imitation Christians

from my sermon on Children's Sabbath from I Thessalonians 1:1-10

Boys and girls, there once was a man named Paul. You may have heard of him. He started a lot of new churches when the church first started. One of those that he started was in Thessalonika (show map). As you can see, it was on the sea, and it was on a major highway that ran east and west. It was a major city back 2,000 years ago, and still is today (show picture of modern Thessalonika in the background with ancient ruins in the foreground). You may say, "Well that's a long way off." But Thessalonika is next to Macedonia. Whom do we know from Macedonia? (show picture of the Petreski family) We know Igor and his parents, Sonja and Zvonko. They are from Macedonia and have become part of our church family.

Paul cared about the people in the churches he started, but he couldn't always be with them, so he would write them letters. In fact, this letter we have is the first one he wrote. In fact, it is the earliest writing of anything in the New Testament.

In the letter, he says that he is thankful for the Thessalonians. He is most thankful that they imitated him and the Lord Jesus. Boys and girls, how do we learn best? By imitating. The teacher writes the ABC's on the board, you learn to copy the shapes by imitating him or her. The teacher writes the 123's on the board, and you imitate him or her. You learn the Lord's prayer by imitating your parents and your teachers around you. We are imitation Christians, not fake Christians, but ones who learn what it is to be a Christian by imitating Him and other believers.

I have a great story about learning to imitate, "One" by Kathryn Otoshi. (show the book pages on the screen) (it is how the color Blue and other colors are bullied by the color Red, until the number 1 comes along and stands up to Red. Then the other colors learn to stand up to Red also. Even Blue does. They all become numbers. They all count! Even Red wants to count and is invited in.) Who is the ONE we follow? We imitate Jesus. Around here we say, "Following One, Serving All."

We are imitation Christians, learning to be Christlike, little Christs, by following Him. Then others see our example and want to become Christlike too. Little Sami sure has learned. Sami is 7 years old. I heard from Sami's mom that Sami saw one of the teachers on the playground standing all by herself. Sami went over to her and asked, "Are you lonely?" "I'm OK, "said the teacher. Sami said, "If you are ever lonely, you can always pray to God, then you are not alone." "Well," said the teacher, "thanks for that. Where did you learn that?" Sami replied, "At Westlake United Methodist Church."

There are some people who may feel lonely today. Who will stand with them, for them? I heard that if a child doesn't learn to read by the 4th grade, they have a slim chance of making it in life. I had a member in my former church named Ron. He worked at an oil refinery. One afternoon a week though he worked at a school, helping children learn to read. That's an example to follow. Who will stand with these children?

I was reading an article by a Methodist bishop named Will Willimon. He had one of his pastors invite him to a thriving church in north Alabama. The pastor knew that bishops can sometimes get down. Bishop Willimon was surprised to see the front 4 pews of the once dying church filled with children and youth. "Where did all of these children come from?" he asked. The pastor said, "Only 4 of them are related to people at this church." "Whose children are they?" the Bishop inquired. "They belong to Jesus. He has loaned them to us for a little while," the pastor responded. The church was in the middle of people who had problems with drug abuse. Many times the police would come and take parents away. The church learned of this situation and had 6 families get certified to become foster families. They established trust with the police and child protective services. The authorities knew that they could call these families by night or by day, and someone would take care of the children. I am glad that Sulinda is in worship today. She has taken some 12 children into her home over the years, and in fact, just got a new child last night. That's a good example to follow. Who will stand with these children?

I am proud to be a Texan, but I am not proud of one fact. Out of the 50 states, where does Texas stand when it comes to uninsured children? Dead last. 50th out of 50. Over 1 million children, maybe 1.3 million children without health insurance. Who will stand with these children?

I am asking you to imitate Christ. I am asking you to stand with children.