Ep 114: A Few Lessons From School (w/ Leo McKinely)

1
00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:04,040
What are some lessons that
school can teach us about living

2
00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:07,560
our lives as Christians?
Well, our guest will tell us all

3
00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:10,400
about that in just a bit.
Welcome to the show.

4
00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:13,800
I'm Daniel Dowpp and this is for
your Sunday morning drive.

5
00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:16,920
The short podcast with the goal
of providing some motivation,

6
00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:20,520
Dr. and encouragement on your
way to worship and helping you

7
00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:24,120
recenter your mind on those
spiritual things on a hectic

8
00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:26,920
Sunday morning.
This morning we are joined by

9
00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:29,760
Leo McKinley.
Leo was a math teacher at

10
00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:33,800
Paducah Tillman High School in
Paducah, KY and is also a

11
00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:35,800
wonderful preacher of the
gospel.

12
00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,600
If you'd like to know more about
Leo, you can check out my short

13
00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:42,240
interview with him and the link
that I've provided in the show

14
00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:45,600
notes of today's episode.
Leo has some great thoughts to

15
00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,200
share with us today.
So let's go ahead and get the

16
00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:50,960
show on the road.
This is episode 114.

17
00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:55,120
A few lessons from school.
Leo, thanks for being with us

18
00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:57,280
today.
Let's go to church,

19
00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,320
What do you associate with the
month of June?

20
00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:23,080
Maybe it's National Game Show
Day or National Donut Day, which

21
00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:26,600
are all unique holidays for
June, but more than likely it's

22
00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:29,320
that it's summertime and so
we're out of school.

23
00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,040
You can sleep in, you can
travel, you can stay a play, you

24
00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:34,120
can go to the pool.
So the last thing you want to

25
00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:36,480
think about at school, but
that's what the subject of this

26
00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:39,240
podcast is today.
School has many benefits and

27
00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:41,960
what I want us to do today is to
consider three quick

28
00:01:41,960 --> 00:01:46,440
observations about how school
and Christian living are

29
00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:48,920
related.
So First off, white school,

30
00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:50,800
Christian living involves
learning.

31
00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:53,760
The point of school is that to
learn, and that's why we have

32
00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:55,760
teachers.
And I'm sure like me, you've had

33
00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:59,080
the full gamut of teachers, some
good, some bad, some mean, some

34
00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:01,840
knife, some boring, some very
interesting.

35
00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:06,040
Teachers deal with so much, but
what we need to do, we need to

36
00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:09,160
respect them for sure, but we
need to also check their

37
00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:11,880
authority and the accuracy of
what they're saying.

38
00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:15,160
I have the authority as a
teacher because I have a degree.

39
00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:18,000
However, if I don't have the
accuracy piece, that doesn't

40
00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,080
matter.
If I walk into my classroom and

41
00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:24,520
say that 1 + 1 is 3, I'm failing
with the accuracy piece.

42
00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:28,120
And sadly, we can't believe
everything that we're told by

43
00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:30,960
teachers.
The Bible tells us in verse John

44
00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:33,600
chapter 4, verse 11.
Beloved, do not believe every

45
00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:36,480
spirit, but test the spirits,
whether they are of God because

46
00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:39,120
many false prophets have gone
out into the world.

47
00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:44,080
The Bereans in Acts chapter 17,
verse 10, they received the word

48
00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:47,400
with all readiness and searched
the Scriptures daily to find out

49
00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:50,000
whether the things they were
being taught were, so it says in

50
00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:52,520
verse 11 there.
And so they didn't just simply

51
00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,600
believe Paul and Silas, even
though Paul and Silas had

52
00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:57,560
authority.
They searched the Scriptures to

53
00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:00,280
verify the accuracy of their
teaching.

54
00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:03,920
We need to make sure that we are
speaking the things which are

55
00:03:03,920 --> 00:03:07,320
proper for sound doctrine.
As Titus chapter 2 verse one

56
00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:10,080
says, that responsibility is on
us as well.

57
00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:13,040
We need to make sure that if
we're teaching, we are teaching

58
00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:17,080
as the oracles of God per first
Peter chapter 4, verse 11.

59
00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:20,200
Also consider with me that like
school, Christian living

60
00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:22,920
involves tests.
Tests are probably the worst

61
00:03:22,920 --> 00:03:25,160
part of school.
They can be very stressful.

62
00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:28,040
I remember being a student and
Hayden having to take tests.

63
00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:29,880
I would just rather write a
paper.

64
00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:32,800
My students sometimes now ask me
why do I have to give them a

65
00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:35,040
test?
And it's simply because I want

66
00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:38,400
to make sure they have a strong
command of the content without

67
00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:41,440
doing a test.
How do you know that you know

68
00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:45,120
map without being tested?
How do I know I have a strong

69
00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:47,280
faith sometimes we are going to
fail tests.

70
00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:49,520
We're going to make mistakes or
come up short in life.

71
00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:53,520
Michael Jordan famously said
I've missed more than 9000 shots

72
00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:57,360
in my career 26 times I've been
trusted to take the game-winning

73
00:03:57,360 --> 00:03:59,960
shot and I've missed.
I've failed over and over and

74
00:03:59,960 --> 00:04:02,760
over again in my life.
That is from the greatest

75
00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:04,840
basketball player that ever
lived.

76
00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:08,840
Also consider Steve Jobs, Elvis
Presley, Walt Disney have all

77
00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:10,880
been fired.
You could argue that they were

78
00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:12,880
tested.
We see many people in in the

79
00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:15,800
Bible who were also tested to
varying degrees, whether it's

80
00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:19,200
Adam and Eve, can and Abel.
Genesis chapter 2 act 22

81
00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:23,600
actually opens up with us being
told God tested Abraham whenever

82
00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:27,080
he told Abraham offer his son
Isaac as a burnt offering.

83
00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:30,160
Peter was tested As we shift to
the New Testament.

84
00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:33,680
Remember he denied Jesus three
times in Matthew chapter 26

85
00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:36,800
verses 69 through 75.
And then who was it that was

86
00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:39,800
boldly proclaiming the truth on
the day of Pentecost in Acts

87
00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:42,840
chapter 2?
That very one Peter Jesus was

88
00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:44,800
tested.
He was ridiculed, mocked and

89
00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:48,120
humiliated on the cross, yet He
became obedient to the point of

90
00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:49,800
death, even the death of the
cross.

91
00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,880
According to Philippians chapter
2 verse 8, He was tested.

92
00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:56,120
So if all these people were
tested, we should not fantasize

93
00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:58,840
that we are going to travel
through life untested.

94
00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:02,240
Revelation chapter 2 verse 10
makes that very clear when it

95
00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:05,960
says do not fear any of those
things which you are about to

96
00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:08,080
suffer.
Indeed, the devil is about to

97
00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:11,640
throw some of you into prison,
that you may be tested and you

98
00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:15,640
will have tribulation. 10 days.
Be faithful until death, and I

99
00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:19,120
will give you the crown of life.
So we see that the Christian

100
00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:20,960
life, just like school, has to
test.

101
00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:23,640
But finally, consider with me
that like school, the Christian

102
00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:27,200
life ends with graduation.
That is the ultimate goal, isn't

103
00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:28,800
it?
Graduation rate as a key

104
00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:30,960
indicator for a school's
accountability index.

105
00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:33,080
Students want to graduate.
You don't want to be in school

106
00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:34,720
forever.
I did the math.

107
00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:37,720
By the time of high school
graduation, a student will have

108
00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:43,080
spent 2340 days in school.
That's over 12,000 hours, over

109
00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:46,760
777,000 minutes.
Look how far they've come.

110
00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:50,120
Spiritual graduation day will be
the judgment day when we trade

111
00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:53,400
our earthly home with the
eternal habitation of heaven.

112
00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:57,280
Heaven becomes my symbolic cap
and gown like a high school or

113
00:05:57,280 --> 00:05:59,600
college graduation.
This is the day that we ought to

114
00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:02,920
look forward to with bated
breath and ardent anticipation.

115
00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,920
Second Corinthians chapter 5,
verses 8 through 9 explain why

116
00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:10,680
they say we are confident.
Yes, well please, rather to the

117
00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:13,720
absent from the body and to be
present with the Lord.

118
00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:17,160
Therefore, we make it our aim,
whether present or absent, to be

119
00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:20,720
well pleasing to Him.
It will be so nice to relinquish

120
00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:24,280
this body with its pains and
limitations and to graduate into

121
00:06:24,280 --> 00:06:26,960
the presence of God.
However, it will require

122
00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:31,720
pleasing God and being obedient
to Him, like how I must pass

123
00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:33,800
tests in order to Graduate
School.

124
00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:37,840
Also, I need to be competent and
literate when it comes to God's

125
00:06:37,840 --> 00:06:39,760
Word.
Someone once remarked that

126
00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:43,000
Americans revered the Bible, but
by and large, they don't read

127
00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:44,400
it.
Hence, we are a nation full of

128
00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:47,400
biblical illiterates.
Researchers have suggested that

129
00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:50,320
fewer than half of all adults
can name the four Gospels.

130
00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:53,160
Many Christians cannot identify
more than two or three of the

131
00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:58,440
apostles, and apparently 60% of
Americans cannot name even five

132
00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:01,760
of the 10 commandments.
If we are biblically illiterate

133
00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:04,880
or in the case of others, too
stubborn to be obedient to God's

134
00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:09,120
Word, how could we ever expect
to meet graduation day in

135
00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:12,120
heaven?
So as we see, the Christian life

136
00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:16,720
can be modeled by the school
existence where we have

137
00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:20,320
graduation ultimately, but
before that we have learning

138
00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:22,280
that takes place and we have
tests.

139
00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,840
I really appreciate Leo's
thoughts this morning, and as an

140
00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:30,160
extension of those, here are
some discussion questions for

141
00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:33,520
this week.
Do we take secular learning more

142
00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:36,240
serious than our spiritual
education?

143
00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:38,440
When it comes to our spiritual
lives?

144
00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:42,760
Do we pass the test or do we
fail to measure up?

145
00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:48,280
And what can we do this week to
better prepare ourselves for our

146
00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:51,560
spiritual graduation day?
Hey, thanks for listening.

147
00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:55,840
Thank you to Leo for joining us.
Keep striving, keep learning,

148
00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:57,480
and I'll see you Sunday.