Family

This Sunday, I’m returning to our message series on parenting called “Parental Guidance Required”. In this series, we’re talking about the importance of relationships in raising your children. As a parent, you need to influence three relationships with your children. Their relationship with God. Their relationship with you as their parents and their relationship with others outside of your home. Each relationship is vital for you as a parent to work on with your children.

Today, my message title is “Influencing Your Children.” I want to talk about your relationship as a parent with your children. A parent’s relationship with their child is the most important factor in determining a child’s future. Through your relationship with your child, you can influence their relationship with God and with others outside of your home. A child raised without parents or without godly parents is at a great disadvantage. A parent’s relationship with their children is critical.

NIV Malachi 4:6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; God wants the hearts of fathers turned to their children and vice versa. In other words, God wants parents to build strong, godly relationships with their children. Just because parents are present in the home with a child, does not mean that their hearts are turned toward one another.

You as a parent can influence your children for God in such a way that the result is passed down through generations. NIV Psalm 103:17 But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children. If you fear the Lord and influence your children for Him, the results will be passed on to your children’s children. Of course, the reverse is true as well. If you do not raise your children well, then the negative results will also be passed down through the generations as well.

Today, I want to focus on the two major phases that each parent must understand to raise their children in a godly way.

To hear more about this topic, listen to my February 25, 2007 message entitled Influencing Your Children

Currently, we’re in a message series on parenting called “Parental Guidance Required”. Children need parental guidance, it’s required not just recommended. Children don’t just need guidance from any source, they need their parent’s guidance. God has given each parent who depends on Him, the ability to guide their children.

Last Sunday, I spoke on the importance of relationships in raising your children. As a parent, you need to influence three relationships with your children. Their relationship with God. Their relationship with you as their parents and their relationship with others outside of your home. Each relationship is vital for you as a parent to work on with your children. Your children will eventually turn out in one of two ways. NIV Proverbs 10:1 A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother. Your children can end up being wise, which will bring joy to your heart. Or they can end up being foolish which will bring grief into your life as a parent. Whether your children end up being wise or foolish is not a matter of their genes, it’s not a matter of chance, it’s simply a result of how they are parented.

Basically, the Bible teaches that all children begin by being foolish in life. It is the parent’s task, with God’s help, to transform a foolish child into a wise one. NIV Proverbs 22:15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him. From little on, foolishness and rebelliousness is in a child’s heart, the Bible calls it sin. Parental guidance, discipline and training will produce a wise child.

I heard a story about a five year old boy who went on a walk with his father. After walking a number of blocks away from their home, the father asked the boy, “Son, how far are we from home?” The boy answered, “Dad, I don’t know.” The father asked, “Well, where are you?” Again, the boy answered, “I don’t know.” The father jokingly said, “Sounds to me like you’re lost, son.” The boy smiled, looked up at his Dad and said, “Nope, I can’t be lost. I’m with you.” As long as that father wasn’t lost, his son was OK. As long as a child’s parents are wise, their children will be also.

Where does wisdom come from? NIV Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Wisdom comes only from God. If you want to raise wise children, you’ve got to get them connected to God.

Today, I’m going to talk about “Your Children and God.” Your child’s relationship with God is their most important relationship. Children who fear and know God will be wise. They will grow up into wise parents who raise wise children. I want to talk about how you as a parent can influence your child’s relationship with God and raise wise children.

To hear more about this topic, listen to my February 11, 2007 message entitled Your Children And God

Today, we’re beginning a new message series on parenting called “Parental Guidance Required”. Being a parent is a great joy, but it is also a great responsibility. My wife Carol and I are in the middle of learning how to parent. We have seven children with ages ranging from 2 through 11. With God’s help we have learned a few things that I believe will be helpful to you and your children.

Each of us of course had parents. When you look back on your own childhood, what do you remember?. You remember your relationship with your parents, whether good or bad. Looking back, it wasn’t such a big deal whether Dad got a promotion at work or not. What was important, was the time you spent together. Looking back, it really no longer matters whether you had the latest or greatest toys, what mattered was the fun times with Mom. Yet in today’s society, many parents seem most interested in how much they can buy for their children, how many activities they can get their children involved in. As a result, their relationship with their children takes a back seat.

NIV 1 Samuel 16:7 The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. God wants you as a parent to look at your children as He does, by looking at their hearts. The cultural trend is exactly the opposite, looking at the outward appearance. Our culture has the tendency to make children experience rich and relationship poor. Just because your child has all the latest toys and is dressed in the in fashion, does not mean they are being prepared for life. Just because your child is doing well in all kinds of school activities does not mean their heart is being developed.

NIV Malachi 4:6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. That’s God’s desire for families, to build relationships. The heart has to do with relationships. God wants you as a parent to help your children with their relationships. That means that you need to develop your own relationship with your children. If you do what everybody around you does with their children, your heart and your children’s hearts won’t be turned toward one another. Then when your children become teenagers and their lives disintegrate, you’ll say “I did what everybody else did, I gave them everything they wanted, I took them to every school activity, what went wrong?” What goes wrong in so many families is that relationships get low priority.

Today, my message is entitled “Questions Every Parent Should Ask. I’m going to introduce you to three questions that deal with the three most important relationships your child has. As you ask these questions, God will give you answers from the Bible.

To hear more about this topic, listen to my February 4, 2007 message entitled Questions Parents Should Ask

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads here today. Being a father is a great privilege that God has given to us, a privilege to lead and guide our families in the ways of God. Being a father is also a great responsibility. It’s not so easy wearing all the hats that a dad has to wear these days.

I’ve found out it’s a lot of hard work being a good father. It’s not always so easy to do the right things and keep all the parts of my life in balance. In fact, I’ve discovered that I’m not smart enough to be a good father. I don’t know enough to really lead my family well. So what can we as fathers do?

Today I’m going to talk about “How To Lead Your Family.” Even though I don’t know enough to lead my family, God does. In order to be a good father, in order to know how to lead my family, I need to listen to and learn from God. Today we’re going to take a look at the life of a well known yet little talked about father. His name is Joseph, he was the earthly father of Jesus.

Now Mary became pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph wasn’t involved at all. Yet Joseph was a very important father. God chose him to raise Jesus and I believe that God knew what He was doing. In the Bible, Joseph is never recorded as saying anything. What Joseph does is to listen to God and then he obeys Him. I think that’s a pretty good example for us as well. Listen, learn from God and then obey Him. That’s how to learn to lead your family in the way that God wants.

NLT James 1:5 If you need wisdom– if you want to know what God wants you to do– ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. As a father, you need wisdom to lead your family. As a father, you need to know what God wants you to do. As a father, you need to know what you should give priority to in your life. So the Bible tells you to ask God and it promises that God will gladly tell you.

Today we’re going to look at three areas that God wants to teach you as a father in. Three times an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and instructed him how to lead his family. I’m going to look at each of these three learning occasions in the life of Joseph and apply them to our lives today.

To hear more about this topic, listen to my June 18, 2006 message entitled How To Lead Your Family

Today is Mother’s Day, a day when we honor our mothers. Although Mother’s Day was not officially recognized in the United States until 1914, God told us thousands of years ago that we ought to honor our mothers and fathers. NIV Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. So today is a special day to honor mothers, but each of us should honor our mothers throughout the year as well.

Mothers have a great influence on their children. A teacher gave her class of second graders a lesson on the magnet and what it does. The next day she gave them a written test which included the question: My full name has six letters, the first letter is M, I pick up things, What am I? When the test papers were turned in, the teacher was astonished to find that almost 50% of the students answered the question with the word Mother. Moms do a lot of picking up around the house for little ones, but they also do a lot more.

Today, I want to focus my thoughts on what you as a mother can impart to your children. Being a mother in the 21st century is not an easy task. Life is hectic, life is complex, many mothers work outside the home. How can you keep up with all the demands on your life? Children, job, husband, house, friends, church and the list goes on and on. What is the most important thing that you can impart to your children?

Today I’m going to talk about “The Power Of A Mother’s Faith.” I believe that the most important thing that a mother can impart to her children is her faith in Jesus Christ. In order to impart faith to your children, you must be a believer, you must have faith in Jesus and your faith must be strong. When your faith is strong, you can impart that faith to each of your children.

Listen to what Paul writes to the pastor of a New Testament church called Timothy in NIV 2 Timothy 1:5 I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. Paul is saying that Timothy’s sincere faith had been passed down through three generations. The first believer in Timothy’s family was his grandmother Lois. Lois passed her faith down to her daughter Eunice, who in turn passed it on to her son Timothy.

Now just because a mother has faith and is a believer does not mean that her children are automatically believers. Each person must make a decision to believe in and commit their lives to Jesus. However, as a mother prays for her children, her faith can influence them to become believers as well. A mother with a strong faith will raise children with strong faith. A mother with weak or no faith will raise children with weak or no faith.

God wants every mother here to impact the lives of their children and future generations with their faith. The impact of your faith can affect your children’s lives long after they have left your home. It is never too late for a mother’s prayers and faith to influence her children’s and grandchildren’s lives.

Today I’m going to look at the story of the mother of the greatest prophet of the Old Testament, Moses. Moses’ mother was named Jochebed. She had three children: Moses, Aaron and Miriam, all of whom were used mightily by God. Life was not easy when Jochebed was pregnant with Moses. She lived in Egypt and the Pharaoh had just given an edict NIV Exodus 1:22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.” Of course when Jochebed was pregnant, she didn’t know if she was going to have a boy or girl. When the birth came, the announcement “It’s a boy” had a different impact. However, Jochebed was a mother of faith and so today I’m going to draw three principles from her life that every mother (or father for that matter) can apply to their children.

To hear more about this topic, listen to my May 14, 2006 message entitled The Power Of A Mother’s Faith
https://s3.amazonaws.com/lifechurchstlouis/mp3s/2006_Messages/2006_05_Become_Part_Of_The_Family/051406_The Power_Of_A_Mothers_Faith.mp3

Today is Father’s Day. How many think Father’s Day was invented by greeting card companies? Not the case. Father’s Day was proposed in 1909 by Mrs. John Dodd. Mrs. Dodd wanted to honor her father, William Smart, a Civil War veteran. William Smart was widowed when his wife, Mrs. Dodd’s mother, died in childbirth with their sixth child. William raised the newborn and other 5 children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington state. Mrs. Dodd wanted to honor the strength and sacrifice of her father. Father’s Day was first observed in Spokane in 1910 and grew in popularity. Not until 1966, did President Lyndon Johnson sign a proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday in June as Father’s Day.

It wasn’t easy for William Smart to be a father in 1800s and it’s not easy to be a father today. The children God gives us are a great joy and a great responsibility. How can today’s father be a good father for his children? How can you be a good father for your children? I believe a good father is first and foremost a father who fulfills God’s purpose.

The Bible has a lot to say about fathers the word “father” is used 1082 times in the Bible. Today we want to see what the Bible has to say about fulfilling God’s purpose as a father. Bible teaches us that God is our father NAS Ephesians 3:14 For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. Since God created every person, He is in one sense the father of every person, they are His children. So every family has a father whose name & position comes from God. What are the implications of this? Earthly fathers are to learn from their heavenly father what it means to be a father. Since God is our Father, we can learn from Him how to fulfill God’s purpose as a father.

To hear more about this topic, listen to my June 19, 2005 message entitled Fulfilling God’s Purpose As A Father