
May 21st & 25th
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
—Exodus 20:4-6 NIV
What happens in one generation often repeats itself in the next!
Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac.
—Genesis 25:5 NKJV
Abraham - the original
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
—Genesis 12:1-3 NLT
Essential #1: You may think someone is unscathed but they are not.
Isaac - the son of Abraham
7 When the men who lived there asked Isaac about his wife, Rebekah, he said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “They will kill me to get her, because she is so beautiful.”
—Genesis 26:7 NLT
The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: “‘The parents eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? 3 “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. 4 For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die.
—Ezekiel 18:1-4 NIV
Essential #2: You cannot change what you do not confront.
Jacob - the grandson of Abraham
35 But Isaac said, “Your brother was here, and he tricked me. He has taken away your blessing.”
36 Esau exclaimed, “No wonder his name is Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice. First he took my rights as the firstborn, and now he has stolen my blessing. Oh, haven’t you saved even one blessing for me?”
—Genesis 27:35-36 NLT
Essential #3: You can do it in moderation but the next will do it in excess.
Joseph - the great grandson of Abraham
31 Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped Joseph’s robe in its blood. 32 They sent the beautiful robe to their father with this message: “Look at what we found. Doesn’t this robe belong to your son?”
33 Their father recognized it immediately. “Yes,” he said, “it is my son’s robe. A wild animal must have eaten him. Joseph has clearly been torn to pieces!” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes and dressed himself in burlap. He mourned deeply for his son for a long time.
—Genesis 37:31-34 NLT
11 So Joseph assigned the best land of Egypt—the region of Rameses—to his father and his brothers, and he settled them there, just as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 And Joseph provided food for his father and his brothers in amounts appropriate to the number of their dependents, including the smallest children.
—Genesis 47:11-12 NLT
But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. 18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.
—Romans 5:15, 18 NLT
Essential #4: You may not have started it but you can stop it!
For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone.
—Romans 14:7 NIV
I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
—2 Timothy 1:5 NIV
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Next Steps:
1. Today, I need to be born again and made new into God’s family.
2. I am going to confront the wrong behaviors in my life.
3. I am going to continue to store up sincere faith no matter what I see.
4. I would like to take a first look in serving in Evergreen Youth.