First up, let me say I appreciate everyone who came out to hear The Lesters last Friday night. Didn’t it feel like you’d been in the presence of God? I believe our Lord was glorified through the message of the music, and I hope each person received a special blessing of encouragement.
I’ll say this about The Lesters – whether they’re singing for thousands or tens, their heart is in it. I can imagine that singing the same songs night after night might become routine, but you’d never know it with this group. It was a real joy to experience worship with them.
That said, I also want to invite you to come hear The Whisnants on Thursday, Sept. 9. The Whisnants are one of the most highly-acclaimed groups in Southern Gospel music, and one I believe is genuinely in it to minister to people as they exalt the name of Christ. You’ll hear it in their songs and testimonies.
That concert will be held on the Popcorn Stage downtown Ridgway beginning at 7:00. And, yes, it’s free! Join us in praying for good weather, and invite someone to come with you. Don’t forget to bring a lawn chair, and if you’d like to listen to The Whisnants while munching on some ribbon fries and sipping a lemon shake-up, well that’d be all right.
Parents, can I have your attention for a moment? Our new Sunday School year starts this coming Sunday, and we would love to invite your children to be a part of it. Some of the best Sunday School teachers in the world are getting ready for their arrival already.
Let me share with you in brief what I shared with the church this past Sunday morning. Here are some principles that define our teachers, and standards we continually want to strive toward as we seek to become even more effective as teachers. And by the way, parents, these principles just as easily apply at home as you seek to become more effective in your role. You can take the first letter of each statement to form the acrostic TEACHER.
Ridgway First Baptist Church teachers:
Train others to follow God’s Word. It’s not our goal simply to fill heads with Bible knowledge. That might work great for answering questions on Jeopardy!, but our aim is to teach students to obey everything that Christ has commanded. His Word is our guide, and we unapologetically want to train people to follow the teachings of Jesus.
Encourage others to grow strong in the faith. We want to help motivate and inspire each other to hold on to the truths of the Christian faith. We seek to build an environment where we’re spurring one another on toward love and good deeds and to stay true to the message of the gospel.
Appeal to God on behalf of their students. If you want to know that someone is praying to the Almighty Maker and Sustainer of heaven and earth on behalf of your children, then bring them to Sunday School. We believe God acts in response to prayer, and as we lift up your children before Him, we trust He will guide, protect and save them.
Care for others with Christ-like love. We are all called to be imitators of God as His beloved children and to walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us. We truly desire to let the love of Christ flow through us as we teach and minister to your children. They may not remember everything they’re taught about the books of the Bible, but they’ll remember they were loved.
Handle the Word of God correctly. A great teacher must first be a great learner. We want our teachers to be saturated in the Scriptures so that the Bible first permeates their own lives, and then they’ll be able to teach others how to feed on God’s unchanging Word.
Evangelize the message of Jesus Christ. The proclamation of Jesus as Lord and Savior is central to everything else we teach. Apart from the truth of His death on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins and His resurrection victory over the grave, we have nothing to offer but empty moral platitudes. The whole of the Bible focuses on the message of Jesus, and we teach this unashamedly.
Rely upon the Holy Spirit for guidance. If we attempt anything in our own strength, our own wisdom or our own abilities, we’ll fail. But when we rely upon the Holy Spirit to guide us, then how can we go wrong? God is able to take ordinary men and women and transform them into vessels of His grace, and so He does.
Hope to see you in Sunday School this Sunday at 9:30!
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