Chris McCurley: It is very good to be here tonight. Secondly, wonderful to see each and every one you here. Again, we're so thankful for anyone who be with us tonight. And as well, we're really thankful that you could spend this time with us as well. So I want to spend just a few minutes with you tonight talking about legacy. ⁓ be a lot of different things that legacy means. So I just want to spend a little bit of time tonight and think about it from a perspective of what truly endures, what legacy truly endures. So first thing I want to share with you is I turned 55. So I had a birthday. So I've turned 55 and I have learned that along with turning 55 there are perks that come along with that. One of the first things I learned is that you can actually get a fairly inexpensive lunch now at the senior center, which I'm excited about. I've not tried that out yet, but I look forward to that opportunity. And the other thing is I learned by looking on their website that you may not have known this, I didn't know, but fun begins at 55. And so I learned that by looking on their website. So I'm looking forward to experiencing that. I actually started to mention also another perk was AARP. And I was reminded that was at 50. So I had that five years ago and didn't take advantage like I should have. Based on biblical record, We know that creation was about 6,000 years ago. And so again, as I thought about age, as I thought about years, I'm getting close to 60, so I'm gonna round up to around 60 years. So that's about 1 % of time since creation for me. That's pretty significant. We think about how much time that is. We think about it being so long. 1 % doesn't seem like a lot of a lot of things. But of time, it seems like a lot. And then you think of Methuselah, right? That's the first person I go to next is Methuselah. I think about him about 15 % of time, which is pretty amazing to think about. So as I get older, I think, and generally as we get older, we do start to think about legacy and we think about it from a perspective of our own, our own personal legacy. But also I know that I've paid attention more to others legacy around me and what's going on and trying to be I don't know trying to be I just am I'm more aware of that and more thoughtful about it so and I do try to be for myself be more thoughtful about that as well. One of the things over the years that has really. I don't know, sometimes bothered me is when I would see again thinking just about time and about ⁓ really in this case, old structures, ⁓ historical buildings. There are a couple of pictures here. One is a recent actually this church. That was a fire that destroyed that church just a few days ago, very recently. And so it's amazing to me if you do a search just how many church buildings, historical old church buildings have burned over the years. The other is a picture taken during the Iraq War. And there was an effort actually during that war to destroy any ⁓ antiquities, any history that was not specifically related in this case to the Muslim history. There was an effort to destroy that. And it's interesting as we go through our lesson tonight, how that effort to destroy fits into our lesson a little bit. So this brings on a question, raises the question for me. ⁓ When something physical is lost, has the legacy associated with that physical thing also been lost? Does it mean? that because the physical has been destroyed, does that mean also that the legacy associated was destroyed as well? Or only one reminder of it remains. So in my mind, think if you think about it from a civilization, there are certain civilizations we know existed but we don't know much about. So I can see where there could be, yeah, mean, if the physical is destroyed, it keeps us from learning. a lot about that. Certainly in the case of Christ, certainly in the case of God's message for us, we don't have to worry about that. We have His Word. And we're told that we're going to keep His Word and have His Word. So let's talk about, always seem like ⁓ I gravitate to definitions when I'm speaking about a topic. So here we are again. We're gonna talk about the definition of legacy. So you see it on the screen. Legacy is anything handed down from the past, whether material, relational, or spiritual. It includes not only possessions, but also influence, example, faith, habits, consequences. Those can be passed down too as legacy. And those things they can continue to shape us and impact us the legacy of things and events continue to impact us so with that I think about several different examples and so You'll notice it says Material I think of that as being physical things and then non material things as well And there there's examples there in that definition on the screen of those things. So in my mind I go to personal first You think about legacy. First thing you think about is is maybe think about property or things that are left ⁓ by someone who's passed. I think about more meaningful would be sentimental things that were left heirlooms, a pocket watch, a pocket knife, ⁓ a cookbook. I think that's that's what a wonderful legacy item that is dishes. ⁓ Arrowheads. Things like that. Even even a family Bible is something certainly that that has legacy along with it. Legacies aren't always good, as I mentioned, sometimes consequence can be a legacy and it's not always good. Also, I just did a search. I said, what are what are some maybe negative legacy things? I was interested to see what would pop up. One thing is it came up with was with hoarded items. So ⁓ I feel like that that was for me that I found that because I feel like I probably. need to do little extra cleaning out. that's not something that that my family has to eventually deal with is all the things that for some reason don't throw away or get rid of it. I should historical or non personal items, ⁓ things that contributed to history, still so much that we can learn from it. ⁓ Buildings, libraries, historical sites. We recently, Karen and I recently went to Washington DC and been there in years. And obviously there's so much history there. And so it's enjoyable to go and actually see that and see the legacy associated with all those things that are there in Washington DC. And there's so many other places around the world. And then you think of the non-physical, again, family heritage. So when did your family, if they weren't indigenous, when did they? come to America? When did that take place? It's something that I think we're all very, well, many of us are very interested in understanding that. ⁓ Sarah has done some searching on our families and looked back through and I've not been so interested to do a lot of search myself, but it is interesting to hear that and just talk about it and learn about the history of our family. ⁓ But certainly a legacy, easy to see that. the legacy that those individuals left for us by coming here. We're living within that legacy. So there's many things like that. Emotional. Emotional. Could be good or bad. And then there's spiritual. There's spiritual legacy. And that's really where I want to spend the rest of our time together tonight. There's so many examples that I know that each of you could share with this group about the legacy that others left for you in your life from a spiritual perspective, your family, ⁓ friends, mentors, and I could start listing names and it would take me a while. But there are many, many folks like that because of the legacy they left that have encouraged me ⁓ and helped me spiritually because of the legacy that they lived. Another one other example that I And I'm curious how many other people do this, but I associate, I'll hear songs, certain songs, not all of them, the many songs that I hear, ⁓ certainly they remind me of memories, but often I associate songs with people and certain individuals that really enjoyed a certain song or they really, you know, sung it out loud. whether it, you whatever the songs might be. And I've got a few I'm to share with you just because. Karen, she loves How Great Thou Art. And every time we sing that, you know, I give her a little elbow and we really enjoy singing that. ⁓ My dad, ⁓ as the deer, he did not like that song, which was really funny. I like it. He just, didn't care for that song. And I always thought it was funny. I liked it. But I still think of him. ⁓ And so even though he didn't like the song, He certainly still left a tremendous legacy. Scotty Page just talked about Scotty yesterday. Bringing in the sheaves. He loved that song and he loved leading that song and he did. He led it a lot. Charles de Berry. Hallelujah, what a savior. The first time I heard that song, was when Charles led it. And every time we sing it, I think of him. Mitchell Spann. Magnificat. I think of Mitchell every time we sing that because he came in on that tenor section. so strong and I enjoyed hearing him sing it. And then I could list a lot of songs for Bob Spencer. I've sung a lot of songs with and for Bob Spencer over the years. The one, if you had to pick one, is Hallelujah because we got to sing it so many times. And I could keep going. ⁓ I'm so thankful for that, for the memories that are associated with that and the legacy that is associated with that. ⁓ So the other thing about legacy is ⁓ They can come with benefits and detriments. I've said that a couple of times, but We can leave a positive legacy. We can leave a negative legacy. Kind of leave a neutral legacy, but we're going to leave a legacy. And it's important for us to think about that. So what legacies are most important? And I apologize, you're not going to be able to see that, it looks like. I can't see it from up here, so I'm sure you cannot. I will share this information with you so you don't have to see it on the screen. So what legacies are most important? What are we taught in the Bible about legacy? In the Old Testament, we often see physical objects that carried covenant meetings. and they reminded God's people of his law. They remind him of his provision and also reminded them of his presence with them as well. ⁓ Think of memorial stones, physical markers. I'm sure that instantly makes you think of individuals in the Old Testament pretty quickly. Jacob's stone pillar at Bethel after he had his dream of the ladder going up into heaven. Think of that in Genesis 28. And then the 12 stones at the Jordan River. Just recently we covered that in our ⁓ auditorium class on Sunday morning. After Israel crossed the Jordan River into the promised land and they were just across from Jericho and as they went over they were told to ⁓ take stones. Joshua told them to take stones and stack them. I'm going to read this passage for you in Joshua chapter 4 starting in verse 1. When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, and command them, saying, Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priest's feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you, and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight. Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. And Joshua said to them, Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder according to the number of tribes of the people of Israel. But this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time in time to come, what do those stones mean to you? Then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever. He tells them there about the legacy that's going to be left, the legacy that's being provided for God's people in these stones. And he even says, these are for you to remember and tell your children. Also share that message with your children. Leave the legacy. It's for you, but also make sure you're leaving it for your children. Another thing we see, legacy, see shared in the Old Testament, several altars. We see a lot of altars that are constructed. The first one we see is Noah after the flood. He constructed ⁓ an altar as a symbol of gratitude, as a symbol of restoring that relationship with God. Abraham had multiple ⁓ altars as well, and they often would occur at key moments, at key events in time. Isaac and Jacob also had altars. ⁓ They marked the ongoing covenant relationship with God. And then thirdly, sacred objects. And the Ark of the Covenant is one of those. And the contents of the Ark. Think about the legacy and the meaning associated with those. God's presence, the Ten Commandments. The tabernacle is another tremendous example. And all the furnishings, and we're given a lot of detail about that in the Old Testament. It's important. He wouldn't have provided it for us ⁓ if it weren't. And so these things are all very important. And we've been given so much detail about these things and their importance. So they're not absolutely are not all physical ⁓ as far as the legacy. And there's a lot of non-physical attached even to those physical or material items that we just talked about as well. ⁓ But also we have covenant promises, the promise that God made through Abraham to Abraham. Faithful obedience, we see that. We see that play out with, again, with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Think about wisdom. Think about the legacy of wisdom that was provided to Solomon. And all of the tremendous information and wisdom that we had to share with us, we get to appreciate and ⁓ actually find value in the wisdom that he gained. That is a legacy for us even today. And then relationship, relationship with God and then also with family. We see this over and over and over in the Old Testament. Deuteronomy chapter 6, I'm going to read a few verses here for us. Deuteronomy 6, verses 4 through 9. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house and you walk by the way and when you lie down. and when you rise. shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. It's so important that they take the message, the Word from God and hide it, write it. Don't hide it. Write it on their hearts, like it's on the frontlets of their eyelids so that they do not forget that first part. The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. and he wanted them to have that relationship with him. And then also with family, we see that in those verses, first of all, he says to share this with your family. And the one that really stands out to me, though, is Joshua. Now, you know what I'm talking about. When he said, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. When it comes down to making a decision on which direction we're going, we're going with the Lord. And what I love is the next thing that we see. The next thing we see from what Joshua was providing the people, the legacy statement that he provided, they said, far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods. Immediate impact. Immediate impact from that legacy from God that was shared by Joshua in that time. So let's look at the New Testament. So as we move to the New Testament, we notice that there really is less of a relationship with physical, the physical things, material as far as legacy goes. And it's much more on spiritual inheritance, remembrance, faith, and also living that relationship with God through Jesus. Instead of altars and tabernacles, we see legacy shared through relationship. We see it through baptism, communion, and then an ongoing remembrance, proclamation of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. And we get to partake in that. We get to partake in that legacy that's been provided. New Testament doesn't eliminate the physical legacy. It really transforms it. takes it from, it was always physical linked together with that non-physical. So it's now just more of a transformation. So it's less about the static monuments that are there and more about the living of those practices that we get to live as Christians today. Less about location-based worship. Now it's Christ-centered worship that we participate in. It's from a specific large structure ⁓ and organization to a repeatable symbol. We're able to repeat that. Jesus said of the Lord's Supper, do this in remembrance of me. And that's something that we can do anywhere we are. We're able to take advantage of that situation, of that opportunity. The world's idea of legacy is different, right? It really is. But it's not all bad. Not all of the idea of legacy from the world is bad. There are certainly certain elements that are. It's more focused on material, material things. ⁓ was interesting. Chris, this morning, talked about in his lesson to us on giving, he talked about ⁓ how we think about the future and think about ⁓ retirement and legacy from that perspective. And so it's appropriate to think about those things, but as he talked about this morning, let's not put all of our ⁓ focus on things that aren't eternal. Let's make sure that we're putting the eternal first and making sure that they are the most important. Biblical legacy refrains from what you leave behind materially to what you receive and pass on spiritually and what you inherit from Christ. read that again. Biblical legacy reframes what you leave behind materially to what you receive and pass on spiritually and what you inherit eternally from Christ. First of all, Christ provided the ultimate sacrifice, opening the door to the ultimate legacy as part of that, that legacy of eternal life, the opportunity for eternal life and an eternal relationship with Him. 1 Peter 1, 3 through 5 says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope for the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed. There's that covenant salvation that is being offered. Then we learn from Timothy how Timothy learned of the promise of Christ's legacy. from his mother and from his grandmother. And again, these are all examples now of how this legacy is being passed down and how we are told to pass it down to our family. And in this case from Timothy's mother and grandmother. Second Timothy three says, but as for you continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings. which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. We're to hold fast to the legacy that we've been taught. And in turn, we're to also turn around and teach it to our family as well. Matthew 5 16, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. So now we're handing it down to our family, but it goes well beyond that through Jesus. It goes to everyone. And we have the opportunity to share that legacy with everyone. That has been open to all. So we've been talking about it. There was certainly a transformational event that took place in the New Testament. That transformational event obviously was Jesus. His birth, His life, His ministry, His death, and His resurrection. He transformed everything so that we also can have, all also can have an opportunity to enjoy the legacy that comes with being his child, of being a Christian. Now God's promises and spiritual inheritance for us are realized through our relationship with Him, through that relationship that He offers us. Now we can share in the eternal inheritance of God through Jesus Christ by following Him and doing His will in our lives. just as was foretold in the Old Testament. They were told then that the Messiah was coming, and He did. So tonight, just as we reflect now, just thinking back on legacy and what the Bible teaches us about legacy, we see physical legacy, it's not the main point. Physical legacy may still have value, and it does. And we see that over and over in the Old Testament. There's true value in the legacy that was left physically. But that physical legacy is always linked to something more. It's still linked to a relationship with God, a relationship with the Father. We can certainly learn from history. Understanding and learning from events of the past matters. but is our faith secured by those material things? Or are they secured by the memory, the truth, and the teaching that God has preserved for us? Over and over in Scripture, God's people are told to remember. Sometimes He even gave them monuments, He even gave them those physical things to help them remember. But the power was never in the object itself. It was in what God wanted His people to remember and obey. This photo turned out a little bit. You can see this, I think. This photo, we actually took this when we were ⁓ in Washington, D.C. It's in the Holocaust Museum. And it's in the, as you're finishing the tour, it's in the very end there, and it's just a very quiet and solemn place. they have this verse ⁓ there in that place. And I took a picture of this, wanted to share it. ⁓ I'm glad we took that tour, it was tough. But they have it set up and the intent here is... to ask everyone to stop and be quiet and just reflect on what they had just seen, what they had just walked through in this museum and learned about the atrocities associated with the Holocaust. And so they actually borrowed a verse from Deuteronomy, ⁓ chapter four here. Again, in this case, they wanted to use it in a way to say, don't forget about the atrocities so they don't happen again. But it's interesting. I understand their intent behind that. But this verse is not... ⁓ that's not how it was used originally. It was actually reminding God's people, don't forget about what God gave us in the Ten Commandments. Don't forget about the experience that we had with God and His love and the ⁓ legacy that He left for us. So it's a much more positive connotation or use in the way that God used it and the words that were used there in Deuteronomy. As Christians, our legacy is secured in God's Word. We have it there. He's given us His Word. And I often think, you know, I know in class we'll talk about sometimes about, I just don't understand why God's people made the decisions that they did. And then I remember and I think all of us do, hey, we're humans too. And so suddenly I can much better relate. Another thing is they didn't have God's Word written like we do. What a blessing it is now that we have now this documented account. that he's provided for us. What God chose to preserve for our faith, obedience and hope will not be destroyed. And I really like this next quote that's on the screen. Buildings may fall, relics may disappear and places may be lost, but the truth that leads us to Christ will always remain. Truth cannot be destroyed. Will not be destroyed. To me, going back to those couple of images I showed you of these historic places being destroyed, that actually gives me comfort. We may lose a lot of these relics, a lot of these things from a historical perspective that's hard to see them go, but what really matters cannot be destroyed. It will not be destroyed, and that's God's Word. We have that, and it cannot be taken away. And through that Word, we can have a relationship with Him. we can realize the legacy of salvation and eternal relationship with the Father because of it. As His children, let's appreciate and enjoy the legacy that God has left for us. Let's appreciate it and enjoy it. We should. But we also should not stop there. We also need to make sure that ⁓ we are sharing His legacy. Don't just enjoy it for ourselves. We need to make sure we're sharing the legacy that God has given us through that relationship with Christ. Make sure that you're sharing that with others. I've got to make sure that I'm sharing that with others as well. And that goes for not only our brothers and sisters, but I want to stress how important that is first. How important it is that we don't, okay, ⁓ now that an individual is a Christian, we're good, we're going to go focus somewhere else. No, we all need that reassurance. We all need to have that relationship with each other. an encouragement from each other and reminder of just how wonderful the relationship is that we have with our Creator through the legacy that He left us. So let's encourage one another and then let's make sure that we're reaching out and striving to make disciples of others that are not in Christ. So I want to close tonight just with a few questions. These are for you and me. First of all, whose legacy am I following? Because we're following a legacy, maybe multiple legacies. Whose legacy is it that I'm following? And if we find ourselves answering that it's a legacy that is not found in Christ, then I want to encourage you tonight to make that right. What legacy am I building? What is it that I making sure that I am building for others to see? Again, the foundation needs to be Christ. We need to make sure that that's the case. And then next, what legacy am I sharing? What am I sharing with those around? We're gonna share a legacy. I mentioned that earlier. So I wanna encourage each one of us to think about that every day, about how the things that I am doing, the things that I'm sharing are legacy for others. They are impacting others now and in the future that's gonna happen. What can you do to share the most important legacy, the legacy of Christ, with fellow Christians and also those who seeking to find Tonight, if you find yourself in a place where you need to recalibrate, if you need to recalibrate your legacy planning, if you need the prayers of this church family, or if you find yourself ready to put on Christ in baptism tonight, won't you come now as we all stand together and as we sing.