Today we continue in the following sermon from
last week on nurturing and training children
in Christian faith and practice. We're going
to look today or begin with Psalm 78 verses 1
through 8. You can turn there in their scriptures.
Psalm 78 is quite a long psalm. The Works of
God and the Failures of His People for 72 verses.
But we're going to look at the beginning because
this introduction is a key to developing the
subject that I'm going to be looking at today.
Hear the word of the Lord. Give ear, O my people,
to my law. Incline your ears to the words of
my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable.
I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have
heard and known and our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children, telling
to the generation to come the praises of the
Lord and his strength and his wonderful works
that he has done. For he established a testimony
in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which
he commanded our fathers, that they should make
them known to their children, that the generation
to come might know them, the children who would
be born, that they may arise and declare them
to their children, that they may set their hope
in God and not forget the works of God, but keep
his word. And may not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation
that did not set its heart right and whose spirit
was not faithful to God. Let's pray. Fathers,
we come into this subject today. Lord, I pray
that you would again open my mouth with your
words, Lord, that you would inspire me, Lord,
through the Holy Spirit to be able to declare
your word accurately and faithfully. We pray
that you would open up our hearts to receive
it, Lord. Change us, O God, where we need changed.
Encourage us, Lord, where we need encouraged.
And in everything, we pray that your people would
be edified and that you would be glorified. We
ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. A few weeks ago,
we considered the truth that God calls the children...
of at least one Christian parent as holy children,
saints of God. This is in 1 Corinthians chapter
7, which we've been going through. Paul says
they are not unclean, but set apart and considered
to be saints of the Lord. Then last week I followed
with a sermon on how to disciple these children
who belong to God. How we as parents are to love
them, modeling the father as he loves his son
Jesus, And as God loves us, for God is love.
The directive given to parents then is to bring
them up in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord, which is the way Paul describes the discipleship
process in Ephesians 6, verse 4. And you fathers
do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring
them up in the nurture or the training and the
admonition of the Lord. Now, as I said last week,
we're speaking here to a broad audience. There
are some of us whose childbearing years are long
gone. Some of us are grandparents. Some of us
are single. And there's also a good number of
us who are in the midst of the childbearing years.
But it's still good for all of us because we
are also called to help each other. Just as we
promise in the baptismal promise. to love, care,
and to support these parents as they raise their
young children. So this is something good for
us all to hear, even if we are not in the middle
of childbearing years. Now our premise is that
raising covenant children is a high and a holy
calling, for we are commanded to love these children
and to nurture them in the gospel and under the
lordship of Jesus Christ. And by God's grace,
by God's grace, with his help, we can then raise
a generation that hopes in him, that keeps his
commandments, and that, as Psalm 78 says, declares
his praises to the next generation and to their
children as well. Now on this subject, the great
preacher Martin Lloyd -Jones observed, said,
It is very interesting to observe in the long
history of the Christian church how this particular
matter, the one of which we are speaking, always
reappears and receives great prominence at every
period of revival and reawakening. Interesting
how that happens. In other words, when the Spirit
of God works in a mighty way in His people, This
subject comes again to the hearts of the people
to pass on to their children and to disciple
them. He continues, the Protestant reformers
were concerned about it and the instruction of
children in moral and spiritual matters was given
great prominence. Now there are several other
directives given in God's word that expand this
responsibility. And today I want to look at three
more. responsibilities that are given to parents
in addition to loving them and nurturing them
we are also to teach them to train them and to
correct and discipline them now there's a lot
of overlap between these but i'm breaking this
out just to for us to be able to really get in
and and understand this truth all of this of
course is discipleship all of these that is love
nurture teach train and correction. They're part
of the covenantal responsibilities that we have.
And it flows out of God's covenant with us as
he has saved us, washed us clean and sanctified
us and blessed us with children as a heritage
and a reward. You're raising little Christians.
They are God's covenant children who are your
brothers and sisters in Christ. And God has given
you the responsibility, parents, of laboring
in the Lord to see that Christ is formed in them.
We see that in Galatians chapter 4, verse 29.
We read of Timothy, who was a disciple. He was
the son of a Jewish woman who believed, but whose
father was a Greek, understood to be an unbeliever.
Paul writes to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1 as a dear
and beloved son. And he says, I call to remembrance
the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt
first in your grandmother Lois and your mother
Eunice. And I am persuaded is in you also. See
the multi -generational vision there, even in
the case of an unbelieving father. Because we
don't hear really nothing more of Timothy. But
of Timothy's father. He was the son of this woman
who believed and of a grandmother who believed.
And he says, Paul says that, Therefore I remind
you to stir up the gift of God which is in you
through the laying on of my hands. May the Lord
give his church hundreds and thousands more like
this. Yea, even millions. of people like Timothy
who have been discipled by their parents and
by their grandparents, that they are faithful
ministers, servants of the Lord in whatever capacity
the Lord gives them. And by ministers there,
I don't just mean somebody standing in the pulpit.
I am talking about whatever God gives in the
gifts of ministry in every sphere of life. May
the Lord give us many more. And so to this end,
let us consider three additional points of discipleship.
The first is to teach your children. And for
this, we turn to the book of Deuteronomy chapter
6, verse 6 and 7. And these words which I command
you today shall be in your heart. 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. Now in the prior verses to this
passage, the initial opening of the Great Shema,
which is the central confession of faith in the
book of Deuteronomy, Moses reminds the children
of Israel that the Lord is one God. He says,
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is
one. And then he proceeds with the central command,
Which is the command that Jesus says is the first
and greatest command in the whole of scripture.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, and with all your
strength. And these words which I command you
today shall be in your heart. Your heart, your
soul, and your strength. From the very beginning,
God desires worship, love, and obedience to him.
From the heart. That is the innermost being.
The thoughts and the desires of the heart. To
love and to worship and to obey with all the
strength that lies within us. The worship of
God was never about performance, mindless duty,
or rote obedience. He commands that it come from
our heart, our soul, our mind. And with all of
our strength. The rich liturgies. The worship
practices. And obedience to the laws of God in
the scripture. Are to be from the heart. And
this should be the desire of every Christian
parent. To teach your children. Yes. Be an example
to teach them. How to worship. How to join in
the Lord's prayer. Or to list the apostles creed.
And sing the Gloria Patri or Sanctus. And shout
out Psalm 134. Behold bless the Lord. But it's
also from within that that they would have a
fervent love for God. That they would love Him.
And from that love would come reverent worship.
Worship that comes from the heart, the mind,
and the soul that continues on through the teen
years and on into adulthood. That is the desire
of God. It's not just do this, do this, do this.
No, it's got to spring from a deep love and conviction
within the heart. So with that as a foundation,
then the instruction and command then comes in
verse 7 of Deuteronomy 6. He says, you shall
teach them diligently to your children. Now,
teach them diligently is actually one Hebrew
word. It means to whet, to sharpen, to teach
incisively, even to pierce. So it's not just
didactic teaching, it's to sharpen them. to make
them aware, to teach them in that way. And this,
of course, requires frequent repetition, putting
in the hearts and minds of your children so that
they are sharp and ready and well taught. There's
a good reason why children are likened to arrows
in light of this. In Psalm 127, verse 4 and 5,
like arrows are in the hand of a warrior, so
are the children of one's youth. Happy is the
man who has his quiver full of them. They shall
not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies
in the gates. So again, we see this whole picture
of parents sharpening, whetting, teaching their
children so that they are faithful arrows. In
the hands of a warrior or like that. This is
the command of Deuteronomy. And preparing them
to be arrows or weapons of warfare requires teaching
them diligently. Parents, you are to instruct
your children in God's word. God's word lives
forever. It is the incorruptible seed of life.
The word of God will always retain its power.
But if you're to teach well, John Calvin says,
then you must go to the trouble of being instructed
in God's word in order to do your duty. In other
words, if you're going to teach it, you have
to be being... taught or living in it yourself
being taught by reading the word of god or by
hearing god's preaching the hearing other preaching
or or to be instructed by wise teachers if you
do not take great care to read and meditate on
the word then you will not be able to teach well
And this instruction, by the way, and teaching
should come from both parents, father and mother.
Proverbs 1 verse 8. My son, hear the instruction
of your father and do not forsake the law of
your mother. So it comes from both. And so if
we're going to teach our children God's word,
then we ourselves must be taught in the word.
And that is a personal. vibrant relationship
with the lord and the study of his word in whatever
way that we are able different people learn in
different ways some of it might come through
reading some from listening to sermons some from
reading articles some from reading thick theological
or heavier books there's all sorts of different
ways sometimes it comes in the form of story
There are some great teachers who can powerfully
use story to illustrate it. Sometimes it comes
from listening to something versus reading it
yourself. But in all of this, simply the desire
here, what is expressed is that we need to receive
in order to teach. We need to be in the word.
Now what does this teaching consist of? It speaks
of talking to our children about God's holy words,
his commandments, his precepts, his principles,
his stories, and his history, woven together,
and this is very important, with the gospel and
with grace. Because the word of God is not just
a series of principles. It's not just a collection
of pithy sayings. No, it is the powerful word
of God that is sharp. It's sharp like a sword
and it reaches into the innermost heart of the
being. And so in order to teach the word of God,
then we must include together with it the whole
story of the gospel and of grace and the power
of God to change people's lives. The word of
God to your children will not make them new just
in and of itself. You must have the gospel with
it. The gospel underlies the principles and the
precepts and the laws and all of these things.
And it takes and it pierces the heart. So it
must be the gospel and grace woven together with
the law, the commandments, the precepts, the
principles and the stories. Again, Psalm 78 verse
4, which we read, we will not hide them from
our children, telling the generation to come
the praises of the Lord that they may set their
hope in God. Another way of teaching is for you
fathers to lead your children in family worship
or to lead your family, your household in family
worship. Read a short passage of scripture. Explain
it. Discuss it with your children as appropriate.
And then pray together. And this is going to
look different if your children are really young
versus when they get older. There might be more
interaction or you get a little bit deeper. If
your children are really young, sometimes it's
just a couple of verses, something that they
can understand from it. And then you sing. and
pray with them, and there you have it. Some way
of discipleship with your children. If you have
difficulty with this, there are wonderful aids
that help. Pastor Kevin Swanson has some great
guides for many of the books of the Bible at
generations .org, where he just takes it and
again just provides a concise outline of the
passage, a few points from it. It can be very
helpful in family worship. reformation heritage
books also has a family bible worship guide again
kind of in the same way and that is on every
chapter of the bible when your children are very
young keep it simple give them one or two concepts
but however you do it teach your children to
love and to worship god and to love his word
furthermore if we are to teach them then the
education of christian children must be a Christian
education. The education of your children must
be a Christian education. Two hours on a Sunday
morning, while absolutely vital, will not suffice
to bring up your children to nurture and train
them in Christian faith and practice. Why should
our children drink deeply? At the fountain of
atheistic and worldly teaching about the origins
of the world or of the humanistic and rationalistic
methods of understanding God's world that we
live in or of science with false premises or
of history distorted by enlightenment assumptions
or social studies shaped by the claim that all
cultures are equal and that woke or multicultural
ideologies are the measure of truth. How can
we expect to raise Christian children when they're
sitting in that for four or five days a week
and then we just supplement with going to church
on Sunday now yes we need to have family worship
that is also a help but children need a Christian
education when the glories of the created universe
are taught and the beauty and the glory of the
earth or the incredible complexity of the human
body or even the order of mathematics we should
be led to worship to praise our God and to understand
it according to his will, his ways, and his word.
We should be led by all of these wonderful subjects
to adore the God who created all of these things.
The children of the covenant belong to God. They
are not... to be discipled primarily by a system
that ignores him or even worse, that denies him.
This is one of the reasons why, looking into
the future, it is our desire and hope to have
a Christian school in this town someday. Now,
homeschooling is also part of it. There's various
ways of education, but a Christian school is
certainly part or one of the ways. Number five,
teach them the history of the works of God in
the world. So teach them. We're looking all just
fleshing out this, what it is to teach them.
This should include world history, ancient history,
church history, and even the history of our nation.
This includes... teaching the bad parts too,
just like the Bible does. The times when the
worship of God was forsaken and the people were
disobedient. Consider this passage from Psalm
48, and I'm going to get to it in just a moment.
But as we read this Psalm, we need to read it
in light of the passage from Hebrews chapter
12, which speaks to the Christian church. It
says, but you have come to Mount Zion and to
the city of the living God. the heavenly Jerusalem.
So when you hear the word Zion in this psalm,
think of the dwelling place of God by the Spirit
with his people, both Old and New Testament,
is the center of true worship and the assembly
of God's people. Now hear these words. Excuse
me. The smoke is... Walk about Zion and go all
about her. count her towers, mark well her bulwarks,
consider her palaces, that you may tell it to
the generation following. For this is our God,
our God forever and ever. He will be our guide
even to death. Psalm 48, 12 to 14. Let's unpack
this a little bit in light of the teaching, because
the teaching is in here. We are to tell it to
the next generation, the generation following.
So walk about her, count her towers. This means
to review the work of God in the ages past. He
says to mark her bulwarks well. That is the buttresses
of faith and truth through the ages that have
kept and guarded the word of God. Paul tells
Timothy, I write so that you may know how you
ought to conduct yourself in the house of God.
Which is the church of the living God, the pillar
and the ground of the truth. So we're looking
here at pillars, grounding, bulwarks, buttresses.
These are all great foundational principles.
The principles of the word of God. Thus teach
your children or find teachers that can tell
them about the importance of the word. That can
flesh it out. but also in historically the importance
of the early creeds and the controversies that
surrounded them or the solid confessions of faith
that were born in times of great difficulty and
of doctrinal differences that brought together
a good and faithful summary of biblical doctrine.
Tell them about the renewals and the true revivals
that stood against apostasy and false doctrine
and apathetic living. Regale your children with
the stories of Athanasius. who stood against
the false teaching of Arianism, or Boniface,
the English missionary, who went to the dark
and pagan Germanic tribes, and he chopped down
that big tree that was considered their idol,
and then he broke up it into little branches
and told them to go home and rejoice in the birth
of the Lord Jesus Christ on the earth, which
is the beginning of many of the festivities of
Christmas that we have in the greenery. That
was Boniface. Or of Polycarp, the aged bishop
who would not recant his faith in the time of
ancient Rome and was then martyred for his faith.
Or Perpetua, the one whose nursing daughter was
torn away from her breast and she was slaughtered
and killed because of her faith in Christ. Or
of the stories of King Alfred the Great. That
great Christian king of the Anglo -Saxons who
defeated the Viking invaders. He promoted Christian
education. He helped to set up schools so that
the young could learn. And he created a fair
and just law code based on the Bible. This was
in the 800s. I could go on and on. Count her
towers. Mark her well, her bulwarks. There are
great resources that will teach and tell some
of these stories that your children can listen
to or that you can read and then tell them. As
I have mentioned before, Pastor George Grant
is a tremendous resource for many stories. If
you go to georgegrant .net, his humanities courses
are just amazing and great for history on antiquity
or modernity or American culture and Christendom.
But then also we consider her palaces. That is
the great and notable deeds of God. The incredible
exodus from Egypt and the miraculous deliverance,
the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving
of the law, the service of God, and the promises
as Paul recounts in Romans 9 verse 4. They're
the glories of Christ and of his ordinances and
his church. The flowering of art and science
and architecture and political and spiritual
freedom and the glorious culture that came because
of the Christian faith and the worship of God.
There is so much. And sometimes our mind can
get boggled with all that is available. Just
start with a few. Tell your children. Pass on
the works of God. Tell it to them. Because this
is how the next generation knows. Tell them the
great works of God in your own life. Those of
your remembrance. Or those of your grandfather
or your father. A few years ago, I learned more
of the story of my great -great -grandfather
who was on his deathbed and somebody came. He
did not know the Lord. He was raised Amish, but
he did not have saving faith. And a preacher
came to minister to him on his deathbed and was
preaching the gospel to him. And my grandfather,
was listening on the other side of the door.
This preacher may have never known this. I don't
know. And through that, the Lord saved him, and
it affected our whole family. I stand here. I
stand here today by the grace of God, yes, but
by the grace of God working in that man who went
and ministered to my great -grandfather, my great
-great -grandfather. What an amazing thing. These
are stories that need to be told. They need to
be passed on. To the next generation. Because
your God is also their God. And he is their God.
And he will be your guide. And he will be their
guide forever. Teach your children. Number two.
Train your children. Proverbs 22 verse 6. Train
up a child in the way he should go. And when
he is old he will not depart from it. A child
left to himself brings shame to his mother. Proverbs
29 verse 15 and Ephesians 6 verse 4. Bring them
up in the training and the admonition of the
Lord. Parents, you have been given a great opportunity
before God. Not only do you have offspring, that
is your flesh and blood, and the creation of
eternal souls that have come into being by the
grace and the mercy of God through the act of
knowing each other in a physical way. Let me
just repeat that. This is such an incredible
truth. Husband and wife come together in the
way that God has created them. And the creation
of eternal souls come into being by the grace
and mercy of God through this act. Mothers, you
went through nine months of nourishing that little
one then in your womb. And during the pain, of
the bodily changes, of how things change for
you, and then the pain of childbirth. And now
God has charged you, fathers and mothers, with
the overwhelming responsibility and opportunity
to take that eternal soul and to train your child
in the way that he or she should go. To train
up is to dedicate, is to inaugurate, is to bring
up. It is to teach and to form by practice. And
thus it is closely related to my earlier point.
God instructs you to form your children by instruction
and practice. And you train them for glory. Both
in this life, both glory in this life and the
glory of the world to come. This is the work
of God and his mercy that you may rejoice and
be glad. And as you train, let this prayer of
Moses from Psalm 90. Verse 14 to 17, be your
prayer. Oh, satisfy us early with your mercy
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad according to the days in which you
have afflicted us, the years in which we have
seen evil. Let your work appear to your servants
and your glory to their children and let the
beauty of the Lord our God be upon us and establish
the work of our hands for us. Yes, establish
the work of our hands. Lord, let your work appear
to your servants and your glory to their children.
Because of God's work through you and in you,
then children's children are the crown of old
men and the glory of children is their father.
Proverbs 17, verse 6. Training involves the whole
person. It is the character, the affections,
the attitudes, the motivations, and the actions.
Matthew Henry says to train up a child, train
up children in that age of vanity to keep them
from the sins and the snares of it. In that learning
age to prepare them for what they are designed
for. Catechize them. Initiate them. Keep them
under discipline. Train them as soldiers who
are taught to handle their arms, to keep rank,
and observe the word of command. Train them up,
not in the way that they would go on the bias
of their corrupt hearts would draw them aside
but in the way they should go the way in which
if you love them you would have them go john
gill further adds train up a child in the way
he should go as abraham trained up his children
and those born in his house in the way of the
lord in the paths of justice and judgment which
are the ways in which they should go and which
would be to their profit and advantage This is
in Genesis chapter 14 and verse 14. This is the
duty of parents and masters in all ages. To bring
up those under their care and the nurture and
the admonition of the Lord. Now this training
should start at a very young age. Surrounding
your children with love and care. You also start
teaching them what your word means when you say
no. No. You don't wait till they're five or six
to start telling them no. No, at a young age,
sometimes even a nursing child will start exercising
their will against you, perhaps by arching their
back or biting or other such things, and you
can look them in the eye and say, No. Affirm
no. When your child starts crawling and reaches
for things that are not good, like a hot wood
stove, for example, don't just remove them from
the premise, but show them the item. Tell them
that this is a no -no. Maybe even flicking their
hand if they continue reaching for it, that in
some way they associate, oh, mom said no, dad
said no. This is important. This is training.
It must happen. It teaches them in a loving way
that mother or father are to be obeyed and there
are limits to what they can do. And this training,
of course, as I began this, it requires obedience
from them. But as you require obedience, you
also point them to Jesus as you teach them to
obey. Why? Because Jesus is our example. We teach
them to obey like Jesus who was subject to Mary
and Joseph. Luke 2 verse 51. Then he went down
with them and came to Nazareth and was subject
to them. Hebrews describes his obedience saying
of Jesus who in the days of his flesh when he
had offered up prayers and supplications with
vehement cries and tears to him who was able
to save him from death and was heard because
of his godly fear though he was a son. yet he
learned obedience by the things that he suffered.
Jesus always did the will of the Father in heaven,
and in this he is both our Savior and our example.
So this obedience we need to teach to our children,
that they are to obey right away and with a cheerful
attitude. And if you have to threaten or count
to ten before your children obey you, then it's
not obedience from the heart, but it's out of
fear of punishment or the loss of reward or something.
You can teach and train your children to obey
you right away and with a cheerful attitude.
But you've got to work at it. It's hard work
for this and paying attention. And of course,
this all must be surrounded with love. You can
teach them to use good manners, to say thank
you or please and to be grateful. Train them
to have and maintain a cheerful heart, to be
able to change their attitude and to show respect
to whom it is due. Again, this requires diligence,
application and your time and attention. It requires
also... that you govern your own attitudes, your
own manners, and your own affections. Because
if you are ungoverned, your children also will
be, because they will imitate you. In all your
training, though, let it not be too perfectionistic
or demanding. Your children will make mistakes.
Love them. Laugh with them. Let your relationship
with them be warm. and not based on their performance.
Let the aroma of your household be that of the
fruits of the Holy Spirit at work in you as parents
and in your children. What are the fruits of
the Spirit in the household? It is an aroma of
love, of joy, of peace, of long -suffering, of
kindness, of goodness. of faithfulness and gentleness
and self -control. These are the fruits of the
Spirit, and we need these in our own lives, but
we need to also demonstrate them to our children
so that they might learn them as well as the
Spirit works in them. Surround your training
by love and affection. Hear the wise words of
Bishop J .C. Ryle on this subject. He says, Train
up your child with all tenderness, affection,
and patience. Love should be the silver thread
that runs through all your conduct. Kindness,
gentleness, long -suffering, forbearance, patience,
sympathy, a willingness to enter into childish
troubles, and a readiness to take part in childish
joys. These are the cords by which a child may
be led most easily. These are the clues you must
follow if you would find the way to his heart.
Children's minds are cast in much the same mold
as our own. Sternness and severity of manner
chill them. and throw them back. It shuts up
their hearts. Let them see that you have an affectionate
feeling toward them, that you really desire us
to make them happy and do them good, and that
if you punish them, it is intended for their
profit. and that, like the pelican, you would
give your heart's blood to nourish their souls.
They must be wooed with kindness if their attention
is ever to be won. Love is one grand secret of
successful training. Anger and harshness may
frighten, but they will not persuade the child
that you are right. If he sees you often out
of temper, you will soon cease to have his respect.
End quote. But what amazing and wonderful words
the venerable bishop writes. J .C. Ryle. Number
three, correct and discipline your children.
Proverbs 3, verse 11 and 12. My son, do not despise
the chastening of the Lord. For whom the Lord
loves, he corrects. Proverbs 29, 15, the rod
and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself
brings shames to his mother. Proverbs 13, 24,
he who spares his rod hates his son, but he who
loves him disciplines him promptly. Proverbs
3, verse 12, for whom the Lord loves, he corrects,
just as the father of the son in whom he delights.
And Hebrews 12, 5 to 7. Whom the Lord loves,
he chastens. Now no chastening seems to be joyful
for the present, but painful. Nevertheless, afterward
it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness.
The scripture is full of guidance and the need
to use correction and discipline in the training
and formation of children. And not only children,
but for all of us. Because of our sinful and
stubborn hearts, teaching and admonishing is
not always enough. Sometimes we need a corrective.
A chastening that is understood and it drives
away foolishness. For adults, of course, this
looks very differently than it does for young
children. But God, sometimes, as one of my pastors
used to say, sometimes God needs to spank us.
And he does through circumstances or through
experiencing the consequences of our own actions.
But for our children, Proverbs and Psalms speak
much of this foolishness foolishness is bound
up in the heart of a child but the rod of correction
drives it far from him indeed we are by nature
the children of wrath and left to ourselves we
conduct ourselves in the lust of the flesh fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind. Ephesians
2, verse 3. A child less to himself or to herself
will be a child of ruin. This is not to say that
the grace of God cannot accomplish something
great. It can, but there will be much hardship.
But the fact is that God has entrusted us as
parents to give them correction and to bring
chastisement at times. Correction begins with
clear words and expectations. A child needs to
understand, first of all, what the expectations
and rules are. You cannot punish or discipline
if you have not made it clear what the expectations
are, what the law is. These cannot be arbitrary
or changing parameters like the shifting hills
of sand. And then when the child disobeys, the
correction or the discipline needs to be commensurate
with the offense. Lying is a much greater offense
than being grumpy. Sometimes a child needs to
be sent to their room and told to come out when
they've changed their attitude. We need wisdom
in all of this. When I lied as a boy, my parents
would put soap in my mouth. And it tasted absolutely
horrible. I learned very quickly not to lie because
of the consequence of soap in my mouth. It taught
me very quickly to control my tongue. But while
correction and discipline is not the only use
of corporal discipline, it is not only the use
of a rod or a paddle in a spanking, but it does
include it. God's way of training includes the
use of corrective discipline that will sharpen
the mind and bring the child's attention to the
matter. But when this is done, parents, you must
be self -controlled, not cruel, harsh, angry,
or unreasonable. If you're angry or frustrated,
wait. Get your heart settled first and then work
with your child. in the disobedience. And accompany
the session of discipline with prayer, with love,
and with forgiveness. With forgiveness. Done
rightly, this will bring wisdom to the child.
It will show them love and it will yield the
peaceable fruit of righteousness. If you're unsure
of some of the practical aspects, which I'm not
going to get into in this sermon, feel free to
ask parents who have successfully trained or
raised their children or who have wisdom in this
matter. But correction and discipline are a necessary
part of bringing up and raising God's covenant
children that he has given to us. Finally, a
few more practical applications as we bring this
to a close. One is, parents, be very careful
with technology, particularly smartphones, tablets,
and other media that's connected to the Internet.
It's a tool, like power tools are tools in the
shop, but don't turn a three -year -old loose
with a drill. It's a tool. Do not turn children
loose with it until they are mature enough to
use it well. They can be like drugs, and they
should wait until they are mature enough to handle
them responsibly as tools, and even then, they're
safeguards to be able to help. I just encourage
you, don't babysit your children with a screen.
It's not good for it at all, and many bad things
can happen. Secondly, in an application, use
creativity. Train, but do not stifle. Oppressive
control can drive creativity underground, only
for it to emerge later in harmful ways. Encourage
godly creativity and channel it rightly, but
you need to allow creativity to flourish in your
children. And then I came across these... This
wonderful thing. John Bunyan's General Duties
of Parents to Children. Thought they were so
good and I wanted to share them with you. Be
a pattern and a model. Your life must not contradict
your teaching. Instruct them diligently in the
principles of the Christian religion. This is
the author of Pilgrim's Progress. Bring them
up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Ephesians 6 .4. Correct them with wisdom, love,
and consistency and not in passion. Pray for
them. continually and i should have said i alluded
to it before but i should have made it a point
pray for your children pray earnestly often and
urgently for your children that christ would
be formed in them keep them from all from evil
company and worldly snares and provide for their
bodies while prioritizing their souls and teach
them both by precept and example that the fear
of the lord is the beginning of wisdom And finally,
I want to address this, and that is failure.
What if you failed? Some of what I preached about
today has been our experience, but I also see
many areas where I missed it, where I failed,
and I acknowledge how much better I could have
done. Now, thankfully, there's much good teaching
available, many better resources now than there
was before, 30, 35 years ago. And I praise the
Lord for this. But nevertheless, there is grace
from the Lord for the forgiveness of sins. And
the power of the Holy Spirit to work in a way
that is far above what we can ask or think. So
if you're looking back and you think, oh, if
I just would have known this. Oh, if I just would
have done this differently. Yes, we can certainly
do that. I mean, we look back and we can remember
and it should just drive us to the Lord and say,
Lord, have mercy. And please remediate this in
the life of our children or grandchildren or
whatever it may be the case. But there is forgiveness
of sins and we thank God for that. And while
there are consequences, sometimes God in his
mercy and his grace mitigates even those consequences.
He does it many times. And for this, we are grateful.
And one of the greatest examples of that in the
scriptures, I've mentioned this some time ago,
but I'm going to bring it again here today. And
that is with the sons and the grandsons. Of Samuel
the prophet. Samuel the prophet. Samuel was a
faithful judge. He had a heart after God. He
walked with God. But he was gone a lot. He had
to travel the length of Israel. And he had various
places that he was set up. And his sons grew
up to be not like him. They took bribes. They
were corrupt. Became corrupt judges. But he had
a grandson. and the grandson records his actions.
His grandson was named Heman. Heman was one of
the chief musicians appointed by King David to
lead the worship and the service of song before
the tabernacle and then later in the temple.
Heman was the son of Joel. His dad took bribes.
He was not right. His grandfather was a very
godly man. And Heman directed a group of singers
and musicians along with Asaph and Ethan or Juduthin.
And Heman had 14 sons and 3 daughters. 14 sons
and 3 daughters. What happened to them? All of
them served. In musical ministry. Underneath
his direction. In the temple of the Lord. In
the house of the Lord. This is in 1 Chronicles
chapter 25. Heman himself is credited with authoring
Psalm 88. And he is called the king seer. This
lineage then shows a redemptive arc. While Samuel's
sons fell short. His grandson Heman became a
faithful servant who led Israel in worship and
his descendants continued in that role. Samuel's
influence or prayers may have borne fruit in
the next generation despite his son's failures.
And I say this not to excuse failure, but to
show the grace and the mercy and the blessing
of God. It thrills me to read that account. And
so, dear church, may your household be like the
man described in Psalm 112. Praise the Lord.
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights
greatly in his commandments. His descendants
will be mighty on earth. The generation of the
upright will be blessed. We are so grateful for
the forgiveness of sin and for the bringing of
new life to the dead and for stirring within
our own hearts and blessing. our children and
our grandchildren and our great -grandchildren.
This is our desire for all of us, that our descendants
would be mighty on earth and the generation of
the upright would be blessed. Let's pray.