GREENHOUSE Kids Worship

Psalm 78:1-8 NIV
1 My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old– 3 things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done. 5 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, 6 so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. 7 Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. 8 They would not be like their ancestors– a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.

I mentioned this passage found in the book of Psalms in a sermon several weeks ago. At ECOB, our children are a top priority. They are the next generation. They are our legacy. They are who we are responsible to pass the truths of Jesus Christ to. It requires our involvement. Regardless if you have children, or your children aren’t home, or  you don’t have children at all. As a church, it is our responsibility for ALL to care for the next generation. Whether we are encouragers and feeders into the lives of teachers, helpers in the classroom who are present for “crowd control”, or maybe God is laying the seeds of a desire to teach, our children are a top priority.

In one meeting with some of the ECOB staff, Pastor Matt, shared the passage above with us in reference to how he sees our roles and responsibilities as a church to care for the generations that follow us (even those yet to be born!). In so many words, Pastor Matt suggested we form an image in our mind of what we desire our children to look like.

Asaph, the author of this Psalm, paints a picture of two generations. One generation taking the responsibility to share the wonders and glory of the LORD. A picture of faithfulness. A picture of a people focused on hope. A generation who trusts and obeys their LORD… and keep his commands! What a beautiful picture of a holy generation!

Then Asaph paints the picture of a different generation. A generation who is consumed with their own hopes and desires. Stubborn, rebellious, disloyal, whose hearts aren’t in it and whose spirits are unfaithful.

Which generation are we hoping for? I believe it is very easy to know which generation we hope for… THE FIRST ONE! We want our children to crave their savior! We want them to make Him their life. But in order for that to happen, we must set the example… we must rise up and fill the needs God has for them (not ours). And we can say we want this holy generation all we want, but the only way we can prepare them to receive Christ as their hope is for us to DO IT.

We have a choice. And the choice is now. We must choose with not only our words, but our lives and our commitment… You, ALL at ECOB (myself included), have an opportunity to hear a little more about GREENHOUSE Kids Worship and how you can be involved. There is a meeting taking place on July 10th at 9am (in room 5), before we have our Communion & Baptism Service. This is our chance to make a difference in the next generation. It’s our chance to find a way to feed into them the truths of the God who created the universe! The One who conquered the grave! The one who brought us life! Are you ready to join us?