Our church is blessed by Truth78, formerly Children Desiring God, for much of our curriculum. It is a blessing to guide the next generation to hope in God! This year, they are encouraging Christians to pray for young people and future generations on 7/8, and we can join them in this! Read on to see how we at Zion are being challenged.
What is your hope for the children in your life? How might you spend a day focused on Psalm 78 for their eternal joy?
What do we want to be true of our children 10, 20, 40 years from now? What do we want our children to know and understand about God and His Word? What do we want them to understand about the gospel? What marks of faith and spiritual maturity do we want them to have? What portions of the Bible do we want them to be able to quote from memory by the time that they graduate from high school? What kind of husband and father, or what kind of wife and mother do we want them to be? How would we want them to respond when tragedy strikes or when they face suffering in their lives?
There are hundreds of questions that we can ask. And the answer to those questions are what clarify and shape our vision for the next generation. Most importantly, our vision for the next generation must be defined by the Bible. There are several places we could turn to in the Bible where God reveals his vision for the next generation, but the first seven verses of Psalm 78 provide a valuable biblical framework. Let’s consider these verses together.
[2] I will open my mouth in a parable
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
[3] things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
[4] We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.
[5] He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
[6] that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
[7] so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments; (Psalm 78:1–7 ESV)
Here are a few brief observations from this text.
God established a testimony
First, verse 5 tells us that God established a testimony. This testimony is the sum of God’s Word to his covenant people. It includes God’s glorious deeds, His might, and the wonders that He has done and His perfect law and commandments given to His people for their good.
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