On the Kazakh steppe, beside a single well, trucks unloaded thirty Polish families, and that first night Łucja and Stanisław understood what a treasure the homeland taken from them had been. This story opens a reflection on the two and a half tribes of Israel who built an altar of witness by the Jordan, so that their children would never be told they had nothing to do with the Lord (Joshua 22). The sermon asks what God’s kingdom really means to us, and what we are doing so that the next generation may live in it too. Listen and consider what your own witness of faithfulness to God is worth.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Why did the tribes on the west side of the Jordan react so strongly to the altar built by the Reubenites, Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh, recalling the sin at Peor and Achan?
- What explanation did the two and a half tribes give, and why was the altar named a witness that the Lord alone is God?
- Łucja and Stanisław decided that although they were torn from their homeland, they would not let their homeland be torn from their hearts. What in their story moves you most when you think about passing faith on to children?
- The sermon says that the most precious place for Christians is God's kingdom. What do you most want for the next generation, and how does that compare with this longing?
- Ways of reaching children and youth, like skits in the service or late trips to youth meetings, can seem strange. How do you respond when something in church seems silly to you but serves young people?
- The speaker asks what kind of brand your testimony is: the original or a fake. What one concrete step can you take this week so that young people around you see genuine faithfulness to God?
