Don't Send Them Alone

I told them Wednesday night, sometimes when we

think about worship, sometimes my daughter, Daisy,

she's not in here right now. But sometimes Daisy,

I think about this when I think about myself

and our Heavenly Father. Sometimes Daisy will

run up to me and she'll press her body against

me. And she'll reach so far up as if she's trying

to reach my head. And she'll say, Daddy, pick

me up. Daddy, hold me. Daddy, I just need you.

And what you need to understand tonight, it's

not just when she's worried. It's not just when

she's hurt. It's not just when she's scared.

Sometimes she just wants Daddy to pick her up.

And I don't know about you, but when I think

about worshiping and I think about raising my

hands and surrendering to God, it's about surrender,

but it's about a reaching. I don't want to reach

to your hand, Lord. I'm not interested about

what you can do for me. I want to reach to your

head because I need more of you. I need you to

pick me up when I'm down. I need you to carry

me when I'm going through hard times and troubles.

And sometimes I wonder, do we as children of

God reach toward the head of God like we should

sometimes? You ever give them another hand clap

of praise? I got to get into this. Guys, thank

you so much. I love you. Awesome job as always.

Give them another hand. Keep your hand. We don't

clap enough in the church today. This air keeps

blowing my page. I'm going to have to weigh it

down right here. Thank you, Pastor. First of

all, I want to honor you. Thank you so much for

giving me this opportunity. It's very special

to me every time I get to stand right here, so

thank you. Can y 'all hear me okay? What about

now? Pastor, you'd be so against that right there,

I know. I know, Pat, he needs to hear it, but

I can hear it, amen? It's going to come out of

me, and I'm going to have a hard time preaching

it, but that's okay. And it's not that I want

you to hear it, because I got something good

to say, but the Lord's going to help me today,

amen? Because I do believe I have a word for

us today. When we think about back to school,

and I already preached to them on Wednesday night,

their back to school sermon. And y 'all stick

with me. I'm going to be in Deuteronomy chapter

Deuteronomy 6 · chapter mention

6. I'm going to be in verse 4 through 9. So y

'all hang with me. But I already preached their

back -to -school sermon, okay? I already preached

that to them. And I preached to them about being

different on purpose. I preached to them out

of Daniel when the Bible says that Daniel purposed

in his heart not to defile himself. And I preached

on them going back to school different. But not

by accident, but on purpose. Because I know God's

done things in their life this summer. I know

God's moved in them. I know they've grown. I've

watched them step into callings that they've

been called into. I've watched them begin to

grow and lean that way. And I want them to go

back to school different on purpose. Amen. But

today I want to talk to the parents and the grandparents

of those children. I want to talk this morning,

if I can, briefly. I'll try my best. I'll put

my phone right here so I can keep time like pastor.

I won't look at it like pastor, but I'll put

it right here. Now he's going to think, why did

you let me do that every single Sunday? But listen,

pastor preaches a good word, amen. I don't care

if it's two hours long. I'm going to sit right

there on the front row absorbing everything he

says. Because I know if he says it, it's from

the Lord, amen. Amen. But I preach to them about

being different on purpose. And I want to talk

to you tonight, the parents and grandparents,

about don't send them alone. Don't send them

alone. Deuteronomy 6, verse 4 says this. Hear,

Deuteronomy 6:4

O Israel, the Lord our God. The Lord is one.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your

heart, with all your soul, with all your strength.

And these words which I command you today shall

be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently

to your children. You shall talk of them when

you sit in your house and when you walk by the

way, when you lie down and when you rise up.

You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and

they shall be as fontlets between your eyes.

You shall write them on the doorpost of your

house and on your gates. I want to preach to

you about not sending them alone. Father, I love

you today. I thank you. for your touch today,

God. I ask, Lord, I feel your presence in this

house. You've done already what I've asked you

to do, and that's simply meet us in your sanctuary.

So, Father, I ask in this next time that you

would anoint my lips to only speak what you would

give me to speak. Only speak, God, what you burned

in my spirit to say. Father, help us today to

edify, help me to edify the body, but ultimately

to glorify you. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

You guys can be seated. Back -to -school season

changes as your children get older, doesn't it?

Mom and dads, it changes. I'm facing an opportunity,

but here next year I'll have three kids. Y 'all

know that. They're all going to be in three different

schools next year. So, yeah, all y 'all know

what I'm talking about. Y 'all are like, yeah,

been there. But they'll all be in three different

schools. So each school season brings its different

challenges. With Daisy, it's did we get the crayons,

right? She's in elementary. Did we get the crayons?

Did we get the right folders? Does her shoes

still fit, right? Are we sending her to school

with shoes that fit? But as I look at Landon

being a teenager in middle school and her last

year she'll be in high school next year, my thoughts

change. It becomes, and even now I find myself

at 13 years old, who are their friends? The questions

become different as seasons change. What are

they being exposed to? What are they watching?

What are they being taught? And the bigger question

then becomes, what decision are they making when

I'm not there? Because it's real easy to make

the right decision when mom and dad's present,

right? It's real easy when you have somebody

watching over them, but what decisions are they

making when I'm not there? And suddenly I realized

something very quickly. There are places your

children are going where you cannot go with them.

You can't sit beside them in every classroom.

You can't walk every hallway. You can't listen

to every conversation. You can't monitor every

friendship that they have. You can't be beside

them when temptation comes, and you can't make

every decision for them. And that's frightening

for a parent, isn't it? No, you want to be there

for your kid at all times. You want to be that

voice in the back of their mind that says, no,

don't do that. Yes, do that. Amen. That's where

we want to be as parents and grandparents. But

scripture gives us another option. You may not

be able to go with them, but God can. Amen. We

may not be everywhere at all times, but God is

and he can go with them. So before we send another

generation into classrooms, another generation

into locker rooms, another generation onto college

campuses, before we send them into workplaces

and into an increasingly confusing culture, we

need to make sure we don't send them alone. It

is God's firm desire that his word be in the

hearts of his people. The Apostle Paul states

it explicitly when he said in Colossians 3 .16,

let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. This

can only be accomplished by daily and continually

abiding in the scriptures. It has been said that

the hearts of parents must be turned to the heart

of a child in order to bring the heart of the

child to the heart of a savior. The problem today

is that instead of having our hearts turned towards

our children, our hearts are turned toward every

distraction that the enemy can get in front of

us. Let me tell you something this morning. The

enemy may be stealing your children right under

your nose because you're so distracted, focusing

on everything that's not important in this life.

The enemy is running away with the heart of your

child and you're too distracted to notice. I

need someone to hear me this morning. The enemy

doesn't have to destroy your home if he can just

distract it. He doesn't have to convince you

to stop loving your children. He just has to

keep you too busy to lead them, too busy working,

too busy scrolling, too busy chasing, too busy.

worrying and too busy building a life that we

forget to build a faith. Amen. The foundation

of what we should be teaching our children is

the faith, not the life. Amen. Because this life

will pass away, but eternity is forever. Amen.

We have to build and establish the faith in our

children, and no one can do it but us. While

we're giving them everything we never had, we

better make sure we're giving them the one thing

they can't afford to live without. And his name...

is Jesus. We've sung about him this morning.

It's not coincidental that Joseph picked songs

that we sung about Jesus, and here I am mentioning

that he's got to be the most important thing

in our life. Because at the end of the day, They

can live without the newest phone. They can live

without name brand clothes. They can live without

making the team. They can live without being

the most popular kid in school. They can live

without everything this world tells them they

have to have, but they cannot afford to live

without Jesus Christ. Amen? Because there's coming

a day when mama can't go with them. There's coming

a day when daddy can't go with them. Grandmama

can't pray the prayer for them. Grandpa can't

believe for them. There's coming a moment in

every one of our children that has to know Jesus

for themselves. And I'm not talking about knowing

about him. I'm not talking about knowing the

Bible stories. I'm talking about knowing when

to stand up in church, when to raise your hands

in worship, when to get down on the altar and

pray, when to seek his face, when trials come.

And they cannot learn that from anywhere but

home. I'm talking about knowing him, knowing

him as Savior. sanctifier, spirit baptizer, healer,

and soon coming king. I'm talking about Jesus

Christ. So the few things that I want us to know

that we need to send our children with. You may

think when my kids graduated, that's fine. Wherever

they're going, send them with something. We can

send them with something because God is everywhere.

We can send them with something. The first thing,

we need to send them with a faith that they have

seen. A faith that they have seen. Amen. And

these words shall be in your heart and you shall

teach them diligently to your children. That's

what it says in Deuteronomy. The first thing

we notice in our text this morning that God didn't

say put it in your children. First he said these

words shall be in your heart. It has to be in

your heart first. Amen. And then he says, teach

it to your children. Our children need more than

parents who just take them to church. They need

parents who live the faith at home. Because eventually

our children will be asking, is what mom and

dad believe on Sunday real on Monday? Is what

they follow and what we see them doing real when

church is over and we leave the house and go

eat lunch and then life gets back to normal?

Is the faith that they have on Sunday morning

real on Monday morning? They need to see worship

when life hurts. They need to see you pray when

you're scared. They need to watch you forgive

when you've been hurt. They need to see you choose

righteousness when compromise would be easier.

They need to know that Jesus isn't just somebody

we just sing about in church, that he's the center

of our home. Our children may forget some of

the sermons they hear. I joke with my students

all the time what I preached last week. Sounds

about like that. Some of them know it, though.

I'll give them credit. A lot of them shout it

out. They'll forget some of the sermons they

hear. They'll forget some of the Sunday school

lessons. They may forget some of the youth services,

but they'll remember watching Mama pray. They'll

remember watching Granddad open his Bible. They'll

remember watching Daddy lift his hands in worship.

They'll remember Grandmama calling their name

before God in prayer. All of us could probably

share the story of grandmas, mamas, and daddies

praying for their children. I could tell you

a very specific story, and you might say, well,

I've heard that before, but it's true. When my

brother was fighting his drug addiction, we couldn't

do it. Would you believe that, that the family

that loved him couldn't fix him? Would you believe

that today? The family that wanted nothing but

good for him, that wanted him to come out of

the mess he was in and provide him with things

and a path to get there couldn't help him. Could

you believe that? But what happened was the family

realized there's a God who can go with him. There's

a God we can send on our behalf. And what happened

is a mama and a daddy began to pray. A family

began to pray. A family began to intercede on

his behalf. And wouldn't you know it, it didn't

take very long for God to answer that prayer.

And the phone call rang. And he said, I can't

do it anymore. I need help from here. You see,

it was put in him from a small child. He saw

it growing up. It never left him because the

Bible says what we put in our children. will

be there. Hallelujah. It was in there already.

Amen. But if we're not putting it in there, the

world will put what they want to put in there.

And that's why as a church we cannot allow to

happen in our own homes. They have to see it

lived. Amen. I came by this morning to tell mamas

and daddies, grandfathers and grandmothers, God's

not done with your generation just yet. There

are some more lessons that we need to be teaching,

some more lessons that they need to be taught.

I'm reminded of the scripture in Judges 2 .10

where it says, Another generation arose after

them who did not know the Lord nor the work which

he had done. I stop by to tell you this morning

that there's a work still to be done. Amen. A

lot of times as we grow older, we think, especially

if our kids are grown, what is there for us to

do? Well, I want you to be encouraged that there's

still a work that God needs you to do. Amen.

The work is to live out your faith in front of

your children and grandchildren. Live out and

show and teach. Why? Because the next generation,

they're watching. The next generation is watching

how we worship. They're watching how we respond

when trouble comes. They're watching how we treat

people who hurt us and how we forgive. And they're

watching to see whether we. compromise or not

when the time comes. And not only are they watching,

the next generation is listening. They're listening

when we pray. They're listening when we talk

about the church. They're listening when we talk

about each other. They're listening when we say

God is faithful. And then they're watching to

see if we still believe he's faithful when everything

starts falling apart. Because you can tell them

God is good, but let them hear you say God is

good when life isn't. You can tell them God will

provide, but let them watch you trust him when

you don't know where the provision is going to

come from. You can tell them prayer works, but

let them hear you praying when your family needs

a miracle. You can tell them the Holy Ghost is

real, but let them see the evidence of his power

operating in your life. Church, they're watching,

they're listening, and the next generation, I

can tell you, if you haven't already figured

it out, they're ready to be launched forward,

ready for the explosion, the outpouring of the

Holy Spirit. They're ready for whatever God is

calling them to, and I would beg to say that

they're more bold than we are. Amen? So are we

showing them the way? We keep telling them we

want you to go farther than we ever went, but

have we shown them the road? We tell them stand

for truth, but have they watched us stand? We

tell them don't compromise, but have they watched

us refuse to do it? We tell them seek God, but

have they ever walked through the house and found

Mama seeking God? Have they ever heard Daddy

call in their name in prayer? Have they ever

heard Grandmama lift their hands when nobody

else was singing in the house? That's kind of

a me thing. That's not a mama thing. I sing in

the house. What I love about that, though, and

this is me being a dad for a moment, is when

my kids tune in with me and they start singing

the songs that I know. That's special. Have they

ever heard grandpa open a Bible and say, let

me tell you what the Lord showed me this morning?

Because hear me, this next generation doesn't

just need directions. They need an example. Paul

said in 1 Corinthians 11 .1, be ye followers

of me even as I also am of Christ. What he was

telling them essentially was if you want to know

which way to go, watch me. And that's dangerous

prayer this morning. Watch me. Because watch

how I handle temptation. This is me telling my

kids, watch how I handle temptation. Watch how

I handle disappointment. Watch how I handle my

husband or my wife. Watch how I handle or respond

when I'm offended. Watch how I do when nobody's

working. Watch how I worship. Watch how I pray.

Watch how I live. That's a dangerous prayer this

morning because it puts the directional finger

directly on us. Watch me. Well, what are you

doing? Amen. Not blaming anybody, but if you've

watched me long enough, you ought to know the

way to Jesus. Amen? That's where we should stand

confidently as parents, grandparents. Churches,

if this generation followed Jesus exactly like

they see us following it, how would they pray?

How would they worship? Come to think of it,

you guys, youth group, I know I'm in front of

you, right? But I stand up here every Sunday

and lead worship, and I watch you guys worship.

The question I have is worship seems a little

different over here than it does over there.

And I wonder why that is. Are we showing them

the way to worship? Because there's comfort over

there, but there's not comfort in here. Why is

that? It got real Presbyterian in here. You guys

know my heart worship's a big thing because I

believe we should worship through everything,

through the good times, through the bad times,

through the desired times, through the no times.

We should worship God because he's worthy of

it. And if there's nothing else I do on a Wednesday

night, I hope I can teach these students that

this is how we worship. And I do my very best.

But when we come in here, it seems like there's

just a different atmosphere. And that's not a

bad thing. It's a challenge. Maybe we should

think in our own minds, how are we worshiping

God? But more than that, how are other people

seeing us worship God? How are our children seeing

us worship God? How are they seeing us kneel

down at an altar and pray when we know we're

going through hell? Amen? Are they seeing us

participate in those things? If they saw us,

would they know the word? Would they be able

to forgive? Would they be able to know how to

live holy? Would they be faithful in the house

of God? Would they hunger for the presence of

God? Would they know the way? Because we can

point them toward a road. We can't point them

towards a road we're unwilling to walk ourselves.

This generation is watching. This generation

is listening. And this generation is ready. So

church, we need to show them the way. Amen? We

need to show them the way. Let us live such a

faith in front of them that when it's finally

their turn to carry the gospel, they won't have

to wonder which way to go. They'll know in their

mind, I saw mama pray this way. I saw daddy worship

this way. I saw grandmama walk this way. I saw

granddaddy open his Bible and read this way.

I saw and watched my church go this way. And

now it's my turn to carry it forward. I told

the students on Wednesday night, there's a lot

of talk lately about a baton being passed. Pastor

even referenced it last week, but I like the

way he did it. And I talked to him about the

baton is to be passed to other generations. But

like Pastor and myself, I'm not ready to pass

the baton yet. I'm not ready to pass. But the

most powerful moment when there's a baton involved

is when there's another generation reaching out

to grab a hold of it with me. And I told the

students, I'm waiting on someone to reach out

and grab the baton and let us go together. And

it doesn't have to be one. It could be a whole

host of people. But I've got the baton and I'm

ready for the next generation to grab hold of

it and let's go with me. But they have to be

shown the way. Amen. They have to be shown the

way. We have to send them with the faith that

they have seen. And secondly, we want to send

them with the faith that they know. A faith that

they know. Deuteronomy 6 says, you shall teach

them diligently. And here's where I challenge

the whole church. We cannot outsource discipleship.

Okay? Youth ministry helps. Children's church

helps. Sunday school helps. The pastor helps.

But the church was never meant to replace spiritual

leadership in the home. The church gets just

a few hours, but home gets a lifetime. And our

children are walking into a culture that constantly

is discipling them. Social media is discipling

them. Entertainment is discipling them. Friends

are discipling them. Algorithms are discipling

them. Culture is constantly telling them this

is truth. This is identity. This is sexuality.

This is success. This is what happiness really

looks like. This is what matters. So don't you

think if the world's intentionally teaching them

that we should be intentionally teaching them.

Amen. Don't just tell them what we believe, but

tell them why we believe it. Teach them how to

pray. Teach them how to read scripture, how to

recognize conviction, how to hear the voice of

God. And teach them how holiness matters and

why we worship and why we need the Holy Ghost.

Because eventually they'll encounter something

that challenges what they believe. And when that

day comes, because my church says so, won't be

good enough. Amen. They need their own foundation.

They need their own foundation in the faith and

in Christ. And I believe the reason that doesn't

happen is because we don't know it ourselves.

Send them with a faith they know. Do we know

that faith? Again, Presbyterian in here. I didn't

come to jab you, know my heart. But I'm on the

phone and I talk to these children. I know what

they're going through. It's a challenge this

morning, amen? To us and to them. Because we

can teach them, but they got to go with it. But

you can't give what you don't have. You can't

teach them how to pray if they never heard you

pray. You can't teach them how to trust God in

the storm whenever time trouble comes, you don't.

You can't teach them that the Bible is the word

of God if they never see you opening it. You

can't teach them that worship matters if they

never see you worship. You can't teach them that

church matters if church is always the first

thing your family removes from the schedule when

life gets busy. I got claps on that. I thought

it would get quiet too. Guys, I struggle with

that too, by the way. I got a son who plays baseball.

Y 'all know he's an athlete. He plays everything.

Erica, his mom, and I have a decision we have

to make right now because we got some information

over this past weekend that's not good for being

in the house of God on Sunday. But that decision

is very easy for his mother and I. It's very

easy. But why do we do that, though? We tend

to put things above being in the house of God.

And the house of God has to be the constant in

our life. It's the staple. It's the foundation

that everything else is built off of. And it

has to be that way. Amen. It has to be that way.

That's not a plug to get you to come in here

so we can have numbers. I'm like, Pastor, I could

care less about numbers. As long as the Spirit

of God meets us here, I don't care who's in the

house. Amen? As long as his wills be. Because

the Bible says, I will draw all men unto me.

All I got to do is get him here. If he's here,

all men will come. That's what I think. Agree

or disagree. I believe when the Spirit of God's

in the house, he draws people to it. So that's

not a plug. You can't teach them to put Jesus

first if they watch you put everything else ahead

of him. Because eventually your children are

going to discover the difference between the

faith we talk about and the faith we actually

live. And hear me this morning, mom and dad,

you cannot pass down what you do not possess.

Grandmama and grandpa, you cannot leave an inheritance

of faith that you never cultivated for yourself.

Deuteronomy 6 does not begin with teach these

words to your children. It begins these words

shall be in your heart. It's important that we

get it in ours before we can ever get it into

somebody else. Amen? Does that mean you've got

to be perfect? Absolutely not. There's nothing

wrong with your child coming to you and saying,

Dad, I've got a question about the Bible. And

it's embarrassing sometimes when we have to say,

I don't know that. But here's what's even better.

Hey, let's get a Bible, let's open it up, and

let's find out together. Amen? Because I need

to know that answer too. It's more than just

telling them what to do. I don't know, son, go

read your Bible. Well, it'd help if they had

a daddy who'd walk through the Bible with them,

if they had a mama who'd help them pray. and

they don't know how to pray, amen? It starts

somewhere, and God honors it, amen? Your heart

first. Before it's in their heart, God says,

I want it in yours. Before you tell them to pray,

you pray. Before you tell them to worship, you

worship. Before you tell them don't compromise,

let them see you refuse to compromise. Because

our children don't just need to know what we

believe. They need to see what we believe. They

need to see a Christianity that works outside

the four walls of the church. They need to see

Jesus at the dinner table. Jesus in the car.

Jesus when bills are due. Jesus when doctor's

reports come. Jesus when somebody hurts you.

Jesus when you're frustrated. Jesus when nobody

from the church is watching. Because the faith

that will impact the next generation isn't just

the faith we preach to them. It's the faith that

we live out. out in front of them. And I came

to tell you tonight, being in youth ministry,

they're watching you more than they're listening

to you, amen? You can preach and say and fuss,

and ain't that the cry of a parent? I fuss and

fuss and fuss, and they do the same thing over

and over again. That's because they need to see

you walking it out and how to be, amen? They

need to see the faith that's lived, not just

the faith that we talk about, amen? We gotta

send them with a faith that they know. Maybe

the greatest thing some parents could do for

their children this school year isn't buy another

school supply. Maybe the greatest thing you can

do for your child is get on fire for God yourself.

Let them see mama hungry for God. Let them see

daddy hungry for God. Let them see grandmama

praying. Let them see grandpa worshiping. As

for me and my house, somebody has to make the

declaration. As for me and my house, we will

serve the Lord. Amen. Somebody has to stand and

make that declaration. Because I believe when

the fire gets burning in one generation, there's

something for the next generation to catch. Amen.

You can't send them with a faith they know until

you know them for yourself. Somebody needs to

give him praise in his house this morning because

we need to get on fire for God. Amen. You can

give him praise. Go ahead. Thirdly, we need to

send them with a faith that has been prayed over.

In Exodus 17, 8 through 13, there's a story of

Joshua, and he's going to battle with Amalek.

I don't even know if I pronounced that right,

but Amalek, Amalek, whatever his name is. And

Moses tells him, go gather some good men, some

strong men to go to battle with him in the valley.

And what did Moses say? He said, I'm going to

go up on the hill or on the mountain, and I'm

going to stretch my rod towards you. Right? So

Moses and Aaron and Hur go up to the mountain.

Y 'all know the story. When Moses had his hand

raised on the mountain, Joshua prevailed in the

battle. But when his hands came down, the Amalekites

prevailed. So the Bible says that Aaron and Hur

found a stone for him to sit on, and they propped

up his hands. But when I begin to think about

that story as it relates to what I'm preaching

today, I begin to think about the students walking

into the valleys. I begin to think about the

students going back to schools and the temptations

and the hurt and the things that they're going

to deal with. Amen. I begin to think about the

culture that's constantly going to be attacking

them in their mind. And then I begin to think,

wouldn't it be awesome if we had some mama and

daddy standing on a hill with their hands raised,

interceding in prayer for the battle that their

children are going to walk through. When I think

about Joshua being in the valley, Moses was on

the hill interceding for him. Amen. We may not

be able to go with them, but we can send them

covered in prayer. Amen. We need to get on the

mountain. We need to pray. When they're sitting

in math class we need to pray. When they're walking

through the hallway we need to pray. When they're

trying to figure out who they are we need to

pray. When somebody offers them something they

shouldn't touch we need to pray. When they're

struggling with anxiety we need to pray. When

they're wrestling with temptation we need to

pray. When they're choosing friendships pray.

When they're driving themselves to school for

the first time come on we need to pray. Because

there's something powerful about a generation

fighting in the valley while another generation

is standing on a mountaintop interceding on their

behalf. Don't underestimate your assignment,

parent, mom, and dad, grandma and grandpa. Don't

underestimate your assignment. You may say my

children are grown. That's good. Now help your

grandchildren. Paul told Timothy, I call to remembrance

the unfeigned faith that is in thee which dwelt

first in thy grandmother Lois. Just because you're

grandma and grandpa don't mean you don't have

a say so. There's prayer to a mighty God, amen?

Grandma's faith made it into another generation.

Your prayers can outlive you. Fourthly and lastly,

send them with something worth coming home to.

Psalm 78, 6 -7 speaks about one generation teaching

another. It says this, that the generation to

come might know them, the children who would

be born, that they may arise and declare them

to their children. That they may set their hope

in God and not forget the works of God but keep

his commandments. The key thing being that they

may set their hope in God. That's the goal this

morning. Scott, you can go ahead and start playing.

Not just that my child gets good grades. That's

our prayer for us. I want them to have good grades.

I was talking to a friend of mine who I graduated

with this other day, and he looked at me and

he said, I wonder what it would be like if we

actually applied ourself when we were in school.

I said, come on. I think about it all the time.

It's not just that we want our child to get good

grades. It's not just that we want our child

to get a scholarship. Amen. It's not just that

we want them to make the team or to go to a great

college or to have a great career. Those things

are wonderful. But none of them are the ultimate

goal. I tell the students on Wednesday nights,

I want them to go be everything they want to

be in their life as long as that's God's will

for their life. If it's God's will, go get it.

work hard for it, go be successful, whatever

it is. But that's not the goal in life. Our greatest

prayer should be, God, when my children are grown,

let them still love Jesus. Because you can raise

a straight -A student that doesn't know Jesus.

You can raise a star athlete that doesn't know

Jesus. You can raise a successful businessman

who doesn't know Jesus. You can raise someone

who makes six figures, but they don't know Jesus.

But what would it profit us to give them every

advantage in this world but fail to give them

the foundation of eternity? Our greatest responsibility

isn't preparing our children to make it live

and it's preparing them to live for Jesus. We

need to send them ready. Amen. Let's all stand.

Please know my heart this morning. It was not

meant to cut anybody. Maybe that's just me thinking

of myself. But it's easy to get caught up in

life that we forget who we're living it for.

It's easy to get caught up in the day -to -day

and the to -do list. And it seems like... The

more time goes on, the busier and busier we all

get. The response isn't, the response is now,

I know you're busy, but. Why does it have to

be I know you're busy, but? Especially when it

comes to building a foundation in our children

that will guide them the rest of their life.

I mentioned my brother earlier, the foundation

was in him. Yes, he strayed. Yes, he spent 12

years or however long on drugs and far from God.

But it was in him. So when the prayers went up,

God stirred up something that was already there.

And our job as parents, we can't go everywhere

with our kids. We can't go everywhere, especially

when they're driving. When they get mobile, we

really should be praying. Right? But knowing

we can't go over with them means we need to send

them with everything we can offer them that is

eternal, and that is having a relationship with

Jesus Christ, covered in prayer. Right? So before

we're going to pray for the students and the

kids and all that, but before we do that, I'd

like to pray for the parents, Pastor. I'd like

every parent and grandparent that would, that

you say to yourself, I want to be the spiritual

influence in my child's life. I want to be the

one. That can be the example that shows my son,

my daughter, my grandson, my granddaughter, what

it is to live the faith that we say we believe.

If you're willing to come, I want you to come

to this altar because I want us to have an opportunity

to get everything right that we need to get before

we go leaning on the other thing. Amen. Before

we can show anybody anything, we have to have

it first ourself.