Teach These Things to Your Children

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Short Summary
The discourse emphasizes the importance of teaching and living the commandments of God, particularly focusing on loving God and loving one’s neighbor as summarized by Jesus. It encourages believers to make these teachings a natural part of daily life through example, prayer, scripture reading, worship, fellowship, hospitality, and discipline, highlighting that obedience is a demonstration of love for God. The message also reassures that through faith in Jesus and God’s grace, believers are called to pursue righteousness and pass on these values to future generations.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary of the Discourse on Teaching the Commandments and Love

Setting and Purpose:
– The discourse was delivered outdoors during a General Convention, an event that gathers members of the ecclesiastical family from youngest to oldest.
– The aim was to unite all ages in worship and reflection on God’s commandments and how to pass these truths to younger generations.
– Emphasis was placed on viewing all attendees as one large spiritual family, beyond just biological families.

Theme and Key Scripture:
– The theme was centered on teaching, encouraging, and passing on the truth to children.
– Main scripture reading: Deuteronomy 6:6-7 — “All these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise.”
– Moses, near the end of his life, reminded Israel that God’s commandments must be internalized (on their hearts) and lived out, not just intellectually known.

Interactive Review of the Ten Commandments:
– The congregation participated by shouting out the Ten Commandments, which were then posted for all to see.
– The commandments were divided into two groups to illustrate Jesus’ teaching: the first four about loving God, and the last six about loving one’s neighbor.

Jesus’ Summary of the Law:
– Quoting from Mark 12:28-31, Jesus summarized the law:
– “The most important one…: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
– “The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”
– These commands come from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (love God) and Leviticus 19:18 (love neighbor).
– The discourse highlighted that all commandments stem from these two great principles.

God’s Character and Love:
– Reference to 1 John 4:8: “God is love.” This emphasizes that love is central to God’s nature and thus to His commandments.
– Christians are called to embody unselfish love: loving God, loving righteousness, loving mercy, loving others, and even loving enemies.

Psalm 19:7-14 (Read during the service):
– Praises the perfection, trustworthiness, and joy-giving nature of God’s law.
– Recognizes human frailty and asks for forgiveness of hidden faults and protection from willful sin.
– Ends with a prayer that words and meditations be pleasing to God.

Reasons for Obedience to God’s Law (Deuteronomy 6:20-25):
– Moses instructed the Israelites to explain the law to their children by recounting God’s mighty acts: delivering them from slavery in Egypt and fulfilling His promises by giving them the Promised Land.
– Obedience is linked to prosperity, life, and righteousness.

Christian Perspective on the Law and Grace:
– Christians recognize, through Apostle Paul, that they are no longer under the Mosaic Law but under grace because Jesus fulfilled the law.
– Salvation and favor with God come through faith in Jesus’ sacrifice, not by works.
– Obedience is a response to God’s grace and love, not a means to earn it.
1 John 5:3: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.”
1 John 3:23 and 4:21 teach that loving God means believing in Jesus and loving others.

Teaching Children the Commandments:
– The most effective way to teach children is by example — living out the truth consistently.
– The truth should be the ongoing conversation of life.
– Practical methods suggested:
– Prayer with children (e.g., at meals and bedtime) — referencing Luke 11:1 where disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray.
– Reading the Bible and telling Bible stories — referencing 2 Kings 23:2, where King Josiah read and explained God’s covenant publicly.
– Singing spiritual songs and hymns together — supported by Colossians 3:16 to let the word of Christ dwell richly through teaching and singing.
– Regular attendance at meetings and fellowship with others — supported by Hebrews 10:25 encouraging believers not to neglect meeting together.
– Hospitality and welcoming others — referencing Romans 12:13 about contributing to the needs of saints and showing hospitality.
– Discipline as teaching, not punishment — referencing Hebrews 12:11 that discipline produces the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

Challenge to the Audience:
– To personally or as a family/ecclesia study the Book of Matthew and list the commandments Jesus gave, noting that they mainly fall into the two categories: love God and love neighbor.

Closing Hymns and Psalms:
– Hymns such as “Guide Me,” “He Leadeth Me,” “How Great Thou Art,” “The Old Old Story,” “Amazing Grace,” “Count Your Blessings,” and “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” were sung, reinforcing themes of God’s faithfulness, love, guidance, and grace.
– Psalms such as Psalm 5:11-12 and Psalm 103:13-22 were read, highlighting God’s compassion, protection, and righteousness toward those who fear Him.

Final Encouragement:
– The discourse concluded with a call to internalize God’s law of love, to glorify and honor God by living righteously, and to serve as examples to others.
– The final hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” was sung as a reminder of God’s unchanging mercy and love.

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Key Bible Verses Mentioned:

– Deuteronomy 6:6-7 — Teaching the commandments to children.
– Mark 12:28-31 — Jesus’ summary of the greatest commandments.
– Deuteronomy 6:4-5 — Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
– Leviticus 19:18 — Love your neighbor as yourself.
– 1 John 4:8 — God is love.
– Psalm 19:7-14 — The perfection and joy of God’s law.
– Deuteronomy 6:20-25 — Explaining the meaning of the law and God’s deliverance.
– 1 John 5:3 — Keeping God’s commandments as love.
– 1 John 3:23 and 4:21 — Loving God and one another.
– Luke 11:1 — Teaching to pray.
– 2 Kings 23:2 — Reading and explaining God’s covenant.
– Colossians 3:16 — Teaching and singing with thankfulness.
– Hebrews 10:25 — Encouragement not to neglect meeting together.
– Romans 12:13 — Showing hospitality and helping brethren.
– Hebrews 12:11 — Discipline producing righteousness.
– Psalm 5:11-12 and Psalm 103:13-22 — God’s compassion, protection, and faithfulness.

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This discourse powerfully emphasized the importance of internalizing God’s commandments, especially the twofold law of love, and actively teaching these principles to children through example, prayer, Scripture, fellowship, and discipline. It connected Old Testament commands with New Testament fulfillment in Jesus, underscoring that Christian obedience flows from love and grace rather than legalism.

Transcript

Good evening, brethren. Can you hear me okay? Well, we’re outside, and I think last time we had the opportunity to do this at General Convention, it was seven years ago, and Brother Obi led us in a wonderful service.

And so we saw this as an opportunity to do have a time in the Lord’s beautiful creation and enjoy that. This evening we want to all gather together, from youngest to oldest, to praise and honor our Heavenly Father. We rejoice that God is a loving God that has a plan of salvation for all people in preparing for this, and some of the thought behind this is that we’re gathering together all as one big family, one big spiritual family. You know, at General Convention, sometimes we have meetings where the young people are here and the adults are over here.

And we saw this as an opportunity for us all to come together, come together to praise our Heavenly Father. We have our families here, but really, when I think the Lord looks at us, he sees us as that one large spiritual family.

The point tonight, and as you might have seen on the discord on the program, is to think about what we teach, how we encourage, and how we pass on the truth to our young people, and we have an awesome opportunity every day to do that, and especially at convention. You know what I appreciate as I look around? There are faces that I have known since I was very little, that I’ve gotten to go to Sunday school with and meet with and study with.

And sometimes now we’re spread all across the country. But what’s really special is that we’re all back together, many of us here at General Convention. Let us read the theme of tonight’s vesper from Deuteronomy 6, 6, 7. All these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise.

The Scripture just read comes from a time at the end of Moses life before Israel enters the Promised Land. Moses reminds the nation of the commands God gave them. Moses said the commandments were to be upon their hearts, meaning not just an intellectual knowledge or not just in their head or their brain. But they must conform their lives and wills to these commandments. They have to do what these commandments say.

Along with applying these commandments to their own lives. Moses tells the Israelites to teach them to their children. So I’ve got some questions for you, brother. How well do we remember these commandments? How often do we discuss them with Our families and with our children.

Do you think as a group, we could remember the Ten Commandments right now? So we’re going to do something a little different, and many times at General, we don’t have everybody just shout out from the audience, but we’re going to do that tonight for this part. So if you know one of the Ten Commandments, I encourage you to shout it out, and if I can hear it, we’ve got some volunteers that are going to help us post it up here.

So who’s got a commandment that they can start with? And you can just shout it out. Honor thy mother and thy father. Honor thy mother and father. Who has number five?

Here it comes. Thank you, Joseph.

All right, what’s. What’s another one? I heard Thou shalt not kill. We got another one down front. Thou shalt not kill.

Who has that one?

Do not murder. Number six.

All right, number one. No other gods before me. Who has number one? Number six is coming down. Here comes number one.

Come on down.

Do not give false testimony. Number nine. Very good. Do not lie. Might be another way of saying it, too.

Right. Very good. Do not steal. Is that number eight? Very good.

Number.

Honor the Sabbath. Number four. Come on down.

Oh, very good. Come over here.

What’s another one.

We have? I think we have. Honor thy mother and father. Do not covet. Do not covet.

Very good. Number 10. All right, Charlie, down here.

All right, brethren, no graven images. Do not make idols. Number two. All right.

Okay, what’s another one?

Do not commit adultery. Number seven. Okay, I heard. Observe the Sabbath. I think we got it down.

We got that one.

Number three. Thank you very much. Our final one to add to the list. All right, Joshua.

Thank you to all my volunteers. I appreciate it very much. Good job, brethren. We got the Ten Commandments. Well done.

Now, as part of our. As part of honoring our Heavenly Father, tonight, as we’re going to have this, we’re gonna have four sections. This is the first section, and after each section, we’re going to have a hymn, a psalm and another hymn, and so what we want to sing next and in the pamphlets you have is him. Number 71, hymn number 71.

Guide me, Hold me with the.

Till I want no more Open now the crystal wonder with the heels made to fall Let the fire be our journey through strong delivery Ye are still my strength and cheer As I live a time of trouble in my days.

Psalm 19, 7, 14. Law of the Lord is perfect, Refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, Making wise the Simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold. They then much pure gold. They are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.

But them your servant is warned. In keeping them there is great reward. But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins.

May they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May these words of my mouth and this mediation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Psalms 19:7, 14.

Thank you, jenny.

Brother. We will now sing hymn number 87. He leadeth me.

Jesus, His own.

Is faithful.

If I will not be.

Worthy for his enemy.

In the last week of his life on earth, Jesus answered many challenging questions. During one of these encounters with some of the Jewish religious leaders, Jesus was asked the following. In Mark 12:28 31, one of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked them. He asked him, of all the commandments, which is the most important?

The most important one, answered Jesus, is this hero Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. Did you know in answering the question that Jesus was quoting directly from the Old Testament?

Brother Richard told us about this earlier today. In particular, the verses directly precede our theme scripture for tonight, when Jesus says, hero Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your strength. He’s quoting from Deuteronomy 6, 4, 5, and when Jesus said, love your neighbor, he was quoting from Leviticus 19:18.

When we look at the Ten Commandments we have listed here on the boards, why did we divide them with four commandments on one side and six on the other side? Jesus, in a statement, summarizes the law given to the Israelites into two basic rules. Love God and love our neighbor. Does somebody have the love God sign?

Thank you, James. The first four commandments all have to do with how we love and revere God, our Heavenly Father. Now who has the Love our neighbor sign?

All right, Thank you Isabelle the last six commandments are about how we treat each other and help us to show love to one another. If we walk away from tonight’s lesson with only two things, the most important thing to those two things to remember are those two rules. Love God and love our neighbor. In first John 4:8 it says that God is love. Our God is a loving God.

Love is part of his character, and what he wants us to learn and have written in our hearts is the law of love. Just as the Israelites were to teach their children the commandments of the Lord, so are we to teach our children his commandments. For the Christian, this means we have to learn to have an unselfish love in all aspects of our life, to love God, love righteousness, love mercy, love each other, and love even our enemies. When I think of how great our heavenly Father is and how great his love is for his creation, it makes me think of our next hymn, hymn number 358. How great thou art.

All.

Ra, Receive my soul, My Savior.

God.

Jesus.

Psalm 5, 11, 12 but let all who take refuge in you be glad Let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous. You surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Thank you, Will. Now we’ll sing hymn number 116. The old old Story.

Sa.

Jesus at his glory.

Because I know it’s true it satisfies my glories there’s nothing else would do I love to tell the story.

Glory all wonderful and all the golden fancies of all the golden grace I love to tell the story it is so much for me and it’s just a reason I tell him how to be. I love to tell the story Will be My name is Glory to tell your story A gracious stand I want to tell the story.

Glory.

For those who know it.

And when he sings the glory, my singer, you, song will be the old story that I have.

To tell. A story will be a dream.

What is the reason for these rules God has given? Why should we choose to follow them? Moses anticipated similar questions from the Israelites. Later in the same chapter as our theme text, Moses says the following in Deuteronomy 6:2025 in the future, when your son asks you what is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws, the Lord our God has commanded you, tell him. We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt.

But the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Before our eyes the Lord sent Signs and wonders, great and terrible on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised. On oath to our ancestors. The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today.

And if we are careful to obey this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness. Moses gave the Israelites multiple reasons to follow the law. First, God fulfills his promises. God promised the Israelites would enter the promised land, and he performed miracles to free them from Egypt to fulfill his word. Second, the promise of keeping the law and fearing the Lord would lead to life.

Third, obeying the law would be counted to Israel as righteousness. So what about us? As Christians, we know from the Apostle Paul that we are no longer under the law of the Israelites because Jesus fulfilled the law. We are now under grace. This means that if we have faith in Jesus and that he died, that he died for our sins, then through that faith God’s favor is with us.

Not because of anything we have done, not because we are worthy. This favor from God is an unearned gift from God. It is because of this gift of grace that he has given us that we should desire to follow his righteousness. Remember, Jesus summarized the law with this Love God and love our neighbor. God loves us, and he, through his grace, is willing to cover us from our sins.

Because of this, we should seek to do what is right and no longer follow a sinful path. The apostle John gives us the key to show how to show this love. In First John 5. 3, he says, for this is the love of God that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. So how do we show our love for God?

First John 3:23 states, and this is his commandment that we believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he has commanded us, and First John 4:21 says, and this commandment we have from him, whoever loves God must also love his brother. God desires our obedience. That is how we can show our love to God and how we can love our neighbor. Remember, obedience is greater than sacrifice.

Here is a challenge that you could take on as a family or as an ecclesia, or as an individual. Understand what Jesus has commanded us to do. Seven years ago, at the last convention out west, brother Tim Prupa gave a discourse on the Book of Matthew, and I appreciated the Homework he gave in was to find what the commandments were that Jesus gave to his followers. So here’s a challenge if you want to accept it. Go through each chapter in Matthew.

Just look for places where Jesus tells us what we should be doing. Start a list. I think you will see, although there are many items on that list, most fall into these two categories. Love God and love your neighbor. Because of the grace that he gave us and his wondrous love for us, we’re next going to sing him 126A Amazing Grace.

Fall.

My heart to give and grace my fear, My.

Jesus.

Psalms chapter 103, 1322 as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. For he knows how we are formed. He remembers that we are dust. The life of mortals is like grass. They flourish like a flower of the fields.

The wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more, but from everlasting to everlasting. The Lord’s love is with those who fear him and his righteousness with their children’s children and those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. The Lord has established his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules over all. Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.

Praise the Lord all His works everywhere in his domain dominion. Praise the Lord my soul.

Thank you Tom. Our next hymn is number hymn number 340. Hymn number 340k. Count your blessings.

When you are discouraged in all his heart your many mercies taken one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. Count your mercies made him one by one. Count to a 60.

God.

Know.

See your will again help and help forgiveness to your journey. Count your blessing, take them one by one. Count your mercy see what God has done Count your mercy one by one.

Theme of this evening has been to teach our children the commandments of the Lord. We have learned that the commandments can be summed up by loving God and loving our neighbor. We then ask, how are we to teach our children?

How are we to teach our children? Can you hear me in the back now?

Well, I am still learning and so is my family. We are imperfect in this to serve as an example to be held up. Instead of getting counsel from myself, I asked others in our ecclesiastical more experience than me how we should teach our children. The overwhelming answer was that we teach our children by our example.

The brethren shared that us sharing our example is the most impactful how we live our life, how we treat God, how we treat other people.

And this sentence was the most impactful to me of what the brethren shared. The truth needs to be the conversation of our life. The truth needs to be the conversation of our life.

Here are some more suggestions from brethren on how to share the truth with our children. Prayer Prayer for our children at meals and at bedtimes Luke 11:1 the disciples said, Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples reading the Bible or telling Bible stories 2nd Kings 23:2 is referring to Josiah, and it was like he told a Bible story to everyone. The king went up to the house of the Lord and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests and the prophets, all the people both small and great, and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. He told them a Bible story and all the commandments that went with it, singing spiritual songs. Brother Comey talked about that, and that’s what we’ve had the opportunity to do today.

Tonight we’ve been able to connect by singing together, and the Scriptures tell us to keep doing that. Do we do that with our children? Maybe a camp song? Maybe one of our favorite hymns at bedtime. Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you, richly teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Know the suggestion Regular attendance at meeting on Sundays or week, weeknights, getting together in convention to have fellowship with the other children and other families, just like you all are doing now. Hebrews 10:25 not neglecting to meet together as the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. When possible, entertain the brethren in terms of hospitality. Entertain them in your home. Be hospitable to them.

Maybe if you can’t have them in your house, how do you make them feel welcome? Romans 12:13 can contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality and discipline. Discipline is required with our children, not for the purpose of punishment, but for the purpose of learning and teaching. Hebrews 12:11 says, for the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Brethren, let us make the truth the conversation of our life.

Let us strive to write the law of love in our hearts that it may glorify and honor God and serve as an example to others. We will now close with hymn number 356. I’d ask for this last hymn. May we all rise. You all have been sitting for quite a while.

Many without backs. Let us rise and we’ll sing the closing hymn 3:56. Great is thy faithfulness.

Ever will be. Great is my faithfulness? Great is my faithfulness. Morning, my morning Universe I Let us go.

Great is my faithfulness. Pour out to me.

Joy with all nature in all witness to thy great faithfulness? Mercy and love. Great is Is my thankfulness. Praise my thankfulness. Morning to mercies I see all I have need.

Faithfulness Morning, my morning to mercies I see all I am.

Great is my faithfulness.

Ra.

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