Reaching the Next Generation Manuscript

Sermon Title:  “Reaching the Next Generation”
Scripture:  Psalm 78:4-7
Speaker:  Mike Barnhart
Date: June 27, 2021

You can find the sermon notes here.

Good morning, Gateway! My name’s Mike Barnhart, and I’m the pastor at an EPC church about 20 minutes outside of Albany, NY.

What an incredible week of VBS here at Gateway! Don’t you love the kids here!?!

Before going to NY, I was on staff here at Gateway for ten years doing college ministry, Life Groups, and I was the campus pastor at North Main. (Here’s a shout out to everyone watching at North Main).

You as a church mean so much to me and my family. I think about you and pray for you every day.

• You invested so much in us...in so many ways.
• You extended the grace of Christ to us...beyond our understanding.
• Your friendship has been invaluable.

Our friends in New York know how very much we love you.

• You’re the ones who poured into us for ten years.
• You told us about Jesus. You taught us about Jesus.

We’re so grateful for you! And, it’s truly a joy to be with you today.

We miss you often.

But, we realize that the call that God has placed on our lives at this point in time is specifically for the people in the Albany / Capital Region of New York.

God called you to send us out...and, that’s what you did 2 ½ years ago.

God called us to go...and, so we did.

What I had heard--but didn’t realize until we arrived--is that the place God sent us to is a spiritually dry & thirsty land.

• It’s estimated that only up to 2% of all the people who live in the Albany area are “evangelicals”--meaning they truly believe the Bible & trust Jesus.
• In a school of 500 elementary students...that’s only 10 kids.
• There are some schools, which don’t have any teachers or administrators who are Christians.
• In my 2 ½ years in NY, I can’t recall a single time I saw another family pray together at a restaurant.
• Many people consider ‘regular church attendance’ as showing up once every 4-6 weeks.
• Many people use Sundays for grocery shopping, sleeping in, or youth sports.
• It’s uncommon to join a youth sports league that doesn’t schedule events on Sunday mornings.
• Shame & guilt about sin is much less prevalent than in the midwest...because many people in the Albany region don’t see what we’d call ‘sin’ as wrong.
• I’ve heard many stories about people coming into the area to try to plant new churches, but most all of them close within the first 5 years.

I share this with you today because--before moving to NY--I had heard that it was a tough place to do ministry, but I had no idea how difficult it would actually be.

On the other hand...I wanna share what God’s been up to…

• After about 5 years of our church investing financially into a local elementary school, they allowed us to partner with them to do a “Trunk or Treat” event before COVID came around.
• We were all planning on about 150-200 people.
• We saw over a 1,000 people come through that night....we were in awe of what God did.
• Schools have yet to allow us to mentor or interact with students, but we’ve been able to connect with a few staff by providing “Thank You” lunches for them.
• At our church...VBS has been a huge blessing to the church & the community.
• Since I’ve been there, I’ve heard dozens of stories about people who got connected to the church through VBS.
• This year, our church has decided to try something different…
• Because of the uncertainty of COVID protocols, an aim to connect with families, and a desire to bless our community...we’ve decided to embrace the idea of VBS Sent.
• Starting in July, we’ll invite families in the community to gather in a local park for VBS on three Thursdays in a row...we’re calling it “Family Night in the Park.”
• I’d love it if you’d pray for us about this.
• It’s new. It’s different. But, we’re praying God would use it for His glory.

God’s placed the next generation on our hearts as a church.
That’s one of the things I’ve always loved about Gateway too.
You love the next generation. You’re committed to them.

• You tell.
• You teach.
• You reach the next generation for Jesus.

Today, I’d like to look at Psalm 78, as well as several additional scriptures to give you a sort of biblical overview about “The Next Generation.”

What we’re gonna see is that: Because the next generation matters to God, we must reach them.

Psalm 78:4-7 (ESV) - 4 We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. 5 He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, 6 that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, 7 so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the worlds of God, but keep his commandments;

Let’s break this down a little…

Psalm 78:4 (ESV) - 4 We will not hide them…

Who or what is the “them”?

As usual...the text tells us in the 2nd part of verse 4:

Psalm 78:4 (ESV) - 4 We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

“Them” is referring to “the glorious deeds of the Lord, His might, and the wonders that He has done.”

We’re not supposed to “hide” these things from our children.

And, when verse 4 uses the word “children,” it’s not just talking about those of us who have kids of our own. It’s talking about all the children in the church, and even children who may not yet be part of the church--whether they’re your personal children or not.

We’ve gotta be intentional about not “hiding” the ways of God from kids.

What does “hiding” the ways of God look like?

Judges 2 gives us a picture of this.

The context is when Joshua’s ministry comes to a close.

• Israel--the people of God--have seen all the great things God has done among them.
• But, after them, another generation comes...

Judges 2:10-12a (ESV) - 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. 12a And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them.

At one time, God’s people believed God.

• They trusted God.
• They followed God.
• They worshiped God.

They knew of God’s greatness…

• His glorious deeds.
• His might.
• The many wonders that He has done.

Then, they made the mistake of going from believing to assuming.

• They assumed that one another trusted God.
• They assumed that their children would follow & worship God.
• They assumed that future generations would know God’s glorious deeds, His might, and the many wonders that He has done.

This ‘assuming’ mentality led to unbelief.

• It led to idolatry.
• It led to worshiping the created things of the world.
• It led to future generations abandoning God/

Can you see how easily this happens?

Let me give you a few statistics from the Barna Research Group.
In 2018, they published an entire book about Gen Z. It also includes some info about Millennials as well.

Here are some stats they give:

• 26% of Gen Z spend 8+ hours on screen media every day.
• While almost 60% use screen media at least 4 hours every day.
• 50% say happiness is good and they want it.
• ⅓ report being bullied online in some way.
• ⅓ of teens say gender is how a person feels, not their birth sex.
• Only 4% have a biblical worldview--that’s 96% of young people who are living without a biblical worldview.
• Many Gen Z (and some Millennials) experience (what is known as) “nomophobia.”
• For those who may not know…
• “Nomophobia” is simply the fear of not having your mobile device with you.

For young people, social media is huge!

• ...I already told you about screen time.
• On social media, teens tend to share the best version of themselves.
• Then, what happens is: Teens compare the best version of others with the worst version of themselves.
• So, needless to say...Anxiety, depression, and a construed identity are at the heart of what our young people are dealing with today.

There’s another term you need to know:

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism

It’s defined by five overarching ideas:

1. A God exists who created & ordered the world, and He watches over human life on earth.
2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
4. God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.
5. Good people go to heaven when they die.

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism was a view that drastically increased in popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s--especially among Millennials.

This perspective has created difficulty for the Church today because it’s moved us--some in the church--, as well as secular society, to embrace two values above just about any others:

1. Personal Happiness
2. Moral Relativism

We all kinda know what personal happiness means, but we lack identifying it as a problem in our own lives.

Ultimately, personal happiness can be defined as anything that causes you to feel good or safe.

Moral Relativism is the idea that people’s perspectives on truth change based on what society or individuals think is rightor wrong at a given time in history.

• ¼ of Gen Z & Millennials believe this. They believe that what is morally right or wrong changes over time.

This is the idea that there’s no ultimate “truth” or “authority” in life.

For example...

• Only ⅓ of teens believe lying is morally wrong.
• ¼ of Gen Z & Millennials believe morals depend on what an individual believes.
• It’s the idea that “what’s true for one person may not be true for another.”
• More than 60% of Gen Z & Millennials believe that marriage doesn’t need to be a lifelong commitment between a man & a woman.
• About 80% of Gen Z & Millennials think it’s appropriate to have sex before marriage.

Can you see how easily this happens?

In just a couple generations--sometimes even just one--we can move from “believing” to “assuming” to “unbelief.”

So, what do we do?

1. Because the next generation matters to God, we must TELL them about Jesus.

Psalm 78:4 (ESV) - 4 We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

Telling the next generation about Jesus requires that we see God’s glorious deeds.

• It means we see His might & power.
• It’s remembering the wonders He’s done.
• It’s living in awe of God.

It’s all about recognizing the relevance of Jesus in our lives.

And then, telling them the truth...everywhere you go...everything you do…

Tell the next generation:

• That God created us in His image to glorify Him.
• That because of our sinfulness, we can’t glorify God.
• And because we couldn’t do it ourselves…
• Jesus came to live the life we couldn’t live.
• He died--in our place--the death we deserved to die...experiencing the full wrath of God for us.
• Jesus rose to life on the third day so that we could have true & eternal life.

Because the next generation matters to God, we must tell them about Jesus.

That’s one way we must reach the next generation...we must boldly & graciously tell them about Jesus.

Psalm 78 actually gives us another (very closely related) way to reach the next generation.

2. Because the next generation matters to God, we must TEACH them about Jesus.

“Telling” is having Jesus on your mind so much that you are always speaking of Him and what He’s done.        

“Teaching” is more about intentional instruction for the purpose of memory recall.

Look at verses 5-6...

Psalm 78:5-6 (ESV) - 5 He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, 6 that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children,

God has given us His moral law to follow & obey.
And, He did it--not just to give us meaningless expectations…
        ...No, He gives us His law for our good. It’s for our benefit.

When I say law...What I mean is: God’s commands; God’s rules.
We’re called to obey them.

But, not only that…
...We’re called to teach these ways of God to the next generation.

Adults...it’s our responsibility to share this stuff with the next generation.

• We’ve gotta teach kids the Bible.
• We’ve gotta teach them how to trust God in life.
• We’ve gotta teach them how to pray.

This is how the good news of Jesus is shared & passed on to future generations.
You...You’re supposed to do it. It’s your responsibility.

But, why?
Again, our text tells us. Look at verse 7:

Psalm 78:7 (ESV) - 7 so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments;

We’ve gotta do it because that’s how our kids and grandkids will have hope. They won’t experience true hope--the hope of Jesus--if we don’t tell them.

Not only that…
We’ve gotta teach them so that they don’t forget God.

When I think about “teaching,” I think about how Kidway volunteers instruct kids about God’s moral law expectations of us and how Jesus fulfills them all perfectly…so that we can be righteous in Christ.

I think about teaching kids the catechisms--which are questions and answers that help them to understand who God is and what He does.

I think about parents sitting down with their kids after dinner to read the Bible and ask questions together about what God is saying.

I told you earlier that only 4% of those in Gen Z are growing up with a biblical worldview.

That means 96% of kids these days…

• Don’t know the stories of the Bible.
• They don’t recognize God and His Word as the ultimate authority in life & death.
• They don’t understand that God has a good purpose for their lives--including their families & careers.

96% of kids don’t believe any of this!

So, how do we respond? What do we do?

Because the next generation matters to God, we must teach them about Jesus.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (ESV) - 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

God’s Word instructs us to teach our kids to love God.

...to teach them diligently--repeatedly...over & over & over again. When you think you’ve repeated yourself enough, repeat it again.

We do this by using 2 types of instruction.

Corrective Discipline & Formative Instruction

1. Corrective Discipline should be used when a particular behavior needs to be corrected. (When a child takes a toy from a friend, or a teenager comes home after curfew...there needs to be corrective discipline).
2. Formative Instruction should be used all the time as we proactively form, shape, and mold our kids in the ways of God. Formative instruction includes teaching kids how to read the Bible, how to pray, why we serve others, the importance of a heart of generosity & grace, and other Christ-like characteristics such as joy, peace, patience, gentleness, and self-control.

I remember a single dad named Joe (that’s not his real). When Joe’s kids were babies & toddlers, he took them to church each week. He would pray with them before they went to bed. He even read them Bible stories a few times each week.

But, as they grew older, the kids got busy doing all sorts of activities, hanging out with friends, and running from one place to another. Sunday games, late nights, and tired mornings began to direct Joe and his kids’ activities. Before he knew it, Joe found himself and his kids far from God. They only attended church once a year on Christmas Eve.

Whether Joe used corrective discipline or not, he failed to give his kids formative instruction. Over the course of their lives, he didn’t consistently & daily teach his kids to love God.

I don’t know about you, but you may be listening today, and you can relate to that story. You know that teaching kids to love God with all their hearts is what you need to do...but, you just don’t do it.

How do we formatively instruct?

It’s all about seizing those (what I’ll call) “Together Moments.”

Look back at our text with me…

Deuteronomy 6:7 - 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Do you see this?!? The Bible gives us a model for formative instruction...

“Sit in your house” refers to meal time. (open the Bible and read together)

“Walk by the way” is travel time (talk to God in the car; listen to an audio Bible together).

“When you lie down” refers to bed time (talk about the day, what you learned from God, and any mistakes you need to tell God about).

“When you rise” is the morning.

I’ve seen the fruit of this in my own kids’ lives…

Some of you know my son: Josiah.

When he was 4, he had some sort of virus infect his nervous system.

• He couldn’t walk for days.
• For the last seven years, we’ve seen dozens of doctors, and none of them have agreed upon a cause or a remedy for his current limitations.

He’s 11 now, and one foot is about an inch smaller than the other.

• His left calf muscle is atrophied.
• For years, he hasn’t been able to push off on his toes on his left foot...so, he walks on his heel.

A few months back, Josiah and I were sitting on the couch together. We were talking about his foot & leg.

I remember apologizing to him that I don’t know what to do to help him.

He looked at me and said:

“It’s okay Dad. God allowed this to happen for a reason.
There’s a reason God made me this way.
Maybe I can encourage somebody else.”

In a moment of doubt, anxiety, and discouragement, God used my son to encourage me.

He used my son to point me back to the truth about who God is and His glorious ways.

This sort of thing doesn’t happen in kids unless they’re taught.

• Sure, as his parents--Sara & I taught him the Bible at home.
• But, Josiah grew up in this church.
• He was in the nursery.
• He went to Kidway.
• He was taught by you.

Thank you Gateway for your investment in my family!

In the midst of all that we do in our daily lives...God has given all of us opportunities to teach our children about Jesus.

God’s asking us to seize these opportunities.

Because the next generation matters to God, we must teach them about Jesus.

How do we reach the next generation?

The Bible says we must tell them about Jesus...we must teach them about Jesus.

But, I’ve come to realize that I can’t do this on my own.
We can’t do this on our own.

Let me show you what I mean by looking at Paul’s first letter to Timothy.

Everytime I read this letter, I feel like it’s written to me as a young pastor. In some ways, I feel like you--as Gateway Church--are like a “Paul” to me...and, I’m like a “Timothy,” who’s been sent out to pastor a church in another area.

1 Timothy 4:12 (ESV) - 12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

Why would Paul tell this young pastor (Timothy), who’s probably in his early to mid 30s…”Let no one despise you for your youth…”?

It’s probably because people were despising Timothy...OR...because Paul foresaw that they might despise him.

Let me say something to those who are older here today, and then I want to say something to those who are younger.

To those who are generally older than others around them:

It’s very convenient to look at the younger generations and to think:

• They’re the reason I don’t have what I want or need.
• They’re the reason things are changing for the worse all the time.
• They’re the reason the world has gone away from God.

A couple months back, I was having a conversation with an older guy in my church who was venting to me about how the younger generation just doesn’t respect the older generation anymore.

He said: “It’s just not how it used to be. When I was a kid, I had to respect my elders, or I’d get whipped. Somebody needs to tell them they’re wrong and teach them how to show respect.”

Although I didn’t fully disagree with what this guy was saying, I did ask him the question: “Who’s supposed to tell & teach the next generation?”

He said: “Well, maybe the youth pastor should do that.”

I said: “What about all of us? Don’t all of us--whether or not we have kids of our own at home…

....Don’t we all--as believers in Jesus--have the responsibility to tell & teach the next generation about Jesus?”

It’s easy to take our finger...point...and blame.

We’ve gotta realize that none of us can reach the next generation on our own.

And the solution isn’t to “despise” the next generation.

Maybe the Holy Spirit is showing you today that your first response is actually to repent.

...To confess that you’ve looked down upon or despised those who are younger than you.

...To acknowledge that you’ve tried everything to tell & teach the next generation, but it’s never enough.

If that’s you...I challenge you to repent & turn in faith toward Christ.

Jesus will teach our children, teens, and other young people...as you & I come to Him with humble & willing hearts.

Now, for those who are younger…

Let me read this verse to you again.

1 Timothy 4:12 (ESV) - 12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

Here’s what I think God’s Word is saying to you: Expect that God will use you for His glory.

All those stats I shared earlier...my goal was not to discourage you.

I realize that hearing all those negative statistics about Millennials and Gen Z may have been extremely disheartening to you...especially if that’s your generation.

My goal in sharing those stats is to help all of us to see the urgency and value of reaching the next generation.

As a person of the next generation, my challenge to you from God’s Word is: Expect that God will use you for His glory.

That’s the proclamation of 1 Timothy 4:12.

When others look down upon you because you’re young…

When others expect you to fit the mold of a train-wrecked generation…

When others despise you…

• Set an example worth following.
• In speech & conduct.
• In love, in faith, and in purity.
• Do it in the power of Christ...the power He gives as the Spirit dwells within you.

Expect that God will use you for His glory!

Don’t doubt it for a second.

But, be careful...It’s not about responding in pride or arrogance toward others.

--That wouldn’t be the example Paul’s talking about.

Humbly love and serve those around you, expecting God to be glorified through you.

Surrender your entire self to Jesus.

Because the next generation matters to God, we must reach them for Jesus.

• We must tell them about Jesus.
• We must teach them about Jesus.

Repent. Surrender. Trust Jesus.

Let’s PRAY...