve to the right or to the left.

Turn your foot away from evil.

The rich and the poor have this in common.

The Lord is the maker of them all.

Obviously, the world is more complicated than kindergarten, but it makes you think twice when remember simple antidotes we learned as children and how they can be applied to life.

Unfortunately, the best way to acquire wisdom is through trial and error.

Proverbs 24, 16 reminds us, for though the righteous fall seven times, they will rise again.

The wicked are overthrown by calamity.

Everyone makes mistakes, but the wise person learns from them.

If this is true, what mistakes would you teach the next generation about?

What trials have you gone through that you ought to pass on?

As a young teenage driver, my dad used to tell me all these things I shouldn't do.

He'd say, Don't forget to check your oil every time you put gas in your car.

And I'd roll my eyes and I'd think, engines don't eat oil or leak like they used to, Dad.

They make cars better than they used to.

Yet he kept telling me to check the oil.

And I'd think, whatever, dad.

And then as an adult, my mom told me a story about how they went on a trip and they drove all day and all night.

And in the middle of nowhere on vacation, the car just quit for some reason.

And a mechanic looked at it and he said, There's no oil in your engine.

And they ended up on their vacation having to buy a whole new engine.

And the car never drove right after their vacation.

Now, if my dad would have just checked the oil, it would have never happened.

If my dad had told me that story, I might have checked my oil as a teenager.

And I've now discovered that when my ta dad tells me don't do this or don't do that, those are words of experience talking.

Words of trial and error.

There's pearls of wisdom.

There's a story behind those don'ts.

I wonder if there's a story behind that, Dad.

And then he tells me the story.

In Chef Ramsey's show, Kitchen Nightmares, his goal was to help a failing restaurant be successful again.

One time he was giving advice, and the owner didn't want to hear it.

Just as Proverbs 15:1 says, a soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Proverbs 15:1

Then all of a sudden, Chef Ramsey said, Hey, I failed many restaurants.

I know what it's like to mess up.

And I want to be a success without those failures.

You're gonna do just fine, and I want to help you get out of this, but you have to listen.

Proverbs 16, 24 says, pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul, health to the body.

The wisest people I've met are those who share in ways others can hear without judgment or criticism, without compassion, with compassion and love.

And because Chef Ramsey shared about his personal failure and knew how it felt to mess up, the restaurant owner listened in a way that he hadn't before.

Proverbs 16, 16 says, How much better to get wisdom than gold.

To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

Any wisdom you or I might gain or share begins with God and it ends with God, and like Solomon recognized, is given by God.

I encourage you to read through all the Proverbs and listen for the wisdom of generations past.

For reminded in Proverbs 1:7, the fear of the Lord is a beginning of knowledge.

Proverbs 1:7

Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Sometimes it's hard to hear that because it says fear, but it means honor and respect.

The honor, the respect, the love of the Lord is a beginning of knowledge.

Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

You might be surprised of how many of these pearls are exactly the words of wisdom that you're looking for God to guide you in your life.

We have much to learn.

Sometimes through easy ways, sometimes through challenging ways.

But we will try and try seven times so that we can stand straight with our Lord.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

If you found this podcast inspirational and would like to support the First Love Ministry programs at First Presbyterian Church, please send any contributions to First Presbyterian Church at 870 West College, Jacksonville, Illinois.

Our zip code is 62650.

Our phone is 217-245-4189.

You can contact our secretary there for 20 hours of 989 and 4 p.m.

Monday 30.