What are we really trying to do when we raise up a child in faith? In this week’s sermon, Pastor Harry Jarrett offers a beautiful and challenging answer to that question — one that speaks not just to graduates and their families, but to every person who has ever been part of a faith community: we are trying to send people forth whole. Not perfect. Not finished. But whole. Drawing from three rich biblical texts — Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Proverbs 3:13-18, and Luke 2:41-52 — Pastor Harry weaves together a vision of what wholeness looks like and how it actually happens among us. The ancient Hebrew word shanan, translated as “teach diligently,” literally means to sharpen — the way a blade is sharpened on a stone: deliberately, repeatedly, intentionally, with an end in mind. That is what teachers, parents, and communities do when they show up faithfully in the ordinary moments of a child’s life. The wisdom of Solomon promises graduates something remarkable for the uncertain road ahead: wisdom is not waiting passively for those who seek her — she is already moving toward them. The formation they’ve received has been preparing them to be the kind of people who recognize wisdom when she shows up. And in the only story we have of Jesus as a young person on the edge of adulthood — staying behind in the temple at twelve, causing his parents three days of desperate searching — Luke closes the scene with four words that point to the whole purpose of Christian formation: wisdom, stature, favor with God, and favor with people. Intellectual growth. Physical growth. Spiritual depth. Relational wholeness. An integrated, sharpened life. This sermon is a gift for graduates, a charge to communities, and a comfort to parents who must do the hardest thing love requires — let go. Go and grow wise. Go and grow whole. Go knowing that wisdom is already on the road ahead of you. If this episode moved or challenged you, we’d love to hear from you! Please like, share, and leave a comment below — your thoughts help this message travel further than any one sanctuary can reach. 🎙 Subscribe to the Faith at Work Podcast on Substack: https://pastorharryjarrett.substack.com/podcast 🌿 Visit Pleasant Valley Church of the Brethren: https://pleasantvalleyalive.org/ 📖 Read Pastor Harry’s Daily Devotional: https://pastorharryjarrett.substack.com/s/daily-devotional RUN OF SHOW 00:00 — Opening: What Are We Trying to Do When We Raise a Child in Faith? 00:40 — The Goal Stated: Sending People Forth Whole — Not Perfect, but Growing 01:34 — Text 1: Deuteronomy 6:4-9 — The Shema and the Hebrew Word Shanan (To Sharpen) 02:39 — Honoring Teachers and Leaders: Faithfulness in the Ordinary Moments 03:46 — The Charge Belongs to the Whole Community, Not Just Parents and Clergy 04:42 — Text 2: Proverbs 3:13-18 — Wisdom as a Tree of Life 05:30 — A Word for Graduates: You Will Feel Profoundly Lost — But Wisdom Is Moving Toward You 06:10 — An Active Posture: Wisdom Requires Those Who Take Hold of Her 07:28 — What the Teachers Gave: Not a Set of Rules, but a Set of Eyes to See With 07:50 — Text 3: Luke 2:41-52 — The Boy Jesus in the Temple 09:07 — The Wonder and Anxiety of Letting Go: Parents, Children, and the Moment of Becoming 10:23 — Four Words That Sum It All Up: Wisdom, Stature, Favor with God, Favor with People 11:11 — Growing Whole Is the Goal — Not Perfection, but Integration 11:42 — The Challenge: Growing Whole Takes Work, Courage, and Community 12:27 — The Hard Truth for Parents and Communities: We Raise Them to Send Them 13:42 — A Word of Thanks to Teachers and Leaders 14:22 — The Charge to Graduates: Go. Grow Wise. Grow Whole. RESOURCE GUIDE SCRIPTURE TEXTS Deuteronomy 6:4-9 — The Shema The foundational Hebrew prayer and charge to teach the faith diligently across generations. Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9 at BibleGateway: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+6%3A4-9&version=NIV Explore the Shema’s history and meaning at My Jewish Learning: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/deuteronomy-64-the-shema/ Theological commentary on Deuteronomy 6:1-9 at Enter the Bible: https://enterthebible.org/passage/deuteronomy-61-9-the-shema/ Proverbs 3:13-18 — Blessed Are Those Who Find Wisdom Solomon’s poem on wisdom as the most precious treasure, a tree of life for all who take hold of her. Read Proverbs 3:13-18 at BibleGateway: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+3%3A13-18&version=NIV Verse-by-verse commentary on wisdom as “tree of life” at BibleRef.com: https://www.bibleref.com/Proverbs/3/Proverbs-3-18.html The Blessings of Wisdom — deeper exploration at Enter the Bible: https://enterthebible.org/passage/proverbs-313-18-the-blessings-of-wisdom/ Luke 2:41-52 — The Boy Jesus in the Temple The only biblical window into Jesus’ childhood, ending with Luke’s summary: wisdom, stature, favor with God and man. Read Luke 2:41-52 at BibleGateway: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2%3A41-52&version=NIV Scholarly preaching commentary from Luther Seminary’s Working Preacher: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/narrative-lectionary/boy-in-the-temple/49277 What does it mean that Jesus increased in wisdom and stature? — GotQuestions.org: https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-increased-in-wisdom-and-stature.html Jesus in the Temple at 12 — accessible overview of the story’s meaning: https://justjesustime.com/jesus-in-the-temple-at-12/ KEY WORD STUDY Shanan (שָׁנַן) — “Teach Diligently” / “To Sharpen” The Hebrew word used in Deuteronomy 6:7 appears 9 times in the Old Testament, and 8 of those times it is translated with words related to sharpening, whetting, or piercing. The idea: to engrave the faith into children through deliberate, repeated, intentional teaching — not just programmed instruction, but the whole texture of daily life. A Hebrew study of shanan, including the connection to the letter shin and teaching through repetition: https://syknox.org/rr-6-14-20-shema-lesson-6-and-all-about-jeremiah-31/ Detailed word study on shanan in its Old Testament context: https://alittleperspective.com/deuteronomy-64-9-the-commandment/ ABOUT PLEASANT VALLEY CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN Pleasant Valley Church of the Brethren has been ministering in the Shenandoah Valley since 1824 and is part of the Church of the Brethren’s Shenandoah District. The congregation proclaims God as Loving Father, Jesus Christ as model and Savior, and the Holy Spirit as constant guide. Website: https://pleasantvalleyalive.org/ Address: 91 Valley Church Road, Weyers Cave, Virginia 24486 Sunday Schedule: 9:30 AM Sunday School (Sept–May) | 10:30 AM Worship Plan a Visit: https://pleasantvalleyalive.org/plan-a-visit/ About Us & Church History: https://pleasantvalleyalive.org/about-us/ Faith at Work is produced weekly from the Sunday Morning Worship service at Pleasant Valley Church of the Brethren in Weyers Cave, Virginia. New episodes release each week. Subscribe, share, and join the conversation. Get full access to Harry Jarrett at pastorharryjarrett.substack.com/subscribe
