Raising Children

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

AmenJesus Christ is the Light of the world,the light no darkness can overcome.

Stay with us, Lord, for it is evening,and the day is almost over.

Let Your light scatter the darknessand illumine Your Church.

The Psalm“Children and parents gather together to

pray, share, sing, and speak the poetry of God, words that promise Jesus for His

children. Select verses are in bold print to encourage responsive reading”

Psalm 121I life up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

ReadingsDeuteronomy 6:1-9…….page 151

Ephesians 6:1-4…………..page 979

Matthew 6:5-15…………..page 811

Raising Children

1 Corinthians 7:17, 24“Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him…There let him remain with God”

THE WORK OF PARENTSTo raise children…raise = lift up

DisciplineEducateProvide forEquip them for eternal lifePrepare their children for their callings

As family membersAs Productive members of societyAs Christians

What God Does in ParentingWhich parenting manual do I follow?

This gives rise to a set of rules to follow – become laws

This causes pressure, shame and fear of failureEmphasizes where we can go wrong in

parenting while underemphasizing where God can go right

Children grow up regardlessYou have the privilege of working with God –

the origin of family – Our Father – in raising children

The Lord’s PrayerThis is the relationship between father and childShows us what earthly parents do for their children

HearProvide forForgiveProtect

God gives – we have faith in God Parents give – children have faith in their parents

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

“HALLOWED BY THY NAME”We confess God’s holiness – sovereignty, authority

We are thankful for His authorityParents can strive to use their authority so

that their children will be thankful as well.We are dependant upon God for physical/spiritual

needsOur children are dependant upon the parents

for all of their needs“THY WILL BE DONE”

We trust that our Father’s will is bestChildren need to obey…but this means they need to

agree, to trust them

“GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD”God gives by means of parents who work and

provideFORGIVE US AS WE FORGIVE

Families are to be places of forgiveness Husbands/wives - Parents/Children - Children/Parents

This motivates ongoing loveNOT INTO TEMPTATION, DELIVER US

Protects us from overt evils and evils that we are tempted to commit.

Parents protect – shelter from bad moral influences (violent, sexually explicit movies/music – bad company and compromising situations)

Train the children morally so that when not around enforcing rules, the child will, of their own free will, with God’s grace, do what is right.

Discipline & Instruction of the LordHebrews 12:5-11 – The Lord disciplines for our

good to share His holiness, it yields the fruit of righteousness

Not pleasant – but an expression of loveParents are to make the love clear even in

discipline

Ephesians 6:4 – “Fathers do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord”

Colossians 3:21 – “Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.”

To discipline a child means to “DISCIPLE” a child

Proverbs 13:24 “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.”

Little kids – adorable, uncivilized – no controlParents must teach them how/what to do

Please/thank-you, potty training, quieting in church, how to behave, etc…

Children bear the fallen human nature – self-centered, indulging every impulse

Muslims sheltered…college in US/Europe…go crazy

Morals must be internalizedChild must not be controlled but must develop self-

controlThe Gospel transforms a person from the inside

Ephesians 6:6-7 – “Not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man.”

Not just a matter of forcing children to comply with arbitrary seeming rules, but to cultivate an internally motivated response to the Gospel – to “rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” R. 12:15

Following the “golden rule” Matthew 7:12Children will transgress, same as adults, but

they will learn what we ought to know, the true Christian discipline of repenting and finding forgiveness – from whomever they offended and from God.

The goal for the parent is to bring the gospel into their child raisingTake them to churchSee them baptizedTalk to them about Jesus on every occasion.Bring the Law to bear upon their faults in such a

way that they repent, whereupon parents extend forgiveness

EducationThe parents “chief duty” – to educate their children

to fear and know God.Also academically so that they may be of service

wherever they are needed.Our OT lesson – Deuteronomy 6:4-9 put it clearly –

God’s word is to be a major topic of conversation in the household morning to night.

Cannot rely upon schools/church to do all the work, the parents remain the critical educators.

Parents fulfill their priestly task by teaching their children. – Sacrifices of time, money, energy; struggle to communicate on their level, exert effort getting them to church, teaching Scripture, build up the faith

Can be tempting to push the child in a certain direction, either because you want it or you think they’d be good at it

But the parent must attend to the child’s inclinations, abilities and interests – understanding them as gifts from God for their child

Then provide opportunities for these gifts to blossom.

Ultimately the parent is to prepare their child to have a family of their own, good marriages and become good parents themselves.

This occurs by teaching them to love and serve their neighbor which they learn from their family.

CreedFirst Article

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

Second Article And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell.

The third day He rose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of

God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to

judge the living and the dead.

Third Article I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,and the life T everlasting. Amen.

OfferingWe will pass the offering plate around for our

general offering.

Up front there is a church, tonight we will collect for our benevolence fund. This fund helps our members with their needs whatever they might be.

We as the body of Christ work together to support one another.

C Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in

heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we

forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power

and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

PrayersIn peace let us pray to the Lord. Lord, have mercy.For the grace of the Holy Spirit that we may hear the voice of

the Lord speaking in His Word and that we may respond with praise and thanksgiving to the Good News of healing, freedom and release, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.For courage that we may not waver in times of trial but rejoice

in each opportunity to proclaim the Good News of our Savior in every place and to every people, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.For the places where we teach and learn God’s Word, for all the

schools of our Church, for the colleges and seminaries of our Church and especially for those preparing for full-time service to the Church, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For the Synod, for Matthew Harrison our Synod President, Dan Gilbert our District President, our pastor(s) and all missionaries and church workers, that they may be faithful and their service fruitful, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy. For the nation, for Barak Obama our president, and all elected and

appointed civil servants; for all who make, administer and judge our laws; for the causes of peace and justice, here and throughout the world and for all who serve in the armed forces of our nation, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy. For this and all congregations, for all new missions, here and

throughout the world, and for the mission fields and those who serve the Lord there, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy. For the sick, the suffering, the grieving and the dying, [and especially

for Jeff and Shirley] that all who call upon the Lord in their need may know the comfort of His presence and find grace sufficient for their every need, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

 For the tithes and offerings we bring, signs of our gratitude and part of our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, that we be generous and faithful over all the resources with which God has supplied us, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy. For our fellowship and life together, that we may bear

one another’s burdens and so fulfill our Lord’s call to love one another as He has loved us, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy. For these and all things beneficial to us and profitable

for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord with confidence that He will hear and answer us in the name of Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

Evening PrayerMerciful Father, whose guiding hand has

brought us to the completion of this day, we humbly pray You to stay with us and shelter us in quiet hours of the night that we, who are wearied by the changes and chances of

this passing world, may rest in Your changeless peace; through Jesus Christ, our

Lord.AMEN

Let us bless the Lord.Thanks be to God.

BenedictionThe Lord bless you and keep you.The Lord make His face shine on you and be

gracious to you.The Lord look upon you with favor and T give

you peace.Amen.