Dog Training For Dummies Part 2 Series

Perhaps you heard of the large two-engined train was crossing Canada. After it had gone some distance, one of the engines broke down. "No problem," the engineer thought, and carried on at half power.

Farther on down the line, the other engine broke down, and the train came to a standstill.

The engineer decided he should inform the passengers about why the train had stopped, and made the following announcement:

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that both engines have failed, and we will be stuck here for some time. The good news is that you decided to take the train and not fly."

The good news is that there is hope even in failure. You and I are on a great journey to follow Christ and as we do that, we often times experience failures. We can choose to look at the dark side of things or the bright side of things.

Rom 3:23-25 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (NIV)

Another man was taken back when his wife announced that their mother-in-law was moving in with them. Well after a few days he came home from work and his mother-in-law was passed out on the floor. So he being a Christian man gave her mouth to mouth and did everything he could to revive her and then took her to the hospital. Well, a few minutes later the doctor came out and said, well I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. What do you want first. He said, well give me the bad knews.

So the doctor says, the bad news is that your mother in law is unable to take care of herself any more. She is going to have to be fed by hand three times a day. Not only that but she is going to have to have someone take care of her every need from here on out. But not only that but she will need someone to bath her and clean her everyday. The guy said, “Oh my what in the world is the good new?” The doctor said, “Awe I’m just kidding she is dead.”

The good news for those that know Jesus is that you are saved! The bad news is you have to train yourself in the ways of the Lord, and training is hard work.

Just to review what we started in our first week regarding dog training for dummies. Or if you would prefer the more spiritualized version “Discipleship for the Ordinary Person.”

1. Establish the leader of the pack. Who is your pack leader? If you have a family who is the Lord of the house?

Josh 24:15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." (NIV)

You have to choose the leader of your house.

2. We have to train ourselves first. If we train ourselves then we can help others.

Remember the difference between a trained Christian and an untrained Christian is what they do when bad things happen.

Prov 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. (NIV)

3. Training is important. If you think that church is a waste of time and not worth your time. Then you are undervaluing God’s word and it’s ability to work in your life.

1 Tim 4:6-8

7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. (NIV)

4. Learning the Basics to Christianity is important. Praying, Studying, Listening to God, Obeying God.

A third grade teacher was teaching in the classroom when her students were working on their math words. They were supposed to write a sentence using the words given for the week. One of the words was prism. A student in the class wrote, "My dad just got out of prism." Needless to say she had him redo the sentence using the right definition.

POUND PUPPIES: You and I were in the pound and God came and got us. What kind of dog goes to the pound? An untrained dog always ends up in trouble.

SEVEN BAD HABITS OF AN UNTRAINED DOG: THE NATURES OF AN UNTRAINED DOG: