“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands
and bind them on your foreheads.  Teach
them to your children, talking about them
when you sit at home and when you walk
along the road, when you lie down and
when you get up.”

“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds;
tie them as symbols on your hands
and bind them on your foreheads.
Teach them to your children,
talking about them when you sit at home
and when you walk along the road,
when you lie down and when you get up.
Write them on the doorframes of your houses
and on your gates,
so that your days and the days of your children
may be many in the land that the Lord swore
to give your forefathers,
as many as the days that the heavens
are above the earth.”

God is very clear as to how important it is to know His Word.

You will find over 200 uses of the word ‘teach’ in the Bible and that doesn’t includes passages like Proverbs 22:6 which reads,

“Train a child in the way he should go…”

or Ephesians 6:4 which states

“Bring them (them referring to children) up
in training and instruction of the Lord”

“Teach them to your children.”

Why is it so important to teach the Word of God to our children?  Why is it so important to teach our children God’s commandments and statutes?

There are several reasons.  One, we don’t know who else will.  It used to be that modern culture was shaped and reflected by Judeo-Christian believes.  When I was in grade school every morning someone read from the Bible and then we joined in prayer.  If a child didn’t get a Christian up bringing at home, he or she certainly would be exposed to in our culture. This is no longer true.  In the name of modern day religious tolerance, which calls for Christians to be tolerant of the beliefs of others, there seems to be an intolerance of any Christian symbolism or teaching.

This afternoon in a church in New Brunswick there will be a dramatic reading of a 18th century play that calls for tolerance and unity among people.  People of all faiths have been invited to come to this performance in a Christian church.  The church is going to remove all Christian symbols so that no one of offended.

I am offended by the removal of Christian symbols from the church.  I have entered Mosques.  I have entered Jewish synagogue.  I did not demand the removal of any religious symbols before I entered.  As a matter of fact I expected to find such symbols.  Seeing these symbols, learning about these symbols opened the door for dialogue and a deeper understanding of those particular faiths.

Jesus’ great commission to every disciple is to “make disciples…teaching all that He has commanded.”

“Teach them to your children.”

The second reason we are to teach them is so that our children will know the kind of God that we believe in:

A God who rescued the Israelites from four hundred years of slavery, who provided them a way of escape, who provided food and water in the dessert, who brought them to the Promised Land as He promised to do when He made His covenant with Abraham.

A God who rescued humanity from sin and death because He sent His son, Jesus to be a sacrifice for us, to be a sin remover, to die on the cross and destroy the power of death through His resurrection.

A God who provides for us today through His written Word and power presence of the Holy Spirit.

This is what you, by you I mean everyone, have promised today to do for Dustyn. When you responded “I Do” to the vows of baptism you have promised to teach Dustyn, like you have to teach every child who has been baptized at this baptismal font.

You have promised to teach him to pray; to teach the joy of life in Christ; to teach by your example the Word and will of God.

When you teach you are helping a child build a life on the solid, on God’s Word.  When you teach you are helping a child build a life that will not collapse when the storms of life make an unwelcome presence.

As Dustyn grows he will face trials, tribulations, and temptations that will attempt to draw him away from God’s Word. We must teach him NOW to build his life on God’s Word and God’s promises. To build his life on anything else, to quote Jesus, is like building a house upon the sand, that when life’s storms come the house will fall with a great crash.

Notice the extent to which God is telling the Israelites to know His Words.

“Fix them in your heart,
tie them as symbols on your hands and foreheads.”
Teach them, talk about them when you sit at home,
when you walk on the road,
when you lie down,
when you get up.”

Teach them - God’s Word,
commandments, statutes, and promises.

This is the rock to build your life on.

Teach them - God’s children.

This is the only way to show your children you love them.