Be an Example Archives - Faith Lutheran Church, Wesley Chapel

Kurt Steinbrueck April 12, 2021

Being An Example

Being an Example

“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me — put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” – Philippians 4:9

How can you be an example of the Christian life?

There are many ways we teach the Christian faith to others, whether we are talking about our children, people we are mentoring/discipling, or just people we are around. Typically, we think about the things we say to intentionally try to educate.

You tell your child not to steal.
You talk to your friend about Jesus.
You meet with someone you are discipling and tell them about some theological or moral topic.

There is another way we teach which can speak much louder than these intentional education sessions…How we act. If I tell my child to be kind to others, but then do not demonstrate that in how I interact with others, my child will likely not learn to be kind, quite the opposite. Again, this is not just in the parent/child relationship, but any relationship. We need to consider…

HOW can you be an example of the Christian life?

It’s actually not all that hard of a concept. Just do what God says. Love your neighbor. Don’t steal. Don’t covet. Build others up. Be patient. Don’t be selfish. Etc. This is what James is pointing out in James 1,

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.” – James 1:22-24

Of course, this is easier said (or written) than done which may lead to the question,

How can YOU be an example of the Christian life?

Personally, I think this is where we get the best opportunity to be an example of the Christian life. You won’t be a perfect example of following God’s Law. You are going to sin. So, what will you do about it?

I hope you will confess and repent and then accept God’s forgiveness and possibly the forgiveness of someone else if you sinned against someone else. This is being a great example! I’m not advocating that you sin so you can demonstrate repentance. I’m saying that we all do sin even as we try to follow God’s law, so we have many opportunities to demonstrate repentance and experience God’s grace.

Think about it. Who are you being an example to? I don’t know the person is that you are thinking of, but I do know that they are a sinner. So, they need, maybe more than anything else, to see the example of someone responding to their sin with repentance and then see God’s grace and forgiveness in action.

The life of a Christian is a life of repentance.

Let us do our best to exemplify the ways of God according to His law, but let us also exemplify a life of repentance.

Heavenly Father,

I pray that all the ways of my life would be an example to others to the glory of Your Name, but I confess that I am a sinner. Please forgive me and renew me and help me to always turn to You in repentance and, in so doing, not only receive Your grace and mercy but also be an example to sinners everywhere of how to deal with their sin that they, too, may receive Your grace and mercy.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Are You a Role Model?

“Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.” – Titus 2:2-3

Have you ever thought of yourself as a role model?

We all have role models, people who we look up to and try to emulate. We may even have several role models, some related to family life, some to work, some to faith, and some to whatever else is important to you.

Other people, of course, also have role models. Is it possible that you are a role model for someone else?

Role Models Come In All Shapes and Sizes
You don’t have to be world-renowned in a field to be a role model. You may simply be a hard worker at your job or a good friend to a neighbor. You may be someone in the church who people admire for your service or faithfulness. You may be a mom or a dad or a brother or sister.

What is described in Titus 2 is simply the older members of the church being temperate, worthy of respect, and reverent. By living godly lives, they are becoming good role models.

Sometimes It Isn’t a Choice
I can think of a few musicians and professional athletes who have done some pretty bad things who were asked,

“What about all the kids who look up to you?”

Then the musician or athlete says something like,

“I didn’t ask to be a role model!”

Sometimes we don’t have to ask to be a role model and don’t even get a choice. Sometimes we are a role model because of who we are or what we do. For example, if you’re a Mom or Dad, guess what? You’re a role model.

Sometimes we know we are a role model and sometimes we don’t even realize it. Our best choice is to just assume we are and live accordingly.

Role Models Fail
One of the sad things about those musicians and athletes mentioned above is that they missed out on a great opportunity. Rather than rejecting the notion of being a role model, they could have owned up to what they did, admitted it was wrong, and sought forgiveness and to make things right.

Being a role model doesn’t mean we have to be perfect. None of us are. How we handle our failures…and there will be failures…is just as important and how we succeed, maybe even more important.

Can we admit where we’ve done wrong? Can we ask for forgiveness?

When we do, we become real. We are no longer super-human. We are just like the people looking up to us. They will fail, too. So, we demonstrate something very important, how to deal with those failures.

The Greatest Role Model
In the end, the greatest role models are those who can demonstrate in both their successes and failures that life is all about living in the grace of Jesus. We look to Him for everything, especially for forgiveness.

Dear Jesus,

Help me to live my life in a way which reflects You to others. I may never know who is looking up to me, but I pray that when they do, they see You, especially when I fail.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Be an Example

Being An Example

Being an Example

Are You a Role Model?

Are You a Role Model?

Faith Lutheran Church in Wesley Chapel, FL serving Lutz, Zephyrhills, Land O’ Lakes, and New Tampa, FL