Scripture Passage
Luke 2:41-52
41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
Sermon Script
I didn’t grow up in a church. My parents tried making me go to church, but I didn’t like it. I wasn’t all that interested. I was there just for the sake of being there. So, I stopped going after a while.
I wasn’t interested because I didn’t want anything to do with religion. I thought religion was all about following rules that God made. I knew I wouldn’t be good at that. I was a contrarian at heart. You couldn’t make me do something I didn’t want to do. I felt that I should stay out of God’s way, And he should stay out of mine.
One day, a friend of mine came up to me at school. He wanted to talk to me about God. I was like, “Oh no…” I was on guard. We were walking home for lunch and he asked me:
“Do you think Christianity is about being religious?”
I said yes.
He said, “You know, it actually isn’t.”
“It’s not really a religion – but a relationship.”
Everything stopped. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard.
God wants to me?
God wants me to know him?
How is that even possible?! That was totally new to me.
It was like when David wrote in his psalm—
What are humans that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? (Psalm 8:4)
All of a sudden, I was interested. I wanted to see what this was about. I wanted to get to know this ‘God’ who wanted to know me. That started my journey of faith.
God did not create us in order to use us, like some kind of a tool. God created us because he wanted to be in a relationship with us. God wants to know us, and wants us to know him in return.
Isn’t that amazing?
There is no greater gift in life than relationship.
That is why God made Adam and Eve.
Yes – it can cause lot of headaches and heartaches too. But relationship is what keeps us connected, rooted, and alive. Nothing else in life can have that kind of effect on us. It brings joy and fulfillment. Without it, we become lonely and unhappy.
Here is a thing about relationship though. It is a two-way street. It doesn’t grow on its own. It takes mutual effort.
In our world that values academic success and digital technology, I find that being able to form meaningful connections is difficult for people. After all the time and energy we put into our work, we are too tired for social interactions. That requires our time and energy too. We would rather be alone on our phones or playing games. We’ve become content with just knowing others on a surface level.
I think that also extends to the way we relate to God. We are content with knowing God as a concept. We don’t know God like a person. Outside of church, we don’t really think about him. Our mind is occupied by so many other things, especially school. No wonder God often feels so remote and distant from us.
God wants to know you. God wants you to know him. He is always knocking on the door of your heart.
It is truly possible to know God in a real and intimate way. The first step is opening the door of our heart and letting him in. That is when we begin taking ownership of our faith. We actively seek to know God more and more.
We see that from Jesus in today’s passage. He was only twelve at the time. Yet even from a young age, he had a strong desire for God. He stayed behind in the temple while his parents went home. He wanted to learn more about God.
After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. (Luke 2:46)
What do you see?
A young boy that’s very engaged with understanding God’s word. Jesus sought to know God more deeply through his word. To him, it was the most important thing:
“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49)
Jesus wasn’t trying to be disrespectful to his parents. The passage tells us that he went home and was obedient to them. He simply kept his relationship with God at the centre of his life. He took his faith sincerely and seriously.
When your relationship with God is at the centre of your life, everything else will find its place.
Why do we stress and worry so much?
Why do we feel lost and dead inside?
Why do we struggle to connect with others in a real way?
It may be because we have mixed up our priorities completely.
I had a chance to speak with a few students this week. They were going through a challenging time. They didn’t know what to do. But while I was listening, I noticed that they were trying to deal with everything on their own.
So rather than trying to give them a solution, I made a suggestion:
Why don’t you ask God about it?
I saw a light bulb go off in their head. They realized how God wasn’t even in the picture.
Getting to know God isn’t getting to know him only on Sundays. It is letting God be an integral part of your daily life.
You let him know what you are going through. If you have doubts, worries or questions, you ask God for help. You also thank God for the good things that you experience. If that isn’t prayer, then what is?
You also let God speak to you and reveal himself to you. Especially through his word. That is why reading the Bible is so important. It is not reading for the sake of gaining information or to check off a thing to do on our list. It is to deepen and grow in our understanding of God and how he is at work in our lives. The Bible is God’s personal letter to us, one that reveals his heart.
It is already the month of October. Fall is a season of transition and change. During this season, focus on your relationship with God. Take an active interest in growing in your faith.
Don’t come to church simply out of habit. Come with the desire to know God.
As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God. (Psalm 42:1)
Seek God with all your heart, and God will reveal himself to you. You will meet God who sees you and cares for you deeply. In your relationship with God, you will discover more of who you are, what truly matters, and how God is leading you in your life. You will want to know him more and more.
Community Prayer
By Hannah Kim
Dear Heavenly Father,
You are our light, the person we know we can turn to when no one else may be there. You are the one we go to for guidance because we always know you will provide in some way. You give us hope and bless us with your grace even when we may not know it. We are your people who trust in you throughout the trials and errors.
Lord, through it all and the hardships, even when we know you are there with us, it’s hard to face the struggles and anxieties that we can’t contain anymore. We tend to stray away from ourselves trying to become who others view and wants us to be, instead of focusing on how to be faithful in ourselves and you lord. People can judge us, and take us away from our relationship with you, but we ask for forgiveness and guidance. Help us not only to know about you, but to trust you, and recognize your presence in our lives.
Thank you Lord, for all that you have given us these last few days and thank you for what you will continue to bless us with onwards. Through what we struggle and stress about, your always there for us to turn to, and Lord, even when we may not know who we are, your always there to guide us in the right direction into being the people you shape us to be. And for that we thank you.
We pray for those who may be feeling a sense of loss, or struggling to deal with things by themselves but don’t know who to turn to. We pray for the world and our surroundings that we live in, and the people who are being affected by these difficult times. Please Lord, let your grace and be upon them so they may persevere. And at this time, we give our prayers to Rev. Dave as he delivers your word to us, please bless him so he may share the word with us today. Open not just our ears but our hearts so we can fully take in the message that he is delivering.
And in Jesus name we pray,
Amen
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