Now ! & When?

HOLY SPIRIT BLESS US

November 10, 2002

Ecclesiastes 12: 1 “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, I have no pleasure in them.”

Now ! & When?

-by: Rev. Sol Madlambayan

Introduction:

Good morning! God is good all the time. Another day- another opportunity to Praise God. TODAY IS YOUTH SUNDAY… We are so blessed this beautiful morning because we still have the freedom to express our faith in the open.

Again, my sincerest thanks to Rev. Paul Kelly and to the Administrative Council and the Staff Parish Relations Committee for giving me the opportunity to serve as your volunteer Assistant Pastor. My wife-Myrna and I are so delighted to work with you for the Glory of God.

In fact, my wife said that she enjoyed the face and arm painting she did with Ms. Trina at the Church Bazaar yesterday.

Before I proceed to the message, let us take this opportunity to give honor to our Veterans for their heroic efforts for the sake of the American people.

Let us have a moment of silence and prayer as we pay tribute to them.

To all the unsung heroes of this nation- I salute you all! May God bless you always!

Our National hero (in the Philippines) once said, “The youth are the hope of our Fatherland.” I believe that. That statement is not only applicable in the Philippines but also here in the United States .

That is very true because… the people of tomorrow are our young people today.

The kind of young people we have today will determine the kind of society that will come out in the next generation.

Therefore, if we expect and we want to have a God- fearing people and a society that is rooted in the Christian faith, we must start making them today.

Now is the time to Act and do our part in the shaping-up of the future.

One way for us to build up and mold our present generation according to God’s pattern is to look back the past.

Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Therefore, God’s law and standards are still the same now.

People may change from generation to generation. There is birth and there is dying. But the way people should live by the standards written in the Bible are still the same.

1.Looking the Past.

How did our senior citizens... or the young once in this congregation lived their life? What kind of values they have before?

Some of the old folks that I talked with; said that, during those times, they are conservative in every aspect of their life, the way they act, the way they dress-up and the way they live their life. They were a big help to their parents. They take part in the household chores even after school.

But now, where do we see our children after school? In front of the television? computer? Watching videos? Surfing in the internet? Waiting for the dinner to be served?

One of my favorite place at the Disneyworld -Magic Kingdom, aside from the Hall of the Presidents is the Carousel of Progress. There you will see that the old folks- men and women alike wore decent clothes. Very simple observation yet it has a big impact on our world today.

I hate to say this but I know I have to say it and must say it today. I hate to compare …but sad to say, not all but most of the young people today are totally different from the young people of yesterday.

Just take a look at the teenagers now, the boys are wearing loose and low waist shorts and pants that when you see them, you may want to chase them and give them pins or needle and thread to make it tight.

How about the ladies? they don’t only wear earrings on their ears but were pierced everywhere in their bodies- the eyebrows, the tongue, the nose and wherever they are pleased to have it.

What else, they wore clothes as if there is great shortage of clothing materials in America? Bodies are exposed !

Young people may say, this is the trend now. Our time is different from the olds.

Those were the days and you have to accept what we are today...

Do we really have to ignore and sit and just let go of the situation today?

Why are these things happening now! Why is it that our children adapt this kind of lifestyle?

It’s a trend I think! Yes, they see it in the media and anywhere they go.

Yes I agree. Our society became permissible to these kinds of situations.

But I should say, we as parents became permissible too. Why?