Well, as Nathan said, my name is Kyle Webb, and my wife and my dad and my son are all here this morning.
We have been just overjoyed to be a part of this faith family for the last few weeks.
We've only really been coming here. I think this is our fifth week we've been here.
So just a little warning to those of you who might be visiting.
Be careful when you ask to get involved, okay, around here.
You might be preaching within five weeks of being here.
And I say that just jokingly. I love Nathan, and we were great friends in college,
and we've kind of been separated for a while, and it's good to be back near him.
Good to be back near the Shell Nuts, who I also knew in college, and the Cheathams.
You know, it's a great privilege and joy to be with you here this morning, to have the opportunity to share his word.
I love, this is something I love to do.
This is something that God has really instilled in me with the desire to do, is to share his word.
So what I'd like to do this morning is I'd like for you to turn with me to Ephesians 6.
Nathan mentioned to you that we're going to be talking a little bit about the biblical basis for family-integrated churches.
So I know in some ways this morning that I'm kind of preaching to the choir,
because you're already a family-integrated church.
Most of you, or some of you at least, will know a lot of this already that we're going to be talking through,
but it's a great reminder for us as a faith family to be able to recognize this is why we do the things we do.
And if you are a guest, you've been visiting recently,
this is likely some of the reasons why we do things the way we do here in this church.
So it's kind of twofold.
If you're new here, then you kind of get an understanding, further understanding of why we do this this way at this church.
And you also get an understanding of, for those who have been here for a while,
just kind of a reminder, this is why we do this.
And I have to confess to you something before we jump in this morning.
I'm a recovering student pastor.
I feel like I'm at an AA meeting.
I'm Kyle, and I used to be a youth pastor.
And a lot of what I want to share with you this morning comes out of my convictions
of what happened during that time, those years that I spent in student ministry.
And so I just want you to know that.
I want to share with you this morning some statistics that are just sobering to me.
Recent statistics are showing that we are losing a generation.
For instance, studies are showing now that we're losing anywhere from 75% to 88% of our young people
by the time that they are freshmen in college.
By the way, if you look around, not necessarily in here, but you look around in churches
and all of our churches across America, and there's a generational gap of college students,
20-somethings that are by and large missing.
And I commend college students.
We have a lot of college students in the room this morning.
And this is even during the summertime when a lot of the college students are away.
So that's really incredible.
This church has been able to sustain that college group, this generational gap that exists in most churches
and across America.
If you look at most churches, though, you're going to see a generational gap of 20-somethings
and going into 30-somethings even, where these people, they're going off to college,
these students are going off to college, and they're not returning.
I want you to think about this as well.
Right now in our culture, our birth rate is below replacement rate.
Replacement rate is 2.1 children per family.
Right now in America, we're at 1.9.
Now it's not as bad as most of the industrialized world.
France is at 1.5.
Italy is even worse at 1.1 children per family.
And what this means is that we're not having enough children for our culture to continue to survive.
We're slowly dying generation by generation.
France has a birth rate of 1.5.
However, the African Muslims and Arab Muslims who have immigrated into France,
their birth rate is 6 children per family.
This means that by sheer numbers alone, France is going to be within two generations of a Muslim country.
Why?
Because the people in France, just like us,
they want prosperity more than they want children.
They want prosperity more than they want the blessings that God has given us through children.
Now let me put these two pieces of statistical information together for you
and let you know why this matters to us here in our culture,
why this matters to Christ's family church.
At two children per family, believers, we're really no different than the rest of our country.
At almost two children per family,
and we're losing at least 75% of our young people by the freshman year of college,
that means that we need two Christian families
to get one believer into the next generation.
Let me make it even more plain.
There are 16 million Southern Baptists on paper.
It doesn't mean they're all worshiping this morning,
but there are 16 million Southern Baptists on paper.
By these numbers, next generation, 4 million.
Third generation, 1 million.
Fourth generation, 250,000.
It's more than just numbers now, isn't it?
Oh, it's okay.
We'll just bring it up through evangelism.
Now that's interesting.
In order to replenish those numbers through evangelism,
we'd have to reach at least three lost people per Christian in our country.
Right now, Southern Baptists are reaching one lost person per 47 Southern Baptists.
Let me make this plan to bring it home.
Christianity in America is dying.
Just plain and simple.
Christianity is dying in our country.
And this is what our answer has been.
In our churches and across the United States,
our answer has been,
let's divorce ourselves from this topic.
Let's separate ourselves from this emerging tragedy that's going on in our country.
And let's give our children to the student ministers and to the children's ministers
and let them take care of it.
Youth pastor will straight them out, right?
Well, that's a valiant effort, but it's simply not enough.
Dr. Reed, one of my evangelism professors in seminary,
wrote this in Raising the Bar.
He says that over the last 30 years,
we have seen the largest increase in numbers of professional youth ministry degrees
and parachurch organizations designed to reach youth.
And we have seen the greatest decline in youth baptisms ever.
So we have more people who vocationally are trying to reach young people.
We have more organizations who are trying to reach young people.
And yet we have fewer baptisms than ever.
So they say, well, those youth pastors, they're just not doing their jobs.
No, youth pastors for the past 30 years have been trying to do the job
that God has given you as parents to do for your children,
to raise them and encourage them in the admonition of the Lord.
And this is what we're going to see this morning,
is that before the church was established,
before Jesus ever established his church,
that God established a family.
And one of the major functions of the family
is to raise children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
And so before we dive into this text,
I want to consider three simple foundations
that are going to guide us as we go through this text this morning.
The first is that the Word is sufficient.
God's Word is sufficient.
I must confess that I'm not really an expert at much of anything.
I don't really consider myself an expert of really much of anything at all.
And I'm certainly not an expert on parenting.
And so I hope that you find it comforting this morning
that I don't feel like it's my job or my position
to tell you how you need to be parenting your children,
to give you parental advice.
I just don't think that that's what God's called me to do this morning.
And it's not my goal to give you my personal philosophy on parenting.
My goal is to expose this Word, which is true in our lives.
And to expose what God has told us about parenting.
And by the way, for those of you who are single in here,
this message is for you as well.
Those who are single or maybe you're married but don't have any children.
Because we as a faith family need to absorb ourselves into this faith family
and be able to encourage the parents,
be able to help the parents as they try to raise their children in a godly manner.
So for you this morning, if you're single,
maybe one day you'll get married.
Maybe God's leading you toward that.
Maybe God's going to bless you with children one day.
And so hopefully these words will be true and ring true into your lives,
into the future as God leads you in that direction.
And my goal is to expose this Word that's true,
that's really foundational for all of our lives, for all parenting.
I'm going to stick as quickly, as closely to God's Word as I can.
And it's not that God's kind of wishing that He had a revised New Testament
saying what would be more relevant into a culture today.
It's not like God's sitting around thinking,
man, if I could just write a whole New Testament
that we could teach parents more about what it means to be parenting in today's culture.
But God gave us exactly what we need in His Word.
We have everything we need, which raises the level, which raises the importance of God's Word.
When we gather here as a faith family,
we've got to realize that we're teaching from a Word that God has given to us,
that has everything pertaining to life and godliness.
And so there's no different this morning.
We need to unpack what the Word has to say about parenting.
Now, I know as soon as I say that,
there's going to be parents in this room that are thinking,
now, Kyle, it's great and all, it's very interesting that you're saying all this,
but I'm not sure that Habakkuk and 1 Chronicles
has a lot to say about the situation that I'm in right now.
And you're probably right.
I think I would go so far as to say this,
I don't believe that this book was written to give you all the answers
to all of your parenting questions.
Believe me, one of the things that I'm looking forward to
is when Joseph can actually communicate to us.
He's 16 months old.
It'll be really great when he can actually communicate what's wrong
because as it is right now,
he just likes to scream when something's wrong.
And we don't know whether we need to take him to the hospital
or to give him a bottle.
Sometimes we're just kind of wondering,
what do we need to do with him?
And Habakkuk really isn't telling us,
giving us the answer to that.
You know, Habakkuk's not really fueling the answer for something like that
in our parenting.
However, this is the way the Word is sufficient.
And don't miss this because this is the key in our lives.
The most important thing that you can do for your children
is to grow into the image of Jesus Christ.
In Leviticus and 2 Chronicles and Habakkuk,
they all speak to that.
And your kids need to see Christ in you more than they need to see the philosophy of Dr. Phil.
So let's not bypass this Word,
which is sufficient for all life,
for all godliness,
for all parenting.
The Word is sufficient.
And it's the means by which God is transforming you
into the image of Christ.
Secondly,
second foundation this morning,
the home is central.
This is where we get ourselves into trouble.
And not in this church,
but in churches across America,
we get ourselves into trouble here
because we live in an age of professionalism.
We hire out even responsibilities,
our own responsibilities as parents.
We want our sons to be good athletes,
so we send them to the ball coach
to teach them skills
so they can become the best athlete possible.
We want our daughters
to get the best possible education,
so we send our daughters to the tutors
so that she can get her grades up
and so that she can make better scores on her SATs.
And then what happens is
we transfer that into the church world.
And in the church world,
we send our children to the student pastor,
to the children's ministry
to get the best possible biblical education.
What we're going to see this morning
is that from the very beginning,
God has established the home
as the central and primary method
from transferring His Word
from one generation to the next generation.
It's not the responsibility of youth pastors
and of children's pastors
to teach or to evangelize your children.
As a believer in Jesus Christ,
it's your responsibility
to disciple
and to share the gospel with your children.
I want you to hear loud and clear
that it is not the church's job.
If you're a believer in the room,
it's not the church's job
to evangelize your child.
What we're created within our Christian culture,
our church culture in America,
is an atmosphere
where it's almost like
we're saying,
listen,
we've got your kids,
you don't worry about it.
We're professionals.
Don't attempt this at home.
And it's wrong.
And it's unbiblical.
And I'll tell you from firsthand experience
that student ministry is ineffective
the way we currently do it
in America.
And I want to encourage parents today
that you have everything that you need
to disciple your family in the home.
Everything that you need
is right here in God's Word.
The Word is sufficient.
The home is central.
The gospel is necessary.
We've got to have the gospel
being taught in our homes.
You have to teach our children.
We've got to teach your children the gospel.
The gospel is not something
that we just hear in prayer,
prayer,
and move on with the rest of our lives.
The gospel is incredibly important in the home.
It's our source of salvation.
And by the way,
it's our only source of salvation.
I don't think I have to tell any parents
in the room this morning
that your child
has the propensity to sin.
They kind of come out that way, right?
They come out ready to take you on
with their best shot.
I know this from having a 16-month-old
and already he's tried.
Don't get me wrong.
He's the biggest blessing in my life in the world.
But he's also sometimes the biggest challenge
that I've ever experienced.
Because children,
they come out as sinners.
And guess what?
You're a sinner too.
So what happens when you put sinful children
and sinful parents under the same roof?
You've got yourself a challenge, right?
Some of you in here might just have an amen
to say to that.
Some of you are just saying,
that's me.
You're speaking to me right now, Kyle.
And here's the deal.
You won't find this in many books
or many seminars
or any self-help type conferences.
But what your children ultimately need
is the gospel.
See, in a lot of books that you read,
you'll see a lot about behavior change.
This is how you change your child's behavior.
But the ultimate reality is
that until your child has the gospel,
until Jesus gives us new hearts,
there's no hope for change.
And as a parent,
until your child is able to receive Christ,
until Jesus is able to impact them
and change them from the inside out,
you've got no hope for change.
We need new hearts.
Our children need new hearts.
Not just to be saved from the penalty of sin
and just move on with our lives.
We need new hearts.
The gospel is our source for transformation.
This is Ephesians 5.18,
the context in which our passage this morning is found.
Be filled with the Holy Spirit,
the Spirit in you through the gospel,
transforming you.
No matter how much we teach our children to be good,
there's no way for them to follow God's word
apart from the grace of God working within them
and changing their hearts and their lives.
And so it's with these three foundations
that we dive into our text this morning.
Ephesians chapter 6,
starting in verse 1.
I know this is a long intro,
but just bear with me.
We needed to get through some stuff
before we dive into the text.
Ephesians 6, verse 1.
And children,
obey your parents and the Lord,
for this is right.
Honor your father and mother,
which is the first commandment with a promise,
so that it may be well with you,
and that you may live long on the earth.
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger,
but bring them up in the discipline
and instruction of the Lord.
You look at all four verses in this passage,
and all four verses,
parents are emphasized.
In verse 4, it's fathers.
In Scripture, we get this picture
that fathers are to be the leaders in the home.
They're supposed to be responsible
for the spiritual formation of the family.
Not sole responsibility,
but a leading responsibility.
You see back in Ephesians 5,
one chapter before where we are this morning,
Ephesians 5, it doesn't get any clearer.
The husband is the head of the home.
Husbands need to lead families.
It doesn't mean that, man,
that we're supposed to lord over our wives and children.
It's not like we should say,
me, man, you, woman, me, say, you do.
Right?
We're supposed to love our families,
Ephesians 5 says,
as Christ loved the church
and gave himself up for her.
Men, it's time that we step up to the plate
and give ourselves up for our families.
The sacrificial love
that God has called us to,
men in the room.
So what does this word say to parents?
What is the application here to parents?
God gives you children by His grace.
Verse 1,
Obey your parents and the Lord.
Verse 4,
Bring them up in the discipline
and instruction of the Lord.
The whole picture here
is bookended in this passage.
It revolves around God.
The picture is that God
has entrusted children to the parents.
Parents, your children are not your own.
They are God's.
And you are stewards over them.
And God has called you
to do something with them.
And in this passage,
God has called you
to raise them up
in the instruction
and discipline of the Lord.
Not only does God give you children
by His grace,
God gives you children
for His glory.
You look throughout Scripture.
You look all the way back to Genesis.
And you begin to see that God,
everything that He does
throughout history
has been for His glory.
Genesis is where Abraham
receives the blessing.
God gives Abraham a blessing.
He's going to be the father
of many nations.
Why?
Scripture says it's for God's glory.
The walls come down at Jericho.
For whose glory?
For God's glory.
David is able to slay Goliath
for the glory of God.
So that a nation
would come to worship
and so that all people
would see that God
is the kind of God
that takes care of His people.
And that God would be glorified in that.
Even down to the cross.
Jesus died on the cross.
Yes, because of our sin.
And we get to benefit
from the sacrifice
that Christ made.
But it was ultimately
for God's glory.
So God has given us children
by His grace
and for His glory.
And I want to put that
next to what the world says
about being a successful parent.
Because there's a huge gap
between what the world says
as being a successful parent
and what the Bible says
as being a successful parent.
The goal of biblical parenting
is not to help your children
get a good education.
The goal is not that you see to it
that your children
have the best grades.
Go to the best college.
As the best education.
Now I'm not saying
that education is bad.
There's certainly
some validity in the statement
that we need
to honor and glorify God
with our minds
to the best of our ability.
I believe that that's true
and part of that is education.
But what we run into
a problem is
when we put grades
and we put education
far above relationship
with Christ
in our homes.
The goal of biblical parenting
is not to help your children
be a great athlete.
The goal is not
to make your children
the best
at every single sport
that they play.
It's not running yourself ragged
throwing the kids
in the minivan
running them around
all over town
trying to get to every
sporting event
that they play.
To win trophies
that will eventually
sit around
gathering dust
in some room
that you never go in.
That's not the goal
of biblical parenting.
The goal of biblical parenting
is not for your child
to go on great dates.
The goal of biblical parenting
is not to help your children
in glorified divorce practice
which is what dating
essentially is.
Where children
and teenagers
and sometimes younger
even onto their college years
are involved
in exclusive relationships
sometimes even
sexual relationships
only to move on
to somebody else
the next year.
It's glorified
the divorce practice
and parents
we should not
be encouraging it.
The goal of biblical parenting
is not to help
your children
have a great career.
Likewise
the goal
is not to help
your children
make great money.
See the problem
with all of these
is that there are
worldly views
of success.
And not what the Bible
teaches
is successful.
I'm not saying
these things
are inherently bad
I'm saying that
we're teaching
our children
what it means
to be successful
in the world's sight
not in God's sight.
And even in our churches
we're teaching
our children
that they need
to be successful
in this world
and this is simply
not true.
But here's why
this is important
and this is why
this is so subtly
dangerous to us
because the picture
that is so common
is that we
tell our children
that they need
to get good grades
that they need
to be dating
the cutest guy
or girl
in high school
that they need
to be good at sports
that they need
to work hard
and play an instrument
so that they
can be successful
in this world.
All along
we teach them
these things
and every single day
we prioritize
a worldly view
of success
and yet we're not
teaching our children
to serve
the Lord
in their lives.
We're not
prioritizing God
in our homes
and in our families.
And God help us
if our answer
is to say
well we attend
church every week.
so you give
a couple hours
every week
to God
while pouring
hours upon
hours of your
time and effort
into taking
your kids
to ball practice
and to their
ball games
and to gymnastics
and to the dance
team and everything
else that is
wrapped in this
secular world view.
This is what
Bodie Bauckham
says, author,
professor, and pastor.
He says in his book
that's called
Family Driven Faith
he says if I teach
my son to keep
his eye on the ball
but fail to teach
him to keep
his eyes on Christ
I have failed
as a father.
We must refuse
to allow trivial
temporal pursuits
to interfere
with the main thing.
No sports endeavor
will ever be
as important
as becoming a man
or a woman
of God.
Later on he goes
in his book
he goes on
to share about
this family
who's struggling
with their college
student.
Thomas had grown
up in the church
and he was a
regular in the
youth group
and he attended
Disciple Now.
He went to all
the youth group
meetings on a
regular basis.
He went on
the mission trips
with the church.
When Thomas
got into college
things began to
change.
He stopped
attending church.
He began to
struggle in class.
Upon further
investigation his
parents found out
the reason why
he was failing
his classes
was because he
was out drinking
at night.
with his
buddies and
often times
missing classes.
Finally Thomas
was suspended
from the college
baseball team
because the
result of a
random drug
test revealed
that he was
using anabolic
steroids.
The story
kind of begs
this question
what happened?
What happened?
How could this
happen to such
a promising
young man?
this is what
Bodie Bauckham
says.
He says,
this man and
his wife had
gone to great
lengths to see
to it that
their son became
the best
baseball player
he could be.
This also
meant that
during the
summer and
fall church
attendance was
sporadic at
best.
Like many
parents they
found themselves
traveling to
tournament after
tournament and
praying for the
opportunity to be
out on Sunday
since that meant
that they were
playing for a
title somewhere.
What they
didn't realize was
that they were
teaching Thomas to
prioritize baseball
over the fourth
commandment.
They were
teaching Thomas
that he should
honor the
Sabbath and
keep it holy
unless it's
baseball season.
Thus when Thomas
got to college and
he had to choose
between going to
church and hanging
out with his
teammates the
foundation for his
decision had
already been laid.
In other words
Thomas' lack of
commitment to
spiritual matters
laid the groundwork
for his moral
compromise.
Let me tell you
something.
In this room
this morning
don't think
that this
situation won't
happen to you.
I've seen it
as a student
pastor over
and over
again and
it's especially
true for
parents that
prioritize all
these other
things over
your child's
spiritual formation.
The reality is
that if dads
in this room
are more
passionate about
teaching their
sons how to
swing a baseball
bat than they
are about teaching
your sons how
to study the
Bible then
we've missed
the point.
If moms in
this room are
more passionate
about teaching
their daughters
how to wear
their makeup
than they are
about what it
means to have
a gentle and
quiet spirit
then we've
missed the point.
The danger is
that one day
our sons and
daughters are
going to stand
before God in
heaven with all
of these things
that we've told
them are important.
all these things
we've told them
that would make
them successful
and they're
going to be
standing before
God on that
day and all
of that is
burned up in
the fire.
They stand
before God
as beggars
on that day
and it is
completely and
utterly our
failure as
parents to
have taught
them what was
truly important
in their
lives.
The goal of
biblical parenting
is not to
raise our
children in a
worldly success.
The goal of
biblical parenting
is to help
your children
accomplish a
great commission.
That's the
goal of
biblical parenting.
That is
God's view
of success.
And it's
there from the
beginning of
scripture.
God says to
his people,
you raise your
children to
know me,
to love me,
to serve me.
You raise
your children
to spread my
word, to
make me known
in all the
world.
Is that what's
really driving
our parenting?
Is that what's
really driving
us as parents
today?
Are we
fueling the
great commission
to make
disciples or
are we
hindering?
I've had
parents come
to me as
a student
pastor saying,
I would
never let
my child
go into
a third
world country.
It's just
too dangerous.
I've had
other parents
say, I
would never
let my
child go
into a
country that
was closed
because of
the danger
level that
there is in
that country.
That's because
we've come to
the point in
our Christian
walks where
we value
long life.
You won't
find that in
the word of
God.
You won't
find valuing
long life.
What you
will find is
valuing,
sacrificing
your life,
giving your
life up for
the sake of
the glory of
God.
Jesus had
twelve
followers.
Twelve,
he had more
than that.
Twelve close
followers,
these disciples.
Judas
committed
suicide.
Ten others
died on
account of
sharing and
spreading the
gospel of
Jesus Christ.
Do you
think that
they would
have done
it all
over again
and done
something
different to
spare their
lives?
I don't
think they
would have.
The
twelfth one
was exiled
on account of
the gospel.
John was
exiled on
account of
the gospel.
You simply
won't find it
in scripture
where God
values long
life.
In fact,
you find the
opposite.
Here's where I
want to take
you to another
location in
scripture.
Deuteronomy
chapter 6.
If you would
turn there
with me.
Deuteronomy
chapter 6,
the fifth book
of the Bible.
Another place
where we
really don't
have time to
go this
morning,
we're running
out of time.
In Genesis
18-19,
when God
speaks to
Abraham about
his children,
it's the first
time the
teaching is
ever mentioned
in God's
word.
It's mentioned
in the context
of family.
It's God
saying to
Abraham,
instruct your
children in
my ways.
Instruct your
children in
my commands.
It's the
first picture
that we see
of this word
instructing.
It's used
in the context
of a father
teaching his
family or
leading his
family in
God's word.
Then you
get to
Deuteronomy
6.
This is what
Deuteronomy
6 verse 4
says.
Hear,
O Israel,
the Lord our
God,
the Lord is
one.
There's a
statement of
faith and
based off
that statement
of faith.
Love the
Lord your
God with
all of
your heart,
with all
your soul,
with all
of your
might.
These words
which I
am commanding
you today
shall be
on your
heart.
You
shall teach
them how?
Diligently.
To your
sons and
shall talk
of them when
you sit
in your
home.
And when
you walk
by the way,
when you
lie down,
and when
you rise
up,
you shall
bind them
as a sign
on your
hand,
and they
shall be
as frontals
on your
forehead.
You
shall write
them on
the
doorpost
of your
house and
on your
gates.
You get the
picture here?
From the
very beginning,
the central
avenue for
disciple-making,
for spreading
the word of
God,
has been in
the home.
So what does
this mean for
us today?
How can we
instruct our
children so
that they
know the
word?
First of all,
we have to
have a verbal
commitment to
God's word
in our
homes.
This is
verse 7.
Impress
them on your
children.
Talk about
them when you
sit at home,
when you walk
along the
road,
when you
lie down
and when
you get up.
That pretty
much covers
any time
that you
can possibly
be teaching
God's word
in your
home.
Be teaching
it.
If you're
at home,
talk about
the word.
If you're
away from
home,
talk about
the word.
When you're
going from
home to
wherever you're
going,
talk about
the word.
All the
time.
Talk about
it more
than you
talk about
baseball.
Talk about
it more
than you
talk about
college
football.
Talk about
it more
than you
talk about
how to
do your
makeup and
shoes and
whatever else
girls talk
about with
their
daughters.
Make a
verbal
commitment
to the
word.
The best
Bible
teacher is
not me
for your
children.
The best
Bible teacher
for your
children is
actually not
Nathan.
I think
that he
would agree
with that.
The best
Bible teacher
for your
children is
you.
As a
parent.
You are
the best
Bible teacher.
God's called
you to do
it.
We must
make a
verbal
commitment,
but also
we must
have a
visible
commitment.
This element
is in this
passage here.
Deuteronomy
6.
You know,
mom or dad
may not be
talking to
you right
now,
but it's
there on
your walls.
It's on
your gate.
We need
to start
stamping
things on
our forehead,
maybe stamping
scripture on
our forehead
somehow when
we go out
and walk
around.
I'm not
ruling that
out.
Maybe that's
there in
the text.
Maybe you
want to
really look at
it incredibly
literally and
actually do
that.
But I
believe what
this passage
is really
telling us
is that
the picture
is that the
word is
visible in
your home,
so visible
that it
permeates
everything that
we do.
And you
might want
to post
your memory
verse for
the week
up on
your
children's
mirrors so
that they
can see
it,
visibly
see it
in the
home.
We also
have to
make a
visible
commitment
to God's
word.
You know,
just a few
generations ago
a man was
considered
spiritually
responsible if
he did
these things.
Unfortunately
today a man
is considered
spiritually
responsible if
he sends
his children
to the most
cutting edge
youth or
children's
program.
We can
no longer
sit idly by it.
I know,
again,
I'm just
preaching to
the choir
here.
You've
chosen
Christ's
Family
Church for
a reason
and that
may be
one of the
reasons why
you've even
chosen Christ's
Family
Church because
they do
things
differently
here.
We do
things
out of
the norm
of what
the culture
is doing.
I think
that's a
biblical
approach
rather than
trying to
copy what
all the
other
churches
are doing.
It's a
more
biblical
approach.
We must
also train
our children
so that
they show
the word.
In other
words,
you impress
upon them
the word
but also
you help
them make
it come
alive in
their lives.
You help
them to put
it into
practice in
their lives.
the picture
here is
that you
keep them
within the
boundaries and
train them
to walk in
obedience and
honor to
God.
It takes
training and
it takes
discipline to
do these
things.
Studying
through Ephesians
6 makes
you wonder
why are
families not
doing these
things in
our culture
today?
The instruction
is there.
God's told
us to do
it.
Why are we
not
worshiping
in our
homes?
Why are
we not
reading
God's
word in
our
homes?
Why are
we not
having
family
worshiped?
time.
I wonder
if maybe
it's
because we
like to
discipline
our own
lives.
Our
children
will never
be what
they cannot
see.
When you
look at
Titus 2.12
it talks
about how
God's grace
is training
us in
godliness
in such a
way that
we're able
to impart
that upon
others.
I think
from observation
the opposite
is true as
well.
You can
also train
your children
in ungodliness.
If they
see ungodliness
in your
lives,
you're
teaching
that.
You're
imparting
that upon
them as
well.
If you
don't hold
God's
word high
in regard
in the
home,
you're
teaching
your
children
that God's
word is
just not
important.
So that
means the
reality is
that husbands,
wives,
moms,
dads,
we need to
step up to
the plate.
single
people in
the room,
future
moms,
future
husbands,
future
dads,
call us
to you
too.
And the
way it
begins for
those of you
who don't
have children
is to
rally around
families in
this church
to support
them.
When a
child is
crying sitting
next to you,
you don't
roll your
eyes and
think,
oh man,
I just
can't listen
to the
sermon right
now.
I can't
figure out
what they're
saying.
You support
that family
because,
as Nathan
said earlier,
we don't
just tolerate
children,
we love
them.
Here's another
side to that.
We need to
learn,
as a faith
family,
that the
worship of
children is
important to
God.
Their worship
is important.
Which is why
we want to
include them
in corporate
worship.
I've been
in a lot
of churches
and you
may have
been in
churches
in the
past
before.
They do
this thing
where they
allow the
children to
sit in
the service
through the
music time
and then
when the
time comes
for the
preacher to
come up
to preach
God's
word,
they usher
them out
of the
service.
Now,
you might
have a
different
philosophy
than I
do,
but think
about what
that teaches
children.
It teaches
them that maybe
singing songs
is important,
but the
teaching of
God's word,
we don't have
to be involved
with that.
teaching our
children
priority is
playing games
in a nursery
rather than
being in
the teaching
of God's
word,
time where
knowledge and
encouragement
is imparted
upon you
as a faith
family.
Now,
I want to
encourage you
to read the
Bible together
in your
families.
I want to
encourage you
to at least
find one
day that you
can worship
together as a
family.
Schedule it.
If you don't
schedule it,
it's not going
to happen.
I'm speaking
from experience.
At least one
day a week
that you can
worship with
your families.
So,
challenge
husbands on
the way home
today.
Schedule time
with your
wife.
This is the
time that we're
going to gather
together.
If you want
to do it
six times,
seven times a
week,
that's even
better.
But one is
better than
none,
right?
So,
I encourage
families,
figure out a
time when you
can get
together to
worship together
as a family.
The word
needs to be
taught in your
home.
You know what
else you can
do is you
can read the
word in the
morning and
every night
with your
children.
That's something
that anybody
can do.
If you need
resources to
help you do
this,
to help you
in your
family
worship
time,
I'm sure
Nathan can
provide free
resources for
you.
I know
there's some
free resources
if you're
interested.
I can share
those with
you as
well.
Let me
tell you
why this
is so
important
today.
We're
wrapping
this up.
Let me
tell you
why this
is so
important.
You go to
scores of
church
buildings
across
America
and
across
Europe
and you
see
empty
buildings.
These
church
buildings
are
empty
shelves
of what
used
to be
great
thriving
churches.
Completely
empty
today.
I shared
with you
these
statistics
for a
reason
because if
we continue
in the
same
pattern
in our
culture
today,
we're
going to
see
hundreds
if not
thousands
of empty
church
buildings.
Possibly
even other
businesses
having moved
into church
buildings
because
that
congregation
has died
away.
The
statistics
are real.
Not making
it up.
I'm not
saying the
church is
going to
disappear.
God's
word is
going to
continue
on until
the end.
His
word
proclaims
that.
His
word is
going to
carry
on all
the way
through
eternity.
There's
no question
about that.
But whether
we're
involved or
whether our
children or
our children's
children are
involved with
that has
everything to
do with how
we interact
with Ephesians
chapter 6.
So we're
going to pray
right now and I
just want to
invite husbands
especially to be
leaders of
your home.
Step up to
the plate.
Wives, be
supportive of
your husband in
that role.
Help him where
he needs help.
Help teach the
children in the
home.
Children, quite
simply, obey
your parents.
Let's pray
together.
Heavenly Father,
we thank you so
much for giving
us this opportunity
to gather here as
a faith family in
this room.
We thank you,
Father, for your
word.
I pray, Father,
that it would
change our lives,
it would work in
our hearts to
transform us.
Lord, I pray for
fathers in here,
that they would be
willing to step up
to the plate.
They'd be willing
to begin to lead
their families in
spiritual formation.
They'd be willing
to read the word
in their home,
to have a verbal
commitment to your
word, to have a
visible commitment
to your word in
the home.
I pray for wives,
Father, that you
would guide them
and that you would
help them be a
support to their
husbands.
You would help
them in the
spiritual formation
of their children
as well.
And I pray that
the children would
read the benefits
of this endeavor
by these moms and
dads who are
attempting to be
the best they can
be as spiritual
leaders in their
homes.
These children
would be raised
indeed in the
admonition, the
encouragement, and
discipline of the
Lord.
And I pray,
Father, that this
church, these people
in this room this
morning, that we
would beat the
statistics, that we
wouldn't be bound
by statistics that
are overwhelmingly
true in our
country.
So, Father, help
us as we have
been challenged
this morning.
Help us to rise up
to that challenge,
to begin to see the
need to teach your
word in our homes.
we begin to see
the need to rally
around families who
need encouragement.
Most of all, Father,
I pray that you would
be honored and
glorified in our
lives as we do
these things.
I pray this all in
the name of your
Son, Jesus Christ.
Amen.