This past weekend, November 17, 2019, I got the opportunity to preach the message at the church I work at. I wanted to share the sermon with you because it is all about “preparing the way for others to follow.”
I will attach the transcript (it is not word for word but the main bulk of the message) for those who don’t want to watch the whole sermon which you can view here.
Here is the transcript:
The key to parenting is… your relationship with God.
Is your life submitted to His authority? Is your faith vibrant and growing? Are you leading the way? Are you preparing the way for your children to follow after God? Do they look more like Him everyday or you?
“What if our purpose as parents is to illuminate the bigger story, to influence the next generation to experience God in a more genuine way?”
-Reggie Joiner/Carey Nieuwhof: Parenting Beyond Your Capacity
(I would add that this is the purpose for all adults not just parents).
Our job as adults is to prepare the way for others to follow Him.
Read Ephesians 6:1-4
Let’s breakdown the passage:
Children obey your parents…why? Why should I obey my parents? I would say that outside of obedience to Jesus there is no answer to this question other than, “Because I said so!”
Paul’s command here in verse one is the same as Ephesians 5:22, 6:6 (Wives submit to your husbands, children obey your parents, and slaves obey your master out of obedience to Christ.)
The key to all three is found in 5:21:
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Simply put: If you love Jesus then you will do this. Please note that this is a two way street. It is not that a wife must submit to her husband who can disrespect her how every he wants. Husbands, parents, and masters are called to “lovingly lead” while wives, children, slaves are called to “lovingly follow.”
Kids you need Jesus in your life. Until then you are going to push against your parent’s authority. If you don’t submit to God’s authority, you will think you are in charge of your life and can do whatever you want. As parents, our goal is not to have good and obedient kids who follow our man-made rules rather we have to help them understand that they do what they do because they are sinners in need of Jesus.
Parents this is where you come in. If your purpose is to illuminate the bigger story, influence the next generation to experience God in a more genuine way then let me ask you: Do you submit to God’s authority in your life? We can’t ask our kids to do something, we ourselves are unwilling to do?
Parents – why do you follow and obey Jesus? Seriously, think about that. Now teach that to your kids.
Maybe some of you are thinking, “Well what if I have bad parents? Who make bad decisions.” Paul answers with the next line.
Honor your father and mother…You can honor someone and still disagree.
“RE in Latin means to give back, as in giving back what you want under identical conditions. So, always treat the other person as you would want to be treated under identical conditions, even if he is not worthy of your respect.” -George J. Thompson
And I will just play the church card here but the answer is Jesus.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
Yes, there are genuinely bad parents who are mean so I am not saying to stick around so they can continue to hurt you but you are called to honor them.
Do not exasperate your children…Parents, swallow your pride and let go of your ego.
Are you mad at your kids because they are embarrassing you or are they legitimately causing harm? Are you mad because they make you look like a bad parent even though they are acting like someone their age would?
Before you rattle off, “I can’t believe you do that? Or why would you do that? How dare you?” stop and think about all the times God could say the same to you and instead of condemning you showed you grace.
“You can’t speak the truth in love if you don’t love who you are speaking to.” -Reggie Joiner/Carey Nieuwhof: Parenting Beyond Your Capacity
Train them…This verse reinforces the fact that as parents we should illuminate the bigger story, to influence the next generation to experience God in a more genuine way.
How do we train our children you may ask? Just read Ephesians.
Let me show you how it is a blueprint for how to parent your children.
I encourage you to take the time to look up and read these verses but here is an overview of Ephesians from the viewpoint of a parent.
1:1-14 This section is a reminder of what God has done for us a followers of Christ.
1:16 – Pray this for your children
17– Keep asking God this for your children
18 – Do you pray this for you children?
3:14-21 – A great prayer to regularly pray over your children.
4:1 – Do you urge your children to live out their faith?
4:17-5:20 – How do we teach our children to live out their faith…just read this section.
Application: How do we influence the next generation?
Simple: Be present
I believe every kid/student matters…because God loves them.
That’s why I believe that what we do for kids is more important than anything else we do.
Parents: Go check out this book: Don’t Miss It
Adults: Get involved. Are you influencing the next generation?
The next generation doesn’t need cool or hip or young people, they need people who care.
My life was changed by a friend’s dad who showed up to watch me play football in high school and after every game told me, “I am proud of you.” That meant a lot for a young man whose parents were divorced and didn’t have a great relationship with his own dad. That was a pivotal moment in my life that helped lead me to where I am today!
God uses people to show us his love to a broken world. And the greatest display of his love was through his Son, Jesus, whose blood was shed on the cross as payment for our sins and whose body was broken, buried and resurrected to show us death was defeated and we could have life eternal by believing in him.