Sermon Tone Analysis

*This Present Age*

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/SCRIPTURE: And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Deuteronomy /11:19

 

Have /you /ever taken a good look at the youth of today?

/Are you /happy with what /you /see?

Are /you /disappointed?

If /you /are unhappy are /you /doing anything about it?

With all of /our /power and might, those who know the Lord should prepare to minister to the present generation as we tell them about the goodness of the Lord.

The old warriors of the church still sing an old hymn in long meter.

The words were written by Charles Wesley, but the old slaves added power and emotion when they sang, "A charge to keep I have, A God to glorify A never dying soul to save and fit it /for /the sky.

To serve the present age, my calling to fulfill; 0 may it all my powers engage to do my Master's will."

The words demonstrated a commitment /felt /by /one /generation to know God themselves then tell the story to "the present age."

Even though that old song has been passed down /for /hundreds of years, its             meaning is clear; the mission of the church is to seek the salvation of "this present age.

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Many adults look at the youth of this generation and shake their heads.

They conclude that this generation is lost.

They see only the negatives.

Does that sound like something new?

Consider this quote: "Youth today love luxury.

They have bad manners, contempt /for /authority, no respect /for /older people, and talk nonsense when they should be working.

Young people do not stand up any longer when adults enter the room.

They contradict their parents, talk too much in company, guzzle their /food, /lay their legs on the table and tyrannize their elders."

If that quote seems to describe today's youth, then consider that those words were spoken by the Philosopher Socrates, thousands of years ago, describing the youth of his time.

Each generation has its /own /mark.

Each had its /own /peculiarities and idiosyncra­sies that were frowned upon by the preceding generation.

Whether or not we hailed /from /the Charleston generation with its finger waved hair, short dresses and beads or whether it was the Boogie- W oogie generation of Count Basie, Louis Armstrong and the jitterbug; each has known its own peculiarities.

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There are some who came from the Bobby Sox generation.

It was a time of black and white shoes, thick socks.

Elvis Presley.

Little Richard.

and the 55 Chevrolet.

There are some who hailed from the Woodstock Generation: marked by long hair, anti-war protests.

Afros, stage plank shoes, and dashikis.

Some came from what has been called the "Pepsi generation” who feasted on Kentucky Fried Chicken; listened to Prince and the Purple Rain.

Bobby Brown, and Run DMC.

NOw there is before us a new generation, similar to those of the past but is yet different.

This new generation is generally described as the Hip Hop Generation.

It is a generation of rap music.

earringed ears, baggy clothing, R. Kelly.

Snoop Doggy Dog, and Beyonce.

This is the generation that today's youth are encountering.

The temptations they face are similar to those of previous generations, but the advent of technology makes it extremely more difficult to resist and to handle.

The generation before us is no different from the previous in terms of potential and its propensities.

It has the potential to do great and powerful things and to achieve excellence.

just as previous generations.

It also has the propensity or the tendency to deviate, just as the previous generation.

This underscores the impor­tance of the church's mission to the present age.

"We must tell the story" to this generation.

It is the mission of to day's church leaders to tell the story to "this present age."

That brings to mind the l' the little girl who was very close to her grandmother.

Grandmother always took time to come to her room, pull up the old rocking chair and read her stories from an old storybook given to her by her mother.

The stories were funny.

Mother Goose, Little Red Riding Hood, Alice in Wonderland, Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

They were all amusing stories.

Grandmother would sit in that old rocker and read one each night without fail.

After a while Grandmother took sick.

Shortly after the little girl learned that grandma was gone to be with God.

Only one thought came to her mind.

The question plagued her day and night.

She knew that grandma was with God.

She knew that Grandma was safe.

However, the question that bothered her was.

"Who will tell the story?"

As she came home; that night her mother came into her room and tucked her daughter in bed.

Tired.

she sat in the old rocking chair.

Instantly the little girl sat up in her bed and displayed the biggest smile.

"'Why are you smiling soT' The mother asked.

The girl pointed to her mother sitting in grandma' s chair!

The little girl pulled out the old storybook that had passed through three generations and put it in her mother's lap.

"You are sitting in grandma's chair.

You must tell the story!"

Instantly the mother began to feel grandma's presence.

She opened the book and read.

Night after night she repeated the story until her daughter fell fast asleep!

The youth of this present age will be leaders in the church and its various auxiliaries and ministries.

This generation must be prepared to witness for Christ in every aspect of their lives including the family, church and the world beyond.

Christian youth are being called upon by the millions to rise from their generation and choose to serve a mighty and powerful God who has chosen them to be his witnesses.

The challenge to rise up and witness for Christ is what lies before this generation.

The challenge to know him in every way and tell others what we know fEces every

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As adult Christians, we know that God has a special task for us.

However, the youth of "this present age" may not fully know God for themselves or their relationship to him.

We must ask him for strength to teach the youth of this generation the power and the majesty of almighty God.

This text focuses on Moses as he tells the nation of Israel the story of God's

goodness and mercy toward them as people.

The journey of the children of Israel from Canaan to Egypt in a time of famine to huge nation of wilderness nomads, nearly a half million in number is memorable.

Without a doubt, Moses was the pillar of the Israelite nation.

His youth was a litany of deeds and accomplishments that included surviving the wilderness, seeing the burning bush, facing Pharaoh, maintaining the wilderness existence for 40 years.

However, in his senior years, Moses assumed the role of teacher for the people.

The entire book of Deuteronomy is a written record of Moses' many efforts to tell the story of the Israelite journey.

The name "Deuteronomy" means "A second Look."

Moses retells the story.

It is not simply a recounting of the journey but an account of God's dealings with people.

That aspect is what distinguishes biblical history from secular history.

While secular history tells the story of man's journey, biblical history tells the story of the journey with respect to God's relationship to the pilgrims.

Thus Moses notes it's not so much the telling of the story that is important, as is the emphasis on God's dealings with mankind in the process.

The thrust of these text verses seems to fall in three categories.

Each believer is charged to know the story himself or herself.

They are charged to have

the word of God in their hearts and to constantly remind themselves of God's goodness by keeping them visible in glaring ways.

Knowing what God has done from first hand experience has the effect of serving as frontlets or guides that keep us from straying too far to the left or to the right.