SPEAKER_00: Greetings, friends.
SPEAKER_00: This is John Dunn.
SPEAKER_00: In last Sunday's sermon, our youth minister Isaac Morehouse spoke eloquently on the importance of passing along our faith to future generations.
SPEAKER_00: It was a stark reminder that far too many teens and young adults are becoming disenchanted with Christianity.
SPEAKER_00: As a result, they are either leaving the church altogether or they're exploring other avenues to satisfy their spiritual needs.
SPEAKER_00: Although the reasons behind this youthful exodus are varied and complicated, the solution is not.
SPEAKER_00: It resides in the pages of the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: Our children need to learn that only by studying Scripture can they be equipped to discern truth from the lies that the world throws at them.
SPEAKER_00: Yet, as the Apostle Paul so aptly reminded us, how can they believe when they have not heard?
SPEAKER_00: That's from Romans 10.
SPEAKER_00: In a world in which there is a growing tide of hostility towards Christianity, we need to teach our children the Word of God and how to defend it.
SPEAKER_00: The development of a Christian foundation, then, must begin at home with parents and other mentors.
SPEAKER_00: Unfortunately, statistics tell us that by the time the average child leaves for college or for their career path, he or she will not have read through the Bible even a single time.
SPEAKER_00: In truth, most will never even have opened a Bible.
SPEAKER_00: Yet they will have spent 25 to 30,000 hours gaming and watching TV, activities which most definitely have an impact on their worldview.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible tells us that children are a gift from God.
SPEAKER_00: That's Psalm 127, verse 3.
SPEAKER_00: And so even though we are their stewards for a relatively short time, it's our sacred responsibility to pass along to them our Christian faith and values.
SPEAKER_00: Moses stressed this point to his people when he spoke these words in Deuteronomy 11, 19 through 20.
SPEAKER_00: You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you walk along the road, and when you lie down, and when you get up.
SPEAKER_00: You shall write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, our children should see and hear God's word in action in everything that we do and say.
SPEAKER_00: They need to see us, their mentors, walking the talk of our Christian faith.
SPEAKER_00: The importance of teaching our children the truth of Scripture at an early age is underscored by this sobering statistic.
SPEAKER_00: Only 6% of people who are not Christians by age 18 will ever become Christians in their lifetime.
SPEAKER_00: That frightening thought should reverberate deeply with all of us who aspire to leave for the next generation a legacy of faith in Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: I'll leave you with this thought.
SPEAKER_00: The book of Proverbs instructs us to train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old, he will not depart from it.
SPEAKER_00: We should ask ourselves regularly if we are doing all that we can to honor these instructions from Scripture.
SPEAKER_00: I hope you have a blessed week.