Bridging the Generations–October 4th, 2014

Bridging the Generations:

“And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children

and the hearts of the children to their fathers before the coming of the great

and dreadful day of the Lord.”

Malachi 4:6

In these increasingly challenging times, our children, families and the church have come under siege. The foundational strength of the family has lost its foothold leading to a “fatherlessness” in our culture. Loss of family focus and strength has weakened and sidelined the church in a culture desperately needing

the message of Jesus Christ. We are at a critical point to turn our hearts back to the power of blessing to strengthen families.

With concern for the strength of our families, we invite you to join a cooperatively sponsored initiative between Transform World Family Challenge, Family Sphere, and Celebration Challenge calling for October 4th to be a day of “Bridging the Generations.” A day for fathers and mothers to bless their children, for children to bless their parents, and friend to honor friend through blessing. We are in faith that this simple act will begin to repair the breach, to turn our hearts to restore, and strengthen our families and friends for the healing of generations and relationships.

“‘As for Me,’ says the Lord, ‘this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants, says the Lord, ‘from this time and forevermore.'” Isaiah 59:21

Why October 4th:

It represents the 50th year anniversary of the historic protests that broke out on the UC Berkeley Campus. The movement inspired a rebellion that tore through the generations leading to a “fatherlessness” now impacting cultures throughout the world. 50 is the year of jubilee, a time of aligning with the promises of God for a turning and repair of the breech between generations. A powerful reconciliation effort will be held on the campus of UC Berkeley that day as well.
It is the “Day of Atonement,” the holiest day in the Hebrew Calendar, and for believer’s a reminder of the sacrifice Jesus paid on the cross for our sins. A day of turning from our rebellion back to His foundational truths in the Word of God.

How to bless:

For families: Simply gather as a family to take time to pray over each other a positive word of blessing, destiny, purpose, and commitment.
- Father/mother to children, and
- Children to father’s/mother’s.
- Call or email children who are separated physically to express a blessing over them.
For families separated, or where there has been hurt/division/separation: Reach out in love to family members who are lost or where relationships have been broken to express your care and love for them in blessing. (use the story of the Prodigal Son as a foundational reference, Luke 15:11-32)
For friends: Purposefully connect with or call to bless friend to friend.
For broken relationships: Purposefully call someone who has hurt or opposed you to bless them as Jesus said, “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” Matthew 5:44
We would encourage a time of food and/or fellowship as well to make the time of blessing more meaningful.

Example of a blessing:

Key components of a blessing: Love and acceptance, value of person, acknowledgement of gifts and special future, commitment to honor them and build relationship.
- Example: ”I want to take a moment to bless you and thank God for you (name). I am so thankful for you. You have been a great blessing to me. I value and honor the (gifts, abilities, personal attributes) God has given you. I believe God has great plans to prosper you, not to harm you and give you a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11, be as specific as you can be). I am personally commited to stand by you to see God’s plan fulfilled in you.

Scriptural promises of the Blessing:

Proverbs 10:22 “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich and he adds no sorrow with it.”
Psalm 5:12 “For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround hiim as with a shield.”
Psalm 10:7 “The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked shall rot.”
Psalms 37:22 “For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth.”
Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”

References:

There are many good references available. Contact us for more information