Hear, Oh Israel.

What is more valuable to us than our children? Yet we neglect them. I neglect the
education of my boys. Tired. Selfish. The pressure of now, of the urgent, gives me
an excuse, a reason to justify not checking in, not showing up at one of, if not the,
most important job of my lifetime, bringing up my children for the kingdom.

Why and how is education valuable in the Kingdom?

1. Education aims to fulfill the purposes of a people by passing on what is
valuable.
a. Public Education: Being a good citizen, and what primarily makes a
good citizen is contributing to the economy.
Deu 6:1-25
(1) Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the
LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither
ye go to possess it:
(2) That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his
commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all
the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. [This is successful
education]
(3) Hear [this is the facts of education] therefore, O Israel, (this is the title) and
observe to do it [this is a commitment to act on the facts]; that it may be well with
thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath
promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.
(4) Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
(5) And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul,
and with all thy might. [this is an attitude and a commitment]
(6) And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: [not
just in your head]
(7) And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them
when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou
liest down, and when thou risest up. [this is way more than book larninthis is heart
to heart, person to person]
(8) And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as
frontlets between thine eyes. [this is using visualsyou know tattoosoften a
symbol of something dear to the person. The symbols on your body are powerful.]
(9) And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. [more
visual reminders, symbols in your house. Anyone who comes can see who you are.]
(10) And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land
which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee
great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
(11) And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged,
which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when
thou shalt have eaten and be full;
(12) Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the
land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. [You are going to be inclined to forget
who you are, and your history, so your education had better be good!]

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Skipping
(20) And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the
testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath
commanded you?
(21) Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and
the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: [This is our story. This is our
identity. This is education.]
(22) And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon
Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:
(23) And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the
land which he sware unto our fathers.
(24) And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our
God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.
(25) And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments
before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

b. Kingdom educationmaking a good kingdom citizen, described here

i. Kingdom Perspective
1. God has a plan and is working it out. He installs Kings.
Whether ISIS or refugee Crisis or Donald Trump, the story
is bigger. Crumbling economy? Muslim terrorists? We are
on the winning side, and God is moving it all towards a
victorious completion. Our job is to make sure were on
Gods side, not on one side or the other in conflicts
between countries. And a huge part of Gods desire is that
the entire world knows him. That should motivate us!
ii. Kingdom Identity
1. Who are you? Largely shaped by the stories we tell. Those
who design the history curriculums know this
a. Pearl Harbor. D-day. These captured my imagination
b. Sergeant York
c. Perpetua Ignatius Felix Manz
d. John Troyer
2. Who am I? American? A Hunter? A Kingdom citizen
a. What fires the imagination?
b. Symbols?
i. Cross no longer symbolizes Kingdom
Christianity
ii. Fish or anchor were early Christian symbols.
c. We need stories that fire our Kingdom imagination,
that tell who we are, and we need Christian
symbols.
iii. Kingdom Attitudes & Commitments (of course Actions, but these
necessarily precede actions)
1. Attitudes toward those less privileged Blacks,
immigrants crazy anti-immigrant sentiment going on.
These attitudes are taught as we look at history and the

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 stories of these people, and our own stories, we were
once immigrants, we were once the less privileged, the
outcasts.
2. Science (Creation studies)worship, not just about
manipulating creation to make it work for us.
3. Musicis wonderful! Good music matters!
4. Its not just the facts; its what you think about the
facts. Your attitude, and what you decide to do with
them---your commitment.
iv. Skills for Kingdom Advancement (toolbox)
1. Yes, getting a job and making a living is part of kingdom
life!
2. Many of our subjects will be used on a job. Many wont.
Because kingdom life is bigger than your job!
3. Reading, writing, Rithmetic, of course.
4. What skills are really, truly, essential for Kingdom citizens
to have? Many, one big one is
5. Discernment!
a. Information Deluge. Read what Patrick wrote. We
live in the information age. As a teacher, I notice
the change in the classroom; my students enter
class each morning with more information than
ever before about events and ideas around the
world. Through blogs, radio talkshow hosts,
YouTube, and Facebook, our students receive a
stream of data each day needing to be filtered and
sorted. Especially troubling with the spread of non-
traditional news media is students ability to get all
their news from increasingly subjective and
opinionated sources. In a world filled with
information, it is vital that kingdom citizens learn to
analyze and weigh all they hear and read. We need
followers of Jesus who are discerning when they
study for topical presentations, prepare for Sunday
school, or listen to news that shapes their
worldview. As educators we face a challenge--how
to teach students to be wise consumers in an age
of cheap information.

2. Education aims to fulfill the purposes of a people by passing on what is

valuable.
a. What is Valuable? Kingdom Identity, Kingdom Perspective, Kingdom
Attitudes & Commitments, and Kingdom Skills.
b. If you could only choose one subject and leave out all the rest. What
would it be? HISTORY. Seriously invest in history. You do that here.
Chester Weaver. Stories.

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ALL MUST SERIOUSLY INVEST
ALL: The school, yes!! Bigtime! But not just the school. The parents, yes, in a hugely
significant way! Whose job is it? Hear, O Israel! This is the job of THE PEOPLE OF
GOD! It is everyones job!
Too often weve been in these separate camps. But it is high time to get those
camps back together, all in the church, in the kingdom, operating together as Gods
people.

Thought and energy

1. What are the purposes of the people of God? Is what is being passed on really
truly what is valuable? Are we passing on enough?
2. Are we assuming that they will just catch on somehow, to what is truly
important?
3. Are we doing the best we can? Are we using the time we have in church, SS,
and home.
4. Does the entire community have a vision of what education is about, and how
they can play a role? What about all the older people we have, and all the
valuable things they know? School devotions is great. Is there a role beyond
that?
5. Are we being intentional with Sunday school?
6. What about these parts of our curriculum that is outside the books?
Curriculum can be thought of as the total program, all the input the child
gets. Sometimes we are surprised with how our students are being shaped,
what they are learning to love. The answers may lie with a working together
of the entire church community.
a. Vballstrange, incredible, obsession. I didnt teach that. I can see why
they like it. But the real drive comes from others who have more status
than metheir older peers in the youth group. Youth group priorities
send a message. They teach. Is the church aware and behind this value
and this attitude that we are teaching? Is it intentional?
b. Another thing that fires the imag..hunting. YOUTH DAY I used to
hunt. I understand why people like it. It is legitimate. Is this the best
we can do?
7. Parentsthought and energy!
a. Reading, at young ages and as they grow keep reading! Good
stories interact.
b. Field trips!
c. The school cant do it alone! The school feels fairly helpless to really
shape attitudes.
8. Students! Thought and energy!
a. No matter what the community lacks or doesnt think about, no matter
how good or poor of a teacher or curriculum, you have the ability to let
your education make you and shape you. Work hard! Think! Do not
have the attitude of Im getting through my books. Read A Good
Highschooler.

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Time and Money
Serious Investment is needed! Looking at the shape the world is in, and
bombardment of worldliness, and the number of young ones that leave us, or never
get much of a vision beyond the big shiny truck, shouldnt this bringing up of our
children be a major, major priority? Together!
TeachersBe dead serious, and be dead serious for the long haul. Every year
youre in there makes you a better teacher. So dont burn yourself out. Figure out
how to do it, but be dead serious about this and your responsibility.
SchoolsHire good teachers. Not just a warm body who says yes the last
week in July. I know you produce some seriously good teachers here. We have one.
Church Communityhow much are you investing in your school? Time, and
money. Are you paying your teachers enough? Maybe you need more teachers as
well, so more classes can be taught! Small schools find it difficult to actually teach
classes, instead doing individualized work. But learning is so much more than those
facts in those books! Its a whole approach to the facts, and its a life on life thing,
as we saw. Teachers must be intimately involved with their students learning, not
just supervisors or monitors of a student facing a book. I know individualized has
allowed us to do school, where we could hardly swing it otherwise, because were
small. More teaching = more time = more teachers = more money. More money? Is
school really worth that? I hope Ive helped answer that question at least a little this
evening. What is God saying. Hear, O Israel! Pay attention. Lets not miss it.