All the Marbles Day 11

Overwhelmed with what you are facing today? Change your perspective! Breath, and remember discipling your children is about walking and talking about Jesus! Make intentional moments to share your faith! It’s not about your head knowledge or an App, or a program or a blog. It’s about the Spirit guiding you each day! As you lean on Jesus, rejoice in the Hope that comes from Him!

Remember, “following Jesus won’t make life better, BUT it will make you better at life!”*

Invest today’s marble well!!

(1) Read Matthew 28:19 together. (Remind your children, Matthew is not just a book in the Bible—it is an eyewitness account of the life of Jesus!) What 3 phrases does The Great Commission use to describe what is entailed in making disciples? Simple, right? A Theology degree is not needed nor being ordained Pastor, to understand what Jesus commanded. It’s going to people (this includes our children!), encouraging them to follow Jesus (that is what baptism is about), and then teaching them to obey Jesus’s commands (the journey of discipling walking/talking together). Simple to understand hard to put in practice.

(2) Take turns sharing about your baptism and what it meant to you. The day, the people, the pastor, etc. Your baptism was (and is) a big deal!

In the early church, baptism marked believers as followers of Jesus. Jesus died and was buried in the earth, so a Christian is plunged beneath the water, and as Jesus rose from the tomb, so a Christian comes out of the water a new creation! When these Christians took this step of baptism, they were broadcasting to the world that their life, identity, and priorities were centered on Jesus! This immediately marked them as Jesus followers, AND all the hostility the world had for Jesus was now directed to them....it was a big deal! And still is!

(3) Discuss why baptism is an important step? As parents it’s important to stress to our children that baptism IS a big deal and should not be entered into until they are ready—just like you cannot save them, you need to wait for them to conceptually grasp the cost of being a Christian before you rush them to baptism. When they do connect the dots, since you are the one discipling them, you will know!

If you are confused about how to talk to your kids about this or need someone praying for you, email me at equippingtomorrow@icloud.com, and I’ll be here to walk with you through this unique opportunity we have been given.

* Andy Stanley Photo cred Charlie Atkins