OTR Parents’ Update
(11/25 – 12/1/2018)
Hey, Moms and Dads!
Here is this week’s OTR Parents Update.
There are a lot of things going on during the holiday season. First, this Friday, November 30, is the Christmas parade. We will need teens and adults alike to be there to help give out our candy canes and invite cards to the bystanders. This is a great opportunity to not only remind each other of the true meaning of Christmas but also to invite those from our community to join us here at Grace. We will be lining up at 5:30p.m. on Lincoln Ave from 15th to 20th by Neptunes and the old Big Yank building. We will end at the Joshua House for cookies and cocoa. Then, on December 3, Micah and Jane Laremore will be moving to their apartment at 450 Park Avenue. We will be meeting there at 2.p.m to help them unpack. Every teen that shows up to volunteer will get a free OTR t-shirt! Just look for the big Penske truck. There will be a work project during OTR on December 9, so make sure your kiddos wear clothes they don’t mind getting a little rough as it will including staining the wood for benches that will be used in the Eagle Scout projects of Jake and Caleb Orr.
REVIEW – LOVE GOD
This week, we started my last two talks with the teens until Pastor Micah comes. These last two are the most important things I could tell our teens, the most significant I could leave them with. In fact, they are identified by Christ as the top two commands in Scripture that all the other commands hang on; love God and love others. What you love defines you. This week, we discussed what it means to love God.
To love God is to worship and praise Him. “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only'” (Luke 4:8). What we do in church, whenever we worship God, it is just a demonstration of our love for Him.
To love God is to put Him first. The number-one commandment is to love God “with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). It’s an undivided love. God is our priority. If we love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength, then we won’t allow other things to crowd in. “Earth has nothing I desire besides you” (Psalm 73:25). We cannot love this present world and God at the same time (1 John 2:15); love for what the world offers can lead us astray (2 Timothy 4:10).
To love God is to desire Him, to yearn for His righteousness, His Word, and His grace. “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God” (Psalm 42:1). Once we have tasted and seen that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8), we want more of Him.
Suppose a man is separated from his sweetheart and receives a letter from her. His first action will be to eagerly open the letter and pore over its contents. His love for his beloved will naturally cause him to love her correspondence with him. The same is true with our love for God’s Word. Because we love the Author, we love His message to us. We read it avidly and often, we hold it close, and we hide its words in our hearts.
Finally, to love God is to obey Him. Jesus tells us, “If you love me you will obey what I command” (John 14:15, 23; 15:10; 1 John 5:3). However, this is not a matter of merely following rules and registering good deeds. It is about having God’s love written indelibly on our hearts. We naturally wish to please those we love. When we love God, we will want to please Him and obey His commands eagerly. “I delight to do your will” (Psalm 40:8).
Jesus informs us that we are to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. God wants our warmhearted love and devotion, not just our obedience. The heart is the center of desires and affections, the soul is a person’s “being” and uniqueness, the mind is the center of a person’s intellect. To love God in this way is to fulfill completely all the commandments regarding one’s “vertical” relationship.
PREVIEW – LOVE OTHERS
Our love for God, the vertical relationship, should pour out into our love for others, horizontal relationships. Jesus said that those who follow him would be identified by one character trait: love. Love is what our faith in Christ is all about and showing that love to others is what makes the Gospel and Christianity different from all other beliefs in the world. Since love is that important, being known for our love is both the distinguishing mark of our faith and the means by which the Gospel is spread throughout the world.
ACTION – TRANSITIONING
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
-Colossians 3:12
As your youth and family pastor, you parents have been such a blessing. Your constant words of encouragement, help on events and projects, and your cooperation with my learning the role have all been a major boon to my time in that role. Several times, a thank you, an expression of confidence, or reassurance given at just the right time have helped me press through the more challenging times. As we worked out events and projects, I have greatly appreciated your wisdom and insight, working through logistics, patience in planning around schedules, and coordinating transportation. Your love for my family has greatly encouraged my heart. I have also benefitted greatly from your grace as I learned how I fit uniquely into this role, how to best connect with your kids, and how all the pieces work together. Your constant support and help have made all the difference in God’s work in On The Rock. Don’t let that stop.
Your constant support and help have made all the difference in God’s work in On The Rock. Don’t let that stop.
Now, the time for a transition has come. As Pastor Micah comes on staff, I am certain he will do an excellent job in serving our Lord with you and your teens, and he will do many things differently. As he learns how he fits uniquely in this role, he will have his own share of gaffes and laughs. While Pastor Micah will make different choices, he will need the same support, grace, patience, and wisdom from you as you have shown me. Be as kind with his blunders as you have with mine. Be as encouraging during his down days as you were in mine. Be as loving of his family as you have been with mine. Just because the leadership is changing, the needs are just the same. In fact, if On The Rock grows under his ministry as I suspect it will, the needs may even be greater. I know you will rise to the occasion. I know you will be just as gracious and generous with Pastor Micah in his ministry as he helps your teens keep building On The Rock!
Here to Serve,
Aaron Jeffery
Lead Pastor | Grace Baptist of Tyrone