Let me introduce my friend.
She was everywhere.
Every event.
Every ministry.
Every leadership role.
If the Church needed something,
She was already doing it.
Then she turned eighteen.
Freedom walked in.
And suddenly…
She walked out (of the Church).
Life changed.
The people around her changed.
Her schedule changed.
Her priorities changed.
And for the first time,
She was given something powerful:
“Freedom.”
Nobody forced her to come anymore.
Nobody checked on her anymore.
Nobody reminded her anymore.
And suddenly she found herself asking questions she had never asked before.
“Why do I need to go to church?”
“Why do I need to serve?”
“Why am I doing any of this?”
And eventually, one question stood above all the others:
“Did I actually believe in Jesus?”
Many of us don’t lose our faith when life gets hard.
We discover we never owned it.
It’s easy to follow Jesus when somebody else is driving.
The real question is: Who are you when nobody is checking?
Parents can bring you to Church.
Friends can keep you in Church.
Activities can entertain you in Church.
But none of them can make you love Christ.
Some people leave Church.
Others stay in Church.
But both can be equally far from Jesus.
One day Jesus asked His disciples,
“Who do you say that I am?”
And Peter answered,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Then Jesus said,
“Upon this rock I will build My Church.”
Notice what Jesus didn’t say.
He didn’t say,
“I will build My Church on your involvements.”
He didn’t say,
“I will build My Church on your participation.”
He didn’t say,
“I will build My Church on leadership.”
He said,
“I will build My Church on this confession.”
Before Jesus builds His church,
He first asks for a confession.
This Sabbath we celebrate our G12 graduates.
We are proud of them.
We thank God for them.
But our prayer is bigger than graduation.
Our prayer is bigger than attendance.
Our prayer is bigger than keeping them busy in Church.
Our prayer is that each one of them would one day stand where Peter stood.
And say with full conviction,
“Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Because that confession will carry them further than any program.
Further than any leader.
Further than any youth group.
Further than any parent.
So Church family,
Help our children to have their own Confession of Faith.
Because one day they will all be given freedom.
And when that day comes,
the question will not be,
“Did they grow up in Church?”
The question will be,
“Do they know Jesus?”
And that answer will make all the difference.
God Bless,
Pastor Ben