Answer those questions that apply to you and your life.

1.   How would you rate yourself spiritually, on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 as highest?)

2.   Attendance (Hebrews 10:25)

• Do you miss services when you could come?
• Do you put other things first on a regular basis (Matthew 6:33)?
• Do you attend Sunday morning Bible study? If not, why not?

3.   Giving (2 Corinthians 9:6-7)

• Do you give sacrificially?
• Do you think you contribute your fair share to the Lord's work at this church?
• Do you consider yourself to be materialistic (where on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1, not at all and 10 being completely so)?

4.   Personal Bible Study (Romans 10:17)

• Do you study the Bible regularly (most days, if not daily)?
• Do you study merely to prepare for class or do you also study for your own personal growth and development?

5.   Nurturing your children (Ephesians 6:4)

• Do you help your children prepare their Bible class lessons?
• Do you work with your children to help them apply the classes, sermons, etc. to their lives?
• Do you bring the Bible into personal situations, like accepting defeat, getting along with other children, obeying your requests, etc.?
• Do you have any questions about specific problems with your children that the elders could help you with?
• If you do not have children of your own, do you try to help encourage the children of others spiritually?

6.   Prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18)

• How would you rate your prayer life (again, 1 to 10)?
• Do you pray regularly with your spouse about your relationship and other things?

7.   Using talents (Matthew 25:14-30)

• Are you helping by teaching classes?
• Are you currently working with someone to convert him/her to Christ? If so, do you pray about it regularly?
• Is the man of the house working to prepare himself to serve as an elder or deacon? If so, what qualifications do you currently lack?
• What areas of your life should you work on so you can serve in this way?
• Are the other members of the family trying to qualify themselves to be the child/spouse/etc. of an elder or deacon?

8.   What kind of influence are you at work, school, etc.?

9.   Do you help with visitation of the sick, shut-ins, etc.?

10.   How do you feel about the goals, congregational direction, etc.? Is there anything about the church (positive or negative) that you would like to discuss with the leaders?

--Roger Hillis

My suggestion is that, if the church has shepherds, it would be a great idea for them to visit every family in the church and have each member of the church to discuss this survey with them. This should be encouraging for the members and eye opening for the elders. Hopefully, it would be a time for spiritual growth and development for all of the disciples of Christ to examine themselves and make any changes that might be needed.

RogerLeeHillis@gmail.com

When Jesus rose from the dead, everything changed. Realities as old as Adam & Eve were suddenly rewritten. Death was defeated by life. Fear was defeated by hope. And darkness was defeated by light. And yet, it seems that God saw fit to announce this universe-altering event to only a very small audience—a few women who misunderstood it at first, and a few men who doubted it at first. And it begs the question: why would God not alert all humanity to the fact that he is bringing life? Why not give the nations an indication that fear has lost to hope? Why would God not at least signify to that part of the world that darkness was defeated by God’s light?

He did. The sun rose.

Every time that morning dawns, God reminds all creation that something new is being done. Every morning, he awakens life, quells fear, and banishes darkness with light.

As he created the world, each new level of his life-giving work was accompanied by the words, “there was morning” (Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). When Abraham was called to demonstrate how God would bring us life in Christ, we are told Abraham “rose early in the morning” (Gen. 22:3). When the Psalmist talked about the goodness of God, he said, “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psa. 30:5). And when Jesus rose from the dead, even those who were unaware of what God had done in that Garden were experiencing God’s gift of new life as the sun rose too.

Dawn may be a daily occurrence all over the world, but that doesn’t take away from its significance in Jesus’ resurrection story. If anything, it adds to the daily significance of sunrise. The resurrection points us to what the daily dawn has always been showing us: that ours is a God who has always had a plan to bring us life with the rising of the Son.

- Dan Lankford, minister

Years ago, many Christians were opposed to a church hiring a fulltime preacher. Their concern (in many cases) was not that the practice was unbiblical, but simply that it might be unwise. They were afraid that, if the church had a fulltime, paid minister, too many Christians would just stop doing much of anything and expect the paid preacher to do it all.

Some referred to this as the “paid pastor” system or the “one man pastor” system. This was especially a concern for churches that did not have elders.

We have all heard the description of many churches that says, the preacher does the work of the elders, the elders do the work of deacons and the deacons and other members do little or nothing. Have you ever known of congregations that could be described in that way?

There will always be people who expect others to do their work for them. That is true in the workplace, often in the home and in almost every circumstance in life. It can also be true of a local church.

There are many jobs that often fall to the preacher.

• Visit all the members in the hospital or who are sick at home
• Teach all of the adult Bible classes
• Take people to the doctor
• Run someone to the grocery store
• Be the social director who plans all the get-togethers
• Organize the teaching program
• Order all of the class material
• Recruit all the children’s teachers
• Mediate family disputes
• Change the church sign
• Pacify the critics
• Teach all of the prospects
• Encourage the weak
• Shoulder the blame if the church isn’t growing
• Send gospel meeting announcement to area churches
• Mow the lawn
• Clean the building
• Write the bulletin articles – type, print, fold, etc.
• Be responsible for newspaper or other advertising
• Follow up with all the guests

I am not suggesting that it is wrong for the preacher to do anything on this list, but I am saying that it is wrong for a church to expect the preacher to do everything on the list while others do nothing. And if he does some of these things, it should be understood that he does most of them because he is a Christian and not because it is part of his work as the preacher or because he doesn’t have anything else to do.

People have often said, “That’s what we pay him for.” And some of the things on this list should rightly be considered to be the work of an evangelist. But the idea that many have expressed that it must be nice to have a job where you only work two days a week, Sunday and Wednesday, displays little real understanding of the Bible description of a preacher’s work. Most preachers I know do not do too little work, but many of them are expected to do too much.

This may explain to some why there are preachers who burn out trying to do too much and quit preaching. Have you ever known a gospel preacher who quit preaching fulltime? Have you wondered why?

A preacher needs some time to recharge and refresh himself personally and spiritually. He needs adequate time off for personal or family vacation time and for additional learning opportunities, such as attending lectureships or a special series of Bible studies at another congregation.

Does the preacher ever get to sit in a Bible class and learn from others? Do other men of the church take a turn filling the pulpit every once in a while so he can listen to the gospel rather than always being the one to deliver it?

There are times when serving God fulltime is just overwhelming and can make a person feel like he is doing it alone. Elijah felt that way (1 Kings 19) and although God reminded him that he was not the only faithful servant in Israel, He gave Elijah 40 days off to go into the wilderness and refresh himself for the days ahead (verse 8).

A friend of mine commented recently in a Bible class that her father, who is an elder in the Lord’s church, has often said that a preacher gets too much credit when things go well and too much blame when things go wrong.

The Bible teaches that every member of the body of Christ is important and has a vital function to perform in the work of a local church (see 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 and Ephesians 4:11-16). The truth is that many Christians expect the preacher to do far more than God expects of him and, as a result, those Christians often do far less than the Lord expects them to do.

(There is also the situation where some preachers want to be the center of attention and have their hand in everything that anyone else does so they can get part of the glory. But that’s another problem for another day.)

A church where everyone else sits back and does little or nothing and expects the preacher to do all of the work (because that’s what we pay him to do) is going to fail. We are a team, working together to serve God, to defeat the devil and to win souls for the Lord.

The apostle Paul wrote, in Philippians 1:27, “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” The phrase translated as “striving together” is an athletic term that speaks of brothers and sisters in the Lord working as a team to accomplish the work that He has given all of us to do – together.

The song says, “There is much to do; there’s work on every hand.” Let’s all put our hands to the plow (as Jesus describes in Luke 9:62) and do the work God has assigned all of His children to do. The church will grow, souls will be saved, God will be glorified and the preacher can be happy and fulfilled as he devotes his life to “the work of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

--Roger Hillis                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            RogerLeeHillis@gmail.com

In ministry, I sometimes encounter people who complain that the church’s teachings are too moralistic. That is, that the church only tries to get people to behave perfectly, but not to love Jesus from the heart. And so, in rebellion against that viewpoint, many have presumed that we should continue in sin, abandon-ing antiquated morals, so that grace may truly abound. The thought is that while the former confines us, the latter will truly set us free.

But the line between moralistic religion and a riotous presumption upon grace is not so fine as some might think. In fact, the gap between them is large enough to accommodate another whole idea: Biblical moral freedom as God has actually ordained it.

When God created mankind, he imposed a standard of morality upon us in order to preserve our freedom to speak openly with him, our freedom to enjoy the prosperity and rest of an abundant garden, and our freedom from death (cf. Gen. 3:22-24). It was only when we rebelled against this code of morality that we became slaves.

And when God brought the Israelites into Canaan, he imposed a standard of morality upon them in order to make them free to live at peace with their political neighbors, free to be economically rich and prosperous, and free to enjoy a society of harmony and equality (cf. Deut. 4:5-8). It was only when they rebelled against his morality that they oppressed the vulnerable and became slaves themselves.

Morality is not inherently a prison. When morality is objectively dictated by God, it is the key to release us from a prison we make for ourselves. That is why we need law from God. And that is why we need to follow his law—for our own good and the good of all others.

- Dan Lankford, minister 

*We are in the midst of a sermon series on the 10 Commandments—a moral code which, if followed, can still bring freedom and equality to all societies. Click here to hear those messages.*

Last night, I saw a documentary on the natural world which was scripted and produced from a Christian worldview, and it made all the difference in the world (literally). While the revelation of God is so much more complete in his written word, it is simply astounding to know that God is the creator and then to be able to appreciate the perfection of design at every level of the universe. From the polygonal shape of a virus molecule to the intricate mechanism of a grasshopper's jump to immense concepts of chemistry and radiation in our solar system... all of it works together in perfect harmony, from the most vast to the most microscopic. Not only is there a designer behind this universe, but he is really good at what he does.

Our brother Matt Robison also wrote a tremendous article on this subject yesterday (from which some of the above paragraph was drawn). I recommend it wholeheartedly, as it brings some solid Biblical perspective on the universe up against the deliberately godless philosophy of our day.

I hope you enjoy the read, and more than that, I hope that you can look around at the created world today and be awed by the God who "upholds the universe by the word of his power." (Heb. 1:3)

Matthew’s version of the Great Commission reads like this: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.” (Matthew 28:19-20).

The first part of that assignment (verse 19) has to do with making disciples for Jesus, followers who will commit their lives to Him. This part of the commission is important and is often emphasized, that we must convert people to Christ. The second part of the Great Commission (verse 20), however, is just as important, but often is not emphasized as much as the first part.

“Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” refers to helping these new Christians to grow spiritually. The term that is often used for this is follow-up. There are many passages that deal with this concept of growing stronger in our relationship with Jesus.

“As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2).

“You therefore, beloved, since you know these things beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away by the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen” (2 Peter 3:17-18).

This growth needs to begin as soon as the new Christian is dried off from baptism. And, in the physical realm, who is responsible for the growth of a new baby? Isn’t it the ones who brought him into the world? Giving birth is only the beginning of parental responsibility and if a father and mother don’t take care of that need, it is looked upon in society as a criminal act of abuse and neglect. But often, in the spiritual realm, we baptize someone into Christ, make sure they have a Bible to read and study, and then move on to the next prospects.

Those of us who help to teach someone the gospel need to stay with them and help them mature in faith after they become disciples of Christ. There are several words which are used in the Bible to describe this spiritual growth process. It is called being grounded, rooted and settled. New Christians are encouraged to develop in the faith and to grow to maturity. The process is compared in the Bible to a new baby who grows to adulthood.

Of course, this parallel is not exactly the same, because the new Christians are old enough to have some responsibility for this as well as those who have taught them. But we must not just assume that they can take care of themselves in every regard now that they have obeyed the gospel. They probably will not realize how important certain things are in helping with their growth. We have a responsibility to help protect new Christians from those temptations that could lure them away from Christ and back into the world.

The parable of the Sower (Luke 8) tells us that some of those who become Jesus followers will not remain faithful to Him. And Jesus also tells us why they will stumble and fall.

The seed that falls by the wayside (verse 12) will not produce a Christian in the first place because the devil prevents the word of God from even entering their hearts.

The seed that falls on rocky soil produces a new Christian (verse 13), but then they are drawn away by temptations of the world that can include such things as old friends who will convince them to quit the Christian life and old bad habits that will not let them go on to spiritual maturity. We need to warn new disciples about these things and provide them with a whole new set of godly friends who can help them overcome the old bad habits (sins) that they used to love.

The seed that falls among thorns (verse 14) represents people who obey the gospel because they want to serve God, but then Satan makes certain that they have problems in their lives which can cause them to doubt their decision and often, to give up on their newly discovered faith. Verse 14 warns about “the cares of this life.” This includes things like job or money problems, family concerns, health issues or any number of other things, that may or may not be sinful in and of themselves, but which can distract and discourage new Christians, often causing them to reverse their decision to follow the Lord. (It is no coincidence that the Bible tells us that, immediately after His baptism, Jesus Himself was tempted by the devil; see Matthew 3:13-4:11.)

We must be certain that we warn new Christians of the many ways in which Satan will try to deceive them and convince them to quit serving God.

There are several things that will help to stabilize a new convert and assist him or her to grow spiritually.

Bible studies must continue with this individual. Just because he now knows enough to become a Christian and has done that, this doesn’t mean he knows everything he needs to know about serving the Lord. The church can offer regular Bible classes that will enable the Christian to learn more about the Bible, about prayer, about worship, etc. A course in “Bible Basics” can help the new follower of Christ to know the Bible and how to find answers to the ways in which Satan will attempt to discourage him from growth and development.

Private Bible studies should continue with the new Christian and, in most cases, it is probably best for the brothers and sisters who taught this one the gospel to stay with the study and help him to continue his spiritual journey to heaven. It might be helpful to have others from the local church to join some of these follow-up studies so they can become familiar and comfortable in studying with others. Statistics have shown that a new Christian needs at least three or more members of the church to become friends with, so that they are not tempted to go back to former, worldly friends who might draw them away.

Ask the new Christian to suggest people whom they would like to see become Christians, like family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, fellow students, and others. They will likely want to share their new faith with long time contacts that we would not have a chance to know otherwise. They may set up more Bible studies with non-Christians that will result in even more conversions.

Invite new Christians into your home for a meal and, perhaps, a short Bible study. Get to know them and let them get to know you as well. The first century Christians spent a lot of time together outside of their assemblies (Acts 2:44-46; Acts 4:32) and this helped the new disciples to be close to one another.

-- Roger Hillis

The limited number of things that Jesus spoke from the cross have been the subject of much preaching over Christianity’s two millennia. The gospel writers record seven comments that he made during those six hours. Two of them are quotes from the Old Testament, and both have been in our daily Bible readings these past few weeks.

When he said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, he was quoting from Psalm #22. And when he said, “Into your hands I commit my spirit,” he was quoting from Psalm #31. When heard from one hanging upon the instrument of his death, both seem to ring with a clear tone of defeat. And yet... In both of the psalms that Jesus quotes, the final assessment of the situation is more about hope and redemption than about death and defeat.

Psalm 22 begins by questioning why God is away from the psalmist, but it ends in celebration of the psalmist being drawn into the presence of God (read Psa. 22:22-24)! And while it may sound that his quotation of Psalm 31:5 is a sign of Jesus’ giving up, the psalm continues on to say, “Oh, how abundant is your goodness!” (Psa. 31:19)

Two observations here:

1) Jesus knew that in his death, the will of God was being accomplished, so his comments did not reflect his perspective on failure, but rather on the ultimate triumph of faith in an almighty, all-good God!

2) We may rightly lament our troubles—for they may be great—but we can always turn our eyes upon on the throne of God and find hope. As another psalm says, “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (Psa. 30:5)

- Dan Lankford, minister

There are several things we need to do to make certain that we are sensitive to the needs of our guests. They are, after all, a great source of numerical and spiritual growth.

1. Extend a warm, friendly welcome. Do so whether the guests are on the way in or on the way out. Have you ever felt, when visiting other places, like you were basically ignored? It’s a horrible feeling and we must make sure that those who are guests at our services feel like we really were glad they came.

2. Help our guests find the appropriate Bible classes. They would like to be in the right class for their age group and spiritual level and they also want their children to be comfortable.

3. Help the visiting family find seats together. They don’t want to be separated from each other and they don’t want to sit in a cramped, uncomfortable setting. If the building is filled, move to the center of your row and let our guests find room. Statistics have revealed that if a building is filled to 80% capacity, many guests feel uncomfortable and will not return. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen here.

4. Be careful in Bible class about your comments and the tone with which they are offered. If you find it necessary to express disagreement with others (and, at times, this will be necessary), do so gently, not harshly. Comment on the comment, not the person.

5. We must make certain that our building and grounds are well cared for. They make an important first impression. Guests need to find a place to park close to the door. The lawn must be well groomed. Bathrooms must be clean and odor-free. The walls should be painted and we should be careful about throwing trash around on the floor or seats (this includes gum wrappers, etc.).

6. Song leaders need to be careful to lead songs that the congregation knows and can sing well. Our singing is really important in making a good impression with our guests and when we sing a song that we don’t know well, it leaves the wrong idea in their minds. If there are unusual words or phrases in a particular song (Ebenezer, Ebon pinion, etc.), explain those terms briefly before the song is sung.

7. A guest packet with information about the church would be helpful and much appreciated by those who are considering attending regularly.

8. Do not monopolize the time of the preacher and/or elders. They need to greet our guests and many will be offended if the preacher does not even say “hello” to them. There is nothing wrong with talking with the preacher after services, but, if a guest approaches, let him talk to the guest and then return to you.

Many of these things are simple ideas that we know are important to us when we visit elsewhere. Let’s realize that they are important to our guests also and do our best to make them feel welcome. “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12).

--Roger Hillis

In the midst of his grander point in one of Sunday's lessons, I found a great deal of wisdom in one of brother Tack's short asides. Here's a quick reminder of his point and then a reflection on it from me:

To deviate to the right side of the path of faithfulness to God is to wander into legalism; the belief that you must be good enough to redeem yourself from sin and its consequences. And to deviate to the left side of the path of faithfulness to God is to wander into libertine religion; the belief that God's grace will freely cover even the sins we commit willingly—that we should continue in sin so that grace may abound.

Of course, neither of these is the God-given, Biblical path to redemption, and the reason they both fall short is a fundamental truth that both of them misunderstand in the same way.

What do both liberalism and legalism have in common? They both underestimate the horror of sin. Legalism purports that sin's contaminating power is small enough that I have the power to overcome it on my own. Liberalism imagines that sin is not really all that bad in the first place, so its consequences toward us are negligible. Both misunderstand the compulsory life-debt incurred by sin and imagine that it is something small.

Which leads to the other problem with both deviations from Biblical truth: by downplaying the gravity of sin, both erroneous philosophies trivialize the grace of God. It's either not necessary at all (the legalist), or it is just a cheap band-aid for a petty problem (the libertine). Neither is the case when we look at what the apostle Paul says about the grace of God.

"...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith." (Rom. 3:23-25)

- Dan Lankford, minister

Young people play an important role in the spiritual life of a local church. In the Bible, there are many references to young people and their significant role in God’s plan.

• Timothy was a young preacher for whom Paul had a special place in his heart and in his work.

• Titus was also a young evangelist that Paul worked with and encouraged (at least, he was younger than Paul who referred to him as a “son in the faith”).

• John Mark is believed to be the young man who fled when Christ was arrested (Mark 15:51-52). Later he wrote the book of Mark in the New Testament.

• Many Bible scholars believe it is possible that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a teenager when the angel told her that she would bring God’s Son into the world.

• Joseph was only 17 years old when his brothers sold him into slavery, beginning his journey toward a life of serving God.

• Jeremiah referred to himself as “a youth” (Jeremiah 1:6). He felt inadequate to his task, but God trusted him to do the work and be faithful.

• Much of the book of Proverbs was written as advice from an older, experienced person to a younger one struggling with difficult challenges in life.

• And there are other examples, as well.

The primary responsibility for rearing children in the Lord belongs to the parents, especially the father. “And you fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). But there is no reason why the family and the church cannot work together as partners in helping young men and women grow and mature in the faith.

Parents need to plan spiritual activities for their children to train them to love and serve God. It is obviously going to be helpful to take them to all of the classes and services of the church and to visit other faithful congregations during special times of Bible study and sermons. Often the key to success in a young person’s Bible class is not the teacher during a 40 minute study period, but rather the parents in making certain that the child is prepared and has studied well before he or she comes to class. If teenagers, for example, do not have their lessons prepared for class time, that is as much a parent problem as it is a young person issue.

Bible classes at the church building should be available to supplement, not replace, the Bible studies that the family is doing together at home. But, because many children are not receiving any, or very little, Bible teaching at home, it is vital for the church to have a great Bible class curriculum set up to make certain that young people are learning as much of God’s word as possible, in an organized and helpful arrangement.

One of our goals in Bible classes must be to not only teach Bible facts to young people, and that is very important, but we must also teach these tender hearts to love the Lord. Teachers must stress the application of Bible teaching to the young person’s life and show him/her how following the Bible will lead to a happier, more successful life as well as to an eternal reward. Churches must do their best to choose teachers who do not simply relay Bible truth to young people, but whose lives also match the message. That was one of Christ’s criticisms of the first century Pharisees, that “they say, and do not do.” Our lives must be living illustrations of how Jesus can change our lives for the better and really emphasize that He should make a difference in how we do everything, not just “church things.”

A recently published book, entitled Already Gone, makes a strong case for teaching Biblical evidences to young people. It claims that many young folks make the decision to leave the Lord in late elementary school or middle school, rather than high school or college. Mentally they have checked out long before they possess the freedom to act on that decision and we only realize it when they go away to college and immediately quit serving God. In reality, they quit in their hearts long ago.

So we must emphasize why they should believe in God, why they must believe that Jesus is His Son and why it is consistent to trust that the Bible is a special book, breathed out by God for man’s eternal guidance and direction.

Elders, preachers, teachers and other faithful Christians need to realize that many children we see regularly at services are not getting the father and mother example they need to be well rounded in their faith. If you know of young people whose father is not a godly example, try to help the mother and the child by providing an excellent example of a righteous man who shows an interest in helping others to mature in Christ. If the mother is lacking in her influence, other godly women should make it a special point to encourage her children to be faithful to God. Many of us were encouraged by an older Christian, to whom we were not necessarily related, who took an interest in us and spent time helping us to learn to love Christ.

Some parents have expressed remorse over having lost their children because the parents didn’t place enough priority on spiritual things while their children were growing up. We don’t get a second chance to do a better job at that, but we can perhaps make a difference for our grandchildren or for the children of other Christians whom we can influence in a godly way.

It has been said that children are the church of tomorrow and there is certainly truth in that statement. But we can’t wait until they are grown to try to instill in them the value of serving God. We must start now. Training classes for both boys and girls can show them some of the things that they should be working toward as they mature. Let young boys do what they can in the worship services. Give them some instructions about how to lead singing, or to lead a public prayer or to give a short talk from the Bible or how to serve the Lord’s Supper.

Many religious groups have engaged for years in fun and games and food and have turned to many other unscriptural forms of entertainment in an attempt to excite the young and keep them coming to planned activities. It is not the responsibility of the church to provide entertainment to try to keep young people interested in God. Entertainment is fine, in its place, which is to say, when it is provided by the home and family, not by the church. Families do need to provide such opportunities for their children. Those who do not will regret it later. But do not involve the church in things that are not a part of the God-given mission of the church.

Young people can inject energy and excitement and zeal into older, more complacent Christians. The older Christians can add much in the way of experience and wisdom and understanding of the Bible to make certain that young people are not expressing “zeal without knowledge” (Romans 10:1-2). We need each other. So let’s do what we can to help our young people love and obey God, starting when they are still young (Ecclesiastes 12:1).

--Roger Hillis