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A student survey conducted at one of our local schools determined that young people see the church as being full of old people and pews. And they think that the pews have to go. There’s some good news in that survey, they didn’t say the old people should go, only the pews.
Think for a moment: How does their perception match reality?
We might immediately begin to defend the pews. They've been good enough for generations. They keep us awake. They haven’t killed anyone.
Or we might be offended that they’ve labelled us as old. We might argue that we’re not nearly as old as our grandparents were at the same age.
We might want to join James and John to ask Jesus whether we should call down fire from heaven and destroy them.
But before we get too defensive, these young people are crying out for the church to recognise and value them. They don’t think the church cares about them, they don’t think we care. They think the church is only interested in the people who’re already involved, which to them means old people.
I wonder whether they’re any different to those of any age who aren’t connected to our churches. Would the whole ‘unchurched’ and 'previously-churched’ community agree that we don’t care. Would they contend that we’re only interested in ourselves.
If we’re so busy polishing and defending our pews then they have to go. If there’s anything in our church that uses up our time at the expense of living our lives for Jesus then it has to go.
Even more urgently we have to go. Not leave the church, the community of God’s people, but go with the good news that because God loves and cares for every single person in this world so do we.
“As you go”, Jesus says, “make disciples of all nations.” Jesus cares about this because he has ‘skin-in-the-game’. He died for each and every one we encounter as we go about our lives.
How do we, as individuals and a church, need to change so that no one in our community will feel that we don’t care about them?
Sharing Jesus – welcoming the Father
by Tania Nelson
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me (Matthew 10:40).
Read Matthew 10:40–42
Today’s reading comes immediately after Jesus’ sending out of the Twelve in mission to preach, heal and bless. The disciples were instructed to ‘Go … to the lost sheep of Israel’ to proclaim that ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near’ (Matthew 10:6,7b).
We, too, are sent to tell our friends, family, neighbours and colleagues of the wonderful deeds of the one who has sent us. How do we do this? We certainly don’t need to get the whole gospel out in one conversation. Neither do we need to get into a debate about creation and evolution or something like that. That’s not the way to go, at least not initially.
The late US theologian, Pastor Timothy Keller, spoke of keeping it simple. He suggested to:
- Let people know you go to church.
- Let people know you’re a Christian and that it means something to you.
So, when you let four people know you’re going to church this coming weekend, perhaps one will come back to you and ask about why you go. When you share those things – that you go to church and that your faith is meaningful to you – with the people you meet along the way, it may organically lead to more extensive, in-depth kinds of discussions.
You may be welcomed, because you shared the reason for the hope you have in Jesus, with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15). And when you are welcomed, your Father in heaven is welcomed too.
Lord, you sent the Twelve to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is near. Help me to share the hope I have in you with my friends, family and neighbours, for I know that you died for me and have given me eternal life. Amen.
Tania is the ministry lead at Mawson Lakes Community Church in suburban Adelaide and is a pastoral ministry student at Australian Lutheran College. Tania loves taking beach walks with her husband, David, spending time with her family and friends, and reading. Sometimes she is blessed to experience all three of these joys at her family shack on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula.
To live in the steadfast love of the Lord
by Tim Klein
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord forever (Psalm 89:1a).
Read Psalm 89:1–4,15–18
Yesterday’s devotion posed the question: What do you really, really want? From 1 Peter 3:8–14, we learnt what the Lord really, really wants from us: unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart and a humble mind.
What I really, really want is what the Lord really, really wants. More than that, I want to be with the Lord into eternity. I want to sing of the steadfast love of the Lord forever in all circumstances, to sing and dwell in the house of the Lord (Psalm 23), and to live in peace, unafraid.
Those of you who know me know I love to sing, especially the Lord’s songs. I love to sing with my brothers and sisters in Christ in the house of the Lord. It’s a place and way in which I experience the sublime love and presence of God among us.
I have sung solo, in small and large choirs, in folk groups and accompanied by guitars, organs, pianos and orchestras. I have sung with my wife beside me and my children, too. I hope and pray I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord forever, from this moment into eternity.
My voice (and yours, too), however, is not just mine. It is the voice of the Lord’s Spirit, stirring up in his people the desire to make melody to the Lord. We’re not all what people might describe as good singers, but it doesn’t matter to the Lord. He’s listening for something deeper – the melody that comes from his heart into and through the hearts of those who love him.
If you know this prayer of confession and praise, sing with me now:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
His mercies never come to an end,
They are new ev’ry morning, new ev’ry morning.
Great is your faithfulness, O Lord,
Great is your faithfulness.
(From Lamentations 3:22–33; Edith McNeill AT 153)
Tim is a recently retired LCANZ pastor. He enjoys spending time with family, connecting with neighbours and gardening.
What you really, really want
by Tim Klein
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Whoever desires to love life and see good days (1 Peter 3:10a).
Read 1 Peter 3:8–14
One of the things I really, really want right now is for my rainwater tanks – all 205,000 litres of them – to be full before summer and the need to water my garden begins again. Right now, I’m watching steady, gentle rain falling. Every drop is flowing into the gutters and rolling down into the tanks! It’s one week into winter, and already one-third of my annual need is stored. Hallelujah!
While rain is something I really, really want, it’s not the ultimate thing I need. Even if it doesn’t rain and I must turn the water off in my garden, there are more important things – not just for me, but for everyone.
In 1996, the pop group Spice Girls sang, ‘Tell me what you want, what you really, really want.’ They may have found short-term satisfaction, but they weren’t singing about what we ultimately need – you, me and the whole world.
So, what do we all really need in this life? This short list from the online US fatherhood program allprodad.com is an attempt to document our basic needs:
- to connect
- to be valued
- to be understood/seen
- to overcome adversity
- to love and be loved.
Of course, we could all write our own lists of what would seem most relevant to us and our needs. There are many needs and wants we all have in common. I can identify with those five needs, and perhaps you may too, to a greater or lesser extent.
But God knows our bigger picture, and in 1 Peter 3:8–14, he spells it out for us.
Dear Lord, I want to lose my life in you and be found in you for all of my days and into eternity. Let your Spirit guide my thoughts and actions in ways that please and bless you and others. Let what you want for all of us be what I really, really want – and a motivation in my life. Amen.
Tim is a recently retired LCANZ pastor. He enjoys spending time with family, connecting with neighbours and gardening.