Radical Commitment

Here you are in Week 6 of not being able to attend church because of COVID-19.  A lot has happened in our country over the past few weeks.  Most of you are now spending much of your time in your home and you likely find yourselves talking about things you never talked about 6 weeks ago; things such as social distancing, sheltering in place, unprecedented times, and flattening the curve.  You’re hearing these words and phrases daily if you listen to or watch any of the news media sources. In thinking about words that you are hearing daily, I am reminded of words that God has asked parents to teach their children daily; His words from the bible.  Deuteronomy Chapter 6 instructs parents to, at all times, teach their children about God.  Talk about Him and His Word when you sit in your house (you’re at your house a lot right now), when you walk along the way (you’re taking walks to get outside and get some fresh air), when you lie down and when you rise.  In other words, remember that in everything you do, every day, you are provided the opportunity to declare God great to your children.

In addition to all the new phrases you’ve been hearing over the past few weeks, we hope you’ve heard us talk about the phrase “Family Worship at Home.” We’ve been posting many resources on the Kiokee website to help equip parents to have a Family Worship time with their children each Sunday morning.  Family Worship is simply teaching and modeling the faith to your children as together you read the bible, pray and sing.  Many of you have been sending us pictures of your family participating in worship on Sunday mornings and we’re so thankful you are being intentional with your children during this time.  But now, we’d like to challenge you to take your Family Worship one step further.  Instead of just make Sunday morning all about Family Worship and then leaving the space and time in the remainder of the week void from the things of God, commit to teaching and modeling the faith to your family every day.  God is in all things, at all times, in our everyday lives.  We’re beginning to rethink what everyday life will look like for us. Have you heard the phrases: “What will our new normal be?” or “What will be our new rhythm?” Think about those for a minute. What if your takeaway from your time at home during the Coronavirus was that going forward the new normal or new rhythm for your family would be for Family Worship to happen every day in your home?  I’d like to challenge you to ponder questions such as, “What am I going to take away from these unprecedented times?”  “What am I learning in all of this?”  “What will I do differently now?”  And most importantly, “How can I not miss out on the opportunity given to me by God to rethink how I can make a difference in the life of my children every day?”

Sherry Matherly
Director of Children’s Ministry

“…that the generation to come might know.”  Psalm 78:6