Combined Church

In one paragraph

This was First B's family worship Sunday, with elder Gary Geek, youth director Renzi Reno, and Pastor Carl each speaking on the same theme: God's design for faith to be passed from one generation to the next, beginning in the home. The message drew from Joshua's challenge to Israel and the command in Deuteronomy 6, and it was addressed plainly to parents, grandparents, and anyone with an active...

Read together

1. Joshua 24 (choose this day whom you will serve) Gary quoted Joshua's challenge to the tribes of Israel to remember their heritage, examine their spiritual condition, and commit to serving God, culminating in the declaration that he and his house would serve the Lord
2. Proverbs 22:6 Renzi used the full verse, train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it, as the anchor text for his teaching on legacy and parental responsibility
3. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Carl read this passage as the biblical mandate for family worship, covering the command to love God wholly and to repeat his commands to children at home, on the road, at bedtime and rising

Talk about it

1. Gary shared his version of what Joshua might say to our culture today, including the warning that 'the foundation of the home will always become the foundation in the society.' Where do you see that playing out, for better or worse, in the people around you?
2. Gary said that parents carefully set dreams and expectations for their children, but forget that the vast majority will become what was modeled to them. What does that stir up in you when you think about your own upbringing, or the example you are setting right now?
3. Renzi used the 2008 Olympic relay team dropping the baton as a picture of a failed handoff, and said the pass starts the day you meet your children for the first time. What does a deliberate, daily handoff of faith actually look like in a real household, including the messy mornings from the video?
4. Pastor Carl said that less than 10 percent of Christian families have any kind of prayer, Bible reading, or God talk happening at home, and that Sunday alone is not enough time to instill the things of God in our children. How does that land with you, honestly?
5. Deuteronomy 6 calls parents to repeat these things again and again, at home, on the road, at bedtime, in the morning. Pastor Carl admitted there are nights his kids gave him blank stares and nights where everyone was just too exhausted. What has helped you build any kind of consistent rhythm around faith in your home, and what gets in the way?