Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Never forsaken, never abandoned.”
Our Bible verse for today: “Lord, You have been our refuge in every generation. Before the mountains were born, before You gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, You are God.” Psalm 90:1-2 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “We can learn a lot about God’s faithfulness from the older generations.”
There’s a lot of emphasis these days on new forms of church. Contemporary worship, new Bible translations, congregations meeting in converted supermarkets and theater buildings, are just some examples. We even have Internet churches now. While I do like contemporary praise music, and I appreciate the importance of contextualizing our approach so we can more effectively reach people within the cultures they live in, I’m also a big fan of the old. In fact, I believe we can learn a lot from the past.
Personally I like old hymns and old books. The songs of the church from generations past are theologically rich, and some of the greatest Christian authors of all time have lived and written in past generations. I also believe it’s important for us to pay attention to, and learn from, the older folks in our churches.
In my early years as the Pastor of Oak Hill Baptist there was a woman in our church by the name of Mary E. Henry. “Mary E”, as we knew her, was one of the last remaining founding members of Oak Hill Baptist. At that point she had been a member for over 70 years. She had also served as the church pianist that whole time. She played the piano at the very first meeting of that church, and she was still playing it when I got there 70 years later!
Mary E. was also the best local church historian I have ever known. I spent hours sitting at her kitchen table looking through the numerous photo albums and scrapbooks she had compiled over the years to document and catalogue the history of Oak Hill Baptist. She had photos, newspaper clippings, flyers, and all sorts of memorabilia. But the best memories came from the stories she told. Mary E. could sit for hours and tell one story after another about God’s faithfulness over the years, and of how He touched lives, provided for people, and preserved and protected the church. It was a rich education for me and I’m convinced that my time spent with Mary E. made me a better pastor for the people of Oak Hill Baptist.
There’s a lot we can learn about God’s faithfulness, about His protection and provision, and about His abiding and continuous presence with us, from the older generations. As you gather with your church family this weekend I encourage you to seek out some of the older folks who have been there for years, or decades. Thank them for their faithfulness and then spend some time listening to them. Like me, I’ll bet you’ll find it to be a rich and enlightening education about God’s faithfulness. He never forsakes us, He never abandons us, and the older generations are proof of that.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 