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Spoiler alert, if you haven't 
read the Bible yet, this is a 

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spoiler. 
Abraham and Sarah die. 

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They died. 
Abraham and Sarah died, which 

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which you know, on one hand is 
obvious. 

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On the other hand, you know when
you're when you're reading a 

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book and you finally get to two 
of the main characters and you 

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spend a lot of time on them and 
then they just up and die. 

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I mean, it's like watching the 
Game of Thrones or something and

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what happened here? 
People are dying. 

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Abraham and Sarah died as 
significant as they were, as as 

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important as they were in the 
history of God's people and 

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God's dealings with all people. 
And in fact, you know, I heard 

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years ago, some people, someone 
say that that history, if you 

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break it down, is his story. 
And I think that's, I think 

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that's true. 
And, and this is part of God's 

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story and Sarah and Abraham 
played such a crucial role in 

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that. 
And at this point in the 

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Scripture, we haven't heard more
about anyone else, even people 

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like like Adam and Eve and Cain 
and Abel and Noah. 

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We didn't get this much time and
energy and text devoted to them.

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And then they die. 
They die. 

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Abraham who and and Sarah, who 
were the father and mother of of

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many nations, who through their 
descendants, all the nations of 

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the world would be blessed. 
They died. 

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And at the point that they died,
they had one son of that 

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promise. 
Now there were other children. 

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There was Ishmael, but Ishmael 
was Abraham's son, not Abraham 

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and Sarah's son. 
And God's blessed Ishmael and 

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his descendants. 
But Isaac was the only son of 

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the promise Abraham. 
Abraham had a lot more kids 

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after Sarah died, and good, bad 
or ugly in that they also are 

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not children of that promise. 
And at the time when Abraham 

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died, he sent all of his other 
kids away from where Isaac was. 

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But but Isaac was it. 
Isaac was all that there was at 

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this point, the only child of 
the promise. 

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And now they're gone. 
Now they're gone as important as

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they were. 
And in, in terms of our 

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perspective, as long as they 
lived. 

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Sarah 127, Abraham 175, that's 
longer live than anyone I've 

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ever known. 
They actually lived very short 

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lives compared to some of their 
ancestors. 

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Are you aware that Abraham's 
ancestor Shem, Noah's son, one 

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of Noah's sons, Shem, Ham and 
Japheth is still alive when 

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Abraham dies? 
He outlived Abraham by 25 years.

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Shem was alive for another 25 
years after Abraham died. 

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Abraham, from the perspective of
his own family tree lived a 

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pretty short life and his wife 
Sarah even shorter. 

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There is a reality that I think 
is important for us to grasp and

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how the Bible tells us God's 
story and the story of God's 

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people and all people on this 
earth. 

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And, and that that is even the 
people like Abraham and Sarah 

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who have a relatively large part
to play, have a very small part 

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to play in some respects. 
And the story goes on even after

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they die. 
Every one of us, we all have, at

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least we've all got a couple of 
things in common. 

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But one of the things we all 
have in common, every person in 

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this room, no matter your 
background, no matter your 

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education, no matter your income
level, we're all going to be 

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pushing up daisies one of these 
days every. 

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And that's true of all of the 
folks in the world around us. 

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Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are 
going to die and get put in a 

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grave just as surely as you and 
I will. 

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Donald Trump and and, and, and 
Vladimir Putin and Zoran 

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Mandami, I'm going to pronounce 
his name wrong. 

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Every single one of them is 
going to die. 

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We're all going to die. 
We have a role to play in God's 

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story, but it's important for us
to remember that our role, yours

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and mine, is a small one. 
It's a small one. 

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Now that truth can lead to a way
of thinking that that is 

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commonly called nihilism or 
nihilism. 

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The either pronunciation is 
correct. 

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I'll probably use both at some 
point during the sermon. 

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Nihilism it's it's the belief 
that, you know, we're really 

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only here for a very short time 
in the grand scheme of things, 

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we have little or no impact on 
the grand scheme of things. 

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Life is is therefore 
meaningless. 

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There is no purpose. 
And and so we can either eat, 

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drink and be merry or tomorrow 
we for tomorrow we die, or we 

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can rob, kill and plunder, for 
tomorrow we die. 

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And it doesn't really matter. 
There's no meaning, there's no 

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purpose. 
Nihilism is a growing 

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philosophy, again, particularly 
among younger generations in the

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world today and particularly in 
the Western world. 

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And it's a very problematic 
philosophy to say nothing that I

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do matters. 
There is no point. 

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If there is no point, then I can
do anything I want or nothing at

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all, because who cares? 
Within his story, within God's 

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story and the story that we are 
sharing in as followers of Jesus

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Christ, as spiritual descendants
of Abraham and Sarah, we can 

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pretty easily reject nihilism. 
Easily in the sense that that we

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know. 
We know that there is purpose in

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life. 
There is meaning in life, the 

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role that we have to play in 
God's story. 

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It might be small in the grand 
scheme of things, but it still 

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is important. 
There still is purpose. 

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One of the other things that we 
know from this story, as we hear

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of Sarah and Abraham's life and 
everything that happened before 

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them and all that happened after
them, is that we, like they, owe

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a great debt, a great debt to 
the generations that have gone 

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before us. 
Were it not for Abraham's 

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ancestor, Noah, Abraham and none
of them would have been alive. 

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Were it not for the faith of 
Seth, were it not for the the 

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work and the faith and the lives
and the passing on of faith and 

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and an understanding of God from
generation to generation to 

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generation. 
How would Abraham known who was 

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talking to him when he heard 
that voice that said go to a 

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land that I will show you. 
He could have only recognized 

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that voice if he'd been taught 
to recognize that voice. 

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Sarah could only have known that
that voice was God's if she had 

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been taught to recognize God's 
voice. 

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They owed a debt to the people 
that had told them the stories 

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of all the years that had gone 
before. 

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Of how God rescued their 
ancestor Noah and his family. 

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Of how God accepted Abel's 
offering. 

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Of how God blessed Cain and how 
God blessed protected Cain even 

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in his sinfulness. 
And how God blessed Seth. 

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And how God blessed and cared 
for and showed mercy and grace 

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to Adam and Eve even in their 
sin. 

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Without all of those stories, 
how would they have known that 

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they could trust God? 
They owed a debt to the people 

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that have gone before them. 
And another thing that we share 

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with Abraham and Sarah is that 
we have a debt of responsibility

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to the people that will come 
after us, too. 

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We owe them something as well. 
Abraham and Sarah, they were 

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very clear. 
You know, they frankly, 

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obsessively, perhaps knew what 
neurotically and at times 

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pathologically concerned to 
protect their son Isaac, even at

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the expense of the other 
children. 

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The other children were sent 
away. 

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Isaac was left in the promised 
land. 

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Isaac received the bulk of 
Abraham's wealth. 

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When Abraham died, they knew 
that the promise was coming 

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through Isaac. 
They felt they owed it to Isaac 

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to give him as good a start as 
possible in his life of faith 

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with God after their deaths. 
They owed it to the future to 

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leave a legacy to their son 
Isaac. 

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They had a responsibility in 
that. 

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Had they not, we would not be 
here today. 

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We owe them a debt as our 
ancestors. 

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This, this reality that we live 
in, that the story we are in, 

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it's a long one. 
It's been going on for thousands

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and thousands and thousands of 
years. 

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It's a very long story, and each
of us plays only a very small 

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part, but every small part has 
purpose and importance and 

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significance. 
So on the one hand, we have to 

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deflate our egos. 
It doesn't all depend on any of 

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us. 
It doesn't all depend on all of 

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us gathered in this room in this
whole county. 

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Here's a quick, brief question 
for you. 

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Can you tell me the first name 
of your great, great, great, 

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great grandfather? 
There will be a day when no one 

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left on this earth will remember
my name or yours. 

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And if they read it on a plaque 
someplace, they'll go, who was 

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that? 
And someone will say, I don't 

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know. 
They gave a donation. 

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I guess we have a small part to 
play, but even the small parts 

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are important parts. 
We owe a debt to the past and 

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those who went before us. 
That's part of our reality. 

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That's part of being part of a 
long story is knowing that it 

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doesn't begin with us. 
None of this began with us. 

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This building didn't begin with 
us. 

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The worship that we do doesn't 
begin with us. 

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The truth that we teach didn't 
begin with us. 

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The culture that we live in 
didn't begin with us. 

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Everything good thing that we 
have, we've received from God 

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and much of it has come to us 
through the generations of 

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people who have gone before and,
and, and, and at times, well, 

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always imperfectly. 
They passed and shared and lived

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out their faith and taught their
children or their grandchildren 

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or other people's children and 
grandchildren. 

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And so we're here. 
We're here. 

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Part of the reason I'm here is 
that my grandmother, my mom's 

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mom, grew up in the Methodist 
Church in the hills of West 

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Virginia and, and my dad's 
family grew up in the Catholic 

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Church. 
Dad grew up in the Catholic 

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Church and I knew I was going to
be a pastor and I knew I wanted 

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to get married, so I didn't go 
be Catholic. 

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Why you're stuck with me today? 
My grandmother, my grandmother 

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who raised her family in Beach 
Hill United Methodist Church, 

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and then my parents who raised 
me up and Rodney United 

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Methodist Church. 
And now here I am in Chester 

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United Methodist Church. 
Actually, Rodney just still 

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called it method. 
Their dishes didn't even have 

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United on it. 
They had the old dishes from way

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back when. 
We'll get to that in a minute 

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too. 
But we owe a debt to the people 

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have gone before us and we have 
a responsibility to the future, 

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to those who will come after us.
We have a responsibility to 

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leave them a legacy we have. 
And that that legacy, it, it, it

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touches on every aspect of life,
from physical environment to 

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political to cultural to faith, 
which touches on all of those 

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other things. 
Family. 

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We have a responsibility to 
those who will because the story

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doesn't end with us. 
Their, their theology and A and 

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A and a very strong emphasis on 
end times thinking sort of 

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exploded in the church about 200
years ago, which is a long time 

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in one sense. 
But in the story, grand story is

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just a, you know, a fraction of 
time. 

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It was like yesterday in terms 
of the grand story of faith. 

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And in that theology was, was 
about how, how Jesus is going to

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come back. 
And it's probably going to be 

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really soon. 
And every, every generation was 

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like, oh, we're reading the 
signs. 

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It's going to happen in just a 
few years. 

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All of the signs are here. 
And after 200 years of, of all 

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of the signs being here, we're 
still here and one of the Jesus 

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is coming back. 
We'll talk about that in a 

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minute. 
Could be 10 minutes from now, 

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could be 1000 years from now. 
We don't know. 

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One of the problems with 
becoming obsessed with the 

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notion that Jesus is coming back
soon is that we forget how 

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important the future is after 
we're gone. 

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That our children, we need to 
live in one respect, as if Jesus

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is coming back tomorrow. 
And we also need to live at the 

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same time as if our great great 
grandchildren will still be here

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and, and what world are we 
leaving them? 

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We have a responsibility to the 
future and to those who are 

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coming after us. 
But what do we really owe to the

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past and future generations? 
This is an important question 

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because here's the thing. 
Recognizing and honoring the 

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past and remembering that we 
didn't get here on our own and 

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we owe a debt to history and the
legacy that we have been left 

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can become obsessive and 
neurotic and even pathological. 

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There's more important things 
than holding on to the dishes 

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from 50 years ago. 
The easiest way to see this is 

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what back in the 80s and 90s 
were the the many in the church 

227
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called the worship wars. 
Anyone lived through that and 

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remember all of that And maybe 
it it kind of went around 

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Chester. 
I don't know. 

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I was in some churches where 
where my goodness, we brought a 

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00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:48,000
drum kit into the sanctuary and 
you thought it the hell little 

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broken loose. 
How could it be church with 

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drums in the sanctuary? 
We got this whole book of hymns.

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These are perfectly good songs. 
We don't need to learn. 

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We need to pass on the faith of 
our fathers. 

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We don't need all of these new 
songs, which is a bizarre thing 

237
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to say in a Methodist Church. 
And they would say it talking 

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about all of these wonderful 
songs that Charles Wesley wrote 

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that are in our hymnal, the 
founders of Methodism. 

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These are the songs we need to 
be singing. 

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That's how we pass on our 
legacy. 

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Well, no, but it's one way. 
Another way to pass on the 

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00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:27,920
legacy is to remember that part 
of our legacy is that we wrote 

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new songs. 
And when we write new songs, 

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00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:37,160
we're living out our legacy as 
surely as when we sing the old 

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00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:39,080
songs. 
We're living out our legacy. 

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We owe a debt to the past and to
those who have gone before us. 

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00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:53,720
But if we rigidly cling to past 
systems and ways of doing things

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00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:57,440
and manners and buildings and 
books and hymnals and everything

250
00:15:57,440 --> 00:16:00,760
else, if we rigidly cling to 
those things, then we're no 

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00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:03,560
longer paying the debt that we 
owe to the past. 

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00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:08,840
We've we've become obsessed with
the past and dependent in a way 

253
00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:12,400
that isn't healthy. 
We can do the same thing with 

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00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:16,080
the future. 
We can become neurotically or 

255
00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:20,120
pathologically obsessed with, 
with what's going to happen in 

256
00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:23,480
the future. 
Oh my goodness, with with global

257
00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:28,240
warming and, and AI and and and 
all of the wars and all of the 

258
00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:30,680
fighting and all of the division
and the politics, what's it 

259
00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:32,040
going to be? 
It's going to be terrible. 

260
00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:33,880
It's going to be awful. 
Everything's going to fall 

261
00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:36,320
apart. 
Yet probably not. 

262
00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:43,200
Probably not. 
And if we can obsess about those

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00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:45,880
things, we're forgetting a few. 
We've forgotten a few of the 

264
00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:48,320
things we need to obsess about 
if we're going to obsess about 

265
00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:50,560
like things like gene editing 
and cloning. 

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00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:52,640
See, everyone seems to have 
forgotten about those weird 

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00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:56,480
things with the rise of, of 
artificial general intelligence,

268
00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:01,280
you know, when we can have 
designer babies in a few years 

269
00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:07,240
down the road and, and we can 
clone people and, and what's, 

270
00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:10,480
what's it all? 
What we we don't know. 

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00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:13,920
We really don't know what the 
world's going to look like 100 

272
00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:20,240
years from now. 
But if we get so anxious and 

273
00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:25,800
neurotically obsessive about it 
and an impending disaster, we 

274
00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:31,000
have stopped being concerned for
future generations and we've 

275
00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:34,480
just gone off the rails and 
we're actually leaving a legacy 

276
00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:37,160
of fear that doesn't help 
anyone. 

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00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:42,240
So what do we really owe past 
and future generations? 

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00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:47,640
What do we owe them? 
Sarah and Abraham passed on a 

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00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:51,480
legacy to Isaac. 
What legacy do we need to pass 

280
00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:54,920
on? 
We need to honor the past 

281
00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:58,200
without trying to rigidly 
preserve it or repeat it. 

282
00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:02,080
The number of times I've said 
this in churches over the years 

283
00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:04,640
used to have to say it a lot. 
I don't need to say it very much

284
00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:07,400
anymore because I think most 
folks, people realize it now is 

285
00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:10,160
the 1950s and 60s are not coming
back. 

286
00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:15,000
They're not. 
It will never be 1965 again. 

287
00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:19,360
That bothers my dad to no end. 
He believes no good music was 

288
00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:24,480
written after 1965 and nothing 
written and played on electric 

289
00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:31,400
guitar can be good. 
When Elvis and Buddy Holly died,

290
00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:37,840
there was no more good music. 
We can't rigidly preserve it. 

291
00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:45,320
Anything living changes. 
So trying to rigidly preserve 

292
00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:48,480
the past and hold on to it and 
cling to it in that way is no 

293
00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,560
way to have a legacy. 
We need to honor it without 

294
00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:54,480
religion, rigidly trying to 
preserve it. 

295
00:18:57,120 --> 00:19:00,440
And, and there's a sense in 
which we owe the future 

296
00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:06,160
generation something similar, 
one of the greatest. 

297
00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:08,240
There are three things Aubrey 
read this morning. 

298
00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:12,640
There are three things that 
endure, 3 things that will never

299
00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:15,520
pass away. 
Faith, hope and love. 

300
00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:20,040
Abraham and Sarah left the 
legacy of faith in Isaac. 

301
00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:23,400
One of the first things that we 
see happening in Isaac's life, 

302
00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:27,920
in fact, the first thing we see 
happening in Isaac's life after 

303
00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:31,560
Abraham dies, is God saying to 
Isaac, I've got you. 

304
00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:37,640
Just like I had your dad in the 
very next chat. 

305
00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:38,960
I think it's the very next 
chapter. 

306
00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:40,440
It's the one we're preaching on 
next week. 

307
00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:43,400
Anyway, God comes to Isaac and 
says there's going to be a 

308
00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:45,520
famine. 
But don't fret, don't worry. 

309
00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:48,560
Don't run away to Egypt. 
I'll take care of you right 

310
00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:51,440
here. 
And Isaac believed him. 

311
00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:57,640
Isaac trusted in God because 
Abraham and Sarah had left him 

312
00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:01,320
this legacy of faith. 
He had grown up knowing. 

313
00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:03,800
Whatever else happens, you can 
depend on God. 

314
00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:08,000
Whatever else might be happening
in the world around you, whether

315
00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:11,240
it's politics, whether it's bad 
neighbors, whether it's 

316
00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:14,400
deception and betrayal and 
deceit, whether it's coming from

317
00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:19,120
inside the family or outside the
family, you can depend on God to

318
00:20:19,120 --> 00:20:25,840
do what He says He will do. 
Trust God in every circumstance,

319
00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:29,920
no matter what's happening. 
I'm the again, I don't want to 

320
00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:32,480
preach next week's sermon today.
It's I've been waiting for years

321
00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:34,400
to preach the sermon. 
I haven't had a chance to preach

322
00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:35,600
it. 
I'm going to be honest with you.

323
00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:37,480
Part of the reason why we're 
preaching all the way through 

324
00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:40,440
Genesis is so I can preach the 
sermon this happening next week.

325
00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:44,280
So I haven't been able to make 
it fit into any other sermon 

326
00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:48,040
series ever so that we'll just 
do the whole book then I can do 

327
00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:51,560
it. 
But it's about this legacy of 

328
00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:59,200
faith and Isaac knowing, knowing
that God will provide for him 

329
00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:01,680
and care for him. 
I got to think that one of 

330
00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:07,440
Isaac's most potent memories was
lying on the altar that he'd 

331
00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:11,080
helped his dad make, with his 
dad standing over him with a 

332
00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:15,680
knife, ready to plunge it into 
his heart, and God stepping in 

333
00:21:17,120 --> 00:21:21,760
and sparing his life. 
I don't know what that does to a

334
00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:24,200
person. 
Never been in that situation 

335
00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:31,480
before, but the fact that 
Abraham listened to God, that 

336
00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:34,840
and in so many other 
circumstances must have stuck 

337
00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:38,680
with Isaac because that's how he
lived, listening to God, 

338
00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:41,280
trusting in God. 
This is what we owe our 

339
00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:47,920
children, a legacy of faith for 
us to teach them and share with 

340
00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:50,880
them the stories of God's 
faithfulness, not just to the 

341
00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:53,160
people in the Bible, but in our 
own lives. 

342
00:21:54,120 --> 00:21:56,000
This is what God has done in my 
life. 

343
00:21:56,200 --> 00:22:00,120
This is how God has cared for me
and your, your, your, your, you 

344
00:22:00,120 --> 00:22:02,120
know, your mom, your dad, your 
grandparents. 

345
00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:04,600
This is how God has provided for
our family. 

346
00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:07,840
These are the things that This 
is why we know we can trust him 

347
00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:13,360
and why you can trust him too. 
We owe our children that legacy 

348
00:22:13,360 --> 00:22:19,960
of faith, and part of that means
living by faith now, actually 

349
00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:23,240
living out that faith, living 
like we can trust God. 

350
00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:26,600
We owe our future generations 
this legacy of faith. 

351
00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:29,480
We owe our future generations a 
legacy of hope. 

352
00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:34,400
Abraham and Sarah died with 
hope. 

353
00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:39,000
My goodness, how could they not 
have hope after what God did for

354
00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:44,840
them? 
A baby at 100 and Abraham at 100

355
00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:48,840
and Sarah at 75 years old and 
this promise that took years to 

356
00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:53,280
fulfill and God fulfilled it. 
And then dying, knowing if God 

357
00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:57,560
can do that, God can do 
anything, passing that on to 

358
00:22:57,560 --> 00:22:59,760
their son. 
Son, one of these days God's 

359
00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:01,960
going to bless the whole world 
through our descendants. 

360
00:23:02,120 --> 00:23:05,640
That's the hope that we have. 
I know you own no property other

361
00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:08,560
than a burial site. 
That's the only land they own 

362
00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:11,040
Where where the where Abraham 
and Sarah were buried. 

363
00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:14,480
They were visitors everywhere 
else they went. 

364
00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:18,040
They had no king backing them 
up. 

365
00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:20,280
They had no political system on 
their side. 

366
00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:24,080
They had no one enforcing rules 
to protect them and provide for 

367
00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:26,520
them. 
They were living as strangers in

368
00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:30,760
a strange land. 
But they had this hope that one 

369
00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:34,120
day they would have a land that 
all of that land that currently 

370
00:23:34,120 --> 00:23:36,720
belonged to other kings and 
other kingdoms that didn't give 

371
00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:40,480
two wits about their God. 
It was all going to belong to 

372
00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:44,440
their descendants. 
It was going to be a picture of 

373
00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:48,480
God's Kingdom here on earth. 
They had hope that the future 

374
00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:53,080
would be better, and not better 
just in some sort of material. 

375
00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:56,000
We'll have more money and we'll 
have more security, but it will 

376
00:23:56,000 --> 00:24:01,680
be gooder that the goodness of 
God and the power of God and the

377
00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:04,200
reign of God would be seen in 
that place. 

378
00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:07,240
And they passed that hope on to 
their Son. 

379
00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:10,480
Frankly, I think this. 
Is one of the most important 

380
00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:12,960
things we can be passing on at 
this time. 

381
00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:16,480
Again, when nihilism is on the 
rise in the world, which says 

382
00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:18,480
there is no future, there is no 
hope there. 

383
00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:21,160
If there's no purpose and 
there's no meaning in life, then

384
00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:23,960
there is no reason to hope in 
anything. 

385
00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:27,320
We're here by accident, will one
day be scattered around the 

386
00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:30,520
universe as Adams, who really 
cares about anything else. 

387
00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:33,200
There is no hope for anything 
meaningful or good. 

388
00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:40,200
There is, there is. 
One day God's Kingdom will come 

389
00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:42,080
on this earth just like it is in
heaven. 

390
00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:44,880
One day every wrong will be put 
right. 

391
00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:48,920
One day justice will reign and 
the poorest of the poor will be 

392
00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:51,960
treated with all the dignity and
honor of the richest of the 

393
00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:55,080
rich. 
And every tear will. 

394
00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:58,640
Be wiped away and everyone will 
have enough to eat and everyone 

395
00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:01,880
will be treated with dignity and
respect and everyone will know 

396
00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:07,560
in their bones their self worth 
and their place and their 

397
00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:11,280
purpose. 
There is hope. 

398
00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:14,480
For the future, we can't make 
that happen. 

399
00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:18,200
We don't have that power. 
We play a very small role in all

400
00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:20,680
of this. 
God can make that happen, and 

401
00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:23,800
God will make that happen. 
And we know that because God has

402
00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:26,080
always been faithful to His Word
in the past. 

403
00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:30,200
And so we leave. 
A legacy of hope to future 

404
00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:32,560
generations. 
And finally, we owe future 

405
00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:34,480
generations. 
The most important thing we owe 

406
00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:39,560
them is a legacy of love. 
How can our kids? 

407
00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:44,760
And our grandkids believe that 
God loves them if we don't love 

408
00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:47,360
them. 
How can the people? 

409
00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:50,200
In the neighborhoods around us 
and in the classrooms and the 

410
00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:52,360
schools and the workplaces, How 
they can they? 

411
00:25:52,360 --> 00:25:56,920
How can they ever believe in a 
God that loves them if we who 

412
00:25:56,920 --> 00:25:59,400
claim to follow that God are not
loving them? 

413
00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:03,400
We owe people a. 
Legacy of Love. 

414
00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:08,440
It is so much. 
Harder to have faith and hope 

415
00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:12,520
when you'd feel when you don't 
feel loved if. 

416
00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:14,760
You feel no one. 
Loves you and no one cares about

417
00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:16,200
you, then what is there to hope 
in? 

418
00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:20,000
If no one loves and no one 
cares, what is there to believe 

419
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:24,760
in? 
We owe them patience. 

420
00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:27,960
And kindness and gentleness and 
goodness. 

421
00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:32,000
We owe them mercy and compassion
and forgiveness. 

422
00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:37,880
Because we have received. 
That from God and from those who

423
00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:41,840
have gone before us. 
And we owe the. 

424
00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:43,960
Future generations to pass that 
on. 

425
00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:47,840
I got a music video I want to 
play. 

426
00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:49,400
I want to make sure everything's
plugged in. 

427
00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:53,520
Plugged in going to turn up the 
volumes up. 

428
00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:56,120
We'll see if it plays the first 
time. 

429
00:26:57,000 --> 00:26:59,680
I, I didn't think of playing 
this song for this sermon till 

430
00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,680
this week. 
If you listen to this song and 

431
00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:05,360
you go, I can sing that, let me 
know. 

432
00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:08,680
So then because I want to, I 
will use this song again next 

433
00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:10,840
year and I would rather have 
someone singing it live. 

434
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:15,480
It's a little different. 
It's this is a statement I never

435
00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:18,080
thought I would utter 20 years 
ago. 

436
00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:20,640
These words would have seemed 
nonsensical to me. 

437
00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:26,200
Some of the best Christian music
out there right now is from 

438
00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:29,320
Jelly Roll. 
Words that never used to go 

439
00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:32,080
together. 
Jelly Roll is a person. 

440
00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:34,680
I have no idea. 
I I'm assuming that's not what 

441
00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:37,360
his mom named him. 
I don't know whether he goes by 

442
00:27:37,360 --> 00:27:43,080
Jelly or Mr. Roll among his 
friends, but he's been through 

443
00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:45,840
some stuff and he writes some 
beautiful music of faith. 

444
00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:50,680
And in this business of what we 
owe to our future generations, I

445
00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:53,640
think he captures beautifully. 
And this song he's written 

446
00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:56,280
called My Cross. 
Let's listen to it together. 

447
00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:07,240
Your blood is my. 
Blood him. 

448
00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:11,800
Poison runs deep. 
Knowing your minds get the hell 

449
00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:15,400
out of me. 
Because hurt is a sickness, and 

450
00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:20,200
trauma is too. 
I'd rather die than to pass it 

451
00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:22,480
to you. 
Because that's my cross to 

452
00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:26,560
carry. 
My's cross to heal my pain to 

453
00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:32,440
bury, not yours to feel. 
I pray every day I can love you 

454
00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:38,400
enough so my cross to carry 
won't be yours to pick up. 

455
00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:49,080
I hope to. 
God, you don't get my 

456
00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:54,080
addictions, don't deal with my 
demons, make my decisions. 

457
00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:59,440
I hope the apple falls far from 
the tree and the sins of the 

458
00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:03,600
Father stop right here with me, 
because that's my cross to 

459
00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:10,200
carry, my cross to heal my pain 
to bury, not yours to feel. 

460
00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:14,280
I pray every day I can love you 
enough. 

461
00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:22,800
My cross to carry won't be yours
to pick up, won't be yours to 

462
00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:28,200
pass down. 
And when you make mistakes on 

463
00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:33,360
your own, I hope that you know 
you'll never go through it 

464
00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:38,000
alone. 
That's my cross to carry my 

465
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:45,560
scars to heal my pain to bury, 
not yours to feel every day I 

466
00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:51,200
can love you enough. 
So my cross The Cave won't be 

467
00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:59,440
yours to pick up, Won't be yours
to pick up, won't be yours to 

468
00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:11,030
pick up. 
Yeah, that deserves. 

469
00:30:11,070 --> 00:30:13,870
A hand. 
There is so much in that song 

470
00:30:13,870 --> 00:30:17,070
at. 
The end of the. 

471
00:30:17,070 --> 00:30:22,200
Day if for the generations that 
come after us, if we can deal 

472
00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:26,560
with our own stuff. 
So we're not just. 

473
00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:30,920
Passing it on down the line and.
We'll never get perfect. 

474
00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:34,200
With this. 
I think sometimes. 

475
00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:37,640
At least in my life, I didn't 
even realize how much stuff I'd 

476
00:30:37,640 --> 00:30:39,840
had till I'd already passed it 
on to my kids. 

477
00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:45,000
A whole bunch of it. 
But this is aspirational. 

478
00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:48,640
For us to deal. 
With our stuff and whatever 

479
00:30:48,640 --> 00:30:53,200
generation we are in. 
So that our kids. 

480
00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:57,920
Can start from standing on our 
shoulders rather than us 

481
00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:01,440
standing on theirs. 
Rather than us just. 

482
00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:04,880
Taking our pain and laying it on
top of them. 

483
00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:08,760
We deal with our pain so that 
they can move on. 

484
00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:10,920
They'll have their own pain to 
deal with. 

485
00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:12,560
We don't have to worry about 
that. 

486
00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:14,160
There's enough pain to go 
around. 

487
00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:21,160
For us. 
To live in that faith, to live 

488
00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:24,800
in that hope, to receive into 
our lives that love and 

489
00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:29,320
forgiveness and let that heal 
and transform us in meaningful 

490
00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:33,960
ways so that we can pass on that
legacy of faith, hope, and love 

491
00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:37,160
to our children so that when 
they realize how much stuff 

492
00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:40,720
they've got. 
They know how to find the. 

493
00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:41,880
Healing. 
They need to. 

494
00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:46,040
That's what we owe. 
That's what. 

495
00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:48,480
We owe to the. 
Past, and that's what we owe to 

496
00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:52,000
the future, to live in the 
faith, hope and love that we've 

497
00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:55,400
received and to pass it on to 
our children and the folks 

498
00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:58,040
around us. 
In Jesus name, Amen. 

499
00:31:58,720 --> 00:31:59,160
Amen.