Christian Parenting Series

Title: Christian Parenting

Theme: Show what it is to be a Christian Parent

Text: Proverbs 22:6

Pr 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

CEV 6 Teach your children right from wrong, and when they are grown they will still do right.

NLT 6 Teach your children to choose the right path, and when they are older, they will remain upon it.

MSG 6 Point your kids in the right direction-- when they’re old they won’t be lost.

Introduction

Read scripture and then the translations. Give them a grasp of what it means to train the children.

I. Christian Parenting is Prayer

James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

II. Christian Parenting is Influence

Cornelius the Roman Centurion

Acts 10:1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.

The Philippi Jailor

Acts 16:31 So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

Crispus

Acts 18:8 Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.

III. Christian Parenting is Discipline

Proverbs 13:24 He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.

CEV 24 If you love your children, you will correct them; if you don’t love them, you won’t correct them.

MSG 24 A refusal to correct is a refusal to love; love your children by disciplining them.

Pro 23:13 Don’t fail to correct your children. You won’t kill them by being firm, 14 and it may even save their lives.

Pro 23:13 Don’t be afraid to correct your young ones; a spanking won’t kill them. (14) A good spanking, in fact, might save them from something worse than death.

IV. Christian Parenting is Preparation

Looking for opportunities (teachable moments) to teach our children the truth.

Ephesians 6:4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Col 3:21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

Deut 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! 5 "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.

V. Christian Parenting is Love

Love goes on forever “endureth all things” 1 Corinthians 13:7 Puts up with a lot.

Love lasts for ever. Eternal and true.

Know how to read your spouses or child’s love and do your best to fulfill it.

People express love and take love different ways. If your child does this then we must learn to adjust. We must learn to listen and observe. It is not all about how right you are but remember this is looking out for the other.

• Words of affirmation “spoken word”

• Quality time

• Physical touch “holding hands, pat on the back”

• Receiving gifts

• Acts of service

From Gary Chapman’s book Five Signs of a Functional Family

I like what Hubert Seals says in his book Spiritual Renewal in Your Family about the way we love.

He says that to produce closeness and kinship in family we need to:

1. Say Love

2. Do Love

3. Write Love

4. Keep Love

5. Listen for Love

6. Live Love

VI. Christian Parenting is Unrelenting Commitment to follow the ways of the Lord

Joshua 24:15 ¶ "And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Conclusion