TEXT: I Corinthians 10:31

SUBJECT: Children's Sermon # : School

Dear Children,

I prepared this afternoon's sermon just for you. I want you to listen carefully, to believe what I say, and to obey God's Word. Long ago, a boy named Samuel said,

You ought to do the same thing. Listen, believe, obey.

For the last few months, I've told you what God wants believing children to do. If you don't believe, God wants you to repent of your sins and to trust Jesus Christ--right now. But if you are a believer, He wants you to do others things too.

Thus far, I've talked about loving God, obeying your parents, and getting along with your brothers and sisters. Now, I'll tell you what the Lord wants you to do in school.

All of you go to school, I think. Some of you are taught at home; others go to a Christian academy; others go to public. Where you go to school is up to your parents. But what you do when you're there is up to you.

What should you do in school? The verse tells you,

You ought to glorify God in school. And that means serving Him from the heart. How do you serve the Lord in school? Do you read the Bible when your class is taking a spelling test? Do you pray while the teacher is teaching? During my lessons, some of the students really obey Malachi 3:16,

What does the Lord Jesus want you to do in school?

WHAT TO DO IN SCHOOL

God wants you to do three big things in school.

The first is: He wants you to respect your teachers.

Unless you go to adult school (or have flunked about 20 times) every student here is younger than his teachers. And God commands younger people to honor those who are older. Leviticus 19:32 says so:

What's more, the teacher in school teaches you in the place of your parents. That means respecting your teacher is a part of honoring your parents. Which you ought to do. The Bible says so in many places, the best known of which is the 10 Commandments (and quoted in the New Testament),

How do you respect your teachers? "Respect" is a matter of the heart. But it can be seen in the way you look at them, listen to them, and talk to or about them.

There is "An eye that mocks". It looks at teachers as though they're idiots or fools!

There is "An ear that despises". It doesn't listen, obey, or take seriously what the teacher says.

There is a "perverse tongue". It talks back or gives sarcastic answers. It also gossips about teachers behind their backs--calls them names, says how much you hate them, and so on.

These things are disrespectful. They grieve the Lord. They hurt you. A few weeks ago, I corrected a boy in my class and he "mouthed off" at me. That made me mad, of course. But not just mad; I felt sorry for him. That sort of attitude is going to hurt him at school, at home, and when he gets a job. If he's that way, his kids will be too some day--much to his sorrow. But worst of all, it brings down the punishment of God. Proverbs 30:17 says,

You don't be that way. You show respect for your teachers. Maybe you can't be the smartest kid in class. But you can be the most respectful. Now go do it.

The second thing He wants you to do is to: Be good to your classmates.

What's the Second Commandment? "You shall love your neighbor as yourself". The kids in your school are your neighbors. To love them doesn't mean you hug and kiss them! It doesn't mean you make everyone your best friend. What it does mean is that you're kind and patient with everyone.

"Patient" means you don't get mad at them or fight them or hate them.

"Kind" means you help them, speak nicely to them, and include them whenever you can.

How do you become good to the kids in school? You do three things:

If this sounds too hard for you--you're right! It is too hard for you--and for me too. That's why we need an Almighty Savior to live in our souls! Cf. John 15:15 with Philippians 4:13.

The third thing God wants you to do in school is: Study hard.

The Bible commands hard work and forbids laziness. Proverbs 6:6: "Go to the ants, you sluggard, learn her ways, and be wise". Nothing works harder than an ant. The Lord says you be a busy little bug too! Part of working hard is studying hard.

The Bible says knowledge is good and ignorance is bad. Proverbs 4:7 and Proverbs 1:22,

A "simpleton and scorner" is a person who doesn't know anything and laughs at those who do!

This means you ought to study hard in school.

Now, there's a difference between "studying hard" and "getting A's". Some kids are smart enough to be lazy and still get good grades. Others can work their heads off and still get C's. Your grades don't matter to God; it's the effort He cares about--Ecclesiastes 9:10; Colossians 3:23.

And so, what does the Lord want you to do at school? He wants you to respect your teachers, be good to your classmates, and study hard.

HOW TO DO IT

How do you do these things?

You start off by confessing your sins. You cannot change for the better until you've asked God to forgive you for your past wrongs. Have you been disrespectful? Have you been mean or "stuck up"? Have you been lazy? If you have, confess these sins to the Lord. He'll forgive you and help you to do better, Proverbs 28:14; I John 1:9.

You pray for God's help. Sometimes, you pray for things but don't get them because they're not God's will for your life. But holiness is (I Thessalonians 4:3). If you pray for it sincerely, God will give it to you--James 1:5.

You resist the temptation to do the wrong things--James 4:7b.

You stay away from bad kids, I Corinthians 15:33.

You make friends with good kids, Proverbs 13:20.

Ask your parents for help.

Meditate on the example of Jesus Christ. We don't know much about His boyhood, but we do know this: He "Grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man". This includes His school life. Your Savior respected His teachers, was good to His classmates, and studied hard.

Now He tells you to do the same. And not only tells you to do it, but died for you so that you could obey Him.

Now go to it.

May the Lord make you the holiest student in your school. for Christ's sake. Amen.