Series:  “To Do List”

Focus:  What To Do Before You Graduate

Family Discussion:

Graduation.  Whether you are in 12^th grade, 9^th grade or 6^th grade, this word comes with some heavy implications.  It is the goal of middle and high school, and the finish line to the years of hard work that students endure.  But before students graduate, there is another word that will cross their mind: Legacy.  How will they be remembered? What impact will they leave on their peers?  It’s the same thought that Moses had when passing on his leadership to Joshua in the Old Testament. 

“So the LORD said to Moses, ‘Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand on him. Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence.  Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him.’”  Numbers 27:18-20

Here’s the catch: if you wait until you are walking out the door with a graduation cap on, you will miss countless opportunities to leave the kind of legacy that God wants you to leave.  As a family, student, friend, teacher or coach, every day you have a chance to leave a legacy.  Your legacy is built brick by brick with each decision that you make.  Parents, the same is true of you…what legacy are you building into your students?  How are you showing them what’s most important?

Discussion Questions:

–          Student, what legacy do you hope to leave behind when you are gone?

–          Parent, what legacy do you hope to instill in your student before they leave?

–          How are you, as a family, building a legacy that will impact other families?

Application: 

Parents, I would encourage you to do with your student as Moses did with Joshua.  Lay hands on them and pray for God’s blessing on their life.  Pray for God to use them and impact others through their actions.  Pray for a legacy that lasts generations!