Influencing children for Christ in this morally decadent culture is much like it was in the time of Judges, but the church can’t make the same mistakes God’s people did then (Judges 2:10-12).
I. Deuteronomy 6:6-9. The generation that had come out of Egypt was dead, and the generation that entered the Promised Land, the oldest 59 (Numbers 14:29-32), with Joshua failed to teach their kids about God or what He had done for them though they had been told to do so. Their excuses were probably much like ours–too busy, not enough time, etc. If we don’t teach them, they will abandon God.
II. Proverbs 22:6. Demas did that (2 Timothy 4:10) and loved the world instead. We must make the gospel relevant for a new generation (Matthew 9:17). We do this by becoming aware of the challenges kids face today and meeting them how Lois and Eunice did (1 Timothy 1:5). With proper preparation to live for God in a fast-paced and antagonistic culture, we can help our children break the cycle of sin.
III. Matthew 15:1-3. Far too often we hand children the gospel packaged in our traditions that worked for previous generations but are inadequate to meet the challenges of today’s world that they must survive and serve in. When we don’t give good gifts to our kids (Matthew 7:9-11) in the form of relevant teaching and preparation, we risk them going after other things and provoking God (Hebrews 10:26-27).
I saw this recently, “The gospel sounds strange to a generation that has been told they are perfect, loving themselves is virtuous, their heart is always right, and nothing is more important than being happy.” How must we adapt our teaching of the gospel to a new generation that thinks differently than we do because it comes from a secular mindset rather than the sacred starting point that we have known?