Pass It On: What’s Repeated is Remembered
I don’t know about you, but there were a lot of things from my own childhood that got repeated that I still remember to this day.
Things like…
After these messages we’ll be right back!
Give me a break, give me a break, break me off a piece of that Kit Kat Bar.
The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup.
Sounds like I’m not the only one who remembers these life changing truths!
I also remember things from my childhood that my parents repeated.
Things like…
Clean your room. Why? Because I said so.
Or, when we’re driving down the road and me and my sister were fighting in the back seat they might say… Don’t make me pull this car over.
Stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about.
Sounds like we all had the same parents growing up!
What’s scary is when you’ve found yourself repeating those same things to your own kids from time to time! Ever done that!?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t just remember the words my parents said that were repeated from when I was a kid, but I also remember the behaviors that were repeated, the things they did over and over again over time.
So I remember the smell of coffee in the morning because my dad made coffee every morning. Not Folgers by the way. He loved Maxwell house coffee when I was growing up.
I remember whenever there was a game on at night my dad would make a big bowl of popcorn we would share as we watched the game together.
I remember on late night road trips how we would always stop by McDonalds for a Milk Shake and an Apple Pie.
3000 Hours
We remember what’s repeated. We remember the words that are repeated and the behaviors that are repeated over time.
What’s interesting is that on average you will spend around 3000 hours with your kids this year.
Depending on what phase of life you’re in right now, you might be spending a little more or a little less time with your kids. But here’s what I want you to think about, how will you spend that time? How will you use those 3000 hours this year?
What will we repeat that will be remembered?
What we sometimes forget or fail to realize is that there is a rhythm to our lives.
Some of you may be very intentional about the rhythm of your life, about the things you do and say that you repeat because you’ve realized the power of rhythm, routine, and habit. You’ve learned that there is power in how you arrange your time and how doing or saying certain things over time can have an incredible impact in your life and for your family.
Some of us aren’t very intentional about the rhythm of our lives but it’s still there. There are certain things we say and do that we say and do on repeat. And our life is the product of that rhythm. That routine. Those habits.
There’s a sense in which we become what we say and do on repeat.
Pass It On
I think that’s why from the very beginning God’s plan for the people of God to pass on faith from one generation to the next was to repeat the words of God and the routines that reminded them of the story of God.
In Deuteronomy 6 you’ll find this moment where Moses is giving the people of Israel the 10 Commandments. Moses is the man God has chosen to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land that God will provide them. But before they go, they stop at Mount Sinai. God wants them to know how to live from this day forward as the people of God.
So he gives them these commands.
Sometimes we think God gives these commands in order to limit the people, in order to keep them from something, as a way of restraining them from things they want. But here’s what I want you to know about God and about the commands of God, they weren’t given to the people of Israel, or to us, to keep them FROM anything. God gave them his commands FOR their benefit. FOR their good.
And after giving the people the 10 Commandments, this is what God says through Moses to the people…
Deuteronomy 6.4-9
“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.
This may sound familiar to you because this is something that Jesus taught his followers also. This idea of loving God with ALL of our heart and soul and mind… in other words, loving God with everything that is within us, and then loving God with all our strength, with everything we have, our time, energy, talent, resources, and abilities… this is what God desires.
So Moses says, love God with everything INSIDE of you and everything OUTSIDE of you, and then he says…
Wholeheartedly
And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.
WHOLEheartedly. Not HALFheartedly.
We do a lot of things halfheartedly. But God, the One who has delivered us from our Egypt, from our bondage, our slavery, our place of darkness, He has committed himself to us WHOLEheartedly!
And he knows that for us to experience the abundant life, the life that he has for us, it can only happen if we give ourselves wholeheartedly to Him and to following his way.
And remember, His commands aren’t designed to keep us FROM anything.
His commands are designed FOR US to experience the best of everything!
Because of that, Moses says…
Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
WHY? Because… what’s REPEATED is REMEMBERED!
WHY? Because… We become what we say and do on repeat!
Attending vs. Belonging
As someone once said, Becoming a Christian is more caught than taught.
Attending church or bringing your kids to church does not a Christian make.
Attending church creates church attenders.
Belonging to a church family creates a church family where people know they belong.
And just as a reminder, the goal is not to create church attenders. Our goal as faith filled Jesus following parents is to raise kids who become faith filled Jesus following adults!
When we began a few weeks ago, you may remember something I shared, that research says 64% of kids raised in church will leave the church after graduating from high school. That means only 3-4 kids out of every 10 will keep ATTENDING church AFTER high school. But let me be clear, attending church is NOT the goal.
What I didn’t share, because this is even more dire, is that the latest research says than only 10% of kids raised in the church will be resilient disciples of Jesus after they graduate from high school! – David Kinnaman, Barna Research
But here’s what’s really interesting, another study that was conducted about the same time found that only 12% of Christian parents are engaging with their students in spiritual conversations.
– Kara Powell, Fuller Seminary, Sticky Faith
Do you think there’s a correlation?
What’s repeated is remembered!
When they ask, “Why?”
Moses wanted every parent present that day to keep their focus on what matters most, who our children are becoming. He knew that if the family kept its focus on the word of God and the love of God then every son, every daughter, would be shaped and formed by God’s word and would come to know just how much their Father in Heaven loves them.
So Moses tells every parent present that day…
Repeat them again and again to your children…
Why?
So that your children will see by the way you live and the words you speak that what matters most to you is loving God with all your heart, soul, and strength. And so that one day this will happen…
“In the future your children will ask you, ‘What is the meaning of these laws, decrees, and regulations that the Lord our God has commanded us to obey?’
They are going to ask because you’ve been repeating the words of God and you’ve been following the way of God! You live your life DIFFERENTLY from others and they see that because, on average, they spend about 3000 hours a year with you! They see and hear more than you know! They are picking up what you think is most important.
And by the way, what you think is most important is relayed to them by what they hear you consistently say or don’t say and what you consistently do or don’t do.
You can say exercise is important but if you never exercise… you get the point.
Moses says, if you repeat the words of God and the routine of your life demonstrates on a regular basis that you’re following the way of God, they’re going to ask, “WHY?”
Tell Them the Story
And when they do, here is what you should say…
“Then you must tell them, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand. The Lord did miraculous signs and wonders before our eyes, dealing terrifying blows against Egypt and Pharaoh and all his people. He brought us out of Egypt so he could give us this land he had sworn to give our ancestors. And the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear him so he can continue to bless us and preserve our lives, as he has done to this day. For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us.’ – Deuteronomy 6.20-25
In other words, TELL THEM THE STORY of who God is and what God has done for us!
Let me just pause here and let me say maybe the most important thing I’ll say during this entire series.
We have an enemy who wants to destroy us and our families.
How does he do this? How does he work to DESTROY US?
By DE-Storying us.
By blinding us to the history we are a part of. The story of how we have been rescued, delivered, redeemed, set free by God from sin and darkness.
You see the history we are a part of is HIS-STORY. We are a part of God’s Story. Whenever we forget our story, HIS-story, whenever we become removed from our story that gives us our identity our enemy has won, we are defeated, we are destroyed.
How do we keep from be destroyed? We have to keep our family from being de-storied! How? When your children ask… tell them the STORY of how God saved us, rescued us, delivered us!!!
I know you’re kids are just going through a phase, but… Don’t miss it!
Don’t miss what? The story. His-story.
History is really HIS-Story and we are a part of it. Scripture came to an end with Revelation 22 but the STORY God is writing isn’t over. You’re a part of it. I’m a part of it! Don’t just tell the story, live it. Live into it. Continue it. Tell it, share it, but live it out as well!
Passing the Baton
How are you passing on the STORY to the next generation?
On July 14, 2018 the Athletics World Cup was held in London and the Men’s 4x100m Relay Race was supposed to be won by the Jamaican team. But when one of the Jamaican relay runners went to hand over the baton to the next runner, he missed his hand.
Whenever you’re running a relay race, it’s the responsibility of the incoming runner to make a clean handoff for the next runner. The Jamaican runner missed the handoff and he had to grab the hand of his teammate to complete the handoff which cost them important time. Because of that, they lost the race.
For those of you who are running this race called life with FAITH… it’s your job to pass the baton of faith to the next generation of runners! From the beginning of our faith this was God’s intention, that you pass on what you believe to your children and to your children’s children.
What is it that you want to pass on? How about we end this series with the words of Jesus…
Someone once asked Jesus,
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ – Matthew 22.26-40
Pass It On
What do you want to pass on to the next generation?
Pass on YOUR LOVE for God and GOD’s LOVE for YOU!
How do you do that? Tell the STORIES. And show them how you LIVE DIFFERENTLY.
The truth is, what is repeated is remembered.
And we need some brave and courageous parents who are willing to repeat something that’s worth remembering. You can get caught up in all this world has to offer but if lose sight of what matters most, nothing else really matters!
Moms, Dads, Grandmothers, Grandfathers, Jesus loving God following adults in the room… our kids are going through different phases. And as they do, there will be opportunities along the way to point them to Jesus. May we leverage the opportunities in every phase to point our children and our grandchildren to Jesus because when all is said and done, nothing else really matters.
So pass on your love for God and what you know about God’s great love for you. Let’s not drop the baton. Let’s make a good handoff so that the next generation can know the blessing of walking with Jesus every day.
Fast Forward
What would happen if we were to fast forward the clock 20 or 30 years? What stories will our children tell about the things we said and did?
Will they stories that end with, “Because I said so?” Maybe. Probably. But I hope they also tell stories of verses that we’re on repeat in our homes.
This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.
Draw close to God and He will draw close to you.
Don’t worry about anything, pray about everything.
I really can do all things, even hard things, through Christ who gives me strength.
Will they tell stories about the things we did. Stories about milk shakes, popcorn, and coffee in the morning? Maybe. Probably. But I hope they will also tell stories about the things we did that we’re different.
About how they saw us put God first in our lives. How we trusted God enough to give money to His church. How we took time to serve our neighbors and help our friends in need. How we read the Bible and made worship a part of our lives. How we turned to God in prayer in the difficult moments of life and put our hope in Him.
What’s repeated is remembered.
Let’s repeat with our words and with our lives our love for God and how we’ve experienced God’s love for us!
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