Passing Down Faith: Remembering God's Power and Love
Devotional
Day 1: Remembering God's Mighty Acts
God's demonstration of power in Egypt was not just for the Israelites of that time but serves as a lasting testimony for all generations. The final plague, which led to the institution of the Passover, was a profound display of God's might and faithfulness. This event was meant to instill faith in the Israelites as they faced future challenges, reminding them that God is both mighty and faithful. By remembering and sharing these stories, we strengthen our faith and the faith of those who come after us. The Israelites were encouraged to recount these mighty acts to their children, ensuring that the knowledge of God's power and faithfulness would not be forgotten. [02:05]
Exodus 13:8-9 (ESV): "You shall tell your son on that day, 'It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.' And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt."
Reflection: Think of a time when you experienced God's power in your life. How can you share this story with someone in your life today to encourage their faith?
Day 2: Teaching Faith to the Next Generation
Parents hold the crucial responsibility of teaching their children about God's greatness, love, and commandments. This is not a one-time event but a continuous process that should be integrated into daily life. By doing so, the knowledge of God is preserved and passed on to future generations. This teaching is not just about imparting knowledge but also about modeling a life of faith and obedience. The Shema, a declaration of God's unity, is a central teaching that parents are to instill in their children, emphasizing the nature of God and the importance of loving Him with all our heart, soul, and might. [06:19]
Deuteronomy 11:18-19 (ESV): "You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."
Reflection: What is one practical way you can incorporate teaching about God's love and commandments into your daily routine with your family or those you influence?
Day 3: Understanding the Unity of God
The Shema declares the unity of God, using the Hebrew word "echad," which signifies a compound unity. This teaching is foundational and should be diligently taught to children, emphasizing the nature of God and the importance of loving Him with all our heart, soul, and might. Understanding the unity of God helps us grasp the concept of the Trinity and the relational nature of God. This understanding should permeate our daily lives, influencing how we relate to God and others. [08:21]
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (ESV): "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."
Reflection: How does understanding the unity of God as a compound unity impact your relationship with Him and others? What steps can you take to deepen this understanding in your daily life?
Day 4: Breaking the Cycle of Forgetfulness
The history of Israel and the church shows a cycle of forgetting God's works, leading to spiritual decline. This cycle can be broken by faithfully passing on the truth of God to the next generation, ensuring they experience God's power and remain committed to Him. By sharing personal experiences of God's power and love, we can help others avoid the pitfalls of forgetfulness and idolatry. This requires intentionality and a commitment to living out our faith in a way that is visible and impactful to others. [20:11]
Judges 2:10-11 (ESV): "And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals."
Reflection: Identify one area in your life where you may have forgotten God's past faithfulness. How can you actively remember and share this with someone to prevent spiritual forgetfulness?
Day 5: Guarding Against Materialism and Idolatry
Materialism and idolatry can easily distract us from God. By focusing on God's works and commandments, we can avoid these pitfalls and keep our hope in God. This focus should be shared with our children to help them remain steadfast in their faith. The call is to be faithful in passing on the truth of God to ensure that future generations remain steadfast in their faith. By prioritizing God's kingdom over material possessions, we align our lives with His purposes and experience true fulfillment. [26:16]
1 John 2:15-17 (ESV): "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."
Reflection: What is one material possession or desire that may be distracting you from fully focusing on God? How can you realign your priorities to ensure God remains at the center of your life?
Sermon Summary
In Exodus chapters 10 through 12, God institutes the Feast of the Passover as a memorial of His mighty acts in Egypt, particularly the final plague that spared the Israelites. God hardened Pharaoh's heart to demonstrate His power, which was meant to be a testimony for future generations. The Israelites were about to embark on a journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land, and they needed to trust in God's power to overcome the challenges ahead. God emphasized the importance of passing down the knowledge of His greatness and love to future generations. This responsibility falls on parents to teach their children about God's works and commandments, as outlined in Deuteronomy 6.
The Shema, a declaration of God's unity, is a central teaching that parents are to instill in their children. The Hebrew word "echad" signifies a compound unity, hinting at the Trinity. This teaching is to be shared diligently with children throughout daily life. The Passover and other feasts serve as opportunities for parents to explain God's deliverance and faithfulness. The Israelites' history shows a cycle of forgetting God's works, leading to idolatry and captivity. This pattern is mirrored in the church's history, where great revivals are often followed by spiritual decline due to a failure to pass on the faith.
The sermon highlights the importance of sharing personal experiences of God's power and love with the next generation. It warns against the dangers of materialism and idolatry, urging believers to keep their hope in God and obey His commandments. The call is to be faithful in passing on the truth of God to ensure that future generations remain steadfast in their faith.
Key Takeaways
1. The Importance of Remembering God's Power: God demonstrated His power in Egypt to instill faith in the Israelites as they faced future challenges. This power is a testimony for future generations, reminding us that God is mighty and faithful. We must remember and share these stories to strengthen our faith and the faith of those who come after us. [02:05]
2. Passing Down Faith to Future Generations: Parents have a responsibility to teach their children about God's greatness, love, and commandments. This is not just a one-time event but a continuous process integrated into daily life. By doing so, we ensure that the knowledge of God is preserved and passed on. [06:19]
3. The Shema and the Unity of God: The Shema declares the unity of God, using the word "echad," which signifies a compound unity. This teaching is foundational and should be diligently taught to children, emphasizing the nature of God and the importance of loving Him with all our heart, soul, and might. [08:21]
4. The Cycle of Forgetfulness and Revival: The history of Israel and the church shows a cycle of forgetting God's works, leading to spiritual decline. This cycle can be broken by faithfully passing on the truth of God to the next generation, ensuring they experience God's power and remain committed to Him. [20:11]
5. The Danger of Materialism and Idolatry: Materialism and idolatry can easily distract us from God. By focusing on God's works and commandments, we can avoid these pitfalls and keep our hope in God. This focus should be shared with our children to help them remain steadfast in their faith. [26:16] ** [26:16]
In Exodus 10:1-2, what reason does God give Moses for hardening Pharaoh's heart, and how does this relate to the Israelites' future journey? [01:07]
According to Deuteronomy 6:4-9, what specific instructions are given to parents regarding teaching their children about God? [06:19]
How does Psalm 78:1-4 emphasize the importance of passing down the knowledge of God's works to future generations? [04:19]
What examples from the sermon illustrate the cycle of forgetfulness and revival in Israel's history? [18:38]
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Interpretation Questions:
How does the concept of "echad" in the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4) hint at the Trinity, and why is this significant for understanding the nature of God? [08:21]
What are the potential consequences of failing to pass on the knowledge of God's power and love to the next generation, as seen in both Israel's and the church's history? [20:11]
How does the sermon suggest that materialism and idolatry can distract believers from God, and what are the implications for today's society? [26:16]
In what ways does the sermon highlight the role of personal experiences in strengthening faith and passing it on to future generations? [27:49]
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Application Questions:
Reflect on your own family traditions. How can you incorporate stories of God's power and faithfulness into these traditions to teach the next generation? [12:24]
Consider the daily routines in your household. How can you integrate discussions about God's commandments and love into these routines, as instructed in Deuteronomy 6:7? [06:19]
Identify a specific area in your life where materialism or idolatry might be distracting you from God. What steps can you take to refocus on God's works and commandments? [26:16]
Think of a personal experience where you witnessed God's power or love. How can you share this story with someone from the next generation to encourage their faith? [27:49]
The sermon mentions the cycle of forgetfulness and revival. How can you ensure that your faith remains vibrant and does not fall into a pattern of spiritual decline? [20:11]
How can you create opportunities for your children or younger family members to ask questions about your faith and the traditions you follow? [09:20]
Reflect on a time when you felt God's guidance in your life. How can you use this experience to inspire others to trust in God's faithfulness? [32:39]
Sermon Clips
God wants his people to know what a mighty and Powerful God he is, because you see they're about to follow him in a grand Adventure. They're going to leave Egypt, they're going to pass through the wilderness until they come to the land that God had promised to give to their fathers, and they are going to go in and possess that land as God drives out their enemies and turns this glorious land over to them. They're going to need to know the power of God because they're going to be facing a lot of hardships, a lot of difficulties. [00:02:09]
God wants the knowledge of his great power to be declared to the Next Generation. God says that he is showing his power that you might tell it to the ears of your son and to your son's son the great things that I have wrought in Egypt. As parents, it is our responsibility to pass on to our children the knowledge of the greatness of God and of God's love and of God's power. [00:03:21]
In the sixth chapter of Deuteronomy, beginning with verse 1, the Lord said now these are the Commandments and the statutes and the judgments that I have commanded that you might do them in the land where you are going to possess, that you might fear the lord your God, keep all of his statutes and his Commandments which I have commanded you, you and your son and your son's son all the days of your life that the days may be prolonged. [00:05:01]
Hear o Israel the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart with all thy soul with all thy might, and these words which I commanded you this day shall be in your heart and now shall you teach them diligently unto your children and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk in the path and when you lie down and when you rise up. [00:05:52]
The Hebrew word ecard, one Lord, the Hebrew word of God is a compound Unity, not an absolute one but a compound Unity. As Ezekiel spoke the Lord spoke to Ezekiel in chapter 37 he said take the two sticks and make them one a Cod they were still two but they were joined together to be one at COD. As the Lord talked about marriage for this cause of man shall leave his mother and father and cleave to his wife and the two shall become ecard one flesh. [00:07:13]
When your son shall ask you in time to come saying, what do these testimonies mean, and the statutes and the judgments which the Lord Our God has commanded you, then you shall say to your son we were pharaohs slaves in Egypt and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and the Lord showed signs and wonders great and awesome upon Egypt and upon the Pharaoh and his household before our eyes. [00:09:24]
The purpose of having the feast every year was to give a new Fresh opportunity to the parents to teach their children of the things of God. Many things were done as a memorial to again give the parents the opportunity of sharing with their children the wonderful works of God, the Passover, the offering of the firstborn unto God of whatever animal was born and the firstborn of the household committed to the service of the Lord. [00:13:56]
We must pass on to the next generation the truth of the wonderful work of God. As we look at the history of the children of Israel, we find that they failed to do this, and thus their history was sort of in a cycle. God would work in a mighty way he would deliver them from their enemies and they would seek the Lord because they saw God's hand of power and deliverance. [00:18:24]
There have been great movements of the spirit of God in the history of the church, and when there is a marvelous move of God's spirit there is Revival. God blesses his pours out his Spirit upon the church, but unfortunately, we so often fail to pass on to the next Generation the greatness and the goodness of God as we become caught up in material prosperity. [00:20:23]
It is so easy to lapse into idolatry, it is so easy to begin to worship other gods, as the psalmist said the gods of the Heathen are many, and it is so easy to begin to worship materialism, so easy to begin to worship pleasure and allow that to become your God, so easy to worship sexual indulgences and people forget the true and the Living God, and they begin to follow and worship other gods because of the failure to pass on to each succeeding generation how marvelous how wonderful that God truly is. [00:26:00]
We seem to put our hope in everything else today but God, he said that they might not forget the works of God, and finally that they might keep his Commandments, so important that we pass on to our children the truth of God. We've been blessed to have seen a marvelous move of God in these days, it is so important that we share with our children that which God has done, shared in such a way that they will seek that God will do that work in their lives. [00:27:15]
The question is what are you doing to make your children aware of the greatness of God and of the wonderful works of God and of his love towards us, they were told speak of it when you rise up in the morning, at The Breakfast Table, talk to them about needing the guidance of God and the strength of God through this day, when you walk with them, talk to them about God. [00:28:16]