Keep Others from Stumbling
OPENING PRAYER:
Lord, help me see the opportunities to reach out to those who need to know you. Amen
“Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So, watch yourselves.’”
REFLECT:
As an educator for many years, I saw parents who went out their way to provide everything their children needed or wanted. They lived a very hedonistic lifestyle. Saturdays and Sundays were filled with every activity imaginable: sports, horseback riding, dance recitals, gymnastics, etc. From the world’s view, these children were very well cared for by their parents.
However, many of these children are living in Spiritual darkness and Spiritual poverty. The parents are neglecting to provide them with the Spiritual nourishment they need to know Christ as a savior. As the Luke passage says, it would be better to have a millstone around their neck than to continue to cause their children to stumble by not making sure their children have an opportunity to know Christ.
APPLY:
The best option for helping children avoid Spiritual darkness is a Christian home where a strong faith is modeled by the parents. This is not true for the children mentioned above. Pathway’s Kidslink preschool is a good way to see that children have the opportunity to learn about Jesus Christ. Parents need childcare and this provides it in a safe environment. Over the years that I have been at Pathway, when I have asked people what brought them to this church, many said their children had attended the preschool program. They were impressed with the program the church provided and wanted to see it for themselves, so they started attending
CLOSING PRAYER:
God, guide me to help others to provide positive Christian role models for the children in their lives. Amen
WORSHIP: