So this was my second sermon in Peru. It was a little different as they asked us to cut our sermons in half as we were outside freezing, and the sermon time was doubled due to translation. It was weird having to do that - I'm used to going in more detail and expounding upon things, not gutting my sermon. Definitely had to rely on God to let me know what I could cut and still keep the message intact that he wanted me to speak. Anyways, here it is..
Hello everyone. I hope you are having a great week so far. I wanted to talk to you tonight about the Gospel and parenting.Children are a precious gift from God. In Psalm 127: 3-5, it says “Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.” With the help of the Holy Spirit, I will attempt to explain what Scripture says about the gospel and parenting.
Turn to Deuteronomy 6:6-7. “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."
Parenting involves Caring. That means to spend time with them, and not ignore them. Children want quality time and quantity of time. Children know they are loved when Parents want to spend time with them and do not see it as an obligation.
Parenting involves Communication. From this verse, we also see that children are supposed to see and hear the Gospel everywhere they go with us. Children watch every move we make and will copy everything we do. This is why we need to explain to them why we do things the things we do. And if we mess up, we need to tell them why it is wrong so that they do not do the same thing.
Parenting involves Correction. The Bible says in Proverbs 13:24, “Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.” There is a difference between abuse and loving correction and guidance. We give children rules and correct them because we love them and do not want to see them hurt.
So what and how do we need to teach our children? In Ephesians 6:4, it says “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Carefulness in how we teach. So we are not to discourage our children from seeking God. Christ is the center of biblical parenting, and how we teach them should always point to Him.
Consistency in what we teach. We must live what we teach, and not neglect teaching it to children. If we do not teach children the God of this Bible that we say we believe in, we will have failed them and God in our responsibility. Children listen to their parents, even when it may seem like they do not. It's alright to be scared of this task. But one thing which should give us hope is this: Our God never changes, only we do. If we rely on Him, he will help us to become biblical parents.
Completeness in what we teach. They need to be taught about all of his attributes – his love and his wrath, his mercy and his grace, his patience and his faithfulness, his goodness and holiness, his power and his knowledge, his control over everything. They need to know he is not an old man, sitting and begging for us to come to him. He is the almighty creator of this universe, and he does not need us for anything. And yet, he still chooses to call us to him.
Christ in what we teach. We also need to make sure they understand that Christ, our savior, died on the cross, and rose from the grave three days later. Nothing we could do could ever earn our salvation. He alone is deserving of all our worship. They need to understand the mercy he has shown us, and the glory he deserves, and how thankful we should be.
The Church in what we teach. Children need to be taught about the family of Christians, and what living life with that family implies.It means that every person who becomes a Christian is now our brother and sister through Christ. We need to love each and every one of them while we are on Earth like Christ has loved us.
The Gospel in what we teach. Most importantly, the ultimate goal in parenting is to disciple our children. God has given us the responsibility and opportunity to pour more time into our children than any other disciple we could have. And parenting allows us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to teach them about God and hopefully to train our children to be disciple-makers.
Parenting is a direct representation of the Gospel. When the world sees the way you love your child, they should see a picture of God’s love for his children. Our love for our children should also reflect the unconditional love that God showed us. It doesn’t matter what they've done – we should still show Christ’s love to them.
And while this is a great picture of the Gospel, I would caution against neglecting your spouse for your children. Our responsibility to our children should never replace our responsibility for our spouse because our love for our spouse is such an excellent way to show our children the Gospel. And if we have shown the Gospel properly in our own marriages, our children will want that same kind of love in their marriages. It is another way that the Gospel shines through both our marriage and our parenting.
Hopefully we have seen a little more of what this Gospel has for children, and our purpose in it. Can it be an inconvenience? Sure. But children are a blessing, not an obligation. There will be times when we get frustrated, but we need to remember that parents are the ones who have the best chance to teach children about Christ. Remember the impact you have on your child’s life, and the call God has placed on all parents. Let’s pray.
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