Our theme for this past school year has been "Celebrate God’s Grace." That theme is based on two verses from Psalm 59: "But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. O my Strength, I sing praise to you; you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God."

There has been a lot to celebrate this year. The preschoolers did a lot of learning. This morning I asked them what they learned over the year. Silence. After a little prodding, the answers came pouring forth. They said they learned how to write their name, the alphabet, how to share, and cut, and be polite. They learned how to use the bathroom and wash "Germo" down the drain. Those are very important to know.

They learned how to be a friend and give the pastor a "high-five" when they see him. When I asked them what was the most important thing they learned this year, they all answered "JESUS!" And isn’t that what separates Wisconsin Lutheran Preschool from other public preschools? Our children are able to learn about Jesus. They are able to pray to Jesus out loud and with other children who believe the same as they do. Today I heard one little one ask the other, "Do you love Jesus more than your Mom?" Jesus is important to them. That’s because Jesus is important to you as parents and he is important to us at WLS.

Our preschoolers are also able to sing sweet praises to Jesus. The Bible verse for our school’s theme speaks of singing, "But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love… O my Strength, I sing praise to you." Tonight the children are singing praises with songs like "Jesus Loves the Little Children," "Two Little Eyes," and "The Flower Song." When the preschoolers were practicing these past few weeks for tonight’s service, I could hear them from my office. I don’t know if their shouting and banging could necessarily be called "music", but the Lord hears them making a "joyful noise" with their voices and with their instruments.

But why? Why make such a big deal about Jesus? Why send children to our preschool and Wisconsin Lutheran School? Why do we want to have our children learning about Jesus, praying to Jesus, singing about Jesus, and telling others about Jesus? It is all about what Jesus has done for us. And children, what has Jesus done for us? [wait for response]

Jesus is gracious to us. Grace means "undeserved love." Even though we haven’t been perfect children – just ask Mrs. Blome. Even though we haven’t been perfect parents, or teachers, or pastor. Jesus has been gracious to us. He loves us and gave himself for us. He gave us himself. He lived the perfect life we couldn’t live. He died the death we deserved. He suffered the hell that we earned. He has given us the heaven we could never receive on our own. He gives us the forgiveness we so desperately need.

I love the way one preschooler described Jesus’ forgiveness to his mom. One rainy afternoon a mom was driving down Main Street when her son, Matthew, spoke up from the back seat. "Mom, I’m thinking of something." Mom knew that Matthew was a very insightful child and she was eager to hear. "What are you thinking?" she asked.

Matthew replied, "The rain is like sin and the windshield wipers are like God, wiping our sins away." The chills raced up Mom’s arms. Finally she was able to respond, "That’s really good Matthew." Then her curiosity broke in. How far would this little boy take this revelation? So she asked, "Do you notice how the rain keeps on coming? What does that tell you?"

Matthew didn’t hesitate one moment with his answer: "We keep on sinning, and God just keeps on forgiving us." Isn’t it comforting to know that God does keep on forgiving us? He keeps wiping our sins away. He is our fortress, our refuge in times of trouble. He is our loving God. He is our gracious God. Celebrate God’s grace with your children tonight and for the rest of their lives. Amen.