Generation to Generation. Senior Sunday 4.27.25

Introduction/Scripture

Psalm 78:1–8 NIV

My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old— things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. They would not be like their ancestors— a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.

Pray.

Driving home the other day....asking question after question. Dude, can you give me a break from all the questions?

No Dad, I don’t know everything yet, so you have to tell me.

He thinks I know everything. My wife will tell you, I think I do too.

It is a heavy responsibility.

Background of text

Psalm 78 is a long text written by the psalmist Asaph. 72 verses long and one that give you whip lash.

The Psalm is building a juxtaposition of all of the miracles God has done throughout history, met by a stubborn and stiffnecked people that are quick to forget his wonderful deeds.

If you were to continue on you would hear about:

His miracles in the sight of the Egyptians, dividing the sea, guiding them through peril with the cloud of fire, splitting rocks in the wilderness to bring water, and caused rives of life to flow

BUT THEY continued to sin, they put God to the test, doubted him, grumbled about food.

Verse 23: AND YET, rained down manna,

BUT THEY kept sinning, verse 32.

This continues, telling the cyclical history of God and the people from the time of the exodus through David’s kingship.

And it is this story that the psalmist says at the beginning.... we must tell the next generation.

Look again at the text:

Psalm 78:1–4 NIV

My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old— things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.

Why is it so important to tell this story? Can we not dress it up and decorate it a little? Can we hit the highlights?

Psalm 78, is a Parable?

We get a hint at this question in the beginning of Psalm 78 when the psalmist calls this a parable.

A Parable is a story that brings about visual metaphors. Something familiar to teach something unfamiliar. And they are one of the most popular ways that Jesus teaches.

And interestingly Jesus quotes this passage in Matthew 13:35

Matthew 13:35 NIV

So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”

He is claiming to be the fulfilment of prophecy here.

What is curious though is that Psalm 78 is not really a parable. Not in the sense that we usually think.

The reason Matthew has Jesus saying this quote is that both Jesus’ teachings and Psalm 78 can function in the way a parable does by revealing to some truth, and concealing from others. That is the power of a parable:

To some, it is just a story....and yet to others it is so much more.

Psalm 78 is the story of Israel and God’s unfailing persistent commitment to a broken people. This Psalm is about Israel, like the parable of the sower is about a farmer....and yet Psalm 78 is a story for us just like the soils can speak of our heart.

This story that the psalmist says must be passed onto the next generation tells of the unceasing salvific act of God, even with the incessant defection of the people.

Why tell our young people this story?

Well he answers in 7-8...

Psalm 78:7 NIV

Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.

they would trust in God

Informed and Humble thinking

And obedience

So what does this mean for our church?

Teaching for our church:

Tell the story, the whole story

your whole story

Don’t tell the ascending/descending narratives

Story with Luke: God stories at night. And I have learned that he only likes certain kinds of stories. “Dad tell me a fun one.”

Intergenerational faith

Examples: Billy Abraham

Show up and support the ministries (“It’s not my job”)

Put your preferences on the altar

Commitment to trusting God, humility, and obedience

It starts in our own faith. To not be consumers. To make our faith a priority. Trust God, humility....think Christianly, and walk in obedience

Non-anxious presence in the world .....Friend: teaching in a middle school setting. Trying to get a picture of the narrative the kids believed in. Are things getting better or are things getting worse? “Well clearly things are getting worse with Joe Biden president.”

What is at stake?

Story of our years as a youth pastor: We had influence and significant time with at least 100 kids. I can only think of 2-3 that are in the church today.

Here are some statistics:

7/10 of most committed kids leave the church when they graduate…and only half come back after a decade.

Not my job mentality, not discipling in the home, and churches that isolate from programs

Millenials and Gen Z coming to the church

Recently I was reading an article from Pew Research Center that described Christianity being one of the most abandoned religions in the world. The vast majority of adults leaving Christianity are not merely switching from one religion to another; rather, they are disaffiliating from religion altogether. In the United States, 19% of adults who were raised Christian now identify as atheist, agnostic, or nothing in particular.

In the past, older generations have been known to have the highest level of commitment to Jesus. Yet, Barna’s recent study on young adults and their faith in Jesus noted that “Millennials and Gen Z have shown significant increases in commitment to Jesus, while Boomers and Gen X have remained mostly flat in their commitment levels to Jesus.” Another recent study found that church attendance in Britain is surprisingly on the rise and it is primarily thanks to a resurgence in Gen Z. Christianity Today goes as far as to call this a “quiet revival.”

I have seen this as I have travelled recently, my friends and colleagues are testifying to it. Young people are coming back to the church and they are after the real presence of God.

We have been entrusted to not just tell the story, but to live it. Is it possible that more important than what you do, is who you raise?