To You And To Your Children

“Let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!” Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away —all who have been called by the Lord our God.” Acts 2:36-39

PETER WAS PREACHING GOD’S WORD —Joel 2, Psalm 16, and Psalm 110 —to the people gathered in Jerusalem for the Festival of Pentecost. Fifty days before, Jesus had been crucified. And just a few days before Pentecost, he had ascended into heaven. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter was helping people see that the Scriptures they loved had always been about the person of Jesus, whom they’d rejected and crucified.

It was only a short time before —the night Jesus was arrested —that Peter had taken out a sword to try to defend Jesus. But on this day, it was the sword of the Word of God that Peter wielded. And as Peter brandished this sword, the Spirit used it to do his piercing work. Three thousand people were cut to the heart as they heard and understood the Word of God. They recognized that this promise Peter shared of Jesus as Savior required a response, but they weren’t sure what that response should be.

“What should we do?” they asked Peter and the other apostles. Peter told them they needed to receive forgiveness for their sins by repenting and by believing in the name of Jesus Christ, which they would signify through baptism. They could then expect the Holy Spirit to continue working in their lives —filling them, empowering them, securing them, and gifting them. And not only them, but their children, too.

We often sense that what we say to our children is going in one ear and out the other. And much of it probably does. But what our children need far more than to hear our words is to hear God’s Word in such a way that their hearts are pierced and their lives are changed.

Spirit, speak to ________ through the preaching of your Word, the reading of your Word, and through my own speaking of your Word. Break through the familiarity, the resistance, and the hardness, and pierce ________’s heart in such a way that ________ will be willing to repent and be joyful about identifying with you.