East End

6-8-08

Text: Romans 12:1, 2

First and foremost congratulations to the graduates of the class of 2008. Graduating from high school or college is definitely a milestone in a person’s life. I especially think about the high school graduates because they are entering the “adult” world. I believe the text today as a lot to say for the graduating class. First of all our bodies do not belong to us, they belong to the Lord. This is especially the case if we are a born-again Christian as 1 Corinthians 6:19 reminds us when it says, “or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit….” This principle teaches us that it is not only our actions but also our thoughts since they are in our mind that matter to God and should be acceptable to Him. I love what the apostle Paul ends verse 1 by saying, “which is your reasonable service.” So many times people think that God places unreasonable expectations on them or burdens that are just too heavy for them to carry. The truth of the matter is that we are the ones who put unreasonable expectations on ourselves and we make our burdens much too heavy. God tells us to do three things. First of all we are to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind. Secondly we are love others as our self. Finally God tells us to obey His commands. This is a very simplistic breakdown of the Christian life, but nevertheless it is a good summary. We get to the heart of the message to the graduating class in verse 2. The best way I know how to sum up that verse is as follows: you are to be in the world, but not of the world. We as Christians can not live in a bubble and be shielded from the rest of the world. But just because we can’t escape the sin doesn’t mean that we have to partake in it. Now more than ever we need young Christian men and women to go into our world and impact every aspect of our world from the pulpit to Wall Street and every place in between. So many high school students graduate and for some reason they leave their faith behind in high school. It is the job of the church, relatives, but most importantly mom and dad to instill biblical values in their children and then continue to pray for them. Many parents leave the responsibility on the church and then can’t understand why the children are leaving the church when they turned 18. It is because they only heard God’s word once or twice a week. They need to hear it and see it lived out practically every day. That is why Proverbs 22:6 means so much to people when it says, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” The problem is many people are failing to do the first part of that verse, train them! We as a church need to have a burden for all men and women but especially those between the ages of 18-25 because that is when it seems that most young adults lose their way and their faith. Because the only way that they can be “transformed by the renewing of their mind” is to constantly have a relationship with the living God. My advice for parents including myself in the coming years is when you pack your child up to go to college make sure they have their Bible, but most of all your prayers! I believe we can once again make this country “one nation under God” but it is going to adults to teach the coming generation that God is still relevant in today’s world and then in turn the coming generation is going to have to hold tight to their beliefs and convictions and not give in to the pressures of the world. It will not be easy, but then again graduating high school wasn’t easy either but we are better off for putting in the hard work. May God bless, lead, and change the course of our country through the class of 2008!