Building More Bridges/What Am I Leaving Behind
March Toolbox • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
Someone said “Legacy is not what I did for myself, but what I did for the next generation”
Someone said “Legacy is not what I did for myself, but what I did for the next generation”
It is crucial that we stop to consider what we are leaving behind, and what we are cultivating going foward.
It is crucial that we stop to consider what we are leaving behind, and what we are cultivating going foward.
What we build today can help or harm the generation of tomorrow.
God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. . .will we be?
God’s universal church will remain forever, but that does not mean the local congregation will.
God’s universal church will remain forever, but that does not mean the local congregation will.
Background to our text
Background to our text
Psalms 73–150 (Form, Structure, and Setting)
[For those who hear this psalm, it instructs Israel about the peril and promise of being the people of the LORD
Psalms 73–150 Form, Structure, and Setting
In Psalm 78 a recurrent pattern emerges that is similar to that seen in the book of Judges. In each iteration the Lord performs glorious and gracious deeds for Israel. Israel then forgets the goodness of the Lord and rebels against him.
The encouragement is to learn from history and its failures so that they can be faithful in the future
In vv. 1–8 presents it as a wisdom exhortation in poetic form based on history in vv. 9–11 and then described in its various forms in the wilderness experience (vv. 12–41), the exodus (vv. 42–50), and the conquest and settlement of Canaan (v. 54–64). The final section in vv. 65–72 details the divine election of Zion and David.
There is a strong possibility this was written before the exile
There is a strong possibility this was written before the exile
It’s almost as though is used to encoruage and warn that God’s divine judgement should not be taken lightly.
But what did they leave behind?
Text
Text
Ps 78:1-8 “Listen, O my people, to my instruction; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.
We will not conceal them from their children, But tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done. For He established a testimony in Jacob And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded [obligation not option] our fathers That they should teach them to their children,[Teach them God’s WORD, WAY, &WILL] That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, That they may arise and tell them to their children,
That they should put their confidence [the result of passing it on] in God And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments, And not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not prepare its heart And whose spirit was not faithful to God.”
This is why we need to consider what we are leaving behind
This is why we need to consider what we are leaving behind
The Significance of a Generation
The Significance of a Generation
Deut 4:9 ““Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.”
How did this generation know about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Someone told them.
Ex 13:19 “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you.””
[Gen 50:25] - How did Moses know to “carry the bones out of Egypt”?
Josh 24:32 - How did they know about the bones?
Judges 2:10-12 “All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel. Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals, and they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the Lord to anger.”
Sometimes a generation can fail to carry on a testimony of God
Sometimes a generation can fail to carry on a testimony of God
Heb 11:29-30 “By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.” - Did you notice the MISSING Generation?
Sometimes a generation can fail to display a sincere faith in God
Sometimes a generation can fail to display a sincere faith in God
God wants to be remembered throughout all Generations.
This is why we need more bridges
This is why we need more bridges
The Significance of Building Bridges
Finding ways to connect the future generation to the older generation
#1. ATTITUDE -
#1. ATTITUDE -
Young people shouldn’t always be seen as problems to address
Older folks shouldn’t just be seen as people to throw in a corner “until they die off”
Heb 10:24 “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,”
Php 2:3 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard [how you think of someone] one another as more important than yourselves;”
#2. ACTION
#2. ACTION
Parents take your children to see older brethren
Older folks (retirees) offer to spend a day with busy parents [buy groceries, watch the children, etc.]
Pray for each other
Be a good example
Talk to people properly [sometimes your approach is distastful] /BE APPROACHABLE - Col 4:6 “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”