Greetings friends!

So once again, these Tuesday posts flow out of what I wrote in the Spire this month, so I would highly recommend you check that out before you tune in here. I noted a little verse for us to pay particularly close attention to: “One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.” (Psalm 145:4)

My question today is this: How do we know what to declare to the next generation?

Often I ask for folks to come by on Wednesday night, to hang out with the youth group, to be a part of what we're up to. And almost as often as I ask, the response comes back from adults and parents "Oh, you wouldn't want me. I wouldn't know what to say!" Or even the complaint "I don't know the Bible that well." Perhaps it's just an excuse because people or busy, but it kind of sounds like a lack of something to say can be a non starter for helping out in a youth ministry setting. It sounds like if you don't have something to declare to the next generation, you feel like you probably shouldn't show up at all.

My friends, nothing could be father from the truth.

It couldn't be farther from the truth to imagine that you have nothing to say. Is God alive and well in your life? Are there places that you can point to God working in and through you? Are God's deeds evident in your life? Then you absolutely have something to say, from one generation to another.

Let's use an example, so I'm not quite so abstract. The other day Sarah and I took the boys to the park together to play. It was a rare moment where no one had to be anywhere, there were no meetings, and the phone service was bad enough that I was fairly sure I was unreachable. There was a big slide at the park, and we were quite certain that there was no way our little guys would be brave enough to tackle this daunting challenge (experienced parents: I can see you through the computer screen, and I don't appreciate your laughter). But of course they were up for it. They climbed the stairs by themselves. They worked their way across the platform by themselves. They slid down the slide by themselves. It was a beautiful day, our slide was kind of tucked away in the woods, and I thought to myself "this is a really really nice moment." Then as Josh was sliding down for the 945th time, I heard a voice inside my head say "Cherish this. They won't be this young forever." It was a beautiful moment of God speaking to my life in real time.

I could leave that story in my own mind, but I hope that I have blessed you with it a little bit. Stories of how God is moving in other people's lives is almost always a blessing to me. I happen to know a handful of teenagers who gather in our happy little church every Wednesday night, each with their own stories of God's "mighty deeds" in their lives. I'm sure you have a story like that too. You probably have dozens. What would it look like for you to declare God's mighty deeds to another this week? Because when you tell each of us how God is working in your life, it helps us to better understand how God is at work in ours!