Make sure everything is on go ahead and turn your Bibles to Psalm 78 Psalm 78 Now I'll be reading verses 1 through 16 I'll be covering 1 through 8 Give you a second Hear then the word of the Lord. This is a mascal of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my teaching. Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation of the glorious deeds of the Lord and his might and the wonders that he has done. He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children that they should set their hope in God and not forget the work of God. but keep his commandments, and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God. The Ephraimites, armed with a bow, turned back on the day of battle. They did not keep God's covenant, but refused to walk according to His law, that for God's works and the wonders that He had shown them. In the sight of their fathers, He performed wonders in the land of Egypt and the fields of Zion, He divided the sea and let them pass through it and made the water stand like a heap. In the daytime He led them with a cloud and all the night with a fiery light. He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. He made streams come out to the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God endures forever. Father, we do thank you for thy holy word, and we do pray that you would bless it to our hearts and to our understanding, and by your Holy Spirit, Lord, that the name of Jesus Christ shall be exalted and held up for all the world to hear and to see, Lord, through his body, the church, O Lord. And Father, we pray, move among us, Lord, quicken our hearts, we ask in Jesus' holy name, amen. So, of course, today is Father's Day, and am I thankful for godly fathers? You betcha I am. I'm very thankful, and some of y'all are fathers in the faith, even here today, and for many of us. But I am thankful for the godly fathers, those have been grandfathers, great-grandfathers, and those beyond that, for some possibility. But why? Mainly because of this, there are so few and so far in between today. So if you have or you had a godly father, grandfather, or great-grandfather, then you praise God for it. Give expression of thanksgiving before the Lord for that, because not everyone was so blessed to have a godly father or grandfather or great-grandfather. Not everybody has been blessed in that manner, in like manner with the mothers, too. But if so, if you have, then you definitely have a wonderful spiritual heritage, but you need to know, you need to make it known to your children and to your children's children. They need to hear, they need to know the Lord himself. They need to see your faith. and hear faith in action. And so you do have a heritage, but the children need to hear it as well. But will yours be a godly Christian heritage for them to hear and to follow in and to walk in the footsteps of Christ as you walk in them as well? Remember then, you remember Samuel the prophet, Samuel the prophet, a great prophet of God, an amazing event took place. Eli was the high priest. His sons, of course, were corrupt. They were immoral. The sons of Samuel, they were Eli rather, but sons were very, very bad. They took the choice meats from the offerings. They took it for themselves. They kept that, what they wanted. And God spoke to Eli through Samuel the prophet saying, since he wouldn't rebuke his sons, then both of them would die on the same day. That was a really harsh judgment. Later God spoke through the boy Samuel about judgment on Eliah's house because of unrepentant sin. And he'll do that. Soon Israel went to battle with the Philistines and they lost the battle. And they not only lost the battle, but both of Eliah's sons died and the Ark of the Covenant was taken from them. And if you remember the Ark of the Covenant, the beauty of the Ark, and they would have the poles going through it, and they would have the Ark of the Covenant going before them, you know, and even striking fear into the hearts of the enemy, and it was beautiful, it was an incredible thing to see and to behold, and the people would be fearful, but here, because of the sin of the people, God was not present with them, with the Ark. And so the ark was taken from Israel. God spoke through the prophet about many of these things, but anyway, Eli heard about his son's death, okay, both of them, he heard about their death, and what did he do? You know, he found out about his son's death, and the ark was taken, and he cried out, of course, he falls off his back, basically, he falls out of a chair, and of course, he died on the spot. Eli failed to instruct and discipline his children. He failed as a father to his sons there and also to the entirety of the children of Israel. He failed them. He didn't live his life as one who is faithful before God. He didn't walk in faithfulness before his own children's children. He never saw his children bow before the Lord in genuine faith. He never saw these things, and they did not do that. Perhaps he relied upon them being a Jew. After all, we are children of Abraham. We got it made. We're ready to go. No, that would not save them. Now, maybe they thought that simply being a Jew would be enough, but it wasn't, or being a child of Abraham, or being a child of the covenant. Well, my son was a child of the covenant. No matter what, he's going to heaven. No, he must repent and believe himself. He must repent as well. Because the sons were never converted, they were never saved, and they never had faith. I told you all once about an article I read, it's been years now since I read that, but in this particular article about the church in America, talking about, and I was talking with Keith about it a little bit this morning, we see an aging of the church, of the body of Christ all across America, all across our whole land. Of course, we see this taking place. The many Christians from the baby boomer generation, they're all aging. And yes, even over at the Synod meeting, if you sit in the back and you see the men, and you see the little thing on the back of their heads, and it looks like a curtain, of eggs out there, but we're all aging and we all are, okay? And my wife is gonna give me the what for later. But yes, the baby boomer generation and beyond are all aging, so multitudes of churches are aging. They are aging across our land, but the baby boomers had lots and lots of children. They did, they had boatloads, a big generation, the baby boomer generation, they had lots of children. And so the children should become the faith, right? But we don't see that happening. They should be filling the churches, right? But we don't see that happening. But why aren't they? Because they're gone. They left. They're unbelieving. They don't trust in the Lord and they continue to walk ungodly lives. I fear we are losing a whole generation of kids because we haven't led them to the faith in Christ. We haven't pointed to the Lord and saying, you need Jesus. We haven't told them. We haven't lived our lives of faith before them. We have not passed, if you will, like the Olympians, passed on the torch of our faith to our children. Yes, they must individually believe, but they must hear from you. And from me, they must hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. But rather, since we did not pass the torch to our children, then they are now living faithless lives. Faithless lives. This needs to be turned around. We need to see a generation converted and saved. We need to see the parents and the grandparents and the great-grandparents and beyond reaching to their children's children's children. Because if not, these children will perish in their sins. Doesn't matter if they were baptized or not. That's a good thing, yes. But water baptism, like circumcision, will not save a soul's faith in Jesus Christ. So we must reach the children with the gospel of Jesus Christ, because if not, they will die in their sins. Here, of course, I speak about human responsibility in evangelizing our children. We have to evangelize and reach out to them with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Tell them who Jesus is, why he came, and why they absolutely need the Lord. Because if they die in your sin, they will be judged and go to hell. And we don't want to see that. We need to evangelize our children. So if you're born again, you truly have a rich Christian heritage to proclaim to your children and children's children. You have a wonderful Christian heritage, a godly Christian heritage, going all the way back a couple thousand years to tell them about Jesus. And you can go beyond that into the Old Testament to show how Christ is the fulfillment of these promises that were there. But are we doing this? Will we lead them to Christ? And so we're going to look at first of all, the lost generation, and second, retrieving the lost generation, and third, a Christian heritage restored. This is, of course, the longest of the historical psalms. It is a didactic psalm. What is didactic? That means teaching. It's a teaching psalm, of course, because of the lessons that are taught here. The history of Israel is briefly recounted from the time of the Exodus to the final union of the tribes under David and the establishment of the kingdom and his family. The psalmist there is Asaph, and this is David's chief musician, and of course his purpose in this psalm is to rebuke sin, to rebuke ingratitude and rebellion. And so he begins by showing them the present in the light of the past. So God brought them out of bondage in Egypt, and you remember this, God brought them out of Egypt with a mighty hand, a powerful hand, great wonders and miracles such as the world had never seen before. For God parted the Red Sea so Moses and the children of Israel could walk through the midst of the waters that are piled up like a heap on both sides, and they walked through on dry ground. They had not seen things like this before, and nor have we. But yet God was showing them these things, teaching them, leading them, of course, to his very holy mountain in Sinai. The history was one of wonder as a beautiful expression of God's will and his love for his people. And yet there's wonder and there's rebellion there at the same time, even in the midst among those who are walking through the Red Sea. One scholar said this, miracle that followed miracle to win them, and yes, a lot of miracles were done, mighty miracles of God. Chastisement succeeded by more chastisement to deter them from falling into sin, to deter them from rebelling against the Lord, to deter them so they would not walk in the ungodly ways of the world around them. But the miracle was forgotten. The chastisements produced just a temporary reformation, if you will. What they went through, even the difficulties, the chastisements, the punishments, if you will, they had always been a faithless and stubborn generation. Why? Well, they did feel guilty. Yeah, they felt guilty, and they even shed a tear or two, but they never repented in all this. They didn't repent. They never truly believed, and they were lost. They didn't say they all didn't believe, but the great majority were still lost. This psalm by Asaph, he was a Levite, a musician, and a prophet here, by the way. Serving as a leader of the choir of that time in the tabernacle during the reign of David and Solomon, he wrote several psalms, just to catch you up, Psalm 50 and 73 through 83. But in this psalm, he commands the people to recount the wonders and the works of God. This is a good example for us to tell our children what God has done to save his people, what God has done to save you and me and our children and so that they would believe and walk in faithfulness to the Lord God Almighty. Consider then from verses one through four the lost generation or two or three as we seem to be seeing today. Again verses one through four Give ear, O my people, to my teaching. Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell them to the coming generation. and a glorious deed to the Lord in his might, and the wonders that he has done. Now note, of course, Jesus quoted verse two there in Matthew 13 for his speaking to the unbelieving people in parables. Of course, he spoke to them all in parables, the believers would hear, and the believers will understand, but the rebellious unbeliever would not, because they lack spiritual discernment. Well, here Asaph is saying that he is adopting this particular poetic style to teach them. He's teaching them with this because in verse 3 he indicates that these things were clear and they were understood by them because they were being taught by their fathers. And so they understood. They've been taught this by their dads and dads, great dads and all those for years. They've been hearing these things. But they were a failing generation here. The text implies that the people were hiding and concealing themselves forgetting to pass on their spiritual heritage and experiences to their children. They need to hear, why do you believe in Jesus Christ? Why do you believe that God is almighty, God is sovereign over what, me too? Yes, over all things. Do you truly believe? Why? Tell the children and the children's children why you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. You would gladly lay down your lives for our Lord Jesus Christ. even laying them down to reach the children and the children's children. that he might hear the gospel from our own lips. Consider our children today. While we have more children from Christian parents and churches around our land here in America, we have a lot of programs. I see a lot of programs all the time, probably more today than any time in history in America. Yet the churches are still graying. The children are still fleeing. They're not coming back. Actually, they're getting caught up in cults. They're getting caught up in false religions. because they did not hear, understand, and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they must hear, and they must understand, and the Holy Spirit bless them. Do we need more programs? Not really. Not in this land that we live on. This is the land of America, the land of opportunity. Do we need better programs? Not necessarily. Do we need more toys, more TVs, more bouncy houses? I like bouncy houses. I'm too big for them now. Not so fun. But yeah, do we need more of those things? What do we need then for these children in our land and around the world? What do the children need? We need faithful, godly moms and dads to tell the children and the children's children of who Jesus is, why he came to save little sinners like them and us. So we might have life, an eternal life, and the forgiveness of sins. So we need faithful moms and dads. They learn from watching mom and dad. They learn from what they hear you say, and they will emulate you, okay? They'll imitate you, and they'll begin to say those things that hopefully none of y'all say, but I've heard some myself in my life, but anyway, they will imitate you. So it can be an important thing to remember. Live your faith before these children. Tell them why. Why do you go to church on Sunday? They say, I get bored sitting there. Well, listen to the sermon. Here's a piece of paper. Jot down five or six things you hear in the sermon or whatever, and talk about them with them on the way home, in the car, or at lunch, or wherever it might be. Share your faith. Why you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Why it's so important for them to believe, okay? Because it is very important. And we're failing in our teaching. and teaching the children, our own children. What are we teaching the kids? We're teaching them here as Eli did. We taught them faithlessness. Nothing wrong with programs if they are Christian programs, Christ-centered. And if they're not Christ-centered, then they're man-centered, which will not save a soul, right? You have a lot of people glorifying man today, and they still don't know who Jesus is. They got a bouncy house, but they still don't know the gospel. And they have all these wonderful walls of TVs, but they still do not believe. They must hear the gospel from you and from me. As it is, we have a cradle-to-grave entertainment for our children. People seem desperate to keep their kids happy and entertained no matter what, and I'd rather hear a lot of babies crying than no babies crying. I would give thanks to God for that, to hear more crying by the children who simply are too tired And they just need to learn, of course, to sit and to sing and to worship with their moms and dads. But people seem desperate to do all these things. If you can't keep them entertained, then they say, then they'll go somewhere else. Go somewhere where they will be entertained. They think that if you want the kids to go to church, then you better find one that has a really good youth program. I've been told these things by people as well. They need to find a way to keep them preoccupied so that moms and dad can participate in the service while The kids, you know, keep them all quiet or something. And so they go to the church that then, well, that church has camping. They go up in the mountains, or they go deep sea fishing. We need to get that. Then if they get bored from that one, they go to the church that has paintball. By the way, that'll hurt, by the way, if you weren't wearing the right thing. So they go to the next one, and the next one they go on and on. Meanwhile, the kids are still dead in sin and lost. They're still lost, they still don't know the Lord. They're entertained to death, but they don't know Jesus. Am I saying all entertainment is wrong? But they need to hear about Christ and have crucified for the salvation of their souls. We don't know what tomorrow holds for them either. We hope they have another 80 or 90 or 100 years, you know, but we don't know and they don't know. And they need to hear today. But don't worry though, Soon, everybody heard of AI? Yeah, what does AI stand for? Anybody tell me? What's that? Artificial intelligence. Thank you, yes. AI, of course, AI is going to be their babysitters. AI has taken off. Remember the Terminator? The Terminator, I'll be back. It's back! All right, it is today. AI has taken over everything. Kids are cheating in colleges now using AI to write their papers. Well, teachers, they've got an AI program, too, and identify as papers, but used by AI. So, yeah, they're picking up on that. They're going to be your babysitters. They're going to be your teachers, and they will still remain lost. Why? Because they heard no gospel. They never heard mom and dad in worship. They were never taught the Bible at home, no prayers at night with the little ones beside their bedside or even at the door as they close their eyes. They were never encouraged to pray with their parents, never encouraged to hear their parents praying for them. After all, if they don't hear them, they're not going to do it either. So what did they taste them? They taught them that faith doesn't matter. They taught them that Christ doesn't matter. After all, if the parents don't believe, the kids likely will not either. Except, of course, eventually, by the sheer and only by the grace of God, that they will hear and they will believe. We have taught a generation of kids that the entertainment is the most important aspect in life. We taught them that if one church doesn't entertain you enough, go to another one. Go to another, and then another, and another. And they say, well, I want to feel committed, so I'll keep going here and here and here until I find one that's perfect. And then you find out it's not perfect again. You don't like the songs? Go somewhere else. Don't like the paint? Don't like the carpet? Go somewhere else that you might like it better. They need to worship right beside you. They need to be in worship with you. We taught them that it doesn't matter what you believe or what church you go to, as long as you have a good time while you're there. That's not true. That's not why I'm up here. It's not just for you to have a good time. Now, I know we all have big breakfasts. I'm not trying to put you to sleep. Okay, but I've had visitors tell me this. Now maybe they're lying, maybe they're telling me the truth. Of course, I told them, say, hey, I'd just like to ask you, why? Why haven't you been back or whatever? I've had visitors tell me this. The sermon was fine. The sermon was great. The sermon was, now I'm exaggerating on your behalf again. The sermon was good, but I like music I can tap my toes to. I've literally been told that. I'm appalled, I'm horrified. I like music I can tap my toes to. Like, one minute, you mean like Johnny Cash, right? I hear the train a-comin', and you tap your toe to that. Well, that's not a worship song. We're worshiping the Lord. We're not tapping our toes. We should have our eyes closed. We're following along in a hymnal singing to the Lord, our God, with all of our heart and mind and soul, loving Him in that very manner. So they say, well, they don't care about the doctrine. What's doctrine? Bible, just Bible teaching. Doctrine is just what the Bible, the Bible is a book of doctrine. Okay, so they say, I don't like Bible doctrine or teaching, just keep me and my kids happy and entertained for at least an hour. So well, you know, They only get maybe 30 or 40 minutes with me, and then they got all week long, 24 hours a day, after day, after day. They need to hear and see your faith. That's what they need to hear. We must begin to reach our kids for Christmas. Tell them about your own conversion. You believe in Jesus. Tell them why. Tell them your experience with the Lord when you've gone through hard times. Open up to your children so they know, wow, mom, I didn't know you went through that kind of thing. You went through the Great Depression before my time. But anyway, they do know that we have to share how we got through these particular times in our lives. When we talk to them about what great things that God has done for you. Bring the church with you, sit by them, sing with them, tell them the old, old story and tell them again and again and again until they can recite it back to you. Tell them the old, old story. Leading to our second heading, verse four and five, retrieving the lost generations, had to make that plural. Look at verse four and five again. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord and his might and the wonders that he has done. He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children. So what are we to do? Is there a quick fix to all this? How do we reach the kids? Well, you recount the wonderful deeds of God. Tell them of the miracles of God. Tell them the wonderful work of redemptive history to save your soul. Tell them, yes, Jesus died. It was a horrible thing. He did it to save you. from eternal death and damnation so you would have life and forgiveness of all your sins. Tell them of Adam and Eve. Tell them of the fall. Where does sin come from? They want to know these things and they don't know. Tell them where does sin come from. How is it that we are all sinners needing the grace of God? How do we all deserve death? Because of what Adam and Eve did then and for our own sins too. Tell them how we all deserve God's wrath. And we needed a way to be saved. And the promise that God gave the Redeemer in Genesis 3.15, tell them. Tell them that we would not be without hope if we would repent all these things by faith in Christ. Tell them about Abraham and Isaac and how God tested his faith. And yet God the Father did not spare his only begotten son either. He didn't spare his son. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. They need to hear that still today. Not enough to put John 3 16 on your hat or on the back of your t-shirt. They need to know what it says and why. They need to know why. Tell them, and make sure you believe it yourself, because they will pick up on that. Tell them about Moses and the Israelites. Tell them how God delivered them from slavery in Egypt, and the great power that God manifested before the world. Tell them. Tell them how the Israelites were in bondage, and of course, that picture of our bondage and sin, and our need for a deliverer. a Redeemer, a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Tell them of David and Solomon and how God promised that David would always have an heir to sit upon the throne and yet David died. We know that. Solomon died. We know that. Tell them how Christ is the son of David and he is sitting on that throne even today. He is king over heaven and earth. They need to know. You do have a king, it's King Jesus. He is the only king and king of kings. And finally, tell them about how God the Son came to earth, was born of a woman, yet without sin, who lived a perfectly righteous life, never sinning, not once ever, and he died on a cross. as a substitute for sin, as atonement for their sin. And he rose from the dead, he ascended into heaven, he sits at the right hand of God the Father, still does today, that he will return one day to judge the world. And we must be ready for that day. We need to be ready today and tomorrow and every day. Teach them the law of God, especially in the light of Christ. In verse five, which he commanded, he established a testimony in Jacob, a point of law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children and the next generation. Okay, we must teach them. They must know what the Ten Commandments are. You need to know what they are, too. Be able to tell those kids what the Ten Commandments are and how nobody will be justified by faith, or correct that, they will not be justified by the law. They'll never be justified by keeping the Ten Commandments. That's why we need Jesus Christ who perfectly kept everything, all of it. He was able to keep them. They must be confronted with the law of God so they will know that they're sinners. They must know that the law is a perfect standard, God's perfect standard of righteousness and the slightest, smallest violation deserves eternal death. They want to know why. You need to tell them. The trouble today is kids don't know what sin is anymore. They don't even know what it is. You need to tell them what it is. They hear, yes, they hear love, love, love, because yet they hear about love all the time. And so, well, I'm good. You know, if I, God loves me no matter what I do, I'm okay. I can go ahead and do what I want to do. And they face damnation and they don't even know it. They need to know. and it must come from your testimony. They must know the law was given to direct us, to point us to the Lord Jesus Christ, so they will understand what redemption is and why they need to be redeemed. They need to know, and they have a right to know. If you're in the faith, if you're in Christ, then they have a right to know and hear from you. The Gospel of Jesus Christ. Remember your obligation in verse five. Again, teach to their children. Teach them to their children. And so we are too, we are obligated to tell them. God spoke through Moses and said, and these words which I command thee this day shall be in your heart. And you shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up, Deuteronomy 6.6. They need to see and hear your faith all the time. It doesn't mean 24 hours every single minute of the day, but they need to hear it from you often. They need to hear who Jesus is, why you believe. They want to know that. They want to do you really believe? Do you really have faith? Is there a real, because if it's not real to you, it's not real to me. They need to know that Christ is real to you. And God takes this obligation very seriously. It takes time. It takes time. It takes effort. It takes love. It takes compassion for the lost, even especially for your own children and children's children. God's law, God's word should constantly be in your mind, in your mouth, of course, on your lips, your heart. You must teach them to the kids. They must hear that too. Perhaps the Lord will help us see our children, this generation, generations, we have so many now, generations restored, leading to our final point. Look at verse six and eight. Here we see the Christian heritage restored, six through eight. that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise, and shall tell them to their children, that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments, that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God. Take a sip here. Now, talking about Christian heritages, I mean, it is a joy, it's a really joyful thing to see families united together, families united in Christ, you know, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers and grandmothers and grandfathers and the little ones, united by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, all trusting in Him, living by faith moment by moment. But when families are united, it kind of seems to be a rare thing today. It seems to be very rare today when families around us are torn apart, families torn up, marriages destroyed, children in rebellion and headed for hell, and yet we won't tell them because we feel ashamed of our sin. How joyous it is to see a family that worships together. What a marvel. It is wonderful. Children are not just to be dumped off at church. Not dumped off for a program. Not just dumped off, but they need to worship with moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas and great grandmas and great grandpas and all that. We need a generational evangelism. One preacher said this, to perform this important duty to good purpose, we must enforce our instructions by a consistent example. That's our obligation, right? It is awful to think how many parents by their negligence and wickedness become murderers of the souls of their children. Wow, that's kind of rough. But it's true, if we don't tell our children's children, you read through that passage, Psalm 78 again, how important it is that the fathers teach it to their children over and over, generation to generation. They need to know and they need to hear. Don't be afraid of them. They're little children. They want to know who you are, why you believe, and why they should believe. But do we love our children? We seek to save their souls. because they need Jesus. As the psalmist spoke about the experience of God in the wilderness, we should be recounting the experience that we have of God in Christ. How great it is to reach the children, our children with the gospel, and then to reach their kids and their kids after them, and then they reach their kids. That's even better to see your kids reaching their own kids. What a wonder that is. How wonderful it is seeing generation after generation evangelizing their children because they must believe. They must believe. We must not fail, we must not fall, but we must bring up our children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord Jesus Christ. What will be the effect? Children walking by faith again verse 7 so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God But keep his commandments. We desire that they grow up keeping the commandments of God and but the here they must and trust in Christ as well. We see our spiritual heritage, our Christian heritage restored when we see our own children walking by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Very important for us. I know it's important in our lives, and we need to reach out to them. They have no hope or confidence in Christ, so we need to reach out to them in the gospel and then rejoice in their salvation, not living like those in rebellion to God. In verse 8, and that they should not be like their fathers, talking about the Israelites in the wilderness, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God. So they rebelled in the wilderness. They rebelled, they murmured against God, they grumbled and complained, even when God fed them with manna and God provided boatloads, if we should say, or shiploads of quail and all these things for them, meat. and they would sin against God. We need to see a change. We need to see a transformation in our lives, yes, but also in the lives of our children. And by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ alone, by the power of the Spirit of God who regenerates the soul. But they must hear the gospel too. Are you teaching your kids and your grandkids and your great-grandkids? Are you leading them to Christ? Are you reaching them? Are you seeking to win the lost generations? There's a lot of lost generations. Are your kids walking in faith? Are you walking in faith for them, as an example for them? Because we must model Christ before them, so they'll know that what you believe is real. It's true. They must see your faith. They want an example, and they're watching you. And we need to see them, learn by your example and instruction. So will you this day live by faith before the children? Live by faith, walk by faith. Let them see you worship. Let them see you worship. We need godly moms and dads. We need godly Christians, you know, heritages being passed along to the children. Let them hear and let them believe. By the way, we know VBS is coming up. We need to reach out to them with the life-changing, saving, soul-saving gospel of Jesus Christ. We are to be ambassadors of Christ. Yes, to the entire, all those that we encounter. We have VBS coming. Let us prepare ourselves to reach these children for Christ. Whatever the program, whatever the activities, Christ should be our goal for these kids. Let's pray.