The Parenting Series: Modeling & Training (Pt.2)

(Part 2 of 3)

“Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”-1 Corinthians 11:1

As parents we are to model faith for our children. To model means to serve as a standard or example. The Apostle Paul, spiritual father to the early church, often encouraged them to follow his example:

“Brethren, join in following my example,  and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.”-Philippines 3:17

Paul’s instruction, however, would have been nullified in the hearts of those who heard it, if they had not seen it displayed in his life first. This was the same example employed by Jesus, who before taking time to teach His disciples, He first invited them to follow Him. This is what God meant when he wrote in Deuteronomy 4:9 that we are to take heed ourselves, those things we’ve seen and heard, before we can instruct others in it:

“Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren.”-Deuteronomy 4:9

Modeling always precedes teaching. We cannot carry a “Do as I say, not as I do” attitude. We must first have made application and be living these principles ourselves. We can’t teach our kids to forgive, if they never see us walk out forgiveness. We can’t teach our kids the importance of tithing, if they never see us tithe. We can’t expect them to stay calm in the midst of a storm, if we fly off the handle at every gust of trouble. If attending church is optional to you, it will likely become optional to them. If you prioritize things ahead of church, so will they. We can model both good and bad behavior. So we must remain conscientious of that. 

You can either to a thermostat or a thermometer. One of them reacts to the temperature in the room, the other sets it. It is the difference between being a visionary parent and a reactionary parent. It’s hard to set the temperature in your home to “peaceful” if you fly off the handle and scream at the top of your lungs every time your kids misbehave. It is even harder to correct that behavior in them when we are the one’s modeling it for them.

The dangerous tendency, however, is to excuse our compromises. When we do, we lay the groundwork for continued compromise in our kids lives as they will continue to build upon the compromises that we’ve allowed or excused in ourselves. It hard to correct bad behavior by simply telling someone to stop. Good behavior/Godly practices must be modeled before we can expect others to accept any training in righteousness that we may offer. 

I read this recently and it made so much sense in this context: “Train up a child in the way they should go, but be sure to go that way yourself.” It doesn’t mean that we have to be perfect, but it should be obvious that living a Godly life is a priority to us as parents.

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church 

The Parenting Series: Modeling & Training (Pt.1)

(Part 1 of 3)

“Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them!”- Psalm 127: 3-5a

Parenting, according to Wikipedia, is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. If I could be so bold, I would also add spiritual development to that list. 

That is quite a task for those brave enough to tackle parenting. When my wife and I first became parents of our first born 25 years ago, we were blissfully ignorant of that definition. Or at least we were ignorant of the monumental effort that it would require. In fact, we were shocked by how little instruction we were given at the hospital. The first night the nursing staff was wonderful, they came in every 12 minutes and showed us how to bath the baby, change the first disgusting diaper, as well as how to feed and swaddle the baby. The next night, we were on our own. And then, they put us in our car and sent us home without an instruction manual! I would have liked to have known about colic, ear infections and temper tantrums. Right? We spent mosts of our early parenting years just trying to keep him alive and when we found out that we could do that, we decided having another child would be a good idea. It wasn’t until after our oldest daughter was born that we began to really think about what is our ultimate goal as parents? 

Have you ever asked yourself that question? What is the goal of parenting? Shouldn’t there be a big picture? Isn’t parenting important enough hat we should have some sort of a destination in mind, so that we are not haphazardly raising our kids with no real objective or outcome anticipated. As a Christian, who lives by a biblical worldview, my objective may look differently from some of yours. As I began to look deeper into the objective of parenting I came across a quote by Pastor Craig Groschel that really sums up well my parenting objective:

“Our greatest priority as Christian parents is to gradually transfer our children’s dependence away from us until it rests solely on God.” 

For a long time I thought I was to raise my kids to be independent, unfortunately, many times becoming independent from you means that they also want to be independent from what you believe; including faith in God. In reality, however, my mission as a parent isn’t to make them more independent, but rather to shift their dependence from me, solely onto God. In this way, God remains a focal point in their life, founded on their own personal relationship with Him and not based on my faith as a parent. 

How do we do that? How do we champion that in our homes? It begins with modeling and training. 

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church 

The Cost of Christmas (Pt.2)

(Part 2 of 2)

“Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?” Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.” At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him.”-John 6:60-66

Sometimes there is a cost to Christmas that we fail to consider. John tells us that at this point many of Jesus’ own disciples turned away and deserted Him. The people of Jesus’ day dreamed of the moment that the Messiah would come. They dreamed of being liberated from Roman bondage and living heaven on earth, so to speak, with the Messiah reigning among them. Many of Jesus’ disciples believed Him to be the Messiah and followed Him enthusiastically, until His teachings became difficult and demanded them to abandon their old way of living to follow Him. Yet, Jesus still chose to come.

In fact, Jesus warned those who would follow Him that, in much the same way, He was being rejected, so they would also be if they chose to follow Him. There is a cost to following Jesus. Like Him, it may cost you some relationships:

“A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.”-Luke 14:25-27

In comparison to Christ, we cannot love others or even our own lives, more than we love Him. So, when we celebrate the birth of Christ, we must count the cost of being His disciple.  If being abandoned by His disciples wasn’t difficult enough. He was, then, stripped of His dignity on the way to the cross:

“Some of the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into their headquarters and called out the entire regiment. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and grabbed the stick and struck him on the head with it. When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.”-Matthew 27:27-31

The Roman soldiers stripped Him down and mocked Him. They led Him to the cross, where they gambled for His clothes, and hung Him as a criminal on display for all to see. Christmas cost Jesus His dignity.

Ultimately, however, Christmas cost Jesus His life:

“By this time it was about noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last.-Luke 23:44-46

Jesus came to lay down His life as a ransom for many. Some of you are probably thinking this sounds like a Good Friday message. I’ll let you in on a secret, Good Friday is when the bill for Christmas came due. Christmas comes with a cost! Jesus had a budget for Christmas…ALL IN!

So before you get frustrated about getting another scented candle for Christmas or were forced to eat green bean casserole for the seventh time, remember the true cost of Christmas. We stress ourselves out over a few gifts and a hectic schedule and have gotten our eyes off what it truly cost Jesus to give us eternal life.

Pastor Scott Burr

The Cost of Christmas (Pt.1)

(Part 1 of 2)

“I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!” Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, and many others to rise. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”-Luke 2:30-35

Simeon’s prophecy was one of wonder and one of worry. It describes how Jesus would be the light and glory of Israel, but it also describes the tumultuous life Jesus would live causing the rise and fall of many. Moreover, it describes the opposition that He would face and how the final events of Jesus’ life would pierce Mary’s soul. 

As I read this passage, I was reminded that there was a cost associated with Jesus’ coming. Of course, we all are well aware of the cost associated with Christmas. I was reading some statistics about what Christmas costs the average family and found out that the average family spends an average of $800 on gifts and 42 hours shopping and attending holiday get togethers. For the most part what Christmas costs us can be categorized into financial expenditures, time and energy. 

However, if Christmas looked more like Jesus, what would the cost be? That begs the question, what did it cost Jesus? 

“You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God,

he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God

and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”-Philippians 2:5-8

Coming to earth cost Jesus His comfort and privilege. Jesus gave up His divine privileges in heaven to put on flesh, come to live as a servant, and die a criminal’s death. He, literally, gave up everything that we are striving to attain to come down and take the penalty of our sin upon Himself. Jesus thrust Himself out of His comfort zone, knowing full well what it would cost Him. 

Christmas was never designed to be comfortable. Let’s be honest, we attempt to romanticize the events surrounding the nativity to feel as cozy and comfortable as possible. The harsh reality, however, is that His exodus from heaven to earth was not an easy journey. Yet, He chose still to come. I wonder how many of us would continue to celebrate Christmas, if it truly costs us our comfort? 

If that wasn’t enough, the cost of His coming to earth would also tax His reputation: 

“For John didn’t spend his time eating and drinking, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.”-Matthew 11:18-19

Throughout the New Testament, Jesus is mocked and opposed, primarily by religious leaders. He is accused of being a glutton and drunkard. He is called a friend of sinners and in Matthew 2:24 is accused of deriving His power to do miracles from Satan. 

This type of an attack would cripple many of us. We are so approval driven in our culture that this sort of abasement would have caused us to question our faith or, at the least, back away from it so as not to draw attention to ourselves. What if Christmas cost you your reputation? Would you still celebrate it?

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church 

Finding Jesus at Christmas (Pt.2)

(Part 2)

“Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual. After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t miss him at first, because they assumed he was among the other travelers. But when he didn’t show up that evening, they started looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they couldn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there. Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions. all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.”-Luke 2:41-47

The crazy thing about this story is that Mary and Joseph didn’t realize that Jesus was missing at first, but when He didn’t show up they started searching for HIm. Isn’t that so like us? We don’t realize Jesus is missing from our lives until He doesn’t show up when we expect Him?

Why do we never stop to take inventory until it becomes obvious that something is missing? When is the last time that you stopped to take inventory to see if Jesus is with you? Is He present in your prayer time? Is He present in your bible study? Is He present in your worship? Or are you just assuming that He is?

I am not saying that by losing sight of Jesus that you’ve lost your salvation. Pastor Adrian Rogers once said: “You can be in a relationship with Jesus without being in fellowship with Jesus.” Joseph and Mary remained in relationship with Jesus although they had lost sight of Him, but the fellowship between them had certainly been broken.

God sent Jesus to save us and bring us into a right relationship with Him through Christ, however we can distance ourselves from Christ when we take that relationship for granted and assume that He is with us by discounting His mission to pursue our desires.

When they realize He was missing, they looked among their family and friends, but when they could not locate Him they had to go back. Where you ask? They had been to Jerusalem and at the Temple to present their Passover offering. They found Him right where they left Him. He wasn’t hiding. He was on mission. Busy about His Father’s business.

God isn’t hiding from you! You haven’t lost the spirit of Christ. He is right where you left Him. Where did you leave Him? Some of you would find Him if you simply revisited your prayer closet, opened up your Bible, made the house of God a priority, forgave a loved one that hurt you, demonstrated some generosity, thought of another person before yourself, or by volunteering to serve others.

If you wan to recapture the spirit of Christ, you just need to go back to where you left Him.

Have you lost sight of Jesus this Christmas? Perhaps you have never began a relationship with Christ, but today you’d like to do so. Maybe, you’ve simply lost sight of Him and today you are burdened to recapture the spirit of Christ. Take a moment to pray this with me.

Father, Thank you for you Son, Jesus. I am so grateful that you sent Your one and only Son into this world to save us. I know that I don’t deserve salvation, but I am thankful that you loved me enough to send Jesus to die for my sins. Today, I repent of my sins and ask your forgiveness. I receive the gift of eternal life that comes through Jesus Christ. I believe that Jesus died for me and that He was raised from the dead three days later that I may have eternal life. Lord, help to to live a life that honors you and thank you for helping me to discover that Jesus is the true meaning of Christmas. Amen.

Finding Jesus at Christmas (Pt.1)

Finding Jesus at Christmas
(Part 1)

“Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual. After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t miss him at first, because they assumed he was among the other travelers. But when he didn’t show up that evening, they started looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they couldn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there. Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions. all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.”-Luke 2:41-47

I don’t know if Luke 2:41-47 would be considered a traditional Christmas passage, but there are some interesting parallels that can be found in it that have a lot a great application to our current holiday season.

In this passage we read how Mary and Jospeh lost sight of Jesus during an important “Holy Day” celebration. The phrase Holy Day is where we derive the word holiday. The Passover was a feast celebrated in Israel that commemorated the historical moment at which God delivered Israel out of Egyptian bondage. However, according to Colossians 2:16-17, the feast foreshadowed much more than that:

“So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.”

The feast foreshadowed the coming of Jesus Christ, Himself! So, how do you lose Jesus in the midst of a Holy Day centered around His coming? Joseph and Mary got so caught up in all the traditions and family business, Jesus slipped away unnoticed. Which got me thinking that if Mary and Joseph could lose sight of Jesus during the holidays; it isn’t too far fetched to believe that we might lose sight of Him too.

How do we know if we are losing sight of Christ at Christmas? Well, if you can stand two hours in a line to see Santa, but complain if the church service runs over an hour long; you might have lost sight of Christ. If you can spend three hours shopping online for the perfects gifts, but don’t have time to read a chapter of Luke each day to remind yourself of Christ’s work; you might have lost sight of Christ. If your Nativity set is buried in the corner of your home, but you’ve posted 50 pictures online of your Elf on the shelf for the whole world to see; you might have lost sight of Christ. If you spend more money on Christmas this year than you’ve given to missions the past ten years combined, you might have lost sight of Christmas.

If someone walked into you home, would they know Jesus is the center of your celebration?
The problem started for Mary and Joseph when they assumed that Jesus was still with them. How many of us have fallen into that trap? Not just at Christmas, but all year long. We get so caught up in our life pursuits that we fail to recognize that Jesus has a mission that He came to fulfill. Jesus was on a mission here in Luke 2. He had to be in His Father’s house. Joseph and Mary assumed that Jesus’ only mission was to follow them around.

Pastor Scott Burr
Dayspring Community Church

The grief that stole Christmas (Pt.2)

Part 2

“He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.  But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”-John 1:10-14

This time of year is a struggle for so many that are walking through grief, depression, anxiety, and overwhelming loss. As they navigate their own personal time of darkness they find it hard to balance the joy of Christmas with the reality of their pain. To make matters worse, the holidays seem to magnify that loss.

Perhaps what you are walking through isn’t even a recent occurrence in your life and you feel as though the world has already forgotten the pain you experienced, but it is just as real to you today as it was then. However, God has not forgotten you:

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”-Psalm 46:1

He is a very present God in the midst of our suffering. In fact Psalm 34:18 tells us:

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”

God has not forgotten you, especially this time of year. It is precisely why He sent Jesus. Christmas, actually, is an important reminder to the grieving, not of who is missing; but who is with us. Emmanuel-God with us!

In fact, Jesus didn’t come to magnify our pain, but He came in response to it. In response to our pain and hurt, Christ came and walked through pain and hurt with us; all the way to the cross. He experienced what we are experiencing so that He could comfort us in our times of tragedy. He came to bring balance to our sense of loss by sharing with us His very real and comforting presence.

The book of Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time for everything: a time to mourn and a time to dance. You have permission to do both. It is acceptable to grieve. However, is also acceptable to rejoice in the midst of your grieving. You are not taking anything away from the memory of your loved one, nor should you feel guilty because you are choosing to receive the hope, joy, and comfort that He came to give us.

Yes, Christmas is about peace, comfort, joy and hope. Those are the things that He brought with Him into the weary and broken world into which He was born. When Jesus left heaven, He didn’t bring with Him what He needed; instead He brought what He knew we would need to comfort us in the midst of our hurt and pain.
They are the same things that He is looking to bring into your life today. Not joy in the place of suffering, but joy in the face of it. Not the absence of adversity, but the comfort of His presence in the midst our situations. When faced with our deepest hurt, He sent Jesus to comfort us.  The grief that you are feeling is very real, that is why Jesus came; He came to comfort you in your time of loss.


Pastor Scott Burr
Dayspring Community Church