Why Don't My Kids Share My Faith? The Answer Might Sting | Appleton
How do you pass on your faith to the next generation? You can spend a lifetime building something good, a family, a career, a walk with God, and still watch it unravel in a single generation. If you have ever wondered why kids walk away from faith, or why the things that matter most to you do not seem to stick with the people you love, this message is for you.
In this teaching, Pastor Brian opens up the story of King Rehoboam in 2 Chronicles 10. Rehoboam inherited the most successful kingdom of his day. His father Solomon was the wisest man alive, wealthy beyond description, respected by rulers around the world. And in Rehoboam's very first leadership decision, all of it split in half. Not after years of slow decline. One decision, one moment, and a civil war that Israel never fully recovered from.
But here is the twist Pastor Brian draws out of the text. This is not really the story of Rehoboam's failure. Scripture repeats one small phrase about the young men Rehoboam listened to instead of the elders: they had grown up with him. The people who shaped Rehoboam were the people who walked with him. And the one person you never find walking with Rehoboam is his own father. Solomon built palaces, cities, and storehouses, but there is no record of him ever investing in his son the way David once invested in him.
That is the heart of this message. Faith, wisdom, and character do not transfer by osmosis. They are not passed on through lectures, events, or even success. According to Deuteronomy 11, they are passed on through relationship, when you sit at home, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. Only what is passed on through relationship actually gets passed on.
Pastor Brian speaks honestly to every generation here. To young people drowning in the noise of peer influence, who have to fight harder than any generation in history for the voices of experience. To parents wondering if what is in their own heart is what they want to see in their kids, because Proverbs 22:15 says foolishness is bound up in a child's heart, and love is what unbinds it. And to grandparents who have believed the lie that their most relevant years are behind them, when research and Scripture both say the opposite.
And it all points to the gospel. Jesus did not send us information from a distance. He entered our lives, walked with us through failure, and loved us before we ever asked for it. Then, like every great leader, he told his followers in John 14 that they would go on to do even greater things.
So the question Pastor Brian leaves us with is simple and searching: who are you walking with, and how are you walking?