Grandparent's Day

TEXT: Psalm 78:1-8

Grandparent Quotes:

Grandmas are moms with lots of frosting. Author Unknown

Grandfathers are just antique little boys. Author Unknown

Never have children, only grandchildren. Gore Vidal

When grandparents enter the door, discipline flies out the window. Ogden Nash

Grandmas never run out of hugs or cookies. Author Unknown

If I had known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren, I'd have had them first. Lois Wyse

My grandkids believe I'm the oldest thing in the world. And after two or three hours with them, I believe it, too. Gene Perret

An hour with your grandchildren can make you feel young again. Anything longer than that, and you start to age quickly. Gene Perret

Grandmother - a wonderful mother with lots of practice. Author Unknown

Grandparents are similar to a piece of string - handy to have around and easily wrapped around the fingers of their grandchildren. Author Unknown

No cowboy was ever faster on the draw than a grandparent pulling a baby picture out of a wallet. Author Unknown

If you ever think that being a grandparent isn’t important then listen to these statistics:

6.1 million - The number of grandparents whose grandchildren younger than 18 live with them. {Source: 2006 American Community Survey}

2.5 million - The number of grandparents responsible for most of the basic needs (i.e., food, shelter, clothing) of one or more of the grandchildren who live with them. These grandparents represent about 40% of all grandparents whose grandchildren live with them. Of these caregivers, 1.6 million are grandmothers, and 896,000 are grandfathers.

918,000 - Number of grandparents responsible for caring for their grandchildren for at least the past five years.

5.7 million - The number of children living with a grandparent; these children comprise 8% of all children in the United States. The majority of these children, 3.7 million, live in the grandparent’s home. {Source: Families and Living Arrangements: 2006} <

Do you know how Grandparents Day got started?

Residents of Fayette County, West Virginia, Marian McQuade and her husband Joe are the parents of 15 children, grandparents of 40 and great grandparents of 8. It was her work that began in 1956 that eventually helped persuade President Richard Nixon to proclaim a National Shut-in Day.

In 1973, after a 5-year campaign, Mrs. McQuade pushed the legislation that Congress passed proclaiming the first Sunday after Labor Day as National Grandparents Day. September was chosen to honor Grandparents because it symbolized the “autumn years” of life. President Jimmy Carter signed the proclamation.

In a special aired on MSNBC several years ago, researchers found that “The most defining social change taking place is the aging of America.” Here are some stats from the Census Bureau, the National Institute on Aging, and AARP (which I am a member).

• Someone turns 50 years of age every six seconds and people over 50 account for 43% of all U.S. households

• The over-85 age group is the fastest growing segment of the population and the number of citizens over 85 will double by 2030

• The U.S. population age 65 and over is expected to double in size within the next 25 years

• Life expectancy at the turn of the century was approximately 46 years; today it is approximately 76 years

We live in a culture that promotes youthfulness and denies the importance of the elderly. The Bible calls us to instead honor the aged. Leviticus 19:32 – “You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the Lord.”

Now let’s get to our text.

Verse 4 – “We will not hide them from their children.” This is talking about the law or Word of God. Each generation has a responsibility to help the next generation. It is the older generations that teach the younger generation at home and in school.

If the older generation does not teach the younger ones, then they will not be taught. Oh, they can learn some things on their own and from their peers (mainly bad stuff). Mostly they learn from the older generation.

The CALL of this Psalm is a call to Pass it Forward—to pass on to emerging generations the knowledge of the Lord.

We of this generation must be faithful in passing down this information to the next generation. We stand between past generations and the generations to come. We are entrusted by those who have gone before us with great and important truths; truths to be preserved and transmitted in their purity to future ages. We must be faithful to discharge this responsibility.

Notice verses 3 and 4 - “3What we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. 4We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation.”