Your Child's Greatest Need Series

Y O U R C H I L D ¡¥ S G R E A T E S T N E E D

¡§That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.¡¨

¡K ¡§You must be born again.¡¨

The Lord Jesus --- John 3:6,7 NIV

There once was an elderly woman who thought that getting a talking parrot would be great company. So she went to the pet store and picked out a parrot and cage. ¡§Does this one talk?¡¨ she asked. ¡§Oh, yes, Madame, he talks all the time.¡¨ So she bought the parrot and put the cage right near her rocking chair. But a week went by and the parrot wouldn¡¦t talk. So she went back to the pet store and told the owner of her problem. ¡§Buy him a ladder,¡¨ the owner said, ¡§Parrots like ladders.¡¨ She bought a ladder for the parrot, waited a week. But he still didn¡¦t talk. So she went back to the pet store: ¡§A mirror,¡¨ said the owner, ¡§Parrots like mirrors.¡¨ So she bought a mirror and waited a week. The parrot still didn¡¦t talk.

¡§A swing,¡¨ said the pet store owner, ¡§Parrots like swings¡¨¡K Another week went by and it still didn¡¦t talk. ¡§A bell, parrots like bells,¡¨ he said. So she bought the parrot a bell. Another week went by and the lady came into the store and was quite upset. ¡§What¡¦s wrong, Madame?¡¨ the owner asked. ¡§My parrot died,¡¨ she answered. ¡§That¡¦s awful,¡¨ said the store owner, ¡§Did he ever talk?¡¨ ¡§Yes. Just before he died he said, ¡§Aaaaawk! Hey Lady, Don¡¦t they have any food at that pet store?¡¨

What the ladder, the mirror, the swing and the bell were to the parrot so are some of the things we parents do for our kids. They are nice and might even be good, but they don¡¦t address the child¡¦s greatest need. We get caught up in all sorts of well intentioned stuff, activities, Christian programs, methodologies, and other things while often overlooking the most important and greatest need of the child. And those who make a living off these programs, books, etc. are diligent to keep us thinking parenting is very complex. It is not complex. I did not say it was easy, but it is not complex.

What the parrot needed was food. What your child needs is to be born again: salvation.

BIG IDEA: YOUR CHILD¡¦s GREATEST NEED IS SALVATION: ¡§To be born again¡¨

TRANS: Let¡¦s Look at ¡§the What¡¨, ¡§the Why¡¨ and ¡§the How to¡¨ ¡K of your child¡¦s greatest need.

1. The What: What Is Your Child¡¦s Greatest Need?

We said that need is --- salvation or to be born again

What does that mean?

Every child is born with the absolute need to experience the saving work of God.

John 3:6,7¡K Jesus was talking to the greatest Bible teacher of those times: Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a very religious and good person, raised in a good religious home, part of the Jewish community and Jewish heritage¡K you wouldn¡¦t find a better person¡K

But Jesus said to him¡K "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."4 "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!" 5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water (physical birth) and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.:7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ’You must be born again.’

Born again = born from above / born of or by the Spirit

Bible teaches: We are all born with a sin problem

God created us to have an eternal and everlasting relationship with Him, but sin broke that relationship. Our sin (our guilty standing before God) separates us from God and eternal /everlasting life¡K(life of God)

Genesis 2:17 ¡§¡K but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die."

Romans 5:12 ¡§Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men¡K¡¨

Romans 5:18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men¡K

1 Corinthians 15:22 ¡§¡Kin Adam all die¡K¡¨

We also inherit and pass on to our own children a sinful nature: an inborn inclination toward evil.

Psalm 51:5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

ILL: Dentist and red stuff ¡K. Apple & worm¡K egg laid in blossom of the