[00:00:01] Speaker A: Hey, thanks so much for listening to this message. My name is Jason and I'm one of the ministers here at the Madison Church of Christ. It's our hope and prayer that the teaching from God's Word you hear today will bless your life and draw you closer to Him. If you're ever in the Madison, Alabama area, we'd love for you to worship with us on Sundays at 8:30 or 10:30am if you have any other questions about the Bible or want to know more about the Madison Church, find
[email protected] Be sure to also check out our Bible study podcast, Madison Church of Christ Bible Studies. Thanks again for stopping by.
[00:00:38] Speaker B: What an incredible day to be here at Madison.
Back to school. There we go. Back to school Sunday.
Can you believe it?
That summer is here. Summer is over, I guess, and school is here.
[00:00:53] Speaker C: And you know, it is crazy how it just flies by, you know, I.
[00:00:59] Speaker B: Guess that's how it goes. The cycle of the year, the climb from one thing to the next to.
[00:01:05] Speaker C: The next, you know, parents, very soon.
[00:01:08] Speaker B: Maybe even tomorrow morning for some of you, you're gonna be getting up early, getting kids up early, getting them ready, fixing hair, fixing lunches, getting them out.
[00:01:19] Speaker C: The door onto school. And it just is crazy how it all flies by. You know, kids, teens, you know, it's here.
[00:01:32] Speaker B: It'S here. I'm excited for you.
[00:01:34] Speaker C: I'm proud of you and ready for you.
[00:01:37] Speaker B: But I know some of you are excited.
[00:01:40] Speaker C: Some of you may be a little.
[00:01:41] Speaker B: Nervous, and that's okay.
[00:01:43] Speaker C: And some of you may be completely over it already and it hasn't even started yet. And I understand that, too. But please know that your church family loves you and, and cares for you.
[00:01:56] Speaker B: And is here for you to pray with you. Pray for you and be with you through this school year. You matter to us.
[00:02:05] Speaker C: We care about you. And we want you to know that we're here with you through this.
[00:02:10] Speaker B: And so in thinking about today, thinking about back to school Sunday, I couldn't help but think about my first year in school, kindergarten.
My mom was my teacher.
[00:02:22] Speaker C: Actually, I cheated on that.
[00:02:24] Speaker B: But anyway, so.
So I loved it. But the two things that I thought about for back to school Sunday and thinking about kindergarten, the two things that I loved the most were circle time. You know, that time you sit in a circle on the rug and you talk about the days, you sing the days of the week song, and then you count how many days that you'd been in school. And then when I would get out of school, we would go home and we would climb this huge tree and in our front yard, and I loved that tree. We actually called it the sycamore tree. And we would climb all the way to the top where the wind would blow those skinny branches back and forth and we didn't care.
We were on top of the world and thought we were the coolest kids in town. You know, as kids, there are so.
[00:03:15] Speaker C: Many great lessons that we learned from climbing that tree. You know, climbing could be hard, it.
[00:03:21] Speaker B: Could be challenging, it could be dangerous.
[00:03:25] Speaker C: But it was pretty awesome.
[00:03:28] Speaker B: Mom didn't know how skinny those branches were at the top.
[00:03:32] Speaker C: It could be painful to climb, it can be painful to fall.
[00:03:36] Speaker B: So I think it's really fitting for today's lesson to actually have our own story time, our own circle time. Can we do that? And then talk about climbing trees and.
[00:03:47] Speaker C: Even down trees and what that means for life here and then eternity?
[00:03:54] Speaker B: So today I want to read to.
[00:03:56] Speaker C: You one of my favorite books, one of my kids favorite books.
[00:04:01] Speaker B: It's by Mo Willems. It's called Goldilocks.
[00:04:04] Speaker C: Not just any Goldilocks, though. Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs.
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs.
[00:04:12] Speaker B: Let's read this together.
Once upon a time, there were three dinosaurs. Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur, and some other dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway one day. For no particular reason at all, the three dinosaurs made up their beds, positioned their chairs just so, and cooked three.
[00:04:32] Speaker C: Bowls of delicious chocolate pudding at varying temperatures.
[00:04:37] Speaker B: Oh boy, said Papa Dinosaur in his loud booming voice. It is finally time to leave and go to the someplace else.
Yes, continued Mama Dinosaur, I sure hope no innocent little succulent child happens by our house, our unlocked home, while we are someplace else.
The other dinosaur made a loud noise that sounded like a big evil laugh.
[00:05:04] Speaker C: But was probably just a polite Norwegian expression.
[00:05:07] Speaker B: The three dinosaurs went someplace else and were definitely not hiding in the woods.
[00:05:12] Speaker C: Waiting for an unsuspecting child to come by.
Sure enough, five minutes later, a poorly supervised little girl named Goldilocks came traipsing along.
[00:05:25] Speaker B: Just then, the forest boomed with what could have been a dinosaur yelling, gotcha.
[00:05:30] Speaker C: But I'm pretty sure it was just the wind.
[00:05:32] Speaker B: The loud noise was immediately followed by another loud noise that sounded kind of like, be patient, poppet dinosaur. The trap has not yet sprung.
[00:05:41] Speaker C: But that could have been a rock falling or a squirrel.
[00:05:46] Speaker B: Either way, Goldilocks was not the type.
[00:05:48] Speaker C: Of little girl who listened to anyone or anything.
[00:05:52] Speaker B: For example, Goldilocks never listened to warnings about the dangers of barging into the strange, enormous houses.
So as soon as Goldilocks came across.
[00:06:05] Speaker C: A strange, enormous house, she barged right in.
[00:06:11] Speaker B: Inside, Goldilocks immediately smelled the three bowls of delicious chocolate pudding. Mmm, Said Goldilocks. That chocolate pudding smells delicious. If only I could get all the way up to the top of the counter. Then Goldilocks noticed a very tall ladder.
[00:06:27] Speaker C: That just happened to be there and certainly wasn't left on purpose.
[00:06:31] Speaker B: Goldilocks climbed up the ladder and found herself face to face with three gigantic.
[00:06:36] Speaker C: Bowls of chocolate pudding.
[00:06:38] Speaker B: But the first bowl of chocolate pudding was too hot. But Goldilocks ate it all anyway, because.
[00:06:44] Speaker C: Hey, it's chocolate pudding, right?
[00:06:46] Speaker B: The second bowl of chocolate pudding was too cold. But who cares about temperature when you've.
[00:06:51] Speaker C: Got a big bowl of chocolate pudding? Not her.
[00:06:55] Speaker B: The third bowl of chocolate pudding was just right. But Goldilocks was on such a roll.
[00:06:59] Speaker C: By now, she hardly noticed.
[00:07:02] Speaker B: Soon Goldilocks was stuffed like one of those delicious chocolate filled little girl bon bons. Which, by the way, are totally not.
[00:07:09] Speaker C: The favorite things in the whole world for hungry dinosaurs.
Tired and groggy, Goldilocks noticed three chairs in the living room.
So she climbed down the ladder and walked out of the kitchen.
[00:07:23] Speaker B: The first chair was too tall, the second chair was too tall, and the third chair was too tall. Goldilocks wasn't going to climb that high just to sit in some chair.
[00:07:33] Speaker C: So she hiked over to the bedroom.
[00:07:35] Speaker B: When she got there, Goldilocks noticed that the beds were also gigantically big.
What is going on around here? Groaned the exhausted girl. The bears that live here must be nuts.
Just then, the room filled with a loud booming noise that was either a passing truck or a dinosaur gloating.
A few more minutes and she'll be asleep. Delicious chocolate filled little girl bon bons are yummier when they're well rested.
[00:08:04] Speaker C: Even a little girl who never listens to anyone or anything had to hear that.
[00:08:12] Speaker B: Goldilocks took a minute to stop and.
[00:08:14] Speaker C: Think, which was longer than she was used to stopping and thinking.
[00:08:19] Speaker B: Hey, she told herself, this isn't some bear's house. This is some dinosaur's house.
Say what you like about Goldilocks, but.
[00:08:28] Speaker C: She was no fool.
[00:08:30] Speaker B: As quickly as she could, she ran.
[00:08:32] Speaker C: To the back door and got out of there.
[00:08:35] Speaker B: Just then, a loud plane flew by, which sounded pretty much like a trio of dinosaurs yelling now or charge. Or the Norwegian expression for chewy bon bon time.
And suddenly and completely coincidentally, the three.
[00:08:47] Speaker C: Dinosaurs rushed through the front door. But they were too late.
[00:08:52] Speaker B: Goldilocks was gone, and all that was.
[00:08:55] Speaker C: Left in the house were three disappointed dinosaurs.
And the moral of the story is, if you ever find yourself in the wrong story, leave.
And the moral for the dinosaurs is, lock the back door.
[00:09:12] Speaker B: There's a story we find in Luke chapter 19 of A Wee little man. And a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a city sycamore tree for the Lord.
[00:09:21] Speaker C: He wanted to see our children's story. You know, really makes it sound like.
[00:09:28] Speaker B: This cute little guy who had to get high up in a tree to see over everybody else. The fact is, Zacchaeus was a wee.
[00:09:36] Speaker C: Little man with no shortage of problems caused by his profession. And the way that he carried himself, his name and his occupation of sorts really caused a lot of problems in his life that led to this point where we pick up and find Zacchaeus. Let's get right into Luke chapter 19, beginning with verse 1.
[00:10:00] Speaker B: He entered Jericho that he there is Jesus. He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named.
[00:10:07] Speaker C: Zacchaeus, and he was a chief tax collector and was rich.
And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not because he was small in stature.
[00:10:21] Speaker B: I want you to think about with me this story that Zacchaeus had written for himself up to this point. You know, he had set himself up so well financially. It says in verse two that he was what?
[00:10:34] Speaker C: A tax collector and was rich.
[00:10:38] Speaker B: You know, a tax collector back then would have been, you know, extremely well off. You think about this town that they're in. It was Jericho. That's where Jesus was passing through. Jericho was this very wealthy city. It was in a perfect location in the Jordan River Valley. And it really set this town up to be an incredible taxation center and maybe the biggest in all of Palestine. And, and so if you were a.
[00:11:04] Speaker C: Tax collector in that day, you were loaded.
[00:11:07] Speaker B: If you were a chief tax collector in that day, you were very well off. A chief tax collector in Jericho would have been extremely well off.
And so Zacchaeus was that.
[00:11:23] Speaker C: But Zacchaeus in his profession, tax collectors were hated among the Jews.
[00:11:30] Speaker B: And Zacchaeus was a man who had.
[00:11:32] Speaker C: Reached the top of that tax collecting profession.
[00:11:36] Speaker B: What's the saying?
[00:11:38] Speaker C: There are two certainties in life, and we don't like either one of them. Death and taxes.
No one likes it when the tax man's coming, especially a dishonest tax man. And that's what they were known for back then.
He would have been absolutely hated by those around.
But we see this dishonest tax man in verse three was seeking Jesus it.
[00:12:06] Speaker B: Could be the case that the most.
[00:12:07] Speaker C: Hated man around was actually seeking the most loving man to ever live on this earth.
I wonder.
I wonder what led Zacchaeus to this moment.
[00:12:24] Speaker B: I wonder if Zacchaeus had made it.
[00:12:26] Speaker C: A point to actually climb trees and.
[00:12:29] Speaker B: Listen to things that happened afar off.
You see, if you think back with me in the book of Luke, you think about the things that had led up to this point where we get.
[00:12:40] Speaker C: To Luke chapter 19.
[00:12:41] Speaker B: Before that, you'll go back a few chapters and think about what would it.
[00:12:47] Speaker C: Have been like to be somebody that could listen to what's happening.
[00:12:53] Speaker B: You think about Luke chapter 15. You would hear from Jesus, some incredible stories there, and especially one about a guy who took an inheritance, took a.
[00:13:05] Speaker C: Lot of money, and went and spent it all from his father, but the father ultimately welcomed him home.
You find that in Luke 15, in.
[00:13:16] Speaker B: Chapter 16, you see a rich man who treated a poor man poorly and then suffered in eternity because of it. In chapter 17, you would see this incredible scene of 10 lepers who Jesus gave hope, who thought they had no hope.
[00:13:36] Speaker C: And I bet it was special. It would have been special to witness that one come back and thank him for that hope.
We read in chapter 18 about Jesus telling a story about a Pharisee who.
[00:13:50] Speaker B: Thought he was something, and then hearing.
[00:13:53] Speaker C: About a tax collector who actually verse 13 says is standing afar off, humbled himself before God, and Jesus praised him for that.
Then right before we get to Zacchaeus, right before his story, we read of a rich guy who.
[00:14:14] Speaker B: Knew all the.
[00:14:15] Speaker C: Rules, who followed all the rules, but Jesus talked to him about having treasure in heaven, and he went away sad.
And then we read this question, then, who can?
Who can be saved?
And Jesus says, what is impossible for man is possible with God?
I don't know, but I wonder.
I wonder if Zacchaeus was following from a distance leading up to this encounter with Jesus, hearing the things that Jesus.
[00:14:50] Speaker B: Said, watching the things that he did.
[00:14:53] Speaker C: And compared all that to his story, seeing the rich young ruler who followed all the rules but wasn't willing to give everything up.
Was he now Zacchaeus? Was he now the one that hasn't.
[00:15:09] Speaker B: Followed all the rules?
[00:15:11] Speaker C: Was he willing to give everything up?
See, maybe like Zacchaeus and the rich young ruler, we've had that inner dilemma as well.
[00:15:22] Speaker B: We follow all the rules, but we're not willing to give everything up.
Or maybe we haven't followed all the.
[00:15:28] Speaker C: Rules yet and we're here today considering giving it all up to follow Jesus. You see that's the story. We find Zacchaeus in here.
[00:15:40] Speaker B: He is a guy rejected by men, and rightfully so.
[00:15:43] Speaker C: He was seeking to see who Jesus was.
Let me ask you, have you found yourself in a story that you don't like?
You're looking for a way out.
Maybe it's one that you haven't even written yourself, but you were put into a family situation that it's not your fault, but you're in this family and.
[00:16:11] Speaker B: You'Re part of it.
[00:16:15] Speaker C: It's less than ideal and it's hurting you.
It's painful to be a part of it.
[00:16:22] Speaker B: Or decisions have been made for you because this person has hurt you or.
[00:16:27] Speaker C: That person has hurt you and you're.
[00:16:30] Speaker B: Really struggling with that. Or you have something going on inside that nobody knows about but you, and.
[00:16:36] Speaker C: You just don't know if there's a way out.
Maybe it's a story that you've written for yourself.
[00:16:43] Speaker B: It's choices that you have made that have caused you to be in the wrong story.
The wrong group of friends, the wrong.
[00:16:50] Speaker C: Job, the wrong habits have caused you.
[00:16:53] Speaker B: To be where you are today.
[00:16:55] Speaker C: And let's just say things could be so much better.
See, being in the wrong story, whether.
[00:17:04] Speaker B: You chose to be in that story or not, it can feel helpless, it can feel hopeless.
[00:17:09] Speaker C: And it can have its highs, but man, it can have its lows.
Maybe you feel like Zacchaeus probably did and you just don't know if there is a way out.
But remember the words that Zacchaeus maybe heard right before he had this encounter with Jesus in Luke 19.
With men it is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.
Maybe Zacchaeus was seeking Jesus to know him for the very first time. Not just know about him and his teachings and the things he did, but eager to know and learn more about what he thought was a hopeless situation.
Let's keep reading. In verse 4.
[00:18:00] Speaker B: So he ran ahead and climbed into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.
[00:18:06] Speaker C: And when Jesus came to the place.
[00:18:08] Speaker B: He looked up and said to him, see Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for.
[00:18:12] Speaker C: I must stay at your house today. So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.
[00:18:18] Speaker B: You know, we mentioned earlier that there's some. There's a lot of lessons that we.
[00:18:22] Speaker C: Can learn from climbing a tree.
[00:18:26] Speaker B: Climbing takes growth.
[00:18:27] Speaker C: It takes effort, it takes trust, it.
[00:18:31] Speaker B: Takes stability, it takes taking a risk.
[00:18:35] Speaker C: Going out on a limb, it's. It's risky, it's dangerous.
[00:18:39] Speaker B: And if you don't know what you're.
[00:18:40] Speaker C: Doing, it might just bite you.
Zacchaeus climbing on that tree, climbing up.
[00:18:47] Speaker B: That tree showed that he was at.
[00:18:48] Speaker C: Least willing to put in some effort to see Jesus. He was willing to go a little bit closer to Jesus.
But then Jesus says a word that a guy we've been focusing on probably hasn't heard as much as he would like.
Zacchaeus.
I bet Zacchaeus had been called a lot of names, but his name, Zacchaeus, probably wasn't a name that he heard very often.
Jesus, the Son of God, calls Zacchaeus by name.
[00:19:30] Speaker B: Zacchaeus may not have known everything about.
[00:19:32] Speaker C: Jesus or even known who Jesus really was at that point, but Jesus knew Zacchaeus.
[00:19:39] Speaker B: Jesus knew that he was going to die very soon for Zacchaeus. He knew Zacchaeus had a soul and it was worth reaching out to by.
[00:19:50] Speaker C: Name, don't you think? Zacchaeus being in that tree, hearing his.
[00:19:56] Speaker B: Name called it would have made him perk up. It would have gotten his attention.
However, Jesus doesn't just stop there.
[00:20:03] Speaker C: You notice he tells Zacchaeus he must stay at his house today.
[00:20:08] Speaker B: It wasn't, I know who you are and I know what you've done.
[00:20:13] Speaker C: It was, I know who you are and I want to be with you.
Jesus offers Zacchaeus a way out of this story that he's been writing.
[00:20:24] Speaker B: He offers for himself, Jesus to become.
[00:20:28] Speaker C: The main character rather than Zacchaeus.
[00:20:32] Speaker B: And don't you love verse 6?
[00:20:35] Speaker C: So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.
Don't you know? That was a special moment, A special.
[00:20:45] Speaker B: Moment for a guy who probably felt.
[00:20:47] Speaker C: All but special in that moment.
[00:20:50] Speaker B: There was risk involved, but the reward for climbing that tree and then coming.
[00:20:55] Speaker C: Down that tree was eternity changing for him.
[00:21:01] Speaker B: That moment didn't last too long because.
[00:21:05] Speaker C: The crowd was there.
[00:21:07] Speaker B: The crowd, they speak up and they say this. And then they saw it and they.
[00:21:12] Speaker C: All grumbled, he has gone in to be with a man who is a sinner.
See, Little did the crowd realize at that moment, they were the ones.
They were the ones, at least in.
[00:21:28] Speaker B: A physical way, keeping Zacchaeus from seeing Jesus.
Zacchaeus had put in the effort, at least physically, to climb that tree. Jesus is the one who extended the offer for him to come down that.
[00:21:41] Speaker C: Tree and change him physically.
And we keep reading and see what happens here.
[00:21:47] Speaker B: And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold. And Jesus said, To him today, salvation has come to this house, since he.
[00:22:01] Speaker C: Also is a son of Abraham. And then it ends with this. For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.
[00:22:10] Speaker B: Zacchaeus saw that he needed to repent, to change, to quit being the star.
[00:22:15] Speaker C: Of his story and make someone else the main character.
Not to earn Jesus love and attention, not to earn it. But in response to it, he said.
[00:22:29] Speaker B: Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of.
[00:22:34] Speaker C: Anything, I restore it fourfold.
You know, it's not easy hearing somebody say, you're wrong.
And you'll notice Jesus doesn't tell Zacchaeus how wrong he is.
Jesus calls him by name and says, I must stay at your house today.
The Son of God wanted to go to Zacchaeus house.
Zacchaeus is looking for Jesus, and Jesus.
[00:23:02] Speaker B: Sees him and already knows who he is and the difference that he could.
[00:23:06] Speaker C: Make in his life.
[00:23:08] Speaker B: It wasn't Zacchaeus.
[00:23:11] Speaker C: You got some problems.
Zacchaeus knew he had problems.
But Jesus offered a relationship.
He made it personal like he so often did.
We see Jesus desire to push to be with him. It pushes Zacchaeus to see the potential of the story in front of him.
Jesus was in the seeking and saving business back then, and he is in the seeking and saving business still today.
You know, it's pretty cool what you can learn from a little kid's story about Goldilocks and a wee little man who climbed a tree.
[00:23:58] Speaker B: There's so many powerful lessons that you could learn from this story about reputation, about how we need to be willing to seek Jesus to fix our reputation, how we need to be the right person around the right kind of people, how we need to confront ourselves and then go to others to try to make things right in our lives.
How we could, you know, how the crowd can get in the way of things. There's a lot of things that we could talk about.
We could connect it to other stories in our Bible about maybe like Mephibosheth.
[00:24:32] Speaker C: Who was putting a story crippled and the wrong family and all, but he's still welcomed at the king's table.
We talk about how we respond to Jesus love, not earn his love.
But today I want to ask you a simple question, is who are you in this story?
Let's say Jesus is a given.
[00:24:58] Speaker B: He's Jesus.
There's only one Jesus, and we all know that. We want to be like him in every way possible.
[00:25:05] Speaker C: But what about the other characters in this story?
What about Zacchaeus are you like Zacchaeus? Are you someone who is in a mess of a life?
If you made a mess of your life, you put in the effort to be here today.
[00:25:23] Speaker B: You climbed the tree.
[00:25:24] Speaker C: And I'm so thankful for that.
[00:25:26] Speaker B: I'm so thankful that you're here because it shows you are searching for Jesus and his ways. And the offer for Jesus to Zacchaeus is still the offer that is there for us today to climb down the tree and to follow Him.
You see, the crowd was in the way, but that didn't stop Zacchaeus from climbing down the tree.
[00:25:50] Speaker C: He didn't use that as an excuse.
[00:25:53] Speaker B: But just because we have a crowd doesn't mean that we have the excuse of the crowd. Sometimes we let the crowd stop us.
Sometimes we let the hard things get in the way of doing what we.
[00:26:05] Speaker C: Know we're supposed to do.
Jesus is worth going through the hard things.
He's worth coming down the tree because he can change everything for you and me.
So are you like Zacchaeus or another main character in the story? What about the crowd?
Are you like the crowd?
You see, the crowd has good intentions.
[00:26:31] Speaker B: They're there to see Jesus, to experience Jesus.
They know the stories, they know what he's done, and they want to be.
[00:26:40] Speaker C: Close to him and doing all that.
[00:26:44] Speaker B: It really can make you even almost.
[00:26:46] Speaker C: Too busy to be seeking those who also need to know Jesus and cause us to be a little judgy.
You remember the crowd, they were doing what, grumbling.
And so you can inadvertently, with good intentions, but inadvertently stop somebody, stand in the way of somebody seeing the Savior.
So are you like Zacchaeus?
You like the crowd or another main character in this story? Are you like the sycamore tree?
Do you live your life with the purpose of lifting others up so that they can see Jesus more clearly?
Searching, seeking for those who need a new main character in their story and.
[00:27:40] Speaker B: Making things personal for them, offering a relationship to them with the Savior that you know that you care for and that you know that they need to know better.
See, if you are in need of a new story, a new main character in your story, I pray that today you can be sycamore trees. Zacchaeus was a short man and perhaps.
[00:28:04] Speaker C: Never would have seen the potential that God had for his story if he hadn't changed his perspective.
Maybe physically, but certainly spiritually.
Church, our young people need your encouragement.
[00:28:25] Speaker B: They're about to start a new school year, some of them, very first thing in the morning, and they need lifting up.
[00:28:33] Speaker C: They need to Be built up so.
[00:28:35] Speaker B: That they can be closer to the Savior.
Today you're going to be actually given that opportunity to make that happen, to be sycamore trees. For those that are going to school, from our college age all the way down.
[00:28:51] Speaker C: We want to ask you to do this, challenge yourself to do this.
[00:28:55] Speaker B: That people at all these doors as you exit this auditorium this morning will be. Will have buckets of names, and there's some out on even a pallet board.
[00:29:05] Speaker C: Out there hung up all nice and neat. I want you to go and take.
[00:29:08] Speaker B: One, take two, take three of those.
Not your favorite, not digging through, finding.
[00:29:13] Speaker C: The one that you're already praying for, I hope.
But pick some kids, some teenagers, some college kids to pray for, to be.
[00:29:23] Speaker B: Sick of more trees for them. Commit to praying for them for the school year, not just at the beginning, but throughout it, because they need lifting up.
[00:29:33] Speaker C: They need you to pray for them. And I know it'll mean so much to them to know that there are people in this church family praying for them throughout the school year.
Kids, teens, you know you're about to have first days at school, and first days are hard almost for everybody.
You know, I know that even though it's your first day, you can still make a difference on your first day. And for somebody else's first day.
I remember my hardest first day of school. It was eighth grade, and it was.
[00:30:12] Speaker B: In a new town.
New school, new people, new place.
[00:30:19] Speaker C: I was scared, I was intimidated.
And I'll never forget the guy who came up and introduced himself to me, the very first one. His name was Russell. His name is Russell.
And I'll always be thankful for that friend.
I want to encourage you teens, kids to be that friend.
I want to encourage you to be sycamore trees.
[00:30:44] Speaker B: You're going to be surrounded so often by those who will tear others down, who will bully, who will gossip. Don't be that person.
[00:30:54] Speaker C: Be somebody that's going to lift others up, is going to know their name and call them by name, make it personal for them and offer them a relationship.
Be a sycamore tree that lifts others up so that they can see the Savior more clearly.
You know, what's cool is in a way, that makes you missionaries.
You see Jesus before he left Earth. You know, we read he had the.
[00:31:24] Speaker B: Job of seeking and saving the lost. He gave us that mission as well.
[00:31:29] Speaker C: And you're entering a mission field with.
[00:31:33] Speaker B: The goal of helping seek and save the lost. We have a savior that this world.
[00:31:38] Speaker C: Needs, and they need to know him clearly, see him clearly and know him personally.
And so, you know, we pray for missionaries around here, so we're going to pray for you.
You know, at the end of our service today, one of our shepherds, Keith Parish, is going to be praying for our teachers, our administrators, our students, because.
[00:32:01] Speaker B: You'Re going on a nine month mission.
[00:32:03] Speaker C: Trip here and you're starting this nine month mission trip.
[00:32:07] Speaker B: And we want you to know that we're behind you, we're praying for you. We're here to lift you up and.
[00:32:13] Speaker C: Hold you up throughout this school year.
[00:32:17] Speaker B: Parents, I know that you're already praying.
[00:32:19] Speaker C: For your kids in their school year this beginning.
[00:32:23] Speaker B: And so I want to remind myself.
[00:32:24] Speaker C: And remind you that the most important.
[00:32:28] Speaker B: Mission trip that you're going to take is not across the world is not to this distant place, but is in.
[00:32:36] Speaker C: Your home, to your child's room even, to show them and talk to them about the love of Jesus, to tell.
[00:32:45] Speaker B: Them about a God that created them, that loves them and wants to be.
[00:32:48] Speaker C: Back with them, and to talk to them about how to become a follower of Jesus through baptism.
Parents, we want to partner with you in that we have a great youth.
[00:33:06] Speaker B: Ministry for our teenagers that I'm so thankful for and I love so much. And we would love for your teenager to be a part, an active part.
[00:33:14] Speaker C: In that partnering together in this effort. It's certainly not perfect, I promise you that, but it is a great youth ministry that will make an impact on your family and shameless plug.
[00:33:31] Speaker B: Next Sunday, we're going to be launching.
[00:33:34] Speaker C: Our children's ministry, our Kids Ministry to.
[00:33:37] Speaker B: Partner together.
[00:33:41] Speaker C: This idea of helping our children and our families raise disciples of Jesus.
These aren't perfect ministries. Neither one is.
They're far from it. But they have a purpose of getting our kids to heaven together.
We'd love for you to be a part of that. We're excited about it.
It's going to be a great thing.
You know, I want to end with this thought.
[00:34:12] Speaker B: I think it's so important.
[00:34:13] Speaker C: Maybe the most important part of this story from Zacchaeus and Jesus is that Jesus came to save sinners like Zacchaeus, like me and like you.
You know, Jesus wasn't the guy that, that people expected him to be.
[00:34:34] Speaker B: He didn't live the life that people expected him to live.
[00:34:36] Speaker C: He was.
[00:34:37] Speaker B: He would eat with people that, that others wouldn't eat with. He would talk to people that others wouldn't talk to. He would spend time with people that others wouldn't spend time with.
Jesus can help rewrite your story of sin of addiction, of loss, of hurt, of pain, of divorce, of bad choice here and choices that were made for you there.
[00:35:03] Speaker C: He's a master at changing stories and changing eternity.
And just like Zacchaeus, we need Jesus.
The moral of the story for Goldilocks was, if you find yourself in the wrong story, leave.
The offer that Jesus extended to Zacchaeus.
[00:35:32] Speaker B: Is still our offer today.
[00:35:35] Speaker C: Leave your story and follow him.
If we can pray for you about these things, encourage you, and be a sycamore tree for you, we want to do that.
If you are in the wrong story and want to change that, we want to help you do that. We want to be a part of that and know that you're not alone in that process.
You have a church family here. You have a God that loves you, and we want to be a part of that. There are going to be shepherds at every one of these doors. Or you can come forward while we sing this song and know that we love you and we're here to pray with you and for you and be sycamore trees for you. Let's stand and sing.
