1. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The message from God’s Word, as we observe Christian Education Sunday, is taken from Deuteronomy 6:4-15. It’s entitled, “Who’s Your Teacher?” Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. Who’s your teacher? Who’s your children’s teacher? Typically for those with children in school, we know the name of our child’s teacher: Mrs. Jones or Mr. Brown. The reality is that young and old, those in school and out of school, all have teachers. So, to answer the question “Who’s my teacher?” you must look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Who do I imitate? Who do I act like and sound like? Who are my role models?” Answer these questions and you’ll determine who your teacher truly is.
3. In the same way, look at your children. They may be with Mrs. Jones or Mr. Brown seven hours a day, but their schoolteacher may in fact not be the one who’s teaching them at school. Who is your children’s teacher? Who not only occupies your children’s time but also their affection? Whom are your children becoming like? Whom do they dress like? Whom do they sound like? Whose vocabulary are they using? Whose manners and actions are they imitating? Simply look at your children and you’ll discover your children’s teacher.
4. There are many who desire to be your teacher and your children’s teacher, many competing to instruct you and your family, inviting you to follow their example. But on this Christian Education Sunday, we learn that God has always desired to be the teacher of his people. So, the first word of our text in Deuteronomy 6 is a command to listen and to hear: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6: 4–5). Listen to the Word of your Lord. This is a command. God knows that what we hear influences what we think, do, and believe. So, God wants to be your teacher and your children’s teacher. God wants your ears and the ears of your children open as he speaks to you in his Word, for God knows that what enters the ear makes its way to the heart. He declares in Deut. 6:6, “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.” God desires you to hear and learn his Word so that his Word might dwell richly in you so that you love him above all things.
5. This command to hear and learn his Word isn’t only for you but also for your children. Parents are called not only to be hearers of the Word but also teachers of the Word. God commands parents in Deut. 6:7-9, “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” God knows that to be your teacher and your children’s teacher, he needs you and your children to be thinking of him and pondering his Word, not just every now and then but constantly, always keeping his Word before your eyes.
6. How far we have strayed from this command! We assume that if we give God an hour or two a week, church and maybe Sunday School, all will be fine . . . instead of constantly meditating on God’s Word. And there are many times we don’t even allow God one or two hours a week to be our teacher and our children’s teacher. We only go to church and Sunday School when we feel like it. Children are often taught that learning God’s Word is only for the young—when parents drop children off for Sunday School and then go back home or out for breakfast. Obviously, God isn’t our children’s teacher when from little on up parents teach them that sports are the priority on the Lord’s Day, that listening to the coach is of greater value than listening to God and his Word.
7. In Luke 18, parents brought their infants and young children to Jesus, but the disciples rebuked these parents. They wrongly assumed that these infants and young children were unworthy of our Lord’s time and attention. In response, Jesus invited the parents to bring their children to him: “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Lk 18:16). Sadly, parents can become the hindrance by not bringing their children to Jesus but keeping them away from him and his Word. By our own poor example as the church, by not availing ourselves of regular study of God’s Word, we also are teaching the children of the church that learning the Scriptures and meditating on the Word is not that great of a priority.
8. God teaches us today how we should hear his Word. He teaches us the purpose of the church and Christian education in the church—and the role of parents, pastors, and Christian teachers. God doesn’t command parents to take their children to the Lord’s house for an hour or two a week and, once that’s done, cross it off the list, so then the children can listen to and learn from any other teacher that’s out there. Instead, God desires his Word to be constantly before us and our children. He desires that his Word fill our homes and our hearts. Here at church, both young and old hear that Word, which is then meditated upon throughout the week.
9. God commands you to hear and learn his Word. God commands parents to teach his Word to their children. He gives these commands not to burden your busy life with even more to do. Instead, God commands you to hear and learn his Word because he promises great blessings to us through his Word. God’s Word is much different from any other words you’re taught. Any time someone teaches you or your children anything, you gain information and knowledge, and this also occurs when you learn the Scriptures. But, God’s Word does more than give you information. When God teaches you, you are not only learning of him and what he has done. He is giving you great gifts and blessings. Where God’s Word is heard and taught, there the Holy Spirit is working to enlighten hearts and minds by the Gospel. In the Word, the Holy Spirit is working mightily to forgive sins, delivering the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection to you. In the Word, the Holy Spirit is strengthening your faith. When you read or hear that Jesus died for your sins, you are not only learning that truth, but in and through these words, Christ’s forgiveness is actually being given to you.
10. Since God’s Word does what it says, giving you the blessings of faith and forgiveness, life and salvation, strength and comfort, this should create an even greater desire to be in the Word. You shouldn’t be tempted to think, “I know the Bible stories. I don’t need to go to Sunday School.” “I’m confirmed. I know all I need to know.” The Scriptures aren’t just giving you knowledge. The Scriptures are giving you Jesus. The Scriptures are giving you the Holy Spirit. So, Jesus invites you to come to him and to learn from him, and by so doing, you will find rest for your souls (Mt 11:28–29). Jesus teaches in John 15 that abiding in his Word keeps you connected to him, as branches joined to the true vine, as he feeds, nourishes, and strengthens your faith through his Word so that you abound in the fruit of good works.
11. These great gifts and blessings are for you and your children. So, Jesus rebukes his disciples when they’re trying to chase away the parents who were bringing their children to him in Luke 18. In his Pentecost sermon, Peter makes it clear that the gifts and promises of God are for all people, young and old: “the promise is for you and your children,” he says (Acts 2:39). The Lord makes disciples of all nations by baptizing and teaching (Mt 28:19–20). God wants to teach you through his Word, not just for an hour or two a week, but continually, at church and home, so that he can bestow on you all those rich gifts and blessings he desires to give you.
12. The gifts and blessings that God gives us in his Word are gifts and blessings that we and our children need. The devil is constantly tempting us to turn from the Lord. We are plagued with all kinds of sufferings and sorrows, trials and troubles, as we live in this fallen world. Since we sin every day, we need forgiveness; we need cleansing from our unrighteousness.
13. God is the only one who can give us what we need. In Deuteronomy 6:12 God issues a warning to the Israelites that they will be tempted to forget the Lord once they live and dwell in the abundance of the Promised Land. We are tempted in the same way. We are abundantly blessed, and yet in the busyness of enjoying the earthly blessings our Lord has given to us, we don’t take the time to hear and learn his Word to receive his spiritual gifts and blessings, the gifts that strengthen and sustain us in both body and soul to life everlasting.
14. For this reason, God commands parents not only to teach his Word to their children, but to teach them diligently in Deut. 6:7. The word translated “teach diligently” is the Hebrew word shanam, which is the verb that’s used to describe sharpening a blade by continually running it over a stone. Through the Word, we are sharpened. Sharpened by the Word, we are able to discern truth from error, withstand the attacks of the evil one, and wield the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
15. Today, through his Word, God gives you what you need. He personally delivers to you the gifts that forgive all your sins, he strengthens you in trial and temptation, and he empowers you to abound in good works that glorify God and serve your neighbor in love. Every person has a teacher, one they listen to and learn from, one to whom they give their time, attention, and affection, one they seek to imitate, to act like and to sound like. There are many who seek to be your teacher and your children’s teacher, but most crucially, God desires to be your teacher and your children’s teacher.
16. There’s no better teacher. God is THE learned teacher. He knows all things. When he teaches you, he not only imparts knowledge, but his words do what they say, giving you great gifts and blessings, gifts and blessings that you need. Amen. Now the peace of God that surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting. Amen.
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