CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
August 30/31, 2009
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Hebrews 11:24-26

“CHRISTIAN EDUCATION IS…”
1. Expensive.
2. Worth it.

Hebrews 11:24-26 (NIV) “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”

Today we have a special observance in our service. We get to celebrate some milestones that two of our brothers have reached in the public ministry of the Gospel. Mr. Hackmann, Dave, you have served the Lord in the teaching ministry of the Gospel for 40 years. That’s remarkable. My wife, Chris, will gladly remind you that you have been teaching for more years than she’s been alive! Mr. Scharf, Bill, you have reached the 25 year milestone, which means you have been teaching more than half your life. Your milestones give us an opportunity to talk about the importance of Christian Education in the life of the Church.
Christian Education carried out by the church can take many forms. There is the education our synod does at its worker training seminary, college and high schools. There is the education done at Wisconsin Lutheran College, Wisconsin Lutheran High School and other area Lutheran high schools. There is the education congregations carry out in Bible Classes, Sunday Schools and Vacation Bible Schools. For today though we want to focus on the Christian Education the two of you have been involved with in our Lutheran Elementary Schools. Before we do so let me say, so that no one gets the wrong message, if you did not go to a Christian Day school or if your kids do not, that does not make you a bad person or less of a Christian. Each must decide their circumstances for themselves. The fact remains though, that member congregations of our WELS have for a long time prioritized as important for the work of the church, this type of Christian Education. St. Jacobi has from its very inception. Two points we want to focus on. Christian Education is expensive. At the same time it’s worth it.
Our text today from Hebrews on the life of Moses shows us some parallels. Now if you read about Moses in the book of Exodus you get a lot of the facts of his early life. You hear how he was hidden by his parents, stashed in a reed basket, found by Pharaoh’s daughter, raised for her by his own mother. You hear how he killed the Egyptian slave master, ran for his life, how God called him and turned him into a great leader. What you don’t hear is what Moses was thinking as all this took place.
Hebrews tells us, “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt.” Here we hear that Moses made a conscious decision, prompted by faith, that was very expensive for him. Moses chose to be identified with God’s people the Israelites. And it cost him. It was expensive. He lost the honor of being known as a prince in Egypt with all the worldly power that came along with it. He lost the comfortable life of palace living with all its niceties, luxuries, awesome food and servants to do his bidding. He lost access to the wealth of Egypt to spend as he pleased. Instead he received the privilege of people who grumbled about his leadership, even though he was simply carrying out God’s commands. He had his staff, Aaron and Miriam, rebel against him, even though God had chosen him to lead, not them. He had his lay leaders, Korah, Dathan and Abiram try to usurp his authority. Now while it can be noted that God chastised those who rebelled against Moses, it certainly cost Moses a lot to live by faith.
A legitimate parallel can be made for parents, congregations and teachers involved in the Christian Education at a Lutheran Elementary School. Let’s be honest. It’s expensive. It costs parents. Oh, at our school, the fees are minimal, but there are other costs. Most have to provide for their own transportation instead of free busing. It is not always convenient. Most of our schools cannot provide all the services, staffing levels and educational extras the public schools can. You have to give those up. You have to pay the cost of disappointment you feel when there is sin. You expect it in the public schools and even though we know better because none of our homes are sin free we expect that at our schools and are disappointed when it is not so. It’s also expensive for a congregation. Let’s just talk money. Did you know that the actual cost per student at our colleges is well over $20,000, at our high school, over $8000. Here at our school its about $3200 per student and we do it more efficiently than most. Any way you look at it, that’s a lot of money. It’s expensive.
And it’s been expensive for you, too, Dave and Bill. I suppose some might go to the money you have given up because church pay scales rarely match up with the secular counterparts. I wouldn’t make too much of that. You didn’t enter the public ministry of the Gospel to make money, did you? And anyone who does enter public ministry seeking to make money should leave. Now! On the other hand, you probably didn’t enter the public ministry of the Gospel to get kicked in the teeth, did you? Yet that happens. You both have served as teachers, trying to do your best for your students. They and their parents probably haven’t always agreed with you. As a parent I too have experienced this very odd phenomenon where my children get in trouble by their own fault when I’m watching them, yet when I hear of trouble at school your first impulse is to wonder what the other student did or if the teacher could have done more. Hmm...why is that? When you experience that as a teacher, it hurts, it costs. You both have served in what I am convinced is the toughest and most thankless ministry position in the WELS right now, a principal. There the adage has always been, “If you are doing your job well, at least one of three groups you serve, students, parents or faculty, will not be happy with you.” That’s no fun, it costs. The Israelite congregation in the desert isn’t the only one to have Miriam and Aaron, Korah, Dathan and Abiram in it. That hurts. It costs. Christian Education is expensive, for everyone involved.
Is it worth it? Was it worth it for Moses to give up the luxuries of Egypt to do church work instead? Let’s ask him? “By faith Moses… regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” By faith. For the sake of Christ. Reward. There is his answer. It was worth it for Moses to pay the cost because he was acting by faith. It was worth it to pay the cost for the sake of Christ. It was worth it because he was looking forward to the reward, the gift of grace, God extends to those who have faith in His Son, Jesus, the Christ, heaven!
Now let’s make a parallel to Christian Education. Parents, is the cost worth it for you? President Schroeder in his article makes a great point that the Christian education of your children is first and foremost your responsibility. You need to stand ready to answer your God in how you are doing bringing up His children in the training and instruction of the Lord. Making use of the Christian Education in provided by your congregation in our school, Sunday School and Confirmation classes, is a great way to get help in carrying out your responsibility. St. Jacobi congregation is it worth it for you? Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” By faith, for the sake of Christ, we are doing that. And reward? Jesus said, “ Whatever you do for the least of these brothers of mine, you have done it for me.” Now especially if you don’t have children in our school, do you see how it’s worth it? How else could you look Jesus in the eye and tell Him you are feeding His lambs if not through your congregation? Look at the how you get to do things for Jesus. Dave and Bill it’s worth it for you. God says in His word that those who lead others to righteousness will shine like the stars in heaven. I don’t know exactly what that means by I sure like the sound of it. Jesus told us to store up for ourselves treasures in heaven. That’s people. By faith. For the sake of Christ. Reward. It’s worth it. And maybe, just maybe, God will graciously use what we are doing for the greater good of the church. I heard a sermon recently about Hannah and Samuel. It was entitled, “How one parent raised one child that changed a nation.” The pastor reminded us how Hannah sent Samuel off to the boarding school of the tabernacle at Shiloh at age 3. What a cost! Yet God used that Christian Education of one little boy to be a blessing for all of God’s people. You see the way things are heading in our country. You see the downfall of denomination after another capitulating the teachings of God. Do you really think it couldn’t happen to us? What an honor it would be if the Lord used even one child we trained to be the one to champion God’s unchanging truth in a quickly changing world to preserve it for another generation. Christian Education is expensive. But it's worth it! Amen.