God Has No Grandchildren

There’s a sermon I heard when I was in college that I have never forgotten. It’s a sermon I heard the youth pastor give at Hope Presbyterian Church in Richfield, the church I attended for a couple of years in college. 

It’s a sermon that deeply impacted how I parented. For many years I worked directly with youth in ministry, and it deeply impacted how I led them. And it has also deeply impacted how I pastor, especially how I pastor parents. 

Weird, isn’t it—a sermon I heard in college had that kind of impact?

The sermon was called “God has no grandchildren.”

The Bible talks about God’s children and being adopted into his family when you put your faith in him by trusting what Jesus did for us on the cross. No mention of grandchildren. No one can believe for their children. And a parent’s faith is no guarantee for the next generation. 

But that’s not all I remember from the sermon.

The other thing I remember was a story he told about a father and son playing catch and a conversation that led to the son asking his father point blank, “Why do you believe in God?”

Essentially he was asking, “Why are you a Christian, and why should I be?” And the youth pastor said that if you want to pass your faith on to your kids, you better have a great answer to that question because, remember, God has no grandchildren, our kids will have to choose for themselves. 

There's a lot we can do to pass on our faith to the next generation and there are no guarantees, but the number one, most important thing we can do is to grow and live in our faith in such a way that we provide a compelling model for the next generation. 

That's the essence of the challenge to parents in Deuteronomy and Joshua 24. 

You can’t pass on what you don’t possess.  And it needs to be compelling. You can’t pass on a faith that your children would never want.

Genuine faith, real faith, is compelling. Real faith is transforming. It produces fruit. And the fruit of faith is compelling. 

Genuine faith is a growing faith. You will fail, but there is power even if failure when we can own it, repent, and confess it to our kids. 

That’s the most important thing. Nothing more important.

The Number One, Most Important Thing for Passing on Your Faith

One of my grandchildren, Isla Margaret, is being dedicated this weekend at Five Oaks, as well as eight other family dedications. 

Like other grandparents who will be there, it will be a wonderful moment, seeing our children dedicating one of their children. It's a legacy moment. 

It just so happens that our passage is the farewell address of Joshua. About 110 years old, he challenges God's people to keep the faith. He tells them, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." It's one of the great passages in the Bible. It's perfect for a family dedication weekend.

Joshua tells them they must choose. This part of what he says gets really interesting, but I'll save it for the weekend.

In his statement of faith and challenge, you find the number one, most important thing you can do to pass on your faith to your kids or to others you influence.

That's what we'll focus on this weekend. Invite a friend.