Reclaiming the Next Generation | Week 5 | Faith and Family Series

How to Reclaim a Generation

Did we, or are we, doing anything intentional with them to actively develop a Godward orientation in their lives?  Are there purposeful, intentional, and consistent thing we are doing to shape their lives in Christ, to show them the power of the Spirit, develop them in Word and Deed?

²⁵ “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten… ~ Joel 2:25 NIV

God is not bound by time and because He isn’t bound by it, He alone can redeem it!

It’s an Invitation!  An invitation to step into the remaining weeks, the ordinary moments that we all know so well, and see them for what they really are.

Small opportunities for Eternal Impact! You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need to be present, available, and obedient.

God’s Design – Has always been Discipleship “Along the Way”

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ⁵ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ 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. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. ¹⁰ When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, ¹¹ houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, ¹² be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ~ Deuteronomy 6:4-12 NIV

• This is life-on-life, along-the-way, everyday formation.
• It’s NOT about having more time — it’s about USING the time we already have with holy intentionality.
• It’s in the overflow of your walk with God, where your children will come to really know God and love Him!

Satan’s Plan – Has always been Generational “Posses the Future”

• Wheter you choose to believe it or not…The Battle ison! _ And our Kids are the Prize.
• The average time kids ages 8–18 spend on screens every day. 7 hours and 22 minutes…a day Source: Common Sense Media, 2023
• This generation is being redefined by what they are seeing and hearing and immersed in every day!

Pastor and prophetic voice Jonathan Cahn says in his book “The Return of the Gods” : “What America is seeing today is not a cultural shift—it’s a spiritual re-possession.”

Let me show you what he means: Our kids are dealing with “old gods” dressed in cultural clothes

• Baal – god of self and false truth (modern relativism)
• Ashtoreth (Ishtar) – goddess of sexual confusion and gender blending
• Mammon – god of wealth, fame, and greed
• Molech – spirit of child sacrifice (abortion, mutilation, and soul-death – through confusion)

Time and Content Matter Most!

• Church Time: 40 hours a year
• Screen Time: 2,500–3,000+ hours a year

Parents can step in to Re-Balance the scales and take back their rightful place as spiritual leaders for their sons and daughters!

There are 8,760 hours in a year

Let’s subtract time for:

• School (~6.5 hrs/day × 180 days) ≈ 1,170 hrs
• Sleep (avg. 9 hrs/night for children) ≈ 3,285 hrs
• Extracurriculars/sports/media/friends ≈ 1,200+ hrs (varies)

Parents Time: After all of these are taken out, parents are still with their children (especially younger ones) for roughly 3,000 waking hours a year:

• Mornings before school
• Dinnertime
• Car rides
• Weekends
• Bedtime routines
• Vacations
• Holidays
• Unstructured moments

A Modern Solution

• God gave us the model in Deuteronomy.
• Now, we also have the ability to use Modern Methodology/Technology Digital Tools for their GOOD – where Satan wants to assume harm, the Lord can turn it for his good!

The app is specifically designed to help parents disciple “along the way”…just like it says in Deuteronomy

• Bible videos + memory verses
• Conversation prompts for mealtimes and drive times… “Pic of the Prompts”
• Phase-based parenting insights-specific insights for age ranges – “What they need the most in that phase”
• Fully synced with our church curriculum that they are getting on the weekends

Words of Knowledge

• We believe the Lord wants to heal someone struggling with a gastrointestinal fistula.
• We believe the Lord wants to heal someone of an infection in their mouth.
• We believe the Lord wants to heal someone suffering with shin splints.
• We believe the Lord wants to heal someone suffering from fluid retention in their legs related to their heart.