One of the most powerful and yet overlooked words in all of Scripture is the word “begat.” We lose this word because we often skip these portions of the Bible when reading because genealogies are cumbersome to read. They feel redundant, too long, often with names we can’t pronounce. We might ask ourselves, “Why did God choose to include so many of these?” I think one reason is to remind us that the Bible is factual history. In academic circles the phrase is “believing in the historicity of Scripture.” God includes many references to historical events to remind us that all of the Bible is factual and not a collection of fables. I also believe genealogies are in the Bible because God wants us to understand the sacred responsible each generation has to prepare the next generation to be used by God to fulfill both their individual and collective destinies! In this message we will talk about why so many older generations struggle with passing leadership on to the next generation and the dire consequences of such reluctance. When Jesus declared His intention to create something He calls the Church, He chose 12 men, most of whom were likely younger than 20 years old! Let’s never be the church that says to our youth, “Wait your turn!” Begat carries in it both the intent of God for the next generation to always be at the center of building His church and His expectation that those of us who are a little grey should celebrate the privilege we have to begat to them both the resources and the authority to pursue the dreams God has put in their hearts!
by City Life