I have always lived in awe of my earthly father. He seemed wise and competent beyond compare. There never seemed to be anything he didn't know, or know how to do. This has meant two things. First, I long to be wise and competent like him. Whenever I have the chance, I pump him for information. Second, it's daunting to try to live up to his example. But as the years go on, I'm realizing something new about how relating to the generations above me.
For example, my reception here at Lake Avenue Church among my elder brothers and sisters has been incredibly warm. Whenever I've had the opportunity to speak in adult Sunday school classes, the reports of what God is doing in the College & Young Adult Ministries (and what is left to be done) has generated great enthusiasm and fervent prayer.
In this week's passage, I detect strong resonances. I'm learning that Jethro and Moses relate to each other in ways that our church's generations must learn to do. Moses' report of what the Lord has done for his people brings Jethro to an enthusiastic realization that the Lord is God! This is an early "conversion," if you will. On the flip side, Jethro lends his accumulated wisdom to Moses whose leadership of God's people gets off to a rocky start.
This kind of mutual investment teaches us a number of valuable lessons which we'll be discussing this weekend. But to give you a glimpse into the trajectory of this weekend's sermon, God's faithfulness to his promise to make Abraham's offspring a blessing to all the nations is center stage. Brothers and sisters, our faithfulness to relate effectively across generations for the sake of this ancient promise deserves our attention this weekend. Join us for a time to sit under the word of God and to seek God's leadership for our church.
To His Glory,
Jeff Liou
Pastor of College & Young Adult Ministries