Pass It On Week 1
Notes
Transcript
Opening
Opening
What comes to mind when we think about passing on our faith or sharing our faith with others?
What are the physical, emotional and spiritual obstacles or roadblocks that prevent you from intentionally sharing your faith?
Opening Truths:
Passing on your faith is not a singular event but an ongoing process of growth and maturing.
The outcome of the journey of sharing faith with another lies in the hands of the Lord alone.
You can not mess up God’s plan of salvation in any individual’s life, especially those you care about.
What Does God Say?
What Does God Say?
Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (NIV)
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
The command of the Lord as He prepares to set up the nation of Israel begins with laying the foundation of the nation, each individual family. The Lord has chosen to use the family as the primary means by which faith is passed down from one generation to the next.
Love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always. Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm; the signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his whole country; what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots, how he overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea as they were pursuing you, and how the Lord brought lasting ruin on them. It was not your children who saw what he did for you in the wilderness until you arrived at this place, and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them. But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done.
Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, and so that you may live long in the land the Lord swore to your ancestors to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey. The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.
So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul—then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.
Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut up the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you. Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.
The importance of passing on your faith from one generation to the next is to 1. give testimony to all of the things that the Lord has faithfully accomplished in this generation to prepare the next generation to trust in the same way and 2. to teach the next generation of the consequences that have been felt and experienced for failing to have faith in this generation to sway the next generation from making the same mistakes. Balance between the two is vital to reap a faith that will last both in season to triumph and season of trial.
Wisdom from Proverbs
Proverbs 6:20–23 (NIV)
My son, keep your father’s command
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
Bind them always on your heart;
fasten them around your neck.
When you walk, they will guide you;
when you sleep, they will watch over you;
when you awake, they will speak to you.
For this command is a lamp,
this teaching is a light,
and correction and instruction
are the way to life,
Proverbs 13:24 (NIV)
Whoever spares the rod hates their children,
but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.
Giving guidance and direction to your children is an act of love while pursuing the path of least resistance or comfort is an act of hatred toward your children.
Start children off on the way they should go,
and even when they are old they will not turn from it.
Remember, God is in control of the outcome our the faith journey of our children. We are charged with beginning and nurturing our children’s faith journeys. Praise the Lord that the path that our children will follow in life is not solely dependent upon our ability to effectively lead them on this faith journey, but our diligence helps to narrow the perception of acceptable paths from our child’s viewpoint and lays the foundation for future conversations between your child and the One who does now the outcome and the paths our children will take.
Proverbs 23:13–14 (NIV)
Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
Punish them with the rod
and save them from death.
Proverbs 29:15 (NIV)
A rod and a reprimand impart wisdom,
but a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother.
Discipline your children, and they will give you peace;
they will bring you the delights you desire.
The proverbs speak often of the relationship between children and parents in regards to discipline and reprimand. Why? The path of faith stands in opposition to the path of the flesh. It requires direction and discipline to choose against the flesh and walk the path of faith. The foundational truth of our relationship with God and with one another is that we must learn to love God and others more than we love ourselves. This is not an easy, comfortable or natural thing to do. Most of the influences in our culture and society teach self over others so the role of parents, grandparents and a loving community of faith are crucial to train up and guide our children to God’s design over the world’s.
Ephesians 6:1–4 (NIV)
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—“so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
The desired outcomes of a life well lived begin with the outlook on the world and one’s relationship God that begins in the home. Likewise, for parents to receive the rest needed to bear this monumental task of raising up the next generation only comes as children are pointed toward the Lord. This truth is repeated multiple times in the Scriptures.
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Children’s children are a crown to the aged,
and parents are the pride of their children.
Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their opponents in court.
Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
They are a garland to grace your head
and a chain to adorn your neck.
Application
Application
Creating Discussions
Creating Discussions
Truth and faith are most effectively passed on from one person to another through two way communication. We need both to hear and communicate truth and faith. The more senses stimulated and critical thinking skills engaged, the greater retention of truth and faith and the more effective the application of truth and faith will be.
How do we create discussions instead of monologues? Asking open-ended questions creates discussions. Focus on why questions over what questions. Why questions stimulate the critical thinking skills and increases empathy and self-efficacy in individuals.
Creating discussions needs to allow for the ability to explore. At times when the discussion veers away from the truth of the Lord or proceeds down paths that are less desirable, do not fret. Guide the conversation back toward truth. Sometimes the most effective way of conveying truth is to allow your children to explore the alternative paths within the confines of a safe environment and surrounded by loving people who will catch them if they “fall.” The curiosity of children will lead them down paths that they have no business walking down. If we limit discussions and resort to only monologues, the curiosity of children will lead them down these same paths when you are not around and when they are alone or surrounded by people that have no vested interest in them falling or not.
Always close your time with the truth. Even if your discussion led your child to the truth and to greater faith in the Lord, always close your time by reiterating the truth and the things of faith. The last thoughts you always want to leave your child with is the truth that grows their relationship with the Lord.
Creating Space
Creating Space
It is a process and not a specific event.
Utilize common gathering times like meals, wake up or bedtime to engage in conversations about faith and the Lord
Share something that you learned in your devotion time
Take a few moments to read through a book in the Bible and then discuss it
Recap or look forward to big moments of the day and discuss how the Lord would desire you to approach each situation
Pause in times of need, victory, struggle or even the mundane moments and pray together
Set apart time for intentional growth and engagement in your relationship with the Lord. We plan intentional times of entertainment. The same should be done for our relationship with God. Utilize resources that are available (RightNowMedia, Bentkey, etc).
Intentionally participate in screen time and other forms of entertainment with your children/grandchildren and take time to have discussion about how God fits into the situation and circumstances on the screen.
Lead by example and have conversations about how you stood well in your faith and about when you fall short in your faith. Leading by example is not a call to perfection but of authenticity. You will fall short, stumble, and eat crow. Be honest about these moments with your children and grandchildren to show them both what mistakes to avoid and how to reconcile when mistakes happen. Include your children in the ministry and service opportunities you are already doing. If service and ministry brings you joy, that is a gift from God, you should pass that joy on to your children. Stretch them and they will find the Lord.
Take home gift: Keep Your Eyes on Jesus Lent Calendar