Faithful thru Generations

Introduction:

Beginning new series next week about Ekklesia,—'gathering'—called “God’s family”.

Next month.

Going to examine how early Xians saw each other

How we should relate to one another; healthy boundaries, unhealthy presupp.; Godly calling!

Breath.

Do U know how when I say:

“God is Good” …“All the Time”…

Say many weeks… So very true!

Can become rote, liturgical—happening for long time in church history! Lose meaning…

Oft’times that truth not internalized or on display for others to see.

Deuteronomy 7:9 “[YHWH] your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.”

I want to remind each of you today that >>

"God is Faithful to all Generations”

Art Project to help you illustrate my points today, help you follow along. WAIT for my signal.

One thing set 1st c. church apart from rest of Grec-Rom world:

The early church overlooked all social labels to gather & support one another.

Slave & freedmen; men & women; every ethnicity; Jewish and non-Jew…

All worsh'd X together; shared communion 2g; & partic’d in speaking & living a Xian life.

TODAY: we gather—despite social, ethnic, gender, race, differences

“all ground equal at foot of cross.”

Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Paul clearly teaches unity—all welcomed by Jesus!

NOT UNIFORMITY!

We are all different, but the source & meas. of our faith is ONE—Jesus & him crucified.

I have a word for each of Four Generations… but they all apply to every other peer group.

Don’t turn off your ears once I speak to your Generation…

Each one can apply more broadly. To all the others.

Keep ears tuned to the truth!

First reminder is to elder generation: G’rents & seniors >>

1. Exhort Others

DRAW: Situation when Jesus helped you/came thru for you. SYMBOL: Anchor.

Maybe salv; maybe heal’d; maybe comfort; maybe find’g church, friend, confidant…

To EXHORT = reminding others about God’s faithfulness!

Psalm 89:1–2 “I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.”

It’s easy, when yrs have worn on esp., to belabor the difficulties & challenges facing…

Bible makes good argument for voicing those & surr’ self w/ Xians who will listen & walk with you…

But—not talking about lament today—as a general rule in life:

“RU known for sharing the good things with others?”

Not just ‘being (+)’. Talking about the times in the past when God has come thru for you!

Specifically when Jesus has made diff. in your life.

Testimony!

Are you susceptible to panic when s’thing new comes along? Can look back on how God got U thru before?

Are you STURDY presence for those in your life who may be faltering?

The times when Jesus held you or helped you might just be last week…

Like Rhonda shared a couple wks ago: Do you tell about what God has done?

WARNING!: In Bible, a generation did NOT do this well and it lead Israel into a spiral of doubt and spiritual deficit…

Judges 2:10 “After t[he ‘Conquest’] generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.”

How are you passing on/telling others/encouraging others

EXHORTING them with stories of how God has come thru for you? about who He is?

2ndly, to middle aged & parents >>

2. Exemplify Christ

DRAW: A picture of Jesus radiating w/ light. SYMBOL: Lamp.

Largest group lumping together here. :) I’m in here.

Still universal challenge—every Xian!

Want to look at one key example Jesus gives us—really consider meaning here:

John 13:3-4 “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.”

Pause for a second. Read again.

In this moment, Jesus knew that He was omnipotent, omniscient—and what action did he choose to take? A slave’s chore.

He served! He put on a dirty apron and cleaned up his friends’ stinky feet!

Jesus knew his time until the cross was short and this is the example he set!

Not “Grumble grumble this is inconvenient.” “This isn’t comfortable!” “Complain about my lack of peace” “They’re too loud/dirty/smelly/ignorant/disrespectful!”

He put all of his own authority aside to serve like one who had none.

Then he has the audacity to say:

John 13:17 “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

If you’re in the throes of parenting right now, looking 2B best Mgr./coworker/ team player right now…

—even if they don’t deserve it (bc his disciples didn’t)—

…take a page from Jesus’ book & SERVE them!

If our mind/ Spirit is not right w. Jesus right now… work on those things so you can better EXEMPLIFY Christ.

When our mental or emotional plates are overloaded—from past, shame, demonic influnce—it’s hard to EXEMPLIFY Christ.

Hundreds of other ways we can be more like Jesus; all challenging

this is a pretty key one that sums up much of Jesus’ ministry.

To reveal God’s character, we should treat others like Jesus did.

Breath

Thirdly, to the students in the room: Middle School, high school, college-age >>

3. Explore Deeper Faith

DRAW: A tall tree with an expansive root system underground. SYMBOL: Magnifier.

Proverbs 25:2 “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.”

Used this vv. couple wks ago—so true!

God is glorified when he’s difficult to grasp (he’s ‘above’); but humans are honored when they try really hard to understand!

This is why…

Core Value: “Learning”… not just for intelg’ce sake, but to expand your underst. of God’s char.

Many different avenues to exploring God’s word Deeper

Bible Proj./Class; Logos Bible app; Pathway Train; Endur. Word Comm.; MORE!

Jesus made this pursuit personal when he said:

John 16:12–13 ““I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”

By time Jesus ready to die, spoke about truth casually with his friends.

THEN provided a Way, person, through which all truth would be discerned!

We believe EVERY fllwr of Jesus has the HS: talk to, guide, help, heal....!

As a close friend; defender; guide; whisperer in your ear to help you discern!

Truth isn’t far from you; your cheat sheet is dwelling very close to you.

EXPLORE a Spirit-inspired understanding of Faith!

Don’t be content to let political pundits, podcast hosts, or celebrities define it.

Get ahead of it. Have a Biblical worldview that puts Jesus first!

Don’t allow the priorities of our nation or our world guide you—Bible first!

Students: EXPLORE Deeper Faith; grounded on the person of Jesus.

Lastly, to the infant, preschoolr, & every child in this room >>

4. Experience Truth

DRAW: A picture of holding hands. SYMBOL: Bread on table.

A lot of this rides on the parents/guardians to plug the child in with the right ppl, BUT

My point is: Keep your faith ACTIVE.

Put your kids in places where ppl need help or need some1 with your gifts.

Let the Holy Spirit B your guide!

Acts 4:33–34a “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them.”

Notice: “with… power”; “grace… at work!”

This wasn’t just a Bible study; seminary course—Bible came alive!

Your kids need to see people (namely FAMILY) putting Jesus first, serving others…

...with POWER…

...and they need to do it, too!

You need to remember:

The ONLY Way to Live A Christian life is with Others!

Moments like this where kids can SEE other parents & their own acting like Jesus,

Exhorting others about the GOOD things in life…

Exemplifying Jesus (even at the buffet line!)…

& Exploring deeper faith together…

…can be POWERFUL life-changing moments in a child’s life.

You’re here today, but how plugged-in are you?

Do you let your kids EXPERIENCE God’s goodness in community?

How have they seen you prioritize your church family? Mandatory? Once/mo.?

1. EXHORT | 2. EXEMPLIFY | 3. EXPLORE | 4. EXPERIENCE

All of these principles add up to a full Christian life! (remember: each point for ALL)

WE are called to: >>

Reveal God’s Faithfulness!

Not Meant to be Kept to Yourself!

1 Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have…

Be walking talking signs of God’s faithfulness

Doesn’t mean you never have bad days or aren’t ever dealing w/ very hard things...

...but at end of day can U be example of X & support to others bc God’s presence in & thru YOU?!

Just like shouldn’t live a private Xian life, called to walk with others beside us.

We need to >>

Pray for the Generations before AND After you.

May not understand why they believe or do what they do… but we can honor them with prayer!

Oft’times diff. gen. get bad rap: Boomers, GenX, Millen’ls, GenZ/α…

Our culture growing so quickly, pushes generations apart w/ diff. prior./XP

Can come together on our trust in Jesus!!

HOLD HANDS; stretch across aisle

Numbers 6:24–26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

As U look around, as we sing, realize: God’s given you many people…

…different walks of life, prior., talents, temper’ts…

To show you who Jesus is & give you opp. to BE JESUS to them.

As we worship Jesus 2gether, know: We’re all family.

God is Faithful thru Generations!

SING: “The Blessing”

PRAY.