All In The Family – A Solid Foundation (Honoring Our Senior Saints) Series

• Psalm 92:12-15 (NLT)

[12] But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.

[13] For they are transplanted into the Lord’s own house. They flourish in the courts of our God.

[14] Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green.

[15] They will declare, "The Lord is just! He is my rock! There is nothing but goodness in him!"

INTRODUCTION:

As part of a commencement address former First Lady Barbara Bush said the following to a group of graduating college students:

"As important as your obligations as a doctor, lawyer, or business leader will be, you are a human being first, and those human connections - with spouses, with children, with friends - are the most important investments you will ever make. At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a child, a friend, or a parent .... Our success as a society depends not on what happens in the White House but on what happens inside your house." (Source: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, Steven Covey)

Relationships—the stuff of life is not an accumulation of things; life is more than just the work we do or the money we make. Life is made up of relationships! No one looks back and regrets not spending more time at work or not having more things. Regret is born out of the missed opportunities of relationships. We regret time not spent with our husband or wife; we regret not being involved in the lives of our children; we regret not building lasting friendships. Barbara Bush said it so well, Our success as a society depends not on what happens in the White House but on what happens inside your house.”

So what is happening inside your house? How are the relationships between husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters, and friends and neighbors doing? Is your interaction with the people who make up your life healthy and vibrant? Or have your relationships been fractured isolating you more and more from others?

Over the next several weeks we are going to open the door into our homes in a series called “ALL IN THE FAMILY.” We’re going to look at the relationships within our families as well as our friends. How are things at your house? I heard someone say that success is not an event but a process. If we are going to have successful relationships within our families it won’t happen overnight. None of us can change what has been said or done in our relationships. However, the past does not determine the success or failure of our families. Failure only happens when we give up and quit. What is important is to live today in a way that will move us toward success.

This morning we are going to look at our heritage; what is hopefully for all of us a solid foundation passed down to by those who have gone before us. In the weeks to come we look at the relationships between husbands and wives, parents and children and even with our friends. But today we want to honor our senior saints for the solid foundation that has been passed down to us. (And who knows perhaps this will help some of us younger folks to think about our priorities so we too will do everything we can to be successful in the way we relate to the people we live with.)

Just for fun let’s have a top ten list of "How to Know when you are growing old."

10. The gleam in your eye is the sun hitting your bifocals.

09. You get winded playing cards.

08. You know all the answers but nobody asks the questions.

07. You need your glasses to find your glasses.

06. You sink your teeth into a steak and they stay there.

05. Your children begin to look middle aged.

04. You turn out the light for economy instead of romance.

03. Everything hurts - what doesn’t hurt, doesn’t work.

02. Your knees buckle but your belt won’t.

01. You need a fire permit to light the candles on your birthday cake.

Our Senior Saints can pass on a solid foundation of stability and strength, through a perspective of God’s faithfulness with continued fruitfulness through lives offered daily to God. And guess what; we can all learn from their example to do the same so we don’t come to the end of our lives filled with regret.

I. Stability and Strength

• Psalm 92:12-13 (NLT)

[12] But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. [13] For they are transplanted into the Lord’s own house. They flourish in the courts of our God.