Ep 110: The Last Lightning Bugs

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What can fireflies teach us 
about generational faith? 

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Well, let's take a look at that 
together in just a SEC. 

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Welcome to the show. 
I'm Daniel Dalp and this is for 

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your Sunday morning drive where 
the short podcast with the goal 

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of providing some motivation, 
Dr. and encouragement on your 

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way to worship and helping you 
recenter your mind on those 

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spiritual things on a hectic 
Sunday morning. 

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We are brought to you by the 
Ministry League network of 

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podcasts. 
Be sure to check out Ministry 

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League and their great resources
on YouTube and through their 

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app. 
I don't have much for you in the

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way of announcements today, so 
let's go ahead and get into the 

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show. 
This is episode 110, the last 

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lightning bugs. 
Let's go to church. 

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Are we there yet? 
I was hauling my trash can down 

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to the end of my driveway a week
or two ago. 

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Was excited to see one of my 
favorite parts of God's 

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creation, that familiar rhythmic
flash of a Firefly. 

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Yes, summer is on its way. 
Whether it's Firefly, lightning 

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bug or glow worm. 
Regardless of what you call this

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little bioluminescent beetle, 
there is one aspect of which we 

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can all agree. 
It's yearly arrival is a 

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nostalgic touch point for nearly
every generation. 

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It's a hallmark of warm weather 
and an echo of the memories of 

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summers gone by. 
Yes, we love to see the return 

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of the Firefly, but what if that
familiar blinking Lantern I 

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spotted marked one of the last 
summer nights ever lit by its 

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glow? 
That would be a sad day. 

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Recently, I saw several viral 
infographics on social media and

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they stated that ours would or 
could be the last generation to 

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see fireflies. 
And I admit, it got me. 

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It did its job. 
I was distraught. 

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But after doing some digging, I 
found that the associated 

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information was mostly 
clickbait. 

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And while, yes, it did highlight
several studies that showed an 

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alarming decline in Firefly 
populations year over year, it 

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was based on factors like 
pesticide use and climate change

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and habitat loss. 
But the outright claim that we 

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could be the last generation to 
see their lights had little 

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scientific backing. 
But it gets you to thinking, 

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doesn't it, about just how much 
of a loss it would be if 

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something that was so reliable 
and such a big part of our 

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childhood memory was not able to
be experienced or enjoyed by our

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children or our children's 
children. 

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What a tragedy that would be. 
Certainly makes me want to do my

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part to prevent that outcome. 
And letting my mind wander over 

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to the spiritual implications of
all of this feels even heavier. 

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What am I doing to make sure 
that future generations see the 

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light, the light of Jesus? 
I have to believe that part of 

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it is understanding that this is
a personal responsibility. 

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Parents, grandparents, we don't.
We can't outsource this to a 

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youth minister or a Bible class 
or a congregation. 

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We have to make it personal. 
We have to take accountability. 

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In Psalm 78, Asaph repeatedly 
emphasizes the importance of 

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teaching future generations 
about God. 

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All of it, so that they won't 
repeat the failures of the past.

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Verses one through 4 read Give 
ear, O my people, to my 

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teaching. 
Incline your ears to the words 

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of my mouth. 
I will open my mouth in a 

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parable. 
I will utter dark sayings from 

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of old things that we have heard
and known that our fathers have 

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told us, and we will not hide 
them from their children, but 

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tell to the coming generation 
the glorious deeds of the Lord 

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and his might and the wonders 
that he has done. 

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Moses has a thing or two to 
contribute to this conversation 

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as well. 
We can almost hear him shouting 

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at us the importance of passing 
along generational faith and 

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instruction in Deuteronomy 
chapter 6 verses 4 through 9. 

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Hear, O Israel, the Lord our 
God, the Lord is 1 You shall 

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love the Lord your God with all 
of your heart and with all of 

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your soul, and with all of your 
might, in these words that I 

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command you today shall be on 
your heart. 

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You shall teach them diligently 
to your children, and shall talk

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of them when you sit in your 
house and when you walk by the 

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way, and when you lie down and 
when you rise. 

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And you shall bind them as a 
sign on your hand, and they 

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shall be as frontlets between 
your eyes. 

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You shall write them on the 
doorposts of your house and on 

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your gates. 
With these two passages in mind,

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and with the narrative of the 
cycle of faithlessness that set 

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in from time to time amidst the 
people of Israel, it's little 

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wonder that when Jesus shows up 
on the scene, he calls these 

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people a wicked and perverse 
generation. 

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And it makes me wonder if on 
some level, if the pleas of 

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Moses and the prophets had been 
taken seriously by everyone, how

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different would things have 
been? 

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If we look at them and take them
seriously today, how different 

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could things be? 
No, we're not fireflies and our 

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families are so much more 
precious than lightning bugs. 

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And yes, the church will endure.
But the question is, will our 

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spiritual legacy be just a flash
in the night or are we truly 

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committed, truly committed to 
being the light of the world? 

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Will we choose to have a role in
helping the next generation to 

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walk by the lamp and the light 
of God's Word? 

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Or will we leave them to stumble
in darkness? 

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It's my prayer that we choose to
make their futures bright. 

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Well, those are my thoughts for 
your Sunday morning. 

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Now it's time to hear yours. 
And don't forget, you can share 

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your answers to every week's 
discussion questions right on 

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the website at For Your Sunday 
Morning dr.com. 

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Our discussion questions for 
this week are what are some 

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intentional ways you can help 
the next generation see the 

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light of Jesus in your everyday 
life this week? 

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Why is passing down faith a 
personal responsibility rather 

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than something we can outsource?
And what spiritual habits or 

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conversations do you remember 
most from older Christians in 

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your life? 
And how can you recreate those 

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moments for the next generation?
Hey, thank you for listening. 

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Thanks for taking time out of 
your week to make us a part of 

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your routine. 
If you have some time, rate and 

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review the podcast. 
That helps so much. 

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Keep being salt and light in 
your communities and I'll see 

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you Sunday.