Leaving A Legacy Series

We’re in the series Recession-Proof Relationships and since today is Mother’s Day we’re going to talk about Leaving a Legacy by training the next generation. Moms are great examples of this topic. They can be great teachers!

Things My Mother Taught Me...

My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE

"If you’re going kill each other, do it outside - I just finished cleaning!"

My mother taught me RELIGION

"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

My mother taught me LOGIC

"Because I said so, that’s why."

My mother taught me HOW TO MEET A CHALLENGE

“Answer me when I talk to you! Don’t talk back to me!”

My mother taught me FORESIGHT

"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident."

My mother taught me IRONY

"Keep laughing and I’ll give you something to cry about."

My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS

"Shut your mouth and eat your supper!"

My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM

"Will you look at the dirt on the back of your neck!"

My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION

"Stop acting like your father!"

My mother taught me about ENVY

"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don’t have a wonderful mother like you do!"

My mother taught me about JUSTICE

“One day you’ll have kids and I hope they turn out just like you!”

Leaving a legacy by passing stuff on to the next generation can be serious business but don’t ever forget to laugh!

And while you’re laughing, hare are some biblical principles that need to be passed on to the next generation so that they will be prepared for the recessions in their relationships.

Our Scriptural basis for today’s teaching comes from a man of God in the Old Testament. God had given the prophet Joel a message to share with others and then God says something very riveting to His people…

"Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation." Joel 1:3 (Amplified Bible)

God is making it very clear that we’re to pass on the things that God has taught us to the next generation. We’re NOT to keep our wonderful experience of learning God’s truth to ourselves. We are to share what we’ve learned with the next generation. Until I plug my life into God’s plan for caring for others, including the next generation I’m missing out on some of the greatest joys for which God created me.

You don’t have to be a biological parent to do this. Every adult needs to be aware of his or her responsibilities to the next generation. Anytime you’re around somebody younger you have a chance to positively influence him or her and you need to take advantage of that opportunity. Whether it’s a kid here at Pathway, or a neighborhood kid that needs an older person in his or her life, or someone in your family, God wants you to share your knowledge, wisdom and experience.

I was recently made so very proud of some of the young adults at Pathway that made themselves available to take the kids from Junior Church to the Nashville zoo! They already grasp the joy of training the next generation!

The Bible talks about how adults can become “unavailable” to the next generation.

21their children are honored, but they do not know it; their children are disgraced, but they do not see it. 22 They only feel the pain of their body and feel sorry for themselves." Job 14:21-22 (NCV)

A lot of adults are walking around in utter selfishness. They see nothing but their own problems and they’re so self-centered and self-focused that they spend most of their lives feeling sorry for themselves when they could be experiencing tremendous joy by coaching the next generation!

We have a choice! We can live joyful lives by focusing on others or we can lead miserable lives by focusing on ourselves all the time!

If you want to stop the misery of feeling sorry for yourself start looking at the needs of others! If you want to rise out of your depressed state – take your eyes off of yourself and look at someone else’s needs. A great place to look is the next generation! Look at the children and youth of our culture and think about how you can positively influence their lives! Then, they can positively influence the next generation, and so on.

How do we do this? The Bible is great! It doesn’t just tell us WHAT. It tells us HOW. How do we effectively communicate and convey the spiritual truths that God has shown us to the next generation? God’s Word places an emphasis in several areas.

THE NEXT GENERATION NEEDS WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE.