Leaving A Living Legacy

Legacy is not what you leave behind, but what you set in motion

The great enemy of leaving a Legacy:  short-term thinking

Think Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Tri-generationally

Eternal things: Gods word, The soul of man

Define  values with an eternal perspective.

1. Faith

Hebrews 11:6 NIV

6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

2. Servant Leadership

Mark 9:33–35 NIV

33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. 35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

Matthew 23:11–12 NIV

11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

We don’t crush or bruise people on the way up the so called ladder of life. We use our gifts and talents to serve people.

3. Family

Joshua 24:15 NIV

15 But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Exodus 3:15 NIV

15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.

4. Work ethic

Colossians 3:23 NIV

23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,

1 Corinthians 3:13 NIV

13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.

How do you help your family win?

1. Winning with world view.  

We raise our kids with a nest mentality, they turn 18 and leave the nest to become independent and then we move on to other things. That’s ok but not entirely biblical. Leave and cleave, yes. Disconnect, no. We advance God’s kingdom, fruitful, multiply, subdue as a family. Family is a team, There’s no “I” in Team, we remain active participants.                          

The "Swedish oak trees island" refers to Visingsö, an island in Lake Vättern where the Swedish Crown planted approximately 300,000 oak trees in the 1830s for a 150-year-long-term naval shipbuilding plan. By the time the trees matured, iron and steel had replaced wood in naval construction, so the trees were never used for ships. Today, the forest remains as a large, privately managed oak forest used for high-end woodworking, and is accessible to the public via ferry. 

By the time the trees were mature, modern shipbuilding had moved to metal, making the oak trees obsolete for their original purpose. The forest became an unintended ecological asset.

Accidental Forest:  : To ensure the trees grew tall and straight, other species like ash, elm, and beech were planted between the rows to encourage upward growth.Forest growth

Forest growth: To ensure the trees grew tall and straight, other species like ash, elm, and beech were planted between the rows to encourage upward growth.

2. Win with a thermostat. 

A thermostat sets the temperament of the room. A thermometer reacts or reflects the temperature of the room. We need to be the thermostat or we will always just be reacting and chaotic. Thermostats set vision, values, conversations, etc,,,7 festivals in the Bible for families to gather for purpose. 

What temperature are you setting for your family? 

3. Winning with hope 

Families operate on a bell curve. Tweens start moving from parental orientation to peer orientation. It gets worst being a teen then once adults they can totally disconnect. We are a team, believe the best about each other.