The Future Church

I have no greater joy than to see and to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

Matthew 18:1-6 - 1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Matthew 19:13-25 - 13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.

Today, I have the privilege of opening God's word to look at what God says about the next generation. The reality is that the future of our church is already here. Look around and can you see them. They're already here and they are present in our next generation and so we want to understand, what is our role, how are we supposed to interact with the next generation, and how are we supposed to care for the next generation?

As I was thinking about it this week, there's a family in our church who we have been so blessed by God to have them be a part of our church that really illustrates this well over the years in our church. We have had four generations of their family come and raise their children here and have those children grow up and raise their children and become leaders in the church today.

Now many of you know who I'm talking about when I say the name, Bryan Austin. If you don't know who that is, you are right now experiencing the benefits of him being a part of our church. Anytime something goes wrong with the building, Bryan's the first one we call. Something's on fire, something's not working, the heat isn't on; we call Bryan. He serves as the lead on the Property and Finance Team and is a tremendous resource for our church and a very faithful man of God and a servant to the Lord. We are so blessed to have him here.

Bryan represents the third generation of his family to worship at First Baptist Metuchen. His grandfather name was Gerald Austin. He served on the Board of Trustees many years ago and was influential in Pastor Miller's life in helping him in ministry, especially with the financial side of things.

His son, Bruce Austin, currently serves as our financial secretary to keep track of the giving very faithfully. He grew up as a part of this church family and he raised his son, Bryan Austin, in the church and there’re pictures that I've seen of Bryan at around 5 years old. I'm sure he would love it you want to see those pictures so be sure to ask about that. Bryan grew up in the church as well from a young age until now where he is serving as a leader in our church.

It gets better because Bryan and Christine have two boys who are in our Youth Group. Brett and Tyler both of them served actively and faithfully in VBS. Two weeks ago, you saw Brett help with our children's Christmas play up on stage.  He also helps with some of our graphic design for Youth Group. Tyler also helps in some more behind the scenes ways in our Youth Group as well.

So here we have four generations of men growing up, of being raised, of being given opportunities to serve and to grow and to use their gifts and talents to bless this church.

I want us to see that this is the blessing of investing in the next generation. This is what happens when we pour into the next generation. We have four generations of godly men who are using their gifts and talents to bless the body and imagine if that had never happened. We would be in a very different spot today than we are right now and I think the reality is that it’s true for so many of us here. Imagine where you would be if the people who invested in your life were not ever there, if the people who poured into you, who helped you to become the man or woman you are today; imagine if they hadn't done that. Where would you be today?

I think many of us, including myself, would say that you probably wouldn't be here, probably wouldn't be doing this. I know that is true for me and so we can see that there is value in investing in the next generation.

There is a beauty that comes from that but there's also a reality which is why we're talking about this today— that it's not that easy, it can be tough to interact with the next generation because they act differently, they use words that we can't understand, and even if you look them up, you still can't understand them. They don't conform to our expectations, they don't dress the way that we think they should, they have holes in their jeans (so do I; it's okay, it's normal).

This is the reality that we're facing. We're interacting with the generation that we just don't quite understand, we just don't get, and yet they're deeply loved by God and they are the future of the church.

Teens: hear me. You guys are the future of the church— that kid who's picking his nose during the Christmas play might be your next pastor, the girl who won't smile at anybody might be a missionary that our church sends out, or that guy who just can't seem to get his life together might be on fire for God in his workplace and create an eternal impact for the kingdom of God by sharing his faith with others.

If we want to know how we are supposed to care for the next generation, what are we supposed to do? We need to look at three important teachings from scripture.

The Heart of Jesus for the Next Generation

(Matthew 18:1-6; 19:13-15)

Matthew 18:1-6 says, “1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”

That's some pretty intense language that Jesus is using because He cares and Jesus puts a priority for us on the humility and the faith of a child to receive the salvation that He offers right in the middle of the disciples pulling out their resumes and saying, well, you know I was the first one to follow Jesus and well, yes, but I caught the most fish with Jesus, and while I'm really the best looking disciple, they're arguing who's the greatest— Jesus, who's number one? Who would you pick first for your dodgeball team?

And Jesus calls a child to him— grabs the most unlikely candidate to be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. It says right here— this is what it looks like to be the greatest.

Did you know that some scholars think that this is one of the few, if only, times in ancient Jewish literature  that a child is used as a positive example? So many times we talk to our kids and say, “Stop acting like a baby.” I talk to my kids all the time like that. I say, “Zeke, you are a big boy. You need to act this way. You're not a baby like your sister, Evynne.” I tell my daughter, Kennedy, “Kennedy, you're a big girl. Stop acting like Zeke.” We tell the children to stop being childish.

Jesus says that if you want to be great in some ways, start acting childish in your humility. in your childlike faith because that's what is required to move up in the Kingdom of Heaven. Moving up requires moving down, humbling yourself, realizing that you are not great but that God is great. So Jesus is saying that this child is a great example of what it looks like to be the greatest. Already, he's using children as a positive example but it gets it gets better.

Jesus goes a little bit further and he's holding this child and He says that if you receive this child or any child in my name, it is equivalent to receiving or caring for Him. Jesus says that you want to follow me, you want to give back to me, you want to receive me, you do that for these children. You do that for the next generation.

Jesus is saying that there's a direct connection between how we care for the little ones that God puts in our life to caring and showing honor and respect to Him. There's a direct connection there and then with this incredible truth that Jesus gives, he also gives a severe warning.

He says that our interactions with the next generation with these children must be to point them towards God. If our actions or our words or our attitudes cause them to sin or lead them away from God, Jesus says that it'd be better if you just go tie a heavy stone around your neck and go drown yourself in the ocean because that would be better than causing one of them to sin. That's tough to hear but in that, we see Jesus' heart for these children. He loves them, He cares about them, He values them and so certainly, if they weren't important to Him, we wouldn't see this kind of interaction.

Let's go a little bit further into Matthew 19:13-15. Matthew writes, “13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.”

Jesus’ disciples are still not getting it right; Jesus had just used a child as an example to say that if you want to be great, be like this child. Then these children come and they say no, get away, go away, like my wife did with my kids this week when I was working on my sermon. They were saying, “Dad, we want you to play. Open the unicorn puzzle” and my wife said, “Go, let Daddy study. Daddy's got to pay attention.”

Jesus was expected to say, “Yeah, get them out of here, I got to talk to the important people, I got to talk to the adults,” but He say, “No, bring them, let them come.” Jesus is inviting them to Himself, He lays His hands on them, and He reminds us again of His heart for children, for the next generation. He says, “to such belongs the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Children are not a bother for the ministry of Jesus. In many ways, they are the purpose of His ministry. God's heart delights in using unlikely, broken, unqualified, the least likely to be picked first kind of people for His purposes so it shouldn't surprise us, then, that we find that this includes children and teens.

The next generation and teens: you don't have to pay attention to anything else besides this and one more thing. Jesus is saying that not only are you special to Him and you are but that you do not have to wait until you are an adult to serve, to be a part of the kingdom of God and to use the gifts and talents that God has given you. You do not have to wait. Jesus wants you to follow Him now and He came to die for you, especially. Let that encourage you. Let that remind you when you doubt yourself, when you have friends that tell you something that discourages you, when you have people who tell that you can't do anything. Jesus loves you. He came to die for you and He has a role and a responsibility for you to play in the kingdom of God. He wants you to be a part of that so don't think that you need to wait until you're an adult to be used by God in an incredible way.

So as we look at this, it's pretty clear that Jesus loves the little children.  Jesus loves them. His heart is for them. His ministry is for them. He cares for them.

The Role of Parents for the Next Generation

(Ephesians 6:4; Deuteronomy 6:6-9; Proverbs 1:8-9; 22:6)

What is our role? What are we supposed to do? Simply put, our role as parents is to be the primary disciplers of our children and our teens.

In Ephesians 6:4, Paul writes to the church in Ephesus, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” Paul includes this in his instructions for the family unit that fathers shouldn't   be provoking their children to anger but our attempt as fathers, mothers, and parents is to discipline them and to train them and bring them up in the way that is right, in the way that points them back to Jesus. This is not given to us as parents so that we can say, “Hey, Pastor Caleb, come here. I need you to do this” or “Pastor Alfonse, come here. I need you to do this” or to one of the Sunday School teachers, “I need you to do this. I need you to train and disciple my children.”

We're going to get to that later, parents. It is our job to be the primary disciplers of our children's lives. This is not a role that's meant to be handed off to somebody else nor is it a responsibility that we as parents can be satisfied with not doing to the fullest of our abilities. It requires our full attention, our focus, and our pursuit in life to raise up our children, who are not going to be children forever, to raise them up to be young adults who seek after God.

Adding on to this is Deuteronomy 6:6-9 which says, “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.”

Parents, are you are you getting the picture that you can talk with your kids about God and about faith anywhere. It doesn't matter how busy or chaotic your life is. If you have to drive them to a soccer game, talk to them about Jesus. If you have to take them to a dance recital, talk to them about Jesus. If you're taking three different kids four different ways and you're stressed out, talk to them about Jesus. If you have a dinner together and it seems like out of nowhere, we finally had time to sit down, take advantage of that opportunity.

We all have time… are we going to choose to use that time to disciple our children? I'm not saying that we all have equal amounts of time. You all have busy lives, but parents, we cannot let go of this role and this responsibility that God has given us to invest in our children to pour into them to point them back to Jesus.

You do not have to have all the answers, you don't have them anyway so don't pretend that you do, but take those opportunities that you have to point your children back to who Jesus is. If they ask a question that you don't know the answer to, you have resources. You can go to for help or you can get into God's word together. What it looks like to be diligent is not having all the answers— it's not doing it perfectly; it's doing it faithfully and consistently.

As parents you know it's not easy raising children. My children are not as old as many of yours in this room. My daughter is four, my son is two, and my other daughter is five months old but that extra effort to teach them about Jesus is on top of losing sleep, having to feed them, having to manage all of their schedules that they have going, on top of all of these other things we have to do.

Another thing, if we want them to love and seek after God, absolutely, it's going to require sacrifice. Anything that's worth having requires work so we have to be diligent. We have to be faithful.

Proverbs 22:6, a familiar passage for us as parents says to, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” If you're familiar with Proverbs you know that Proverbs is a book of wise sayings for practical living. This is not a promise that if you follow this formula on pamphlet that I'll hand you on the way out, that your kids are going to be fine and they're always going to follow after God. I'll pay any amount of money if that was a real thing to have but it's not.

This is a principle for us as parents and it points us to the importance of training our children up because children and your teens and even young adults are highly impressionable people. We are constantly looking at how people around us respond and how we react to that and so much of what we say and do and even think as parents is caught by our children and reflected in their attitudes.

I give you two little examples of this: one is funny and one is a little bit more serious:

Two nights ago, I was going to take my son, Zeke, who's two, to brush his teeth and if you know Zeke, he can be a little bit shy here but he is an absolute goofball at home. I was going to brush his teeth and he looks at me and says, “Dad, I speak in Spanish.” I asked, “What do you mean you're speaking Spanish?” and he looks at me and says, “Gueno Sisas,” which if you've taken any Spanish at all, that's not Spanish but it sounds a little bit like “Buenos Dias” and I wondered where did he hear this from because his mom doesn't speak Spanish and I don't speak Spanish and yet here he is, taking something that he heard and trying to use it in conversation. They're paying attention. They're listening to the things that we say and that's just one of hundreds of examples I have that I could think of something where we see these children soaking up something and without even knowing if it's a real word or not, trying to use what they're hearing.

Now, a little bit less light-hearted but still I think a very good example of this is that there is a report done by an organization called One Hope and they did a survey of pre-teens, ages 11 to 13, and it wasn't a huge sample size but this Gen Alpha report had some statistics asking these pre-teens who they go to for advice or who do they look to decide what's right and what's wrong. The survey found that 83% of pre-teens, age 11 to 13, go to parents or another family member for advice on right and wrong issues. Additionally, when dealing with questions about God, they were asked to pick their top two people who they would go to for questions about God and they said that they would ask their mom 84% and their dad 41%, their top two options.

Parents, I know you might not feel this way but your kids care about what you think. They want to know the advice that you have for them. They're looking to you to figure out what they are supposed to do in life. I'm certain it doesn't feel that way but the report says otherwise. They care. They want to know and so it should encourage us as parents to realize that we have an incredible opportunity to influence our children and to point them back to Jesus. With that influence also comes the importance of being diligent and faithful in our role of pointing them back to Jesus we cannot miss this opportunity that we have.

For my teens listening to this: you guys thought you were off the hook, didn't you? Mom and Dad, you need to do better job of giving us what we need. You're not off the hook. Proverbs 1 8-9 and many other passages in scripture encourage you to lean into your parents' instruction. Proverbs 1:8-9 says, “8 Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, 9 for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.”

Don't get caught up in the imagery of that. Your parents’ instruction is a blessing for you. It does not feel that way. I understand but it is a blessing for you. Growing up, I didn't really care for my parents’ instruction. I thought they were clueless. I fought constantly against what they told me to do. I didn't want to do it, not the way that they wanted it done, and my parents are not perfect (sorry, Mom and Dad, if you’re reading this). They're not perfect nor will I seek to do everything the way that they did it in raising me but through their instruction, even the parts that I hated, they taught me how to be a mature and godly man and there have been many times that I have thanked God for their presence in my life.

When people have said that I did a great job of something, I say that God gave me some great parents who faithfully, persistently pointed me back to Jesus. Were they perfect? No, but they were patient and instructed me in my life.

Teens: I promise you this— pay attention. Have grace. Be willing to learn. Be willing to be corrected and see how God uses your parents in your life because, I promise you, if you seek after God, you seek to honor and obey your parents, God will provide. God will take care of you. God will give you what you need.

So we see that Jesus loves these children. Parents, we see that we have got to be diligent and faithful in this work that God has called us to and the rest of you sitting here are thinking this is good stuff but I don't have any kids or my kids are all grown up and out of the house or maybe I am a kid, I'm a teen, what am I supposed to do— I don't have any kids.

The Responsibility of the Church for the Next Generation

(Titus 2:1-6; Ephesians 4:11-12; 3 John 4)

If you have kids or whether you're a teen or a parent, it doesn't matter. This is the responsibility that we all have. We start in Titus 2:1-6 where Paul is giving this command to Titus who he refers to as his child in the faith. Paul says, “1 But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. 2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. 6 Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.”

This command is given to Titus for the church so it has direct application for us. It's not one of those Bible passage where we could look at and ask what it really mean for us. We look at that and it means that we're supposed to do that. This is what the church is supposed to do and this format that Paul lays out for this mentorship is pretty clear. You have older women teach younger women, have older men teach younger men, mentor them, help them to know how to love the Lord, how to take care of their homes, how to take care of their families, how to how to understand what God's word says and apply that to our lives. This is the responsibility that the church has to be involved in— mentoring and training the next Generation.

That means all of us are called to be a part of that. I can pour into the lives of the teens but I need somebody to pour into me. I need somebody older and wiser to pour into my life and this is what God has given us. That's why our youth group mission is to see every teen be saved, have that personal relationship with God, be serving in the local church, and then be sharing with others and part of that sharing is they're now investing in that next generation. They're now pouring into the little kids. They're now pouring into that next generation and it keeps going. We're teaching them how to do that and how to continue that. This is what God wants for our church— those who are older, more experienced, wiser, have walked with Jesus longer to pour into those who haven't. Paul's saying that this is what it should look like of how we're supposed to invest in the next generation.

Additionally in Ephesians 4: 11-14, Paul writes, “11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”

Paul is talking to the church here, the corporate body; he's saying that the Holy Spirit has gifted some to teach, to shepherd, to evangelize, and so on for the purpose of the church being built up so that we are no longer children. He's talking about spiritual maturity, saying spiritually, we are no longer children but we are built up. We grow up in our faith and so he's not just talking about children or teens or those who are younger but we know from experience that even if you're saved at age four, there is a lot of spiritual maturity that happens as you physically mature and grow and so this is certainly applicable to the next generation because as they seek to follow God, they need those of us to use our gifts and our talents to help build up the church to help them to grow from being physical and spiritual children into mature godly

adults.

This is what the church is called to do. We are called to use our individual gifting in the corporate body of the local church to train and mentor the next generation so that the church as a whole matures and becomes more like Christ.

This is not for that one person who really wants this and is easy to talk to. This is not something that we're called to invest in the people that just want to be who are really easy. We're called to invest in the kid who won't stop jumping off the stage. We're called to invest in in in the teen who never looks you in the eye or smiles. We're called to invest in the young adult who struggles to connect with others.

This is our responsibility. It's our privilege as well to pursue for any who come through these doors and want to follow after Christ. That is our responsibility as the church to train them to seek to equip and mentor them because one day, Lord willing, they're going to be doing the same thing. They're going to be investing in the next generation and so as we, as the church, seek to use our gifts and pour into the next generation, we give of ourselves for them.

We, hopefully, should have this this attitude that John has in 3 John 4 where he says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” May that be our heart in this… that we would have no greater joy than to see the next generation seeking after Christ. This year has been an incredible year. God has been faithful in so many ways. We saw two teens get saved this year, give their lives to Jesus. We saw three teens get baptized and go public with their faith. That is incredible. The crazier thing about it is that at the beginning of the year, I prayed in faith, and not by sight, that five teens would take that next step in their walk with Christ, whatever that looked like for them, and God did that.

There is no greater joy than to see the next generation taking up the reins, taking up these positions of leadership, of seeking after Christ and they're not always going to act the way that you expect or the way that you want. You're going to come to church some Sundays and there's Nerf darts in your pew. It's okay. There's going to be artwork on the offering envelopes or on the connect cards in the seat back in front of you. Maybe there's going to be cold shoulders or lack of appreciation, feel like you're not making any headway. They don't want to talk to you.

But like John, as we invest in the next generation and we seek to show them the heart of Jesus, if we care for and equip and come alongside and support the parents and we pour ourselves into the next generation, we will have no greater joy than to see them walking with the Lord.

Application

If we understand the heart of Jesus, the role of parents, and the responsibility of the church for the next generation, it should lead us to a couple of pursuits in in carrying out the vision of our church of caring for every generation in every situation.

First, we must seek to see the next generation the way that Jesus sees them— the way that He sees behind the stinky diapers, and the snotty nose, and being called bruh, is a person who is made in the image of God who is precious and valued and is the future of our church so we must pray that God helps us to see them the way that He sees us and actively remind ourselves that we were no better. Who here wants to be judged on how they were when they were ten? Nobody wants that.

We all need Jesus no matter how polished or professional we become. We all need Jesus and Jesus died for us all. He loves us despite our imperfections, despite our brokenness and our sin and if we have received such grace, we must show that to others, especially to a generation that is watching and listening and that wants to see how we are going to respond. We need to see them the way that Jesus sees them.

Secondly, as parents, we have to be diligent. We cannot waste our time, we cannot misunderstand our role as the primary disciplers of our children's lives because if we don't invest in them, who will? Somebody else will. Your kids may not show it but the vast majority of them want you to be involved in their lives. They want to hear from you. Will you point them back to Jesus, even if you don't have all the answers? Will you be the start of a generational pursuit of Christ in your  family or will you hope that somehow this happens and leave your kids to be impacted and influenced by whatever the world has to offer?

Kids and teens: help your parents out. I know it's awkward. I know it's confusing. I know it's difficult but listen to the advice into the counsel of your parents. I've been there. I know what it's like. I know it's not easy. I know it's not fun but listen to them, honor and obey them, and be willing to be corrected. Will you always agree with them? Absolutely not. Are they always going to do the right thing? Absolutely not, but show them grace. You don't have to point it out every time; show them grace. Show them the love that Jesus has shown you and in that process, will you learn and will you bring glory to God? Absolutely, you will.

So listen to your to your parents. Hear their advice because God has given them to you and they are an incredible resource even though it feels uncomfortable even though you don't want them to tell you what to do.

And lastly Church, it is okay to not like changing diapers. It's okay if the Christmas play two weeks ago felt way too chaotic for you to be involved in. It’s okay if God has not gifted you to work with teens. What is not okay is to allow that to stop you from investing in the next generation.

The Bible is pretty clear that we are to care for them the way that Jesus cares for us. Jesus gave His life for us so I'm pretty certain that means that we can get outside of our comfort zone a little bit— maybe we go and talk to the teens sitting in the same row as us after the service today. Maybe we stop and talk to the kids on the way out instead of always talking to the parents like we do; we get down on their level and ask them how they're doing, how was their Christmas, what's their favorite present that they got.

Maybe it looks like serving in a ministry that we might not feel is our favorite thing but that there is a need for that. If you don't step in, we may not be able to have it. It's not about being comfortable when it comes to investing in the next Generation. It's about being faithful. It's about giving of ourselves and it's our responsibility to love the way that Jesus loves us, to seek to equip the next generation, build up the church and to point them constantly back to Jesus.

I want to share a story with you that I think is is really impactful.

In 1900, 124 years ago, three men saw a need to reach the children and families of Middlesex County. William Crowell, Reverend Len Wheeler, of First Baptist Church of New Brunswick, and Deacon Peter Leon of Stelton Baptist Church met together with the intent to organize a Baptist Sunday School in the Metuchen area.

At the time, there weren't enough families or children to start the school but within two short years, the population of Metuchen had grown enough that the Baptist Sunday School was born. The school's first meeting was held in Arcanum Hall on December 21, 1902, 122 years ago. It was the first organized Sunday School class in Middlesex County and had 21 attendees.

As the years went by attendance dramatically increased as God brought growth and on April 25, 1908 the flourishing Sunday School was officially organized as First Baptist Church of Metuchen with 21 charter members.

That's the start of our church— a desire to see the children and families of Middlesex County impacted with the gospel. That's why we're here today… because of that mission, that vision, that the founders had to invest in the next generation.

I don't know what the future is going to bring but imagine if we were to pursue the same and continuing goal of the founders of our church to reach the children and families of Middlesex County, what would it look like in 20 years if we have sacrificially given of ourselves as the church and as parents and even as teens and children in pointing the next generation to Jesus? What would it look like in 20 years? How incredible would that be to see the next generation of leaders following Jesus pointing others back to Him and serving, using their gifts that they developed right here.

May we be like John and be able to say I have no greater joy than to see and to hear that my children are walking in the truth so let's pray today that God would do that and more as we seek after Him.

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