We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of Yahweh, His power, and the wonders He has done. Psalm 78:4
By far, the lengthiest of the psalms of Asaph is Psalm 78. At seventy-two verses, it is well over twice as long as the second closest. Why is it so long? Because the psalm recounts the faithfulness of God on behalf of His people in spite of their unfaithfulness. With what purpose? To tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of Yahweh. In spite of just how different our lives are today from the people of Israel thousands of years ago, it is always amazing to me just how similar are the key issues with which we contend. What more basic concern do believers share than the desire to pass their faith on to the next generation—to leave a legacy? Of course, for the people of Israel, this calling was nothing new. The Shema, Deuteronomy 6:4 and following, a passage every believing Jewish child is called upon to memorize, brings to the fore the importance of passing along faith to the next generation: Hear, O Israel: Yahweh our God, Yahweh is one. Love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deuteronomy 6:4–7 This exhortation comes on the heels of the restatement of the ten commandments in Deuteronomy 5. It is as if to say that obedience goes beyond mere duty to wholehearted devotion to Yahweh. However, what is striking is not merely the instruction itself, but the practical, emphatic call to pass this instruction along to the next generation. The fact that the Shema became a core part of the liturgy of Israel reflects a very simple obedience in God’s people. What simpler way to “impress…on your children” these truths than by asking every successive generation to commit them to memory? And so, the call in Psalm 78:4 to “tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of Yahweh, His power, and the wonders He has done,” is more than just a wise recommendation, it is at the heart of what it means to be a believer. Verse 5, reflecting on the Shema, goes on to say “He commanded our forefathers to teach their children.” More than just a polite request, God’s people are commanded to rehearse before their children the wonders, commandments and faithful love of God. This same calling extends down through the ages to believers today. More than just the experience of our own personal faith, central to following Jesus is telling others...making disciples! And of first importance in this great task is our call to make disciples of our children, telling them of the wondrous things God has done. I cannot think of a better description of our Growing Together Celebration Dinner on October 15th. This dinner is our opportunity, on the one-year anniversary of our Growing Together campaign, to tell what Yahweh God has done not only in leading us to this God-sized dream of expanding our building for the sake of expanding our Kingdom impact, but also in the miraculous ways in which He is supplying what is needed for this endeavor. Certainly, the unbelievably generous commitments of almost $400,000 over the next three years, a supernatural feat for a congregation of our size, is emblematic of God’s amazing provision. But when you combine this with unexpected projected revenue of nearly $100,000 for the use of our parking lot, the healthy building fund with which we started, and the provision of Dan Charles to oversee this expansion—we don’t have to look far for reasons to celebrate “the praiseworthy deeds of Yahweh.” However, it isn’t the dinner or even the Growing Together campaign that provide the most powerful application of the Biblical call to leave a legacy, but that which motivated these events in the first place—our building expansion. A driving motivation behind expanding our building is the recognition of an 82-year legacy of ministry at RBC and our desire to see this legacy grow as we look to the next 15 years and beyond (see the vision statement on the NEWS BB.) We want RBC to be telling the next generation for generations to come! It is for this reason that we will gather for a Growing Together Celebration Dinner October 15th, at 5pm. All who call Renton Bible home are invited to join us in this joyous celebration and opportunity to recommit ourselves to leaving a Kingdom legacy.
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Dan GannonDan has ministered at Renton Bible Church, with his wife Debbie, since 2003. Archives
June 2022
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