I Shoulda Been A Cowboy (Kid's Club Comments)

I just want to leave you with some final thoughts to think about before we all enjoy our food and fellowship.

Howdy folks, it's been a great week.

Good to see you all here today, gathered here on this patch God's earth, like gathering for a cattle drive or to mend fences.

We gather because, deep down, all of us know there's something more to life than just the work we do, and that something, of course, is the Lord God, who made everything, including us, and who moved heaven and earth to connect us with him through his son, jesus Christ.

Of course, our theme this summer was how to become real cowboys and cowgirls and also how it parallels what we need to do to become a real Christian.

You know, growing up I used to watch all the shows that had cowboys in it.

My cowboy heroes on TV were Roy Rogers, the Lone Ranger, matt Dillon.

You know I looked up to them.

I wanted to grow up and be a cowboy, I remember as a little guy.

Instead, god made me a pastor.

I rope and ride a little differently than a cowboy does, but nonetheless I understand how God has a plan for each of us.

Cowboys know about working the land and working hard and living in the dusty part of the land.

They understand the need for a good horse, a reliable horse, a good rope and a watchful eye.

They know about the vastness of the sky and the hard ground beneath Out.

On the open range things can get tough too.

Storms roll in without warning, as we saw this week, and cattle can wander off and there are dangers everywhere.

While we talked about life as a cowboy, we also talked about life as a Christian.

Jesus actually tried to tell us what it was like to be leave in him and become a Christian, and you know he often used stories that people could relate to to explain that to him.

He told stories about farmers and fishermen, and you know what.

He told stories about shepherds and sheep, and for those under the open, wide sky, the injury hits close to home for every cowboy and shepherd.

Cowboys, you see, look after their herd and shepherds look after their sheep.

Jesus said I am the good shepherd.

The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.

Jesus said I am the good shepherd.

The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.

You know what did Jesus mean by that Laying down his life?

Well, here's how Jesus himself explained it in Mark 10, 45.

He said, for even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Well, why did he say he's giving his life as a ransom for many?

Well, after Jesus died and rose again from the dead, he gathered his disciples together and he told them why he had to give his life and die.

And we read about it.

What he said in Luke, chapter 24.

Luke 24 · chapter mention

Jesus said to them thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and die and rise again from the dead on the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

You know what Jesus is telling us and telling them?

That God sent him to suffer and die and be raised from the dead so he could be the one to take God's punishment for our sins and then we could be forgiven.

And, as a result, listen to what Jesus told a man by the name of Nicodemus about what was going to happen in John, chapter 3.

John 3 · chapter mention

For God so loved the world.

Jesus said to him that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send the son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

He who believes in him is not judged.

He who does not believe has been judged already because he's not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Jesus is saying that when we believe in him as our Savior, we can be forgiven of our sins and have received eternal life.

The truth is, we all need Jesus.

We have all sinned against God and God's word says the wages of sin is death, separation from God, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Believing in Jesus Christ, this is very, very important.

Believing in Jesus Christ and receiving him as our Savior means the difference between eternal death and eternal life.

That's what Jesus is telling us.

A good rancher or a cowhand looks out for their herd and a good shepherd looks out for his sheep.

And you know what?

Jesus came as the good shepherd and did the ultimate act to protect us.

He faced down our greatest enemy of all, sin and death, and laid down his life for us.

His sheep, you know.

Think about the parables that Jesus would tell about lost and found things like lost sheep.

He told the parable of a shepherd with a hundred sheep and he said if one goes missing, the shepherd leaves the 99 and goes until he finds that one lost sheep.

That's the kind of love and care Jesus has for each one of us.

He knows people can wander off, get distracted, even get lost, but just like a sheep that wanders off the patch of greener grass, jesus doesn't forget or write people off.

He actively searches, pursuing them with love and grace.

He wants to bring them back into the safety of the fold.

And when that lost sheep is found, jesus tells us.

The shepherd rejoices, he carries it back on his shoulders and celebrates this with his friends and neighbors.

You know what, when the good shepherd Jesus finds us, there's great rejoicing in heaven, because Jesus made it possible for us to join him there forever.

To make sure that we will be with him in heaven forever, we must open the door of our heart and life to him by believing in him.

As our Savior Jesus said it this way behold, I stand at the door and knock.

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door of their heart, I'll come into him and live with him and he with me.

I hope you've done that.

You know, as I was thinking about this message this morning, I remember the late country music star, toby Keith.

Maybe some of you are familiar with him.

He wrote a song called I Should have Been a Cowboy.

In the song he laments the missed opportunities to enjoy the life of a cowboy.

I'll share the song with you.

I'm not going to sing it.

Praise God, I know you're thankful.

He says this I should have been a cowboy.

I should have learned to rope and ride, wearing my six-shooter, riding my pony on a cattle drive, stealing the young girl's hearts, just like Gene and Roy, singing those campfire songs Whoa, I wish I could have been a cowboy Because of everything Jesus did and said for us.

You don't want to come to the end of your life and sing I should have been a Christian.

I should have been a Christian and sing a song something like this I should have been a Christian.

I should have learned to humble my pride, trusting in Jesus, reading my Bible as time goes by, preaching the gospel news, just like Peter and Paul, singing those hallelujah songs whoa, I should have been a Christian.

You don't want to miss the joy of eternal life that comes by being a Christian, by believing in Jesus.

I want to invite you today to accept God's invitation because of what Jesus did for us.

Become a Christian and believe in him as your Savior, and you actually can do that right now.

I'm going to close in prayer.

You can pray silently in your heart as I pray and just ask Jesus to come into your light, into your heart and be your good shepherd to save you from your sins.

And he will, like many of us here have experienced, and if anybody prays that prayer for the first time today, I'd like you to come up and please let me know so that I can give you a special gift to help.

You know Jesus as you leave this place, so let's pray together.

Heavenly Father, as your word says, you own the cattle on a thousand hills.

The whole earth belongs to you.

You know, we confess we made kind of a mess of it here, but thank you that you plan to redeem and restore it completely when your son, jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, returns in glory.

Thank you for the great time Lord we've had this week in Kids Club, all the children who've been here, all the parents who've willingly helped us serve them this week, and we thank you for the lessons we learned about how to believe in Jesus and follow him, and we do look forward to that day when we'll be with him in his kingdom forever in heaven, and I pray all this and thank you.

Thank you, lord, for your grace, in Jesus name, amen.