Passing the Torch

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2nd Annual All-Church Picnic and Chili
Cook-Off!!! July 15, 10am3 pm at Central Park
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• We are bearers of the torch.

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• We are keepers of the flame.

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• What is at risk?

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• What is at risk? The next generation.

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• Will somebody guard the flame?

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• Will somebody pass the torch?

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Receiving Giving a Spiritual Legacy
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Receiving Giving a Spiritual Legacy

• People who have passed the torch of faith on to
  me

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Receiving Giving a Spiritual Legacy

• People to whom God wants me to pass the flame

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Observations from the Experience of Elijah and
Elisha
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• The Lord said to him (Elijah), Go back the way
  you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When
  you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.
  Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel,
  and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel
  Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 1 Kings
  1915-16 (NIV)

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Observations from the Experience of Elijah and
Elisha

• To pass the torch we need a bold and humble
  heart

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• So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of
  Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen,
  and he himself was driving the twelfth pair.
  Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around
  him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after
  Elijah. Let me kiss my father and mother
  good-by, he said, and then I will come with
  you. Go back, Elijah replied. What have I
  done to you? So Elisha left him and went back.
  He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He
  burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and
  gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set
  out to follow Elijah and became his attendant. 1
  Kings 1919-21 (NIV)

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Observations from the Experience of Elijah and
Elisha

• To receive the torch we need to take risks and
  count the cost

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• When volunteers are asked how they happened to
  get involved in their particular activity, the
  most common answer is, Somebody asked me.
  Conversely, when people are asked why they did
  not volunteer or donate, they say, Nobody
  asked. Robert
  Putnam, Bowling Alone

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Observations from the Experience of Elijah and
Elisha

• To pass the torch we need to invite but not
  manipulate

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• Never insult anybody by asking them to do an
  easy job. Max DePree

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Observations from the Experience of Elijah and
Elisha

• To receive the torch we need to have the heart
  of a volunteer

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• The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down
  my life only to take it up again. No one takes
  it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I
  have authority to lay it down and authority to
  take it up again. This command I received from my
  Father. John 1017-18

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Observations from the Experience of Elijah and
Elisha

• To pass AND receive the torch we need to
  celebrate

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Observations from the Experience of Elijah and
Elisha

• To pass the torch we need to invest our lives

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Observations from the Experience of Elijah and
Elisha

• To receive the torch we need to have a
  teachable spirit

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• When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to
  heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on
  their way from Gilgal. 2 Kings 21

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MAP OF ELISHAS JOURNEY
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Observations from the Experience of Elijah and
Elisha

• To pass AND receive the torch we need to
  develop unshakable loyalty

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• Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken
  from you? 2 Kings 29

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• Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit
  2 Kings 29

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• You have asked a difficult thing yet if you see
  me when I am taken from you, it will be
  yoursotherwise not. 2 Kings 210

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• As they were walking along and talking together,
  suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire
  appeared and separated the two of them, and
  Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 2 Kings
  211

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• Elisha saw this and cried out, My father! My
  father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!
  And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of
  his own clothes and tore them apart. 2 Kings
  212

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• picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah
  and went back and stood on the bank of the
  Jordan. Then he took the cloak that had fallen
  from him and struck the water with it. Where now
  is the LORD, the God of Elijah? he asked. When
  he struck the water, it divided to the right and
  the left, and he crossed over. 2 Kings 213-14

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• Think about those who have passed the torch of
  faith to you.
• Think also of those to whom you have passed the
  flame.
• Thank God for the torch-bearing ministry that is
  given to every follower of Christ.
• Every follower of Christ is where he or she is
  because somebody passed on the torch of faith.
  Not a single generation has been skipped.
  Thats why we are where we are today.

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Receiving the Torch
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Receiving the Torch

• Whom did God use to pass on the flame of faith to
  me?

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Receiving the Torch

• Whom did God use to pass on the flame of faith to
  me?
• Who has prayed for me, loved me, and let their
  light shine for me?

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Receiving the Torch

• Whom did God use to pass on the flame of faith to
  me?
• Who has prayed for me, loved me, and let their
  light shine for me?
• Who has been a torchbearer in my life?

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Receiving the Torch

• Whom did God use to pass on the flame of faith to
  me?
• Who has prayed for me, loved me, and let their
  light shine for me?
• Who has been a torchbearer in my life?
• How can I thank or bless those who have been used
  to pass on the torch in my life?

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Passing the Torch
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Passing the Torch

• Do I have people in my life to whom I am passing
  the torch?

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Passing the Torch

• Do I have people in my life to whom I am passing
  the torch?
• In whom am I investing myself?

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Passing the Torch

• Do I have people in my life to whom I am passing
  the torch?
• In whom am I investing myself?
• Am I keeping the flame bright in my life so that
  the torch gets passed on to others?

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Passing the Torch

• Do I have people in my life to whom I am passing
  the torch?
• In whom am I investing myself?
• Am I keeping the flame bright in my life so that
  the torch gets passed on to others?
• Who are specific people whom God has placed in my
  life so that I can pass the flame to them?

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Passing the Torch

• Do I have people in my life to whom I am passing
  the torch?
• In whom am I investing myself?
• Am I keeping the flame bright in my life so that
  the torch gets passed on to others?
• Who are specific people whom God has placed in my
  life so that I can pass the flame to them?
• What are some of the steps I can take to more
  intentionally be a torchbearer in the lives of
  others?

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• What could happen in your church if all those who
  follow Jesus commit to passing the torch of faith
  on to others?