"FIXING OUR EYES" Kids Ministry Coffee Break 11: Maintaining our course in ministry is a skill we must develop. Keeping our eyes on where we are headed is, in fact, how we get there.

Coffee break 11: How many times are you caught up in the details of what is right in front of you that you suddenly look back and realize you’ve not been headed in the direction upon which you set out? Maybe you accepted your calling into student ministry with some very specific ideas of the direction God intended you to go…but then…over time…you got caught up in some of the details and side issues that arose along the way…until suddenly you realize you aren’t headed in the direction of your calling anymore. https://ministry-to-children.com/childrens-ministry-is-the-highest-calling/ We can even forget what our calling is because of getting distracted and focused on the wrong details and situations that inevitably come in a life of ministry. Traditions, rituals, routines, and distractions have a tendency to demand our eyes look down from the course which we are on… they want our attention to be on them instead of them being the tools we use to accomplish our goals. Traditions and rituals can, over time, without us aware of it, become the very goals themselves! Suddenly we look around and realize…our path has taken a wrong turn. Throughout the Gospel stories Jesus was headed toward Jerusalem—to the center of religious and political power—to stand face to face with corruption. If he’d gotten side-tracked along the way… If he’d allowed the many things that popped up on his journey to divert his attention… He wouldn’t have stayed on his obedient path to the cross. He had his eyes fixed on Jerusalem. Even when he was headed in the other direction, he knew he was ultimately headed to Jerusalem. Where are our eyes fixed? On Jesus, yes, but how or why? What is your calling? What direction did you set out on when you said, “Yes” to ministry? Is your path still headed there? Have you gotten distracted? Have you gotten lost? Fix your eyes on the calling given to you by Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Look up…let your eyes find what you need to be headed towards…and focus on that. Pretty soon you’ll be able to look back and see that you have been headed exactly to what and where you’ve been called to go. It’s okay to spend time looking at other people’s rows, but only for the purpose of building others up and offering encouragement as we all work together for the purpose of the Reign of God advancing on earth in the name of Jesus Christ. (Special thanks to Charlie Ketchen—who was the one who asked my dad about his rows and originally offered it as a devotion for his peers in his ministry work as a chaplain) https://10bibleverses.com/scripture-quotes/reward-bible-verse-gods-reward-scriptures/ Today's message is brought to you by Rev. Joseph Sanford from Sanford Curriculum -- where he works with Lauren Sanford to develop resources for children and youth ministry and is available on The Sunday School Store. https://sundayschool.store/ Music provided by The Muse Maker --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kidsministry-coffee-break/support