Today I was reading in Judges 2 - always an interesting book. After Joshua dies God appoints judges "who delivered them (Israel) from the hands of those who plundered them" (2:16). The Israelites were a fickle bunch: following God when things were going good and they had judges, when they died the Israelites left God to do their own thing.
One of the problems was that the next generation, the ones that didn't live with Joshua and see the winning of the Promised Land, "did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other Gods . . . They turned aside quickly from the way in which their father had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not walk do as their fathers."
This brings up to me the staggering importance of families and churches being committed to passing faith on to the next generation. The commitment to youth ministry and kid's ministry is essential to the church. Parents need to engender a faith nurturing environment in their homes: reading the Bible to their kids, having kids seeing parents read their Bible, helping their children to understand how God works in the word, and developing a Christian worldview. This is essential in the next generation following God through faith in Jesus Christ. When a generation takes a break from passing on the faith you get what you have in Judges 2 - a whole generation of people who ignore God and go their own way.
Let's commit to our next generation today!
One of the problems was that the next generation, the ones that didn't live with Joshua and see the winning of the Promised Land, "did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other Gods . . . They turned aside quickly from the way in which their father had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not walk do as their fathers."
This brings up to me the staggering importance of families and churches being committed to passing faith on to the next generation. The commitment to youth ministry and kid's ministry is essential to the church. Parents need to engender a faith nurturing environment in their homes: reading the Bible to their kids, having kids seeing parents read their Bible, helping their children to understand how God works in the word, and developing a Christian worldview. This is essential in the next generation following God through faith in Jesus Christ. When a generation takes a break from passing on the faith you get what you have in Judges 2 - a whole generation of people who ignore God and go their own way.
Let's commit to our next generation today!
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