Series: Next Generation Sunday
Sermon Title: A HUNGRY GENERATION
Passage: PSALM 63
Reno Campus
Pastor Brett and Lydia Long
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Pastor Dave Pretlove
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Carson Campus
Foundations: Salvation and Baptism Class
Trap Shoot
Galena Creek MTN Bike Ride
Series: Next Generation Sunday
Sermon Title: A HUNGRY GENERATION
Passage: PSALM 63
Our hunger and thirst for God are quenched by comfortability.
- Psalm 63: 1 NIV
God offers a daily feast for us but we choose what we consume.
- Psalm 63: 2-5 NIV
Our hunger and thirst for God grows through our daily rhythms.
- Psalm 63: 6-8 NIV
PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
- What is my personal “thirst level” for intimacy with God?
- When you have you longed for something only to get it and realize that it did not satisfy?
- Have I become comfortable with my desire or lack there of to know God deeper?
- How do your creature comforts quench your hunger and thirst for God?
- What would it look like to develop new levels of intimacy in my faith?
- Am I finding my daily schedule too packed to have quiet time with God?
- If I were to look at my phone’s Screen Time, what are the things I am consuming most?
- How do I create a culture of hunger for Godly things in my home/workplace/friendships?
- What spiritual rhythms most connect you to God?
SCRIPTURES TO MEDITATE ON:
RESOURCES:
- ARTICLE | KYLE RICHTER and EMILEE MCENERY | GEN Z’SBIGGEST OBSTACLES MAY BE THEIR GREATEST GOSPEL OPPORTUNITIES
- BOOK | RICHARD FOSTER | STREAMS OF LIVING WATER
- SERMON | JON TYSON | COMPELLING MISSIONAL DISCIPLES: FILLING FORMATION GAPS
- PODCAST | JON TYSON| THE SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL WAR ON MEN – Ep 887
MONTHLY SPIRITUAL PRACTICE TO TRY: SABBATH REST
SABBATH:
The idea and concept of the sabbath is something that is counter intuitive to our American culture. We are wired and trained from a very early age to accomplish, to be driven. Therefore the idea of intentional rest becomes a challenge. Our lens is often I will rest so I can do. However I would argue, we rest so we can be. Be with God, Be who we are intended to be. A lack of sabbath in our lives reflects an internal operating belief. Sabbath rest is not so much about a day, but about a lifestyle and attitude. True Sabbath declares through intentionality, that God matters more than we do.
Sabbath is less about not working, it is intentional resting. Allowing God to rest you. ‘ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 We see Jesus work on the Sabbath, however, Jesus also intentionally rested in God the Father. He withdrew, he connected, Jesus lived a life centered on restign in the father. That is our model.
I want to encourage you this week to experiment with an intentional rhythm of rest. This rhythm should include one if not more of these aspects.
Prayer: activities that draw you into communion with God.
Play: Activities that recreate you, and connect to your true self.
Passivity: Stop being available to everyone, stop being in control.
Experiment with these, try for half a day, or a full day. Be intentional and rest, Connect with God, and declare through your attitude and behaviors that He is in control and you are not. ‘There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. ‘- Hebrews 4:9-11
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
The Bible is clear on the importance of teaching others in the faith what we have learned, bringing up the generation behind us in the ways of the Lord, and showing those in our own homes the way. For centuries, people didn’t have anything other than oral traditions. Passing down family history, stories of immigration or hardships, family recipes…this goes all the way back to Egypt and the story of deliverance from slavery. There is something so special about sharing with others what you know, where you have come from, and what God has done for you. But the need for training up the generation behind us in the ways of the Lord is so much deeper than knowing the recipe for Grandma’s green bean casserole, their eternity is at stake.
Psalm 145:4 “One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.”
Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Psalm 71:18 “So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.”
Proverbs 13:20 “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm”
Titus 2:1-5 “But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, so that the word of God may not be reviled.”
These are just some of the verses displaying the importance of sharing wisdom and teaching others the way. Gen Z is facing unique challenges in their faith. According to The Gospel Coalition, only 4% of Gen Z know the bible, they are highly anxious, especially in social situations, much of their world exists online, and they see no real need for church. There is a rising trend in millennial parents trying to give their kids what they deem as a ’90s childhood’ where they play outside until dark, don’t have screens, and have actual face-to-face interactions. As someone who grew up in the 90s, I have to say it is WILD to me how the generation behind me is having a totally different experience of growing up simply because of technology and advances in social media.
When you have the world of self-gratification and convenience in your palm – connection to friends, DoorDash, pornography, even online school – it is difficult to convince someone that there is something better than that. And that this thing encourages you to deny yourself in order to seek this person. But with this difficulty is also a unique opportunity. Gen Zers are running out of options faster than any other generation and have ‘seen it all’ and come out unimpressed. We are seeing mass baptisms happen across the US, thousands baptized on school campuses, spontaneous worship nights, and radical salvation. There is a deep hunger for what is real, in a world where everybody has their own truth.
They may not know it yet, but they are desperate for someone to show them the way. To take them to scripture and show them what is real, to give them guidance and a more fulfilling way to live. We should not discount the unique challenges Gen Z faces, as with every generation before them. But we should have a burden to share the gospel like never before. Let us not forget those who paved the way for us and showed us the way to go. I pray it becomes a Holy burden for all of us to find even one person that is living life a few steps behind you so that you can share what God has done for you and help them find their way to Him. But in order for us to show the way to others, we have to be practicing these things as well.
Are we finding joy in the Lord alone? Do we disconnect from social media in order to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Do we keep our weeks and weekends so packed with sports and social commitments that there is no time left for family dinner or youth group? Do we truly believe that God satisfies like nothing else? Take some time to reflect on if your affections are a reflection of your relationship with the Lord. – Emma Menesini | Women’s Director
Pastor Rob Hans | Spiritual Formation Pastor