LOVING GOD FOR EVERY GENERATION

(Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Happy New Year! We open this 1^st Sunday of the year with our 2026 theme: “Faith for Every Generation: Passing on God’s Promises & Power.” We begin with what the Jews call the Shema (“hear”) in Deut. 6:4-9, which instructs us to love God for every generation. Using the Shema, how do we do this together?

I. LOVE GOD WITH ALL OUR BEING (6:4-6)

The solid foundation of all relationships is God: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (6:4). This affirmation tells us that our God is one of a kind or absolutely unique who is God for all (Zech. 14:9). Our one God (to whom we submit) demands one love from all who are called to love God with our all: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart (core of our being, including understanding, emotion, & will) & with all your soul (life force & life source, breath) & with all your strength” (6:5) The best expression of our strong relationship with God is love. This love transforms us to hear & heed (i.e., to obey God & His Word, which “are to be on your hearts” [6:6; see Deut. 5:29, 32-33; 6:3]). If we love God, we obey God & His Word (Jn. 14:12). In 2026, let’s love God with all our being by obeying Him & His Word.

II. INFLUENCE OTHERS IN ALL OF LIFE (6:7-9)

Loving God for every generation happens when we influence others (beginning with our family) to also love God in all of life: “Impress them on your children” (6:7a). To impress means to repeat or engrave. We are called to repeat God Word to others, so that God’s Word is engraved in their minds & hearts. We accomplish this by doing 2 things constantly: (1) privately talking to our family about God’s Word in all of our daily life: “Talk about them when you sit at home & when you walk along the road, when you lie down & when you get up” (6:7); & (2) publicly making God’s Word known wherever we go: “Tie them as symbols on your hands & bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses & on your gates” (6:8-9) God’s Word affects our actions (what we do with our hands), what we look at (“on your foreheads”), what we do at home (“doorframes of your houses”), & wherever we go (“on your gates”). We are examples for others to follow; then we teach them to follow (Deut. 5:31; 6:1). In 2026, let’s influence others in all of life as we talk about God’s Word & walk according to it.