Raising Children for the Lord

image: mafleen~ Deuteronomy 6 & Ephesians 6 ~

Love, Marriage, & Sexuality

image: mafleen~ How the Gospel Shapes Our Relationships ~

How should we think

about raising children ?

Raising Children for the Lord

image: mafleen~ Deuteronomy 6 & Ephesians 6 ~

4 Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the

Deuteronomy 6

LORD is one.

“Genesis 1-11 poses a cosmic question to which God must

provide a cosmic answer…What can God do next? Something

that only God could have thought of. He sees an elderly, childless couple in the land of Babel and decides to make them the fountainhead, the

launch pad of his whole mission of cosmic redemption….”

“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a

great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his

household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the

LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”

~ Deuteronomy 18:18-19

5 You shall love the LORD with all your

Deuteronomy 6

heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command to day shall be on your heart.

7 You shall teach them diligently to yourchildren…,

Deuteronomy 6

7 You shall teach them diligently to yourchildren, and shall talk of them when you sitin your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when yourise. 8 You shall bind them on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between youreyes. 9 You shall write them on the door-

Deuteronomy 6

posts of your house and on your gates.

“When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the

statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your

son…,

~ Moses in Deuteronomy 6:20-24

“When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the

statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your

son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty

hand. And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against

Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes.~ Moses in Deuteronomy 6:20-24

“…And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. 24 And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he

might preserve us alive, as we are this day.”

~ Moses in Deuteronomy 6:20-24

“Scripture is our history. Creation, Fall, and Re-

demption are the context for understanding life. Our

children cannot under-stand why they are in the

world, how sin has affected them, and how redemption

restores what sin has destroyed, apart from their

spiritual history.”

“…if it is evil in your eyes to serve the

LORD, choose this day whom you will serve…. But as for me and my house, we will serve the

LORD.”

~ Joshua 24:15

“…the Lord was witness between you and the wife of

your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. Did

he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their

union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly

offspring.”

~ Malachi 2:14

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord,for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first command with apromise) 3 “that it may go well with youand that you may live long in the land.”

Ephesians 6

4 Fathers, do not provoke your childrento anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Ephesians 6

Children are a gift from the Lord that he entrusts to parents

to raise for him.

Make sure you are rooted in the Gospel1

Saturate children in the story of Scripture2

~ The Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 1:5; 3:14-15

“I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in in as well…. But as for you, continue in what

you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from

whom you have learned it, and how from childhood you have

been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through

faith in Christ Jesus.”

Look for the fruit of childlike faith3

“…these little ones who believe in me…”

~ Jesus of Nazareth in The Gospel of Matthew 18:6

Prize the community

of faith

4

Entrust your children to the Lord

5

“A son honors his father, and a servant

his master. If then I am a father, where is the

honour due me? And if I am a master, where it the respect due me?”

~ Malachi 1:6

“After this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So

Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as

well?’ Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have

believed and have come to know, that you are the Holy

One of God.’”

~ The Gospel of John, ch. 6

Children are a gift from the Lord that he entrusts to parents

to raise for him.

image credit: mafleen https://www.flickr.com/photos/mafleen/8472558582/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

flickr images courtesy of:

image credit: Amodiovalerio Verdehttps://www.flickr.com/photos/amodiovalerioverde/386839703/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/

image credit: Steve Evanshttps://www.flickr.com/photos/babasteve/3405971322/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/

other images:Photos.com: Ivan Kmit / 95631678

image credit: *brilho-de-contahttps://www.flickr.com/photos/_brilho-de-conta/344394465/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/

image credit:Jlhopgoodhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/jlhopgood/6653628559/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/