In our scriptures today Moses is talking to the children of the people who received the 10 Commandments. It is important that children are reminded of and remember these experiences of and with their parents. It is important to remember what the Lord has done. When we fail to remember our culture, we lose it; when we fail to remember our past, we lose our future; when people fail to remember what makes them a people, they find that they are not a people anymore; and when a people fail to remember their salvation, then we will find that we are not experiencing it anymore. This is what Moses is driving home with the next generation of Israelites.
A couple of weeks ago, I went to a Bon Jovi concert with my teenager daughters. Songs are a great way to bring things forward from one generation to the next in our world today. I remember turning on the radio a year or two ago now and... There is this old Irish folk song – generations old – called 'Whiskey in the Jar'. I don’t know if anyone here knows that song or not. Susan knows all kinds of these old folk songs. She really likes some of them and so as a result I was familiar with it. Well, I got in the car one day, turned on the radio and – I don’t know if anyone here is familiar with Metallica, they are a contemporary heavy metal band – I heard them doing a heavy metal rendition of this old Irish folk song. I was sort of in shock. I was struck by it as I began to think of all the remakes of songs that I have heard over the years. Many times the remakes were my first exposure to the song and it got me thinking. When the words of an old song are put to a new tune they become accessible to a new generation. As we continue to sing these same songs in new ways, we remain faithful to their intent, passing it onto our children and to our children’s children.
This is like our personal testimonies and conversations about the Lord. When we put the gospel message of salvation into our own words, in our own tune and share it with our children then we are indeed passing that eternal truth of salvation down from one generation to the next.
Today, that is what I would encourage each of us to do. Let us share the stories of salvation that we know – be it those old Sunday school stories of Moses and the Red Sea or Noah and the Flood or Adam and Eve. Or the NT stories of Jesus and all that he has done for us – or even better our own personal testimonies of all that Jesus has done and is doing for each of us. As we share our stories, who knows, maybe our family and friends with avail themselves of that glorious salvation that is available to each of us in the midst of our very real struggles today.
Originally presented to River Street Cafe, 21 April 2017
A couple of weeks ago, I went to a Bon Jovi concert with my teenager daughters. Songs are a great way to bring things forward from one generation to the next in our world today. I remember turning on the radio a year or two ago now and... There is this old Irish folk song – generations old – called 'Whiskey in the Jar'. I don’t know if anyone here knows that song or not. Susan knows all kinds of these old folk songs. She really likes some of them and so as a result I was familiar with it. Well, I got in the car one day, turned on the radio and – I don’t know if anyone here is familiar with Metallica, they are a contemporary heavy metal band – I heard them doing a heavy metal rendition of this old Irish folk song. I was sort of in shock. I was struck by it as I began to think of all the remakes of songs that I have heard over the years. Many times the remakes were my first exposure to the song and it got me thinking. When the words of an old song are put to a new tune they become accessible to a new generation. As we continue to sing these same songs in new ways, we remain faithful to their intent, passing it onto our children and to our children’s children.
This is like our personal testimonies and conversations about the Lord. When we put the gospel message of salvation into our own words, in our own tune and share it with our children then we are indeed passing that eternal truth of salvation down from one generation to the next.
Today, that is what I would encourage each of us to do. Let us share the stories of salvation that we know – be it those old Sunday school stories of Moses and the Red Sea or Noah and the Flood or Adam and Eve. Or the NT stories of Jesus and all that he has done for us – or even better our own personal testimonies of all that Jesus has done and is doing for each of us. As we share our stories, who knows, maybe our family and friends with avail themselves of that glorious salvation that is available to each of us in the midst of our very real struggles today.
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