“Look to the character, and guard vigilantly the deportment of the young. Let them be trained to reverence and love all that is sacred, and to practice all that is pure, generous, and noble. Let the Gospel get its firm hold upon their hearts, and they are secure against vice and ruin; and you may then leave them, and go down to the grave, with little anxiety about their welfare; for God is their defense.”
Baxter Dickinson preached a farewell sermon entitled “Sure Means of Spiritual Prosperity” on 22 November 1835 from Acts 20:32.
And now I commend you to God and to the message of His grace, a message that is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all who are sanctified. Acts 20:32
My friend, Scott Loe, entered the presence of Jesus yesterday. I am so thankful my ND trip got cancelled last week so that in God’s timing I was privileged to say “farewell” to him. As another friend, Debbie Discher, reminded me, he has gone from “the land of the dying to the land of the living.” My last gift to him was a copy of the movie: “Heaven is for Real.” What comfort! For those of us who remain, we place our confidence in the Gospel and “look to the character” of our children.
One of the many things I am thankful for about my wife, Jenni, is her love for training children “in all that is sacred” and specifically her service at Trailhead Church. She helps coordinate efforts to “let the Gospel get it’s firm hold” on young hearts, which represent about 75 of the 150 in our church family. Of course we must also teach them to “practice all that is pure, generous, and noble” too! When we do, we too can “go down to the grave with little anxiety.”