This weekend we are handing out Bibles to all our second graders. I still have my 3rd grade Bible that I received from First United Methodist Church of Red Oak. I hope and pray that our 2nd graders treasure their Bibles like I have treasured mine. I look forward to this weekend every year and the chance to pray a prayer of blessing over our 2nd graders.

Tina Schramme, our Children’s Ministry Director always encourages our 2nd graders to invite parents, grandparents, other family and friends to underline or highlight their favorite stories or verses and then sign it and identify it as their favorite.

Today I want to share five scriptures that I would encourage parents to highlight and share with their 2nd graders in their new Bible.

If you were not present this past weekend and your child would like to receive a Bible, please let me know.

1. Psalm 139

When our daughter was born, we had a friend paint a few words from this Psalm over our daughters bed. Using the New Living Translation, she wrote, “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex.” Psalm 139 is a simple reminder that our life was created and shaped by the hand and blessing of God. This is a great Psalm for you to read with your kids and then share with them the excitement and anticipation you had leading up to their birth.

2. John 3:16

John 3:16 has been called, “the gospel in miniature.” This simple and short verse speaks to God’s love and affection for all humanity and the steps God has taken to bring us into relationship with God. This is a great verse for you to memorize with your child.

3. Philippians 1:2-6

In my bedroom growing up, my mom hung a poster of a young boy who looked like a total mess with the caption, “Don’t worry, God is not finished with me yet.” That picture reminds me of Paul’s words to the church at Philippi. Paul writes, “he who began a good work in you… he is going to complete that good work.” We are all on the journey together!

4. Matthew 19:13-14

We share these words each time a child comes to the front to be baptized. It’s part of why we care so much about families and believe we have a great responsibility to love and nurture kids. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, for to such as these belongs the Kingdom of God.”

5. Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 is known as the Shema, one of the most important prayers of Judaism that Jesus would have said every day of his life. When Jesus is asked by the religious leaders to tell them what was the greatest commandment, Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 6. These verses are also a great reminder of how God sees the purpose and mission of families. “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

Here’s a few questions I want to invite you to ponder. If you a moment to shoot me an email with your response, I would greatly appreciate it!

What struggles are you encountering in your own life or do you see in the lives of others that you think our pastors should address in an upcoming series? 

What have we looked at in the past year that you would be interested in hearing more about? 

What series or themes might we address that you think would be particularly interesting to new Christians or those still seeking out understanding of the Christian faith? 

What parts of the Bible [books, themes, etc] would you like to see us address in an upcoming series? 

This is the first time we’ve offered this class. You can attend “in person” or pick up the audio via our new Church App. To download that new app, click here.

To listen to the full message, you can either listen here or watch here.

Do you ever find yourself wrestling with fear? 

Do you worry about what the future holds for you or those you love? 

Does worry ever seem to drive your life? 

Do you ever find yourself up at night unable to sleep because of anxiety about a potential outcome? 

How busy is your life? Do you ever feel like there just never seems to be enough time to do the things you believe you need to do? 

When you have the opportunity to be with the people you love the most, do you feel a sense of peace or do you find distracted by the busyness of your life? 

Do you often find yourself craving quiet space to connect with God? How often do you find that space in your life?

Do you ever feel alone?

How do you normally respond when things don’t go your way? Do you roll with the punches or does one wrong turn throw you completely off track?

Do you ever feel a strong sense of motivation to sacrifice for other people? Is sacrifice something that consistently enters your thoughts? 

Do you practice generosity? How generous are you with your time? When someone needs something from you, what initial feelings or thoughts enter your mind? 

As you receive financial resources, do you consistently and faithfully share those resources with others? When you give, do you do so cheerfully? In your giving, do you experience an increased trust in God’s love and devotion to you?

How often do you express gratitude to others? How often do you express gratitude to God?

Do you ever feel confused not knowing which direction to take with a small or large decision? 

Do you expect perfection from yourself or others?

Do you ever worry that you’ve disappointed God? 

Would the people who know you best describe you as a patient person? 

Between anger and compassion, which would you say is the more dominant and consistent emotion in your life?

When someone unintentionally hurts you, how do you normally respond? 

How hard is it for you to forgive?

Do you find yourself struggling to control those impulses in your life that you know are destructive to you or others? 

What do you do when you get stressed, frustrated or angry? Would the practices you turn to in these situations be those you would recommend to someone else dealing with similar situations?

Do you live with a confidence that comes from a belief that God loves you and is working in your life? How does your daily living reflect that? 

Walking out to my car I was thinking about the idea that if my wife and I are blessed to live long enough, we will celebrate our fiftieth wedding anniversary on June 23, 2051.

I’m certainly not in any rush. I want to enjoy all the moments that come between today and that future celebration that I pray we are able to share together, but the thought of it did lead me to consider the question of “the legacy” I hope that our life together leaves for our children, and God willing, our grandchildren.

Perhaps what triggered that thought in my mind was the final exercise that we offered couple at the end of our recent Sacred Marriage class. We invited couples to imagine in their minds a “surprise 50th wedding anniversary” party put together by family and friends. The rest of the exercise involved discussing three questions.

1. What sacred moments in your history would you want your children, other family and friends to recognize, share and appreciate as a part of this moment?
2. As you think about attending this celebration, how would you describe your vision of yourself in the following categories: [Personal health | Financial health | Your relationship with your spouse | Your relationship with your children | Your relationship with your friends | The kind of activities you would like to be participating in | Your spiritual health]
3. What decisions and life choices am I making today that will more accurately ensure the outcome that I desire?

I’m guessing that you, like me, want to leave a good and sacred legacy behind.

This weekend I was reminded that we are each crafting our lasting legacy in every single moment of our life. That means that ensuring that our goal of leaving behind a “godly heritage” starts with making good and faithful decisions today.

Have you thought about what will be your lasting legacy?