Little Freddy was a year and a half old, and was still in diapers, when Dad and Mom noticed that whenever they changed his diapers, a trend had started. It seemed like, every time they changed his diapers, (besides finding what you normally find in diapers) they were finding pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters! And, they began to ask themselves, "Where is this money coming from? And what is it doing in Little Freddy’s diapers?"

Well, one day dad was getting ready to go to work. He was in the bedroom, and as he was putting on his clothes, Little Freddy was standing there beside him. Dad grabbed pocket-change from a dish of coins that were on the dresser, and stuffed it in his pocket. Then, he watched as Little Freddy grabbed coins and stuffed them in his diapers! Little Freddy was imitating Dad!

Children imitate their parents.

What adult male here today, when you were a little boy, didn’t take shaving cream or soap bubbles, and put it on your face, to imitate your dad shaving? We imitate our parents.

What woman here today, when you were a little girl, didn’t take finger nail polish and put it on your fingernails? We imitate our parents. And, we imitate them, for better or for worse.

Even as adults, we imitate our parents, even though we may not want to. Ever since I was a little kid, when my dad gets frustrated, there is a certain phrase he says. It is not naughty, but every time he says it, I laugh, because I get a big kick out of it.

A couple of weeks ago, I was finishing the remodeling of our bathroom, and I was getting pretty frustrated. As I was working, my family heard some utterances coming out of the bathroom. And, there were a couple of times when Sherri came in and said, "You sound just like your dad."

We imitate our parents,

even as adults.

What parent here, has not found themselves, (having told yourself, when you were a child), "I am never going to say that to my kids," in a moment of desperation, saying the exact same things that your parents said to you, when you were a kid? "I have had it, up to HERE!" "What! Did you grow up in a barn?"

We imitate our parents,

for better,

or for worse.

Scripture is filled with examples of children imitating their parents. Scripture shows us that children imitate the sins of their parents, and also the faith of their parents. Let me give you three examples. Isaac was a father who had two sons, Jacob and Esau. As a father, Isaac showed favoritism toward his oldest son, Esau. As a result, the younger son, Jacob, deceived his father, so that he could receive a blessing. And, it brought all kinds of trouble into that family’s life.

So here, Jacob grew up in a home where his father showed favoritism. You would think he would have learned a lesson, wouldn’t you? But, guess what Jacob did, when he was a dad? He imitated his father. He showed favoritism. He had twelve sons. He favored two of them. And, as a result, his boys did the same thing that he did to his father. They deceived their father. And it brought all kinds of trouble into his life.

Children imitate the sins of their parents.

How many times as you read through the Old Testament scriptures, do you find this comment made about the king of Israel? It says, "He walked in the sins of his father."

We imitate our parents.

On the other hand, we have good examples in scripture. St. Paul urges Timothy to walk in the faith of his grandmother, Louis, and his mother, Eunice. They served as a good model, a good example, which Timothy imitated in his own life.

For better,

or for worse,

we imitate our parents.

We are starting a new school year, here at Holy Cross, tomorrow. This is the opening service, for our school. It is an awesome opportunity that we have a school where we can instruct children in the Word of God! However, the school is here, never, ever to take the place of the parents. The school is here, only to assist parents.

Parents have a huge, huge responsibility, when it comes to teaching children. In fact, psychologists have discovered what the percentage is of what a child learns, not by lecture, but by imitation. 95% of what a child learns is learned from imitating someone else! What happens in the home, Mom and Dad, serves a profound model for your children.

And so today, I want to crack open the doors of our houses, go into our homes, and ask the question, "What is being modeled for the children, in our homes?" (What I say applies to everybody, but particularly, I am talking to parents, today.) Our scripture lesson is going to talk about how we get along with one another. And so, let’s crack open the door of your house and ask, "What happens in your home? And, what behavior is modeled for your children?"

In your home, when Mom and Dad get into a conflict, what happens? Do Mom and Dad raise their voices and say, "What do you think you are doing?" Do our children see that model?

When Mom and Dad get into a conflict, do Mom and Dad begin to use words toward one another that are not beneficial? "You jerk." Our kids are tape recorders and they hear what is said.

When Mom and Dad get into a conflict, do they begin to use sarcasm? "Oh, you think you are so special?" That behavior is modeled for our kids, our children.

When we, Mom and Dad, have conflict and get into a fight at our homes, do Mom and Dad bring up past mistakes? "Oh, you think I am bad. Remember what you did last week?" We model that behavior for our children.

Do Mom and Dad go into the ‘silent treatment’ and choose not to speak with one anther for a long time, saying, "I am not talking to you." We model that sinful behavior for our children.

Do Mom and Dad not say to one another, "I am sorry?" Children notice if Mom and Dad never say to one another, "I forgive you."

When that happens in your home, that is the behavior that is modeled for your children. When they leave your house, start their own home, and have their own family, that is what they have been taught. That is what they have been modeled. And, children fall into the sins of their parents. Look at how serious our Savior is about leading our children into sin. Jesus once said this, "If anyone causes one of these little ones to sin, if anyone causes one of these little ones to sin, it would be better if a millstone were tied around his neck and he were tossed into the depths of the sea."

Everyone in this room looks into his or her own heart, and sees that we have not been the kind of model that we should be. And, we really deserve to have God remove His Holy Spirit from us, because we grieve His Holy Spirit, when we sin against Him. We deserve to be condemned and cast away from God, for eternity, for what happens in our homes. We are talking about sin, and sin is not a fun or easy thing to talk about.

There was a man who was doing a study of large churches in the United States, which were really growing. He got a bunch of the pastors together from these large churches, and interviewed them, because he wanted to know what they preached about. So, he asked them, "Do you preach about sin?"

And they said, "No."

He next asked them, "Do you preach about repentance?"

And they said, "No."

Finally, he asked them, "What do you preach about?"

And they said, "Well, we preach about love."

To which this man responded, "How, how can you preach about God’s love, unless you preach about the depth of sin?"

You and I cannot truly comprehend the vast, eternal love of God, unless we see what we are like in God’s eyes. When we see the depth of our sin, and the depth to which we have fallen, and then we see how God reacts toward sinners, we see in scripture the love that goes beyond human comprehension.

What do we see, when we look into scripture? We see in scripture, that God, while He hates sin, God hates sin, God loves sinners. And, God the Almighty Maker of Heaven and earth, in His profound love, has poured out Himself. God, in His love, has poured out Himself, for me, a sinner.

What has God done for sinners? God has sent His treasure, His own dear Son, to this earth. God, in human flesh!

And what did God do, here on this earth? God took the thing that He detests most, the thing He hates most, the thing that He despises most.

And, what is that? It is sin. It is your sin. He took it, as His own. That is the depth of God’s love for you, a sinner.

God took your sin,

as His very own.

And God determined to do whatever was necessary to rid you of the guilt of that sin. That meant He would suffer, to its deepest dregs, the punishment that you and I deserve for our sin. And on the cross is where we see the depth of love that God has for you, a sinner, which goes beyond human comprehension. God, in His mercy, grace, and loving kindness and compassion, (not because we have earned it, not because we have deserved it, but because of who He is), gave up His life, and paid for your sins! And now, in His love and compassion, God forgives you. He forgives you! It is awesome to think that God, for Christ’s sake, will not treat you the way you deserve to be treated. But, for Christ’s sake, He treats you as His own dear child, and has a home waiting for you in Heaven, by grace, out of the depth of His love! That is the love that our Savior has modeled for us.

Whoever believes in Jesus

shall not perish

but have everlasting life.

Whoever knows Jesus, (and I mean whoever knows Jesus, by faith), if you know Jesus, you love Jesus.

If you know Jesus, you cannot help but love Jesus, for what He has done for you.

If you know Jesus, you cannot help but love everything that Jesus is.

If you know Jesus, you cannot help, you must love kindness, because Jesus is kindness. Look at the kindness He has for you. He has kindness, only loving kindness is what reached out and saved you from your sin.

If you know Jesus, you must love compassion. You can’t help it. It is Jesus’ compassion for you, His heart for you, in your lost condition, which caused Him to reach out and do something about it. That saved you. You cannot help but love compassion, if you love Christ.

If you know Jesus, you cannot help but love forgiveness, because it is Christ’s forgiveness that washes away every single one of your sins. God will not hold them against you, because of Christ.

So, what is a Christian’s response to all of that? Martin Luther once said that a Christian’s behavior is a ‘because/therefore’ response. What did he mean by that? He meant that because God loves us so, therefore, we want to act in like manner. Martin Luther said you can find the ‘because/therefore’ response all over in the Bible. He found it in today’s scripture reading, from the book of Ephesians.

Because God so loved us, be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children. Children imitate their parents.

"Be imitators of God,

therefore,

as dearly loved children

and live a life of love,

just as Christ loved us

and gave Himself up for us."

And so, scripture then tells us in today’s scripture reading how to do that in our homes. What does it say? It says,

"Get rid of all

bitterness,

rage and anger,

brawling and slander,

along with every form of malice (bad feelings).

Be kind

and compassionate to one another,

forgiving one another,

just as in Christ, God forgave you."

Let me ask you a question. Can you point, to some sin this week, can you point to some sin this week (and we all struggle with all of these sins that are mentioned here), can you point to some sin this week that you tried, (by the help of God and the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in you, and the gift of faith), some sin that you tried to overcome in your life? Can you point to it? Can you point to one of the virtues that are listed here in today’s scripture reading and say, "With the help of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit living in my life, and the gift of faith, I strove to live in Christian virtue?"

If you cannot point to a sin that you tried to overcome, and you can’t point to striving to live in Christian virtue, then let me be very frank. The Holy Spirit does not live in you. He does not live in you. Today’s the day to come to repentance, turn to Christ, your Savior, and cling to His awesome forgiveness and the awesome love He has for you, a sinner!

If in your life you can point and say, "Yes, this week, I tried to overcome that sin. I tried to live in Christian virtue, but I sure didn’t do a very good job at it." Don’t lose heart. Don’t lose heart! Christ’s grace is limitless! And His forgiveness extends to His people, no matter what.

Scripture tells us to imitate God.

"Be imitators of God,

therefore,

as dearly loved children

and live a life of love,

just as Christ loved us."

Forgive one another.

What an awesome example that is in the Christian home! Remember, parents are models for their children. What an awesome example it is when Mom and Dad strive to live and imitate Jesus Christ! What a model that is! What a teaching tool it is at home, when conflict arises (and it will arise in our homes, because we are not perfect) and Mom and Dad look at each other and they say to one another,

"I am sorry."

What a teaching tool for our children. What a teaching tool we model, when Mom and Dad look at each other, and they say to one another, for Christ’s sake,

"I forgive you."

That is imitating Jesus Christ. And, it is not always easy to say, "I forgive you." But, by the power of the Holy Spirit and the gift of faith that lives in us, striving to imitate the love of our Savior, whom we love, by the help of the Holy Spirit in forgiveness we can say, "I won’t treat you the way you deserve to be treated, but I will treat you with kindness and compassion, as my Savior does me." What a model it is in our homes, when Mom and Dad treat one another with compassion. And when conflict arises, Mom and Dad look at one another and try to figure out what it is that caused the conflict, and how can they help one another, how can they be of assistance to one another – Christ-like love. That is a model that we are all to strive for.

When Mom and Dad model Christ, guess what your kids do? They imitate you and they imitate Christ.

We will conclude today with words from Joshua, which will serve as the theme for our church year, this year.

Chose for yourself,

this day

whom you will serve.

As for me and my house,

we will

serve the LORD.

Amen.