2. Ex 20:1 And God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

3. 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

4. 12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

5. 12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

6. People seek significance
To the Israelites:
Significance came through children
Seed passed on
How you lived your life either honored or dishonored your parents
We live in a country where we are not judged by the parents we have or the children we have
Each generation rises or falls on own merits
(This is not to blame anyone)
Children make their own choices (ie:no good kids)
Parents make their own choices (ie:no good parent)

7. What we build into our children that is based in sin, stays with them and their children for 3 generations
Prejudices
Behaviors
Pride/arrogance
Addictions
Hatred
Uncontrollable anger

8. What we build into our children that is based in sin, stays with them and their children for 3 generations
...God punishes.. the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me
God's punishment is always just
God's punishment is always reconcilatory; but to a 1,000
God's punishment can be stopped by turning to Him
Be careful about calling something a “generational curse”
Curse is “the invocation of harm or injury upon a person...contingent upon some circumstances, a malediction, or imprecation.” Eerdmans' Bible Dictionary

9. What we build into our children that honors God, stays with them and their children for 1,000 generations
Love
Generosity
Kindness
Humility
Do unto others, as you would have them do to you

10. Sometimes we need to change the trajectory of our family
Trajectory; The way things are heading
Not everything you receive from your parents is good
“Well that's just the way we act”
“Well that's just the way we see things.”
Not everything you receive from your parents is bad
“I do this because my parents did it”-

11. Continuing to promote negative behavior does not honor your parents
Mom's family was racist (white arrogance)
Therefore Mom was racist with no real knowledge
Greg was told to be racist
Greg fought to not be racist
Mom came to love the black man who cared for her
It does NOT honor my mom to continue racism
I need to be willing to change to who she became
She changed the trajectory of behavior
Change is never enough; big ship; small rudder

12. It's time to break the cycle
Analyze what you have received from your parents
Cut them slack
They needed to be redeemed by Jesus too
They had “issues”
What “issues” have you copied without realizing it?

13. It's time to break the cycle: Let Jesus take your punishment
Is 53:3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

14. Change the trajectory Destructive behavior is always “self” absorbed
Destructive behavior always makes “self” #1.
Destructive behavior always elevates hedonism.
Positive behavior honors God.
Positive behavior puts others first.
Positive behavior serves others.

15. It's not about you. It's much bigger!
It's about your children
It's about your children's children
It's about your children's children's children
A Biblical generation is about 20 years
What you change today is effective for 60 yrs
You want to impact the world? Change you!

16. So What? Honor your mother and father
Honor them enough to perpetuate the positive traits they passed on
Honor them enough to not perpetuate the negative influences they passed on
This is a spiritual thing.
Let God do the work in you
Repent of what you are passing on that is sin

17. So What?
Daddy,(mom) I love you. I cherish your memory. You passed on so many good things to me.
From you I get _____________________.
But I don't want to perpetuate the way you ________________________.
I'm tired of living that way.
It doesn't honor God. I need to change my behavior to reflect what God wants.
From here on I will ___________________.