Discipling Children
Building Solid Relationships
Digital Natives
Gen Z
Pastor Greg Wiest
Sermon Title: A Generation that Forgot
Scripture Reading: Judges 2:10-12
“After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They aroused the Lord’s anger”
Sermon Summary: Gen Z has grown up during one of the greatest declines of Christianity in America. Today only 20% attend church regularly. On a positive note, the largest uptick in people coming back to church have been young men in Gen Z. The easiest people to reach with the Gospel of Jesus Christ are kids. People 16 and under are most open to becoming followers of Jesus. Our nation has become less Christian because we haven’t been as intentional as we could be in raising our children up in the Lord. The influences of the world on our children has been more profound than ever, especially with the digital world pervading every aspect of our lives. In our passage today, we are told that an entire generation grew up who had forgotten the Lord and what He had done for Israel. We forget our identity in the Lord, often because the generation before us did not teach it to us. This is what happened to Israel and what has happened today. There is a price to pay for skipping church and not teaching the Bible. Worship etches into our kids hearts and our own hearts the importance of God and His Word. Nearly 60% of kids who are in church drop out when they are old enough to decide for themselves. So how do we win the next generation back to the Lord. We need to teach them that the world and all that it has to offer cannot even begin to compete with Jesus. Jesus is the source of life and truth. He offers real love and joy to those who find Him. Gen Z has already seen what the world has to offer and found that the world is hollow and unfulfilling. They’ve come to Jesus because Christ has something real to offer. Real forgiveness, eternal life and a real meaning and a purpose for living. To reach the next generation requires building solid relationships with them as a bridge to the Lord. Parents need to begin at home by talking about the Lord and praying together. Befriend a Gen Z person and take an interest with the hope of sharing the Gospel with them.
