The generations
"He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children,
that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments..." (Psalms 78:5-7)
August 23, 2025
Dear friends,
This is a brief newsletter, requesting prayer on behalf of the generation of students beginning their school year.
Someone once said, "The church is only one generation away from extinction." The verses above highlight the role of families in transmitting biblical truth to their children and grandchildren. But alas, many of this generation of American children -- whether Millennial, Gen-Z, or Gen-Alpha -- as well as the many international students in our country, were raised in families where they learned very little or nothing about Jesus or the Bible.
This week 38,000 students have arrived at nearby Virginia Tech for undergrad and graduate studies. Radford University, also nearby, has 7,000 students enrolled. Universities today, like Virginia Tech and Radford, are the crossroads of the nations and the generations.
I'm asking you to pray this week for Christian outreach and ministry in our community. This week on the VT campus:
Sunday (tomorrow) -- many area churches, ours included, will be seeing new faces in attendance. Pray for faithful ministry of God's word in local evangelical churches, and pray for the BCF Collegiate Ministry.
Monday -- The Gideons International usually distribute New Testaments the first day of class each year on campus. I've not heard back whether that's occurring this year or not, but pray for students to be open to receive God's Word this year.
Monday through Friday -- the Bradley Study Center, one block off-campus, will be open for students and scholars. (I'll be serving as one of the hosts each week.) Also, campus ministries will begin their outreach events for new students. Pray for good attendance at these outreaches.
Friday -- Gobblefest takes place on the VT drill field, where students can meet representatives from the various clubs and student organizations on campus. A number of our local churches and parachurch ministries will be there. Pray for divine appointments and good interactions.
Saturday -- the Hokies play a preseason game with the USC Gamecocks in Atlanta. Not sure what to pray about for that -- we'll just have to see what the Lord ordained. :)
IN OTHER NEWS.
-- Samaritan's Purse has airlifted several planeloads full of ready-to-use supplemental nutrition packets —- over 280,000 pounds —- with more flights planned in the days ahead. How you can help the people of Gaza.
-- The ministry of Mark and Susan Smith in Cambodia is a vital work to the poorest of the poor in that nation. To learn more, contact them for their latest newsletter.
-- Professor Rob Plummer reflects on the popular Christian language of 'receiving Jesus' and whether that matches the apostle Paul’s language.
-- I've been enjoying the daily devotions taken from the Ray Stedman sermon archives.
-- Recently, I've been writing with stub nibs, for example, the Lamy Studio with a 1.1 stub is a favorite of mine. Here's more about that.
FINAL QUOTE.
"The will of God is not something you add to your life. It's a course you choose." (Elisabeth Elliot)
That’s all for now!
Sandy
Afterwords is an occasional newsletter on topics of interest to me (Sandy Young) since my retirement from full-time pastoral ministry. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.