𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠 𝗨𝗣

• Have you been assigned a task you seemed inexperienced or underqualified for? How were you able to accomplish it?

• Think of a time when someone entrusted you with a valuable item. What do you think made that person trust you?

• What legacy would you like to leave behind?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘺, “𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯, 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘎𝘰𝘥. 𝘚𝘰 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 . . .” 𝟭 𝗖𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝟮𝟵:𝟭–𝟮

(Read also 𝟭 𝗖𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝟮𝟵:𝟯–𝟯𝟬 and 𝟮 𝗖𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝟭–𝟮.)

David’s godly leadership enabled him to achieve many things, but what set him apart was being a man after God’s own heart. In his final days as king, he wished to impart the same love for God to his son Solomon. Though Solomon at that time was still 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥, God chose him to become the next king. As we conclude the series, let’s look at three encouragements from these passages as we help the next generation fulfill the purposes God has for them.

𝟭. 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘺, “𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯, 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘎𝘰𝘥. 𝘚𝘰 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 . . .” 𝟭 𝗖𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝟮𝟵:𝟭–𝟮

(Read also 𝟭 𝗖𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝟮𝟵:𝟮.)

During his reign, David was able to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and wanted to build a temple to house it. But God did not allow him and instead chose one of David’s sons, Solomon, to fulfill this task. David confidently trusted God and did everything to make sure that his son would be equipped to build the temple. David is an example of how good leaders value raising people who will succeed them. Who are the people who saw potential in you? How did they prepare you to become the person you are today or will be in the future?

𝟮. 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗼𝗱’𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.

“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘮 𝘐, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺? 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” 𝟭 𝗖𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝟮𝟵:𝟭𝟰

(Read also 𝟭 𝗖𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝟮𝟵:𝟭𝟬–𝟭𝟯.)

David understood that everything he had came from God. It was important for David to acknowledge this so that the people would remember who their true provider and enabler was. By doing so, David was able to ask God to grant Solomon a whole heart to follow God’s ways. God is the Creator of all things. Apart from Him, we are unable to fulfill God’s calling and purpose for our lives. How has God reminded you of His provision as you fulfill His calling?

𝟯. 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘂𝗽𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝘀.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘢𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘯. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭. 𝟭 𝗖𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝟮𝟵:𝟮𝟯–𝟮𝟱

David was wise to make sure that Solomon would be greater than him. For David, the measure of success was not in earthly things, but obedience and devotion to God. As a response, Solomon built on the legacy his father left behind and became very great among the people of Israel. We are where we are today because others have gone before us and have prepared the way for us. Whether we are young or advanced in our years, we can work together to see God’s name be glorified in our communities. How have you grown from the lessons you learned from your mentors?

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

• Who has mentored and guided you? How can you show your appreciation to them this week?

• How can you step out in faith to help the next and future generations know God and equip them to accomplish God’s purpose for their lives? Identify at least three practical things you can do this week.

• How can you have a mindset of preparing for future generations? Why is it important to leave a legacy and not simply be a recipient of God’s grace?

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥

• Thank God for the privilege to honor and build upon the legacy of the godly generations who went before you. • Ask God for a heart to leave behind a godly legacy for future generations to carry.

Pray for open doors and opportunities to reach the next generation in your community and help them grow in the desire to reach future generations as well.

• Pray for the next generation to love, serve, and honor God. Ask God to bless them with wisdom, courage, and strength.