TRAIN UP A CHILD IN THE WAY THEY SHOULD GO

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“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6

This Biblical truth is supported by Daniel A. Cox, senior fellow in polling and public opinion at the American Enterprise Institute, who also serves as director of the Survey Center on American Life, notes that “for as long as we have been able to measure religious commitments, childhood religious experiences have strongly predicted adult religiosity.”

Sadly, for nearly 30 years, notes Cox, research shows the share of Americans who identify as religious has consistently declined with each new generation. “This pattern continues with Generation Z demonstrating less attachment to religion than the millennial generation did,” he said.

Generation Z, born in the late 1990s and early 2000s, is now the least religious generation yet, with 34% of them identifying as religiously unaffiliated. Among millennials, 29% identify as religiously unaffiliated, while Generation X stands at 25%. Only 18% of baby boomers and 9% of the silent generation identify as religiously unaffiliated.

Cox pointed to a number of factors that have impacted a diminished view of organized religion, including a breach of trust.

“Gallup has found that trust and confidence in organized religion have plummeted over the past two decades. In 2021, only 37% of the public reported having a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in religious institutions, a massive decline since 2001 when 60 percent reported feeling confident,” he said.

He further added that while only 35% of Americans overall believe religion causes more harm than good, among the disaffiliated who were raised in religious homes, 69% say religion causes problems more than it provides solutions. Some 63% of Americans who have always been religiously unaffiliated also believe religion causes more problems in society than it solves.

Only a little more than half of Americans say raising children with religion is a benefit. Of more concern, 82% of the growing number of religiously unaffiliated disagree and only 40% of Gen Z see raising children with religion as a good thing.

We are fast approaching the time Jesus spoke of that precedes His second coming.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:9-14

WANT TO BE USED BY GOD? FOLLOW MICHAEL TODD’S LEAD

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More good sense from Michael Todd on church. Michael says many house churches stream Transformation Church’s services and use them to supplement small-group discussions. He’s very encouraged by this development, saying it reminds him of both the early church and Netflix all at once.

“It takes me back to Acts 2:42, where people gathered in homes, shared what they had, read the apostles’ teachings and talked about it,” Todd says. “Well, that’s what they’re doing on social media. They’re sharing about it. Friends are finding out about it. … We’re not facilitating it or doing anything. The reason Netflix blows up is because they provide content, but you decide how you want to watch it and how you want to use it. And as we’ve done that, we’ve seen salvation skyrocket. We’ve seen people get baptized. We’ve seen people go from being drug addicts or in different lifestyles or shacking up to being convicted or getting married.”

Transformation Church

Transformation Church has been particularly effective at reaching a diverse cross-section of young Millennials and Generation Z, a group often described by demographers as uninterested in religion. Todd disputes that point; he says what they are really uninterested in are frauds.

“They’re leaving the church because the church, in many respects, is a big business and a facade,” Todd says. “That’s why they’re leaving. This is the most authentic, self-aware generation that we’ve had in a long time, and they can smell a fake from a mile away. I think that’s why I’m appealing to this generation: Because they see it’s real. It’s authentic. If churches and leaders would value authenticity more, their Millennial and Gen Z attendance would go up tremendously.”

Put simply, if young adults are going to do something, they want to be 100% all-in, without any reservations. They don’t want to play church politics, pretend to be someone else or compartmentalize Christianity to Sunday meetings. They want to be free to be fully who God created them to be and hold nothing back in pursuit of Jesus. Because of that, Todd believes they can represent a threat to some “old guard” Christian leaders, but that they can also change the world for God.

“Nobody can tell me Millennials are not interested in God,” Todd says. “They’re not interested in a big business with no power. They can’t do that. …These young people? If they’re committed to something, they’re getting a tattoo of it, they’re changing their license plates to “SOLD OUT,” they’re telling all their friends. And so, it’s a bigger decision because they can’t do anything halfway.”

Todd says the beautiful thing about Transformation Church is that it’s as diverse as the kingdom of God. Whether young or old, digital or in-person, black or white, the movement is united around loving and obeying Jesus. And Todd says it’s his honor to serve as their pastor.

HOW DO WE REACH GENERATION Z?

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Generation Z, born from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, now make up 25% of our population.

This is a generation that is dealing with severe depression. They’re immersed in media. They have a very high incidence of mental health issues. And they’ve actually been described as the loneliest generation. We’ve never been more connected but disconnected at the same time. It isn’t a coincidence that the suicide rate among this generation has risen dramatically.

Generation Z have been raised to believe evolution, a theory which has no way of explaining how this highly complex universe got started and functions under equally complex complementary laws. The Bible describes those teaching them this falsehood succinctly: ” The fool said in his heart, there is no God.” Proverbs 14:1. They will not countenance any solution that involves God and the supernatural. And yet, the intelligent design that is so obvious in the universe can only come from an intelligent designer who is outside of His creation.

The result: we have generation that believes we can make up our own rules – moral relativism and nihilism is the outcome. Life has no meaning, this is all there is, so if I don’t like it, I can end it without consequences.

When asked in a survey whether they thought lying was wrong, only 33% could agree that it was. This is a generation without moral guidelines and without hope, because of their incorrect evolutionary view of history. They need to understand that science supports a universe that was created by an intelligent designer (God). Go to http://www.creation.com for creation resources.

This awesome, supernatural God has provided us with an equally awesome book, the Bible, that not only provides us with the true history of this universe but also tells us events before they happen. Much of His book is prophecy so we even know the end of the story. How good is that, but even more important for a generation without hope, we know God loves us, enough to send His son to earth to provide the solution to the SIN problem. Man and Woman’s disobedience at the beginning separated us from God and resulted in death entering the world. God’s son, Jesus, lived a sinless life and died a sacrificial death on our behalf. By believing on His finished work on The Cross you can be sure of life after death, eternal life. Even more immediate, Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit to indwell your spirit in order to be your counsellor, comforter and teacher. The Holy Spirit’s job is to help you develop your relationship with your Lord and Saviour Jesus and to produce the fruit of the Spirit in your life: love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, kindness and self control. He also gives the gifts of the spirit to enable you to minster to others and share the Gospel with them.

God’s word tells us: “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without someone sharing the Gospel with them?” (Romans 10:14).

Christians, Jesus gave us all a command to take the Gospel into all the world. Let us take every opportunity to share the good news of Christ whilst we are able. However, we also need to tell unbelievers the consequences of not accepting God’s solution to their rebellion against Him.

God does judge nations and we are seeing from the example of Israel Folau in Australia, that if we speak out the truth about the catastrophes that God is bringing on nations, that you will be vilified and even persecuted. This will only intensify as the birth pangs of the “end times” increase. Jesus also tell us to be courageous in all circumstances

Israel Folau in latest sermon

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28

“Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.” Luke 17:33