5.28.23 Huddle

Onelifechurch   -   May 27, 2023

Opening Discussion: 

  • Who were your biggest influences in your life when you were a kid?
    • Were there anyways these people helped your relationship with Jesus?

Read and Discuss

Judges 2:1-3 CSB

1 The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land I had promised to your ancestors. I also said: I will never break my covenant with you. 2 You are not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land. You are to tear down their altars. But you have not obeyed me. What have you done? 3 Therefore, I now say: I will not drive out these people before you. They will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a trap for you.”

  • Why did the Israelites not listen to the Lord’s instructions?
  • What may have been appealing to the Israelites about the lifestyles of the people around them who followed false gods?
  • What are some ways people stray from God’s teaching today?
  • How has the younger generation fallen prey to some of the thorns and traps of our society?

Judges 2:6-10 CSB

6 Previously, when Joshua had sent the people away, the Israelites had gone to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance. 7 The people worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua. They had seen all the Lord’s great works he had done for Israel.

8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. 9 They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10 That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. After them another generation rose up who did not know the Lord or the works he had done for Israel.

  • What did Joshua and the elders fail to do to pass on their faith to the next generation?
  • The next generation had seen the Lord’s great works, but why didn’t that translate into a relationship with God?
  • What could the elders have done to help connect the things they knew about God to the way they lived?
  • What were creative ways adults connected the Word of God to you as a kid?
  • What are you currently doing to help the next generation trust and follow Jesus?
  • Is there something you can do this week to invest in the next generation?

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

4 “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. 

7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.

  • When Jesus is asked what commandment is the greatest, why does He quote this passage?
  • What does it mean to love God with all your heart, soul, and strength?
  • Why are the words that God gives them to be in their hearts?
  • God gives them a list of ways to pass on faith to the next generation (their children specifically). What are some practical ways we can pass on faith to the next generation in our normal, everyday lives?
  • Why do you think it can be difficult for adults to invest in the next generation? 
  • Who invested in your spiritual development as you were growing up? 
    • How did they do that?

Apply it!

  • What do you need to do this week to invest your time, talent, and treasure in the next generation?

Memorize it!

Deuteronomy 6:7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Prayer TACOS

Thank the Lord for the people that invested in your faith.

Adoration Worship the Lord for His Word that has been passed down from generation to generation

Confess to those times you have not passed on the Lord’s faithfulness or the stories He has given you to the next generation

Others- Pray for a student or a child you know. Ask the Lord to put someone in their life that will point them to Him. 

Self- Pray that the Lord would use you to carry on His truth and love to the next generation. Pray that He would show you specifically what He wants you to do.

 

Closing Thoughts

My faith is my own in the sense that I had to make a personal decision to follow Jesus. That decision, and my spiritual growth both before and after that decision can be attributed to about ten people I can name right now. If I took the time to make a list I could probably come up with dozens of names of people who impacted my faith. There were student ministry leaders, interns, and small group leaders who taught me what it meant to follow Jesus with others, and have a great time doing it. There were volunteers, including my parents, who invested their time in serving behind the scenes making food, planning, writing curriculum, gathering supplies, making sets and costumes, coming up with games, and many other things to help out. They taught me the importance of serving. I think back to my Sunday school teachers who, from an early age, taught me the importance of learning and applying God’s Word to my life. 

My faith is a tapestry of many people who have had big and small roles in shaping my faith. My goal is to do that for others, and to bring people along on this journey as we reach the next generation and teach them to follow Jesus.