We are approaching a very happy time for millions of people throughout our nation. These happy people are students and teachers. Who of us doesn't recall chanting in these waning days of school: "No more pencils, no more books. No more teacher's dirty looks." Although we realize the value of teaching and being taught, we long for summer vacations, graduations, and breaks from the rigors of academia.

Here at Salem, we also take somewhat of a formal break from teaching and being taught. We suspend Sunday school, Bible class, confirmation class, religion class, even Ladies Aid during the summer. (Although this year we are offering a special educational opportunity on Sunday mornings.) Note well, we do not suspend worship services although some of our members neglect this important avenue of teaching for themselves and their children.

And that concerns me. I can understand the break from formal education for the summer because we need a time to reflect on what we have learned and to grow in other areas. But to completely neglect hearing God's Word? God doesn't tell us we have to go to Bible class, Sunday school, confirmation class or the other formal ways we have of Christian teaching, but he does tell us that we are to worship him regularly (on a weekly basis) and to be taught by him. Ignoring the Third Commandment is a serious sin and puts one's faith in jeopardy.

Jesus himself could not understand a failure to obey his teachings in regard to this commandment or any of the others. What does he say about those who truly follow him? "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching." I think we know what he is saying about those who willingly and deliberately take a break from God's Word for such a period of time.

This tendency to avoid being taught by Jesus was not demonstrated by his disciples. In the Gospels we are told how they spent all of their time being taught by Jesus. They called Jesus, "Rabbi" (which means teacher) and he taught them the truths of the kingdom of God. But this intense training would come to an end. Even so, their learning would not. Just prior to Jesus’ death, he promised that he would send the Holy Spirit who would continue the teaching process with them.

1. Jesus himself had Taught his Followers.

2. The Holy Spirit would come to Remind Them.

3. Jesus' Followers will obey his Teaching.

Context: This section is a part of Jesus' final words to his disciples on Maundy Thursday. He makes an important point noted above. Those who love Jesus will obey his teaching.

Jesus had taught his disciples. Over thirty parables on the kingdom of God. The sermons on the mount and on the plain. His responses to the Pharisees. A study of the Gospels give us the important truths that he taught. Through those books, Jesus still teaches us today. He uses the living Word of God as we read it, study it, explore it, live it, teach it to others. Jesus himself employed a variety of teaching methods such as questioning, story telling, lecturing, visual aids. Our methods may vary too but the important thing is that we use the Word of God.

Transition: We have the solid basis of what Jesus taught because it is written in the Gospels. But did you realize that these books were written decades after Jesus had ascended into heaven. How can we be sure that these records of conversations, sermons, parables, etc. are accurate? After all, if I asked you next month to write down what I taught you in the sermon today, how many of you would be able to do so with 100% accuracy? So that the disciples would faithfully teach what they had been taught, Jesus promised that . . .

"All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." God, the Holy Spirit, would come to them and would help them so that they would record what Jesus had taught and so that they would faithfully teach those same lessons.

What a remarkable blessing this is! The other night we were discussing in our Council meeting how book fees are so high because textbooks change from one decade to the next. Although some truths remain timeless (such as mathematical formulas), others seem to shift from generation to generation. For example: We now realize that the world isn't flat, that the universe is much bigger than we thought, that certain historical events didn't really happen the way we had been told. (Custer's last stand for example.) Not so with the Bible. The translations may have changed, but the truths of God's Word has and will remain as God has promised.

Isaiah 40:8
8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever.”

We have experienced that in our lives as well. It is a great comfort to know that our children are taught the same doctrines (teachings) that we and our parents and our grandparents have been taught. It is solid foundation to have that when we come to worship our God and to be taught from his Word that we will be taught the same Law and Gospel that we were taught when we were youth. In an ever changing world, we need the solid foundation of God's Word to teach us everything that is necessary for our salvation.

Transition: As those who love Jesus, we will seek to demonstrate that which we learn in church by the way we live our lives.

Teaching is a rewarding experience. You yourself have experienced that. It may have been something as simple as teaching a child the alphabet, to tie their shoe, to pick up their room, to mow the lawn. You may have taught in a more formal way or a more advanced skill. It is a joy to have children who obey our teachings by doing as we have instructed them. It is a blessing to have students who so love us that they gladly obey without fear of punishment or holding out for some sort of reward.

Jesus' goal for your life is that you obey his teaching. He teaches us how to resist sin, to confess, to trust in forgiveness, to rely on him so that we will be saved by faith and not by works. He teaches us how to deal with anger, suffering, loss, enemies, broken trust, illness so that we will live a more satisfying life. He teaches us how to live so that we may live for him.

Unfortunately, Jesus' teachings are often ignored or flat out disobeyed. Jesus tells us why this is. Those who don't love him aren't going to obey him. Why would we? Why would we listen to someone we don't care about or have time to listen to for even one hour a week? Why would we listen to someone who isn't important enough to us to tell others about him. Those who don't love Jesus don't obey him and those who don't obey him don't love him. It is as simple as that.

Therefore, we don't need more programs, more appeals to the law, more visits to someone get people to obey Jesus. We need more love. The disciples would see love in action as Jesus willingly died on the cross for them and rose again to show that he had won the victory. We need to see in God's Word the love that Jesus has for us even if the person telling us Jesus loves us is having a bad day. We need to experience the love of God in the gracious way in which he still blesses us sinners that we are. We need to know and to hear over and over and over again the old truthful saying, "God is love." and "For God so loved . . ." and "Jesus, loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so."

God loves you. His Son, Jesus loves you. The Holy Spirit loves you. If we love him, we will obey what he has taught us. Amen.