THE MAIN IDEA
The church of Jesus Christ always belongs to the next generation. The next generation church is built on … 

CHRIST-CENTERED RELATIONSHIPS
When it was time for Elijah to go to the LORD,  God revealed this fact to Elisha. Elijah kept telling Elisha to stay behind, but Elisha was  committed to staying with his teacher until the very end. What that shows us is that, more than  anything else, the church of Jesus Christ is built up through relationships—first, there is our  relationship with Jesus, and then there are the relationships that we have with our brothers and  sisters in the church. Whatever it is that we learn from the Bible, if it does not compel us to love  God and to love one another, then we are just not getting it (Matthew 22:37-40). It takes  absolutely no effort at all to build up relationships with people we naturally like. It’s great to  hang out with our friends. But what’s even better is to make new friends who would not naturally  be our friends, because the Holy Spirit has brought us together to be friends who are committed  to loving one another and building one another up in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus  Christ. Because He is at the center of our relationships. 

GOD’S COVENANT FAITHFULNESS
At the Jordan river, Elijah took his cloak, rolled it  up, and struck the water, and the water parted. This scene is a clear reminder of two events in  Israel’s history: (1) when Israel crossed the Red Sea under Moses, and (2) when Israel crossed  the Jordan River to enter the promised land under Joshua. But more than that, it is a reminder  of God’s covenant faithfulness. Everything that God does in this world and in our lives is in  order to fulfill His covenant promises given to us in His word. Right here and right now, God’s  covenant faithfulness means that God is working for our good (Romans 8:28), that God is for  us and not against us (Romans 8:31), that God knows and loves us more than we know and  love ourselves. That truth puts every struggle that we face in its proper perspective. The  knowledge of God’s love in Jesus Christ is the one thing that can really keep us from losing  heart (2 Corinthians 4:16-17). That power comes from His covenant faithfulness to us, His  people, His church, those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose. 

SPIRIT-POWERED SERVICE
Elijah asked Elisha if there was anything that he would  want, and Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit—not because he was a power hungry sociopath but because he was a power-hungry servant of God—and not for the sake of  his own glory but for the sake of the glory of God. If our hearts have a desire to serve the Lord  and to build up His church, the Spirit of God will give us whatever gifts we need. There is a  spiritual revival happening around the world being spearheaded by the Gen Z, especially Gen Z  men. Spiritual revival is not about following the crowd or caring about numbers. Spiritual  revival is the people God having a passionate desire to build up the church of our Lord Jesus  Christ … for the sake of seeing lives saved, seeing lives healed, seeing lives transformed, and  all of that for the sake of praising the name of Jesus Christ to the glory of God the Father! When that becomes our passion, the Holy Spirit will fill us with power to build up the body of  Christ and to serve Him—and not just for “my” generation, but for the next generation and  every generation beyond. Because the church always belongs to the next generation. 

DISCUSSION QUESTION
What can you do to build up your house church, Canvas, or GCC?