? What kinds of values did your family pass along to you during the generation when you grew up?
? How did the trends of that generation influence your observance of your families’ values?
? What kind of an influence did the generation you lived in have on your life?
Trends reflect the values of a society. They have an influence on how we live our lives: how our families develop and grow (either together or apart).
Did you wear the bell-bottoms? Were you a hippie? How did you embrace your generation?
And why did you do the things you did?
Let’s take a look at some of the trademark trends of the past 40 years or so…
How many here were born in the 60’s? In the 60’s:
The ‘mini-computer’ was roughly the size of a passenger car.
The home video camera was a handheld 14mm film camera.
And the board game, “What Shall I Be – The exciting game of career girls” was a hit.
What shall I be, indeed… Looks like women had a choice between ballerina, housewife, secretary, or nurse back then…
Money was referred to as Bread, or Scratch, the Church Key was a Bottle Opener, a Hunk was a good looking guy and you were Righteous if you were extremely attractive.
Oh, and in the 60’s, thongs were something you wore on your feet…
In the 70’s:
The ‘mini-computer’ got even mini-er… It could actually fit on the desktop by then.
The VCR came into play, with the advent of the beta cassette player.
And family fun was watching Quincy and making rugs with those latch-hook sets.
Money is still Bread, Dy-no-mite meant something was great, and the phrases Mellow Out, Right On, and See You on the Flipside were some of the phat sayings back then. (That’s a 90’s term)
Next were the Big 80’s: the big-hair decade.
Big hair was a big deal in the 80’s. As you can see, the Mohawk came into fashion… Big Mohawk = big attitude. Everything was big in the 80’s. There’s a classic picture of an 80’s family… Big hair everywhere. Is that dad, or Benji in the back? And don’t forget, your big haired pastor… He was an 80’s guy… That’s me with the big hair, and Hulk Hogan there.
Money turned into Beans in the 80’s. Barney was an unattractive man, and if you watch Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, you’ll learn all the other slang terms: Bodacious, Bogus, Chill Dude, Whatever (valley girl style), and ‘Yo’ were all big terms in the 80’s.
Every decade, society comes out with new trends. It never fails. Two decades later and we laugh at how silly those trends were… Three decades later and we’re putting on their clothes again and calling it Retro… Go figure.
But understand this: trends go lot deeper than just fashion statements and technological advancements. In fact, fashion, music and technology are all just the byproducts of the trends themselves.
Trends are the end result of our mentality, our attitude and our state of emotional being. Trends are the outward expression of an inward emotion: frustration or rebellion.
Typically, we make trends to make some sort of public statement.
Growing up in the generations we were raised in, trends were typically a statement of rebellion toward society. An outward display of defiance against whatever society considered normal and right.
Trends have typically always been one step past what our parents would deem acceptable for us…
Progressing trends are typically the next inch in the pushing the moral and ethical envelope society has placed us in. Our parents’ trends were a little more conservative than our, weren’t they?
I remember my dad threatening to kick me out of the house when I came home with a diamond stud earring in my ear… You know what I did? I went right out and I put two more in the same ear…
Each decade, the older generation imposes standards: moral and ethical envelopes, which the younger generation is expected to honor and obey.
And each decade, the younger generation pushes those envelopes a little further and sets up a standard of their own. The problem is generation after generation passes, pushing the envelope a little bit further until there is no value, no moral code, no ethical standard, except what seems right to each person…
And what you end up with is total chaos, as in the days of the judges, where each man did whatever was right in his own eyes… No absolutes, no rights or wrongs…
But the Word of the living God says, “You are not to do as we do here today, everyone as he sees fit, since you have not yet reached the resting place and the inheritance the LORD your God is giving you.” Deut 12:8-9
He’s saying, “You’re not wise enough. You’re not ready to decide what’s right on your own.
People: OUR FAMILIES need a standard to measure up to, and the Word of God is that timeless standard. I’m afraid we’ve reached such a point in American society that every man and woman does what he or she sees fit, without regard for community, with no respect for righteousness or integrity, and we are where we are because of the slow and steady erosion of Christian values in the home.
The 60’s and 70’s brought us the baby boomers and “free love.” That was their generational signature.
The 80’s kids, we named Generation X (the generation without a name)
The 90’s generation we called Generation Y (as in, ‘why?’ ‘for what purpose?) No purpose, no reason.
Just the other day, television news media explained the difficulty of our President, George Bush and his opponent in their struggle to win the young voters of this, the 21st Century, because they have no desire to vote or be involved in the political process. They don’t care who takes office or what happens.
They’ve been labeled the “Whatever Generation” because they just don’t care.
(FRIENDS, PLEASE BE INVOLVED IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS THIS YEAR & VOTE!)
? How is it that we’ve come to the point of such complacency in this generation?
What have we done, that has delivered our children to such a point that they just don’t care any more?
Why is it that the large majority of today’s generation has no sense of urgency or purpose in life?
Why is this generation called by it’s own people, ‘Whatever?’ Because there are no absolutes. They’ve lost hope, they’ve lost value and direction. They are steered in every possible direction except the right one. They are encouraged in every type of exploration except in that of Jesus Christ, and the result is a desperate lack of moral integrity and the absence of a sense of purpose and propriety in life.
If you need evidence just watch a few minutes of network television and ask yourself, “What does our society value?”
If I’m not getting any direction from my family or encouragement from my pears, if I’m not getting support from my parents, if I lack the joy of knowing the Lord, if my home is not a place of nurture and kindness, based on the unchanging Word of God (if it’s battles, fights and arguments), if it’s not modeled after righteousness, if I have nothing to strive for, no purpose in life, no holiness and no place to run to in times of trouble, then WHO CARES?! WHATEVER!!
(And by the way, all these things start at home with you and me…)
If I don’t have a purpose, then WHO CARES about anything or anyone else?
It’s easy to see how homosexuality and sexual infidelity is so widely accepted among younger people today, without any sense of shock or surprise. It’s because they’ve been given no standard to live by. Nothing of lasting value has been passed along to these people, and whose fault is it? It’s ours!
They’ve been raised by the Free Lovers, the Gen – X’rs and Generation ‘WHY’? Why? Why?
Where are they headed as a result of the legacy we’re leaving behind? Are we being good stewards of our families by passing along the timeless values of God, in the love and admonition of the Lord?
Most people aren’t… The solution to this problem begins at home, with you and me.
You’ve heard it said before, “Home is where the heart is.” ? Is that true in your family?
The problem is: Families just aren’t providing for each other’s needs, and this is a fallacy.
God’s Word tells us, home should be where you make your biggest deposits (of love, not just $$$).
1 Tim 5:8, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
When Paul wrote that, was he just speaking in financial terms?
Didn’t we determine last week that the most valuable thing you can provide to your family is your time?
“If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
Your family is #1. Parents: providing for your family goes WAY beyond food and shelter.
? Are you providing for your family? When your generation passes and you’re gone, what values will you have left to your children?
Roll “Dad’s Legacy” video (sermonspice.com): (Values, legacy, what we pass along to our family.)
Family values are passed along from generation to generation. You’ll pass something along, guaranteed. But what will it be? Salvation or condemnation?
Each family unit is responsible for passing along the values and quality characteristics they were raised with as children. Biblical standards are the timeless standards that keep us in check.
If this process breaks down, the moral basis upon which a family stands disintegrates, follows the trends of the times, and the children pay the price. You leave a legacy based on what you pass along to your children.
In essence, if we do a poor job of raising our children to understand the importance of a relationship with Jesus Christ and the importance of family, community and holiness, it is not God who curses the generations that follow, but us, who fail to pass along the values that preserve our children’s lives, that lead them into the Holy Place.
The legacy we leave behind shapes the next generation.
Why have our standards declined so drastically over the past 40 years?
Largely because of a widespread failure of families passing on things of eternal value to the next generation… Not enough importance placed on God’s Word, God’s Son and the development of a real relationship with Him.
“I’m the kind of man I am today because of my dad, mom, sister, brother…”
The home should be a place full of the joy of Christ’s salvation, a place of comfort, nurture, refuge and encouragement. It should also be a holy place, modeled after the house of God.
We all have a little remodeling to do when it comes to making our house a Christian home, don’t we?
In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, the Lord gives us some practical remodeling tips for our household:
Deut 6:4-9, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”
These things are to be impressed: pressed-in to your family. How do I do that?
In Mark 5:18-19, Jesus delivered a man from demon possession and was climbing into the boat to leave when…
“As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."”
Teach your children and grandchildren about everything god has done in your life, that it might be in their hearts as well. We have a responsibility to testify to our families, the good things God has done for us. It makes a huge impression on your family when you share your struggles and the victories God gave you personally.
The delivered man’s NUMBER ONE ministry was to his family!
“Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
Kids are a captive audience. I couldn’t begin to count all the times my mom trapped me in the car on a ride somewhere and preached to me. Even when I didn’t want to listen, I still heard…
Mom’s have a strange way of getting into your head. She left a legacy in my life that way, and it changed the way I think about things and perceive the world today.
#1: Testify: Share your faith with your family. Let them know what The Lord has done for you.
Pass on the legacy & your faith in Jesus Christ, a personal God!
When sharing your faith, remember to use language your kids can understand… (VIDEO: Christians of Genius)(sermonspice.com)
Deut 4:9, “Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”
ILLUSTRATE: “Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”
WHY? As a witnessing tool to your family.
You can remember and testify to what God has done through STUFF!
#2: Show your faith and how much Jesus means to you openly. Come out of the closet, Christians!
Decorate your homes in such a way as to glorify the risen savior! Joshua was leading the Israelites into their new home in Canaan when the Lord stopped the flow of the Jordan so they could cross.
It was as if God were walking His bride across the threshold of their new home for the first time.
Josh 4:5-7, “and said to them, "Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, “to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ’What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."”
Set up things as signs of what God has done among you. Decorate your homes with God’s Grace and power! Hold on to reminders of God’s love in your life, like the love letters you exchanged before you were married, or the rose you press between the pages of a book…
Decorate your entry ways with symbols of God’s blessings, love and provision in your life, as a testimony, to serve as a sign among you.”
Those special things are signs and symbols of God’s love, His power and faithfulness, which will encourage and inspire your family long after you’re gone.
These are the things they’ll fight over to inherit: your legacies.
Finally, when God says in His word, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.”
He means, He wants us to live out the example of Jesus in our lives by real relationship building.
Not just through lip service and stuff around your house. Those things are meant to be reminders and encouragers of faith, but your ultimate legacy: the ultimate gift you leave behind as an inheritance to your family is how you live every day of your life.
These are the things they will talk about at your funeral and in the privacy of their homes., which their faith will live by.
Jesus did it, and His legacy lives on and on forever more.
You can do it too: leave an eternal, lasting legacy in your family and it starts with establishiong trends that lead to holiness and godly living in your home.
Be leaders by example.
CONCLUSION: Let’s be families that emulate the passion of Christ, who continually remind our families and friends about God’s love and the importance of a life lived with Him: not just at church, but in life and deed, in every corner of your home.
Homework:
Each family (whether you’re a family of one or 14 doesn’t matter) must take one of these white aprons home with you. This week, set aside time together to decorate your family apron using paint, color markers, whatever… Decorate the apron with your family name, some words of love, some representations of what God has done in your lives.
Then hang it in the kitchen.
