In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed people of God,

Can you keep a secret? Some people are like vaults. They will not tell a secret even if it hurts. Others can't seem to keep a secret, even if their life depends on it. Some secrets should never be told. But today God's Word teaches that there are some secrets that God wants us to share with others. That's what Jesus did. He revealed God's secret wisdom. Jesus fulfilled the first two verses of Psalm 78 when he taught the people in parables (Mt 13:35). When he taught in parables, he was revealing God's "hidden things," truths that only Scripture reveals, truths that we would not know without the Bible. He was telling some of God's secrets. Then, at the end of his ministry, Jesus said that he wanted his disciples to tell all of God's Word to all the world. Included within that great mission commission is this command from God:

1. WHAT GOD HAS COMMANDED, SO THEY WILL REPENT

Psalm 78 makes it very plain that God wants us to tell his Word to the next generation. This is not a gentle suggestion, it is a command! God commands us teach his Word to the next generation! This is what God expects of parents. Scripture never suggests that it is okay for parents to remain neutral when it comes to the spiritual training of their children. No, quite to the contrary. God wants parents to bring their children up in the training and instruction of the Lord. God wants parents to teach his Word to their children. But, if you are not a parent, do not think that you are exempt. God does not suggest anywhere in the Scriptures that the church should stand idly by and do nothing as children are raised without any knowledge of sin or Savior. No, quite to the contrary. It is a very big part of our church's mission to reach out to the NEXT generation. Yet, we must respect the authority God has given to parents at the same time.

Perhaps it will help if we ask: "what about those who come after us?" Let us ask this question in our congregational meetings, "what about those who come after us?" Let us ask this question in our homes, "what about those who come after us?" If you really love someone, you will want them to end up in heaven. And if you really want them to end up in heaven, you will not simply let them continue on the road to hell! No, you will reach out to them, somehow, some way. You will want to reach out to them with God's Word. But, before we can preach the gospel, we need to preach the law. Before we can tell people about their Savior, we need to tell them what he saved them from. We need to show them their sins by declaring God's law.

We often summarize God's law as the Ten Commandments. Actually, Jesus summarized God's law in only two commandments. He said that the first and greatest commandment is, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." He said that the second is: "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mt 22:38-39). Now, if you really understand those words and explain those words, they reveal that we are all sinners. We do not always love God with our total being. We do not always love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. If we claim to be without sin, we are only fooling ourselves and we are lying. God knows our sins. And the people around us know that we are sinners too. We might as well admit it. And no matter how much you love your children or grandchildren, I've got news for you. They are sinners too! They need a Savior too. Psalm 78 mentions that the Old Testament people of Israel were sinners too. They were often "stubborn and rebellious." The past generations all sinned and needed to repent. Future generations need to know God's law too.

It is sad to realize how little some children know of God's Word. Some cannot even say the Lord's Prayer. They know all about video games and cartoons on television, but they know little or nothing of the Bible. They don't know God's commands. If they do not learn God's commands, they will not see their sins and they will never repent. If they do not see their sins and repent, they will not believe in Jesus! Did you catch that? If they do not know that they are sinners, they will not believe that Jesus saved them from sin! They are not born with that knowledge, someone must teach them. Will you? Will a Sunday School teacher? Will a Christian Day School teacher? If we do not teach our children God's Word, who will? TELL THE NEXT GENERATION!

2. WHAT GOD HAS DONE, SO THEY WILL TRUST IN HIM.

The inspired writer of this Psalm was a guy by the name of Asaph. He eagerly wrote: {4} "We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done." Then, this Psalm goes on to tell of God's wonderful acts of grace and power in the Old Testament. It is a review of Old Testament history to the time of King David. The people were undeserving sinners, but God delivered them, sometimes with great miracles! Listen to the sad words of verse 32, "In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders (miracles), they did not believe." Then, in verses 37-38, it says, "their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant. Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them." This happened again and again throughout the Old Testament. Though God saved the people, many were not loyal to him. They became unfaithful. When they repented, God was merciful and forgiving. Then they strayed from him again.

But we live in a different time period. Surely, things are different now, right? Hardly. It wasn't even five years ago when many people were wondering why church attendance was going down all across our land. Then, all of a sudden, the events of 9/11 took place. Suddenly people wanted to talk about God! Even our church was more full right away. People came to pray. They came to receive comfort and guidance from God's Word. They paid attention. It wasn't just something to do anymore, it mattered! Back then, when people asked me why would God allow those things to happen to our nation, I said I wasn't sure, but deep down, I thought I might have a pretty good idea. I witnessed many positive blessings! As terrible as that day was, it was also a real blessing in disguise here. Now, as time goes by, it seems that more than a few people are starting to drift away again. Will it take another attack or something worse to wake us people up again?

You know when there are big disasters people try to save the children. Why? Why don't people just ignore them and run them over as they run out of a burning building? Perhaps because they need the help. Perhaps because they are the future! Perhaps it is selfless love. Yet, all around us children are in a burning building. They are trapped in a life without Christ. They are on the road that leads away from God. They do not know God's Word. Do we care? Should we shove them aside as if they are in our way? Jesus said, (Mat 19:14) "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." God cares about the children. So should we. God cares about the future of his church. So should we! Let us rise above the fray and ask the question, "what about those who come after us?" We have fallen short. We have not cared enough about our children or grandchildren, about the generations that follow us. Let us repent. And hear the word of the Lord: Jesus also came to take away these sins of ours. Jesus lived a perfect life for you. He did teach the children perfectly. Jesus died on the cross to pay for all of your sins, including sins in the area of Christian education! Jesus rose from death because he won forgiveness for you and for all the world! Believe in Jesus as your Savior from sin and you will go to heaven. That, by the way, is what every child needs to know too!

Let us say with the Psalmist, {4} "We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done." Let us reach out to "the next generation" with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let's tell them what great things God has done for them. It will take a long time to teach everything God wants us to teach them, but that's why our school exists! That's why we have a Sunday School! Bring the children to learn of Jesus. Let it be our goal to teach the gospel to every child, and to every future generation, so that they trust in God!

Above all else, we want our children to believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior! So, then let us work together to TELL THE NEXT GENERATION WHAT GOD HAS DONE. May we all meet in heaven in the end. Amen.