Heritage Parenting Series : Final Sermons
This post summarizes the last two sermons in the Heritage Series from Grace City Church. As a parent, you might be wondering – who dares preach about parenting?!
The right answer at any rate would be- any good preacher with the right message from the Word of God, the Bible!
This is the final post in Margfamilies’ parenting series, and it follows last week’s post. Some of you might have had no time to read these posts, because you’ve been busy parenting. I can imagine parents wishing that bringing up children would finish as easily as a three-part blog series does.
But that would mean you are assuming parenting ends when children grow up and leave home. You might even be thinking of parenting as little more than a huge list of “infinite” chores that need to be done and a headache you must live with. After all- you’re the mom who has to lose time over bitter fights between siblings, you are the dad who needs to pay the annual school fee that costs more than your bike does.
ATTENTION ! Out of the reverie!
Do you really have to control your kid’s future and all of it’s 23,258 aspects? You think you really are able to? Have we all not failed enough already?
And, is our Lord not powerful enough to do what is right, so we don’t have to be in control?
We need to remember God is fully able and is already taking the best care of the children He gives as gifts to parents. (Ps. 127:3,4). Let us not think everything lies in our hands. Hopefully, we remember that His purposes cannot be thwarted (Job 42:2).
As parents we start afresh each day, having fully pleased God through the completed atonement and perfect record of Jesus, which now belongs to His followers. We can gladly go ahead to joyfully obey our Father in heaven, even in the most incomprehensible parenting situations!
(1) Sermon#7 : Welcome To The Age Of Opportunity. For Ages 13-17.
This is a transition phase, for both the parent and the teen. As parents, we need to remember that our primary teaching tool at this age would be – choices and.. consequences (Galatians 6:7-8). Help teens think and make godly decisions for themselves when you are around, as early as possible, so they learn to choose better. McPherson mentions 7 points of focus :
i. The Value of Work (Prov. 6:6-11) : Watch out for laziness and procrastination.
ii. The Privilege of Responsibility (Prov. 1-8) : Teens often see privileges as a vacation from responsibility. They fail to connect choices and consequences.
iii. The Worth of Wisdom (Prov 4:1-12) : Teens don’t exactly hunger for knowledge and correction.
iv. The Gift of Sexuality (Prov. 5: 1-23, 6:20-29) : They are particularly prone to sexual temptation in our culture that is increasingly drenched in it.
v. The Choice of Companions (Prov. 1:8-19, 4:14-19) : We will see them make poor choices in selecting friends, and will need to ask why they choose whom they choose.
vi. The Knowledge of Self (Prov. 4:20-23) : Teens often don’t understand the motives of the heart and lack awareness of idolatry.
vii. The Fear of God (Prov. 1:7, 3:5-8) : Teens are prone to fear people more than God.
This sermon is filled with practical applications – how parents must step through doors of opportunity to train and teach (and not escape when disasters show up!), bring God’s Word into every situation, build communication with your spouse to be on the same page, refuse to mock your teen and finally pray, pray pray, pray.
Repeat that last one.
(2) Sermon #8 : Resolves For Teens and Parents. In the final sermon, Josh McPherson challenges the unhealthy assumption our culture has made about the word adolescence. The word ‘adolescence’ features nowhere in the Bible, neither in older literature and so, the truth to teens that rings out from the word of God is – aim to grow up!
i. Resolve to honour your parents (Eph 6:1) : A command to children of all ages.
ii. Resolve to grow up (1 Cor. 13:11, 10:31 ) : Many adults live in a spiritual and emotional state of adoloscence. The Bible calls us to reject the low expectations of culture and pursue excellence, work, responsibility and mission.
iii. Resolve to cultivate biblical convictions (Ps. 119:1-8) : Convictions are pre-meditated and immovable. They need to come from the Word of God. There is a need to know the black and white, and what does the Bible denote as “grey areas”.
iv. Resolve to honour God in my body sexually (1 Cor. 6:18-20, Psalm 119:9) – Will you view sex as a god to worship (idolatry), as something bad to be rejected completely (due to shame or guilt), or a good gift God has given because He loves us?
v. Resolve to pursue Jesus (Acts 2:37-41) – Have you repented of your sins? Have you placed your trust in Christ’s work and not your’s? Have you been baptized? Is there evidence of the Spirit’s work in your life?
You can watch the videos at the Heritage parenting series for further information.
Also, please use our comments section to enlighten us more about aspects of parenting which we may have completely missed!
The perfect parent, God the Father, is in charge of us and our children.
