GOD'S GIFTS Ephesians 4:10-13

Installation Service for Marilin Bock & Kollin Adickes

St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church - August 22, 1999

Well, we have a complete faculty for the 1999-2000 school year. All of our classrooms will have teachers in them. Why? Because we have all the teachers hired that we need? No! In fact, we don't have any hired teachers. I thought that when you needed a pastor or teacher, you went out and did a search and then hired the one you liked. It doesn't work that way. A person may train to be a pastor or teacher, but just because they have the training and education that does not make that person a pastor or a teacher in the Christian church. What enables a person to be a pastor or teacher within the Christian church is the call that an individual congregation issues to a person to serve them with God's Word and sacraments. The reason that all of our classrooms are filled is because our loving Savior has led qualified and trained people to accept the calls that we have issued to them to come and serve us. Paul tells us that such people are God's gifts to his church, those who trust in Jesus as their Savior and have gathered to proclaim the Word of Truth and reach out to the lost of this world.

GIFTS THAT HAVE BEEN GIVEN

Members of St. Mark's, these two women before you today, Marilin Bock and Kollin Adickes, are gifts that God has given to our congregation. These are not ladies that we have hired to teach in our school. These are people that the Holy Spirit has led us to call to serve us and our children with the Word of God. As Paul writes, "He (that is, Jesus) is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe. It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers." (vv. 10-11) It is the Lord who in his marvelous love and kindness gives to his church on earth the gifts of teachers and pastors.

When you receive a gift is not something that you have earned or deserved. It is something that someone gives to you because they love. Well, God loves us and he wants our classrooms filled with faithful and dedicated teachers. That is why he has sent these two women to serve as ministers in this congregation. When you receive a gift you are appreciative. You thank the giver and you treat your gift with respect. We thank God for these two new teachers. We also need to show our appreciation to these women for their ministry among us. How do we do that? First we pray for them. We pray that God will give them wisdom, patience, understanding and love as they work with our children and their parents. We support them. We pay them a living wage for this is how they are earning their living. We support them in their ministry by encouraging them with our comments. We visit with them to see how they are doing. As a Christian congregation we recognize these women as part of our ministry staff. We need to show them that we are behind them and support them in the work that we have called them to do.

Marilin and Kollin, God has also given you both a gift. He has given the you the gift of teaching. The ability to teach is not something people just go to school and learn. It is a gift that God also gives to people. Not everyone can be a teacher. Not everyone should be a teacher. Because as the Apostle Paul writes, "Just as each of us has one body with many members and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If a person's gift is teaching, let him teach." (Romans 12:4-6,7b) The gift of teaching is a gift that your loving Savior has given to you.

In addition to the gift of teaching the Lord has also given you the gift of the call you received from the believers here at St. Mark's to teach in our Christian school. This not a right that you have because of your educational background. It is a gift that this congregation has given to you. They are entrusting to your spiritual care and teaching, children of our congregation. Precious lambs who have been bought by the blood of Jesus Christ and who trust in the Jesus as their Savior. Now we also recognize that these precious lambs also have an evil, sinful and selfish nature. The children we are entrusting to your care are saints and sinners at the same time.

So today is a time for rejoicing and praising God for his gift to us of these two new teachers. As a congregation we need to thank our heavenly Father for supplying our needs. It is also a time for you, Marilin and Kollin to thank God for giving you the opportunity to use the gift of teaching that the Lord has entrusted to you and which you have developed and honed through the education that you have received.

WHAT'S THE PURPOSE OF THESE GIFTS ?

When you receive a gift, you usually know what it is to be used for. As we look at the gifts that God has given us in our two new teachers, there are two important questions that we need to hear God's answers to. They are: For what purpose did God send these teachers to us? and What does God expect of you as teachers?.

Why do we have Christian teachers in our school? Paul answers that very clearly. He writes, "to prepare God's people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (vv. 12-13) Our teachers are here to prepare our children for works of service. They are to help our children discover, develop and use the gifts and talents that God has given to these children. They are here to assist us parents in the spiritual training and equipping of our children. These teachers are to integrate into all their classes the truth of God's Word. That is not just in religion class, but in every course that they teach our children. They are to assist us as parents in our own spiritual growth. When they see things that needed to be corrected in our own lives, we should expect that they would do that as our called teaching ministers. Just as Jesus tells us. When you see a brother who has fallen into a sin, you need to confront that person and call them to repent. (Matthew 18:15-18)

Today we are all bemoaning the state of the morals of our nation. We are asking why our nation's schools are no longer safe for our children. We are reaping what we have sown for a generation or more. We have thrown out absolutes, rights and wrongs. And now we see where that leads a culture and a nation when God and His Word are cast aside as out of date with modern thinking. It leads to chaos, hopelessness and despair. As Christians we have answers to the important questions of life. Who are we? Creations of God. People who have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. Why are we here? We are here to serve our God and to help our fellow human beings. Where are we going? Because of the love of God we are going to live forever with God in the paradise he has prepared for us. It is because we have God's answers to these questions that we have established and support Christian schools. This is what we should expect of these two gifts that God has given to us to teach in our school. They are not perfect teachers and they never will be. But they know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. They have the gift of teaching and the Lord has placed them here at St. Mark's at this time and for this purpose to minister to our children with God's Word.

Kollin and Marilin, what does God expect of you? The apostle Paul is very clear. You are to prepare God's people for works of service. That may mean, that you teach our children to read, to do math computations, to do science projects, to learn to add and subtract. These are all important subjects that our children will need to be productive Christians in this world. You are to help our children to grow and mature in their trust in Jesus as the Lord and Savior of their lives. It may also mean that at times you will have to admonish and correct these children's parents when they stray from God and his Word. This is your privilege and responsibility as a Christian minister in this congregation.

The Lord also expects that you be faithful. That you faithfully develop and use your teaching gifts in your classroom. As the Apostle wrote, "It is required that those who have been given a trust be faithful." (1 Corinthians 4:2) But something very important to remember. You are not in this alone. You have the 3,200+ souls of this congregation who have called you supporting you and praying for you. You have the Lord of heaven and earth who has put you here at this time in your life to minister to our children. And this Lord has promised to be with you, to strengthen and help you and to cause all things to work for you good.

Thank God for his great gifts to his church. Amen.