WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.040 Okay, we're going to look this morning for a few minutes together at the book of Proverbs. 00:00:06.040 --> 00:00:08.439 Proverbs is an interesting book. 00:00:08.439 --> 00:00:12.359 It's not one that you can really go through each chapter at a time. 00:00:12.359 --> 00:00:16.760 It's very thematic, so it has got lots of different themes throughout it. 00:00:16.760 --> 00:00:22.760 But really the context of it generally, it's a royal parental advice from the King to his 00:00:22.760 --> 00:00:27.839 son in the context of the Middle Near East to a young pretender. 00:00:27.839 --> 00:00:31.440 And it just speaks of such wisdom for families. 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:39.200 It speaks of such wisdom about God and about grace and about truth and about how to live. 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:44.079 And it's really a book of God's common sense for us all, and God's wisdom. 00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:47.359 It spoke about wisdom in the chapter that we read. 00:00:47.359 --> 00:00:54.320 And it reminds us all the time of the significance of wisdom that we want to impart as parents 00:00:54.320 --> 00:00:59.079 to our children and as people to one another. 00:00:59.079 --> 00:01:04.239 The theme, I guess, is much about family and kids today, but also about family, Jen, not 00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:11.140 just the kind of nuclear family as it were, but the church family because it's all relevant. 00:01:11.140 --> 00:01:17.939 And we see that this book speaks very much into where we get wisdom, where our wisdom 00:01:17.939 --> 00:01:24.299 is sourced in the person of Jesus Christ and King Jesus and in knowing and loving Him. 00:01:24.299 --> 00:01:30.719 And the ethics of belonging to Him and what that means, it speaks about community, about 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:33.759 society, about how we live together as one another. 00:01:33.759 --> 00:01:40.439 It's very much often the outworking of God's command for us to love one another and what 00:01:40.439 --> 00:01:44.759 that looks like in family and in society. 00:01:44.759 --> 00:01:51.400 So it speaks about society and it speaks about family and the importance of family and what 00:01:51.400 --> 00:01:56.000 happens in family, we recognize the significance of that. 00:01:56.000 --> 00:02:04.680 And as parents, maybe we recognize the burden that we have of sharing truth and being an 00:02:04.680 --> 00:02:08.240 example to our children. 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:15.120 And that's true in a church context also, the importance of who we are, our brokenness, 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:23.000 our need for healing and forgiveness and in relationships, whether it's the dynamic relationships 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:29.560 of family or, for example, in church family, where there's love, we often find the deepest 00:02:29.560 --> 00:02:37.280 joys, we also sometimes find the deepest hurts and the deepest regrets that we share. 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:44.599 There's often paralysis within families and we see the influence for good that we have 00:02:44.599 --> 00:02:46.759 on one another in a church context. 00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:51.519 We also see the influence sometimes for bad that we can have on one another, either in 00:02:51.519 --> 00:02:54.560 church life or in family life. 00:02:54.560 --> 00:03:02.759 It's a place therefore that begets stability or instability and we all have a part to play 00:03:02.759 --> 00:03:08.319 as children, as parents, as members of a church family together. 00:03:08.319 --> 00:03:14.879 And of course, what we find from God's Word and implicit in the book of Proverbs, if not 00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:21.479 often quite so much, explicitly stated maybe more so in the Psalms, we find that is forgiveness, 00:03:21.479 --> 00:03:27.159 the importance of forgiveness, the importance of forgiveness in families as parents and 00:03:27.159 --> 00:03:30.319 also accepting that as children. 00:03:30.319 --> 00:03:32.120 It's an amazing place, family. 00:03:32.120 --> 00:03:38.560 It's an amazing place where our true colours are usually revealed very clearly, a place 00:03:38.560 --> 00:03:46.000 where we can live and expose what we are or hide what we are, and that's true in the church 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:47.000 also. 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:52.920 And it's a place where we seek to train and guide our children, particularly into the 00:03:52.920 --> 00:03:55.480 ways of truth. 00:03:55.480 --> 00:04:00.159 And therefore, our example and our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ as parents is 00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:02.520 particularly important. 00:04:02.520 --> 00:04:09.639 We know we can't idolise our children nor can we ignore our children. 00:04:09.639 --> 00:04:16.360 And we know that it's important to bring them to recognise and understand who we are as 00:04:16.360 --> 00:04:22.159 believers and what that means for our relationship with them. 00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:31.560 So Proverbs is a book of proverbial truth, I think, for parents, but also for us all. 00:04:31.560 --> 00:04:37.080 And that is the context in which we'll look at it for a few minutes this morning. 00:04:37.080 --> 00:04:44.080 It speaks about our privileges and our responsibilities as parents and as people. 00:04:44.080 --> 00:04:47.960 And I'm not going to be saying for those who are here week to week, I'll not be saying 00:04:47.959 --> 00:04:53.680 anything new, but sometimes it's good just to be reminded of, I think, what the Bible 00:04:53.680 --> 00:05:00.279 always reminds us of what is important and what is significant. 00:05:00.279 --> 00:05:05.959 And I'm going to begin with that very important truth for us all, which Proverbs reminds us 00:05:05.959 --> 00:05:06.959 of. 00:05:06.959 --> 00:05:13.799 We read in chapter 4 and in verse 23, there it says, Keep your heart with all vigilance 00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:18.040 for from it flows the springs of life. 00:05:18.040 --> 00:05:20.680 You know, we could preach on that every week. 00:05:20.680 --> 00:05:22.400 We could highlight that every week. 00:05:22.400 --> 00:05:24.160 We could sing it every week. 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:26.400 We could have it up in the screens every week. 00:05:26.400 --> 00:05:29.240 We could think about it every morning of life. 00:05:29.240 --> 00:05:35.040 Every day we get up, remember the importance of guarding our hearts, of protecting our 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:38.040 hearts, of keeping our hearts with all vigilance. 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:41.879 And we know that Proverbs speaks about the fear of the Lord being the beginning of wisdom 00:05:41.879 --> 00:05:48.120 and that wisdom comes from knowing who God is in Jesus Christ. 00:05:48.120 --> 00:05:55.360 And we have to guard our hearts because that is the very core of the covenantal truth that 00:05:55.360 --> 00:06:01.439 is expressed from the Abrahamic covenant right through that we'll be looking at very briefly 00:06:01.439 --> 00:06:04.040 in baptism later on. 00:06:04.040 --> 00:06:10.399 Is God who is a saving God and He is the one who changes our hearts and He is the one who 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:14.079 restores us and gives us a relationship with Him. 00:06:14.079 --> 00:06:21.479 And so it's always about as Christians, guarding our hearts under the power of God's grace, 00:06:21.479 --> 00:06:26.519 recognizing who He is, knowing His love and forgiveness, expressing that and living it 00:06:26.519 --> 00:06:27.519 in our lives. 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:31.839 We're talking about sharing our faith on Wednesday evenings and it's the same thing, isn't it? 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:37.799 It's about knowing what God has done in our hearts and being able to express that and 00:06:37.799 --> 00:06:40.279 live it and share it with others. 00:06:40.279 --> 00:06:46.399 So as parents and as people, the most important thing for us is knowing Calvary and what happened 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:49.319 at Calvary before anything else. 00:06:49.319 --> 00:06:55.959 What happened when the Son of God came and was nailed to a tree and was crucified on 00:06:55.959 --> 00:06:56.959 the cross. 00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:00.279 And He said, Father, forgive them for they don't know what they're doing. 00:07:00.279 --> 00:07:03.959 He said, Father, where are you? 00:07:03.959 --> 00:07:05.159 Why have you forsaken me? 00:07:05.159 --> 00:07:06.439 My God, my God. 00:07:06.439 --> 00:07:12.879 Because there He was taking in all His justice and in all His love, He was taking our sins 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:18.839 upon Himself on the cross so that as we trust in Him and as we believe in His resurrection 00:07:18.839 --> 00:07:24.159 power, then we will know forgiveness and life eternal. 00:07:24.159 --> 00:07:26.240 That is the one power. 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:32.240 That is the one grace, that is the one glory, that is the one life that we need as parents 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:34.279 and as people. 00:07:34.279 --> 00:07:38.079 So as a parent, we care about our children so much. 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:43.479 We care about the material comfort, about a good home, about holidays, about strong education, 00:07:43.479 --> 00:07:47.719 all these things for our children, so important. 00:07:47.719 --> 00:07:51.679 But your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, my relationship with the Lord Jesus 00:07:51.679 --> 00:07:55.679 Christ stands above all these things, all these things. 00:07:55.679 --> 00:08:00.919 And as a church family, when we think about how we live our lives and what we think about 00:08:00.920 --> 00:08:04.640 church and what we think about this and that with regard to church, what we think about 00:08:04.640 --> 00:08:07.840 people in the church, ministers in the church, leaders. 00:08:07.840 --> 00:08:14.640 It is our own heart and life and our response to all that we face that is the most important, 00:08:14.640 --> 00:08:22.120 that we are a people growing and learning all the time, as Billy mentioned, in our faith, 00:08:22.120 --> 00:08:28.040 that our own spiritual disciplines are going to be the most important thing in the home 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:31.680 and in the church family also. 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:39.240 So it's vital for us and it's vital for us as parents, it's vital for us as people to 00:08:39.240 --> 00:08:42.560 take your own heart experience into everything that you do. 00:08:42.560 --> 00:08:47.240 And it's parents that you take your heart experience into your relationship with your 00:08:47.240 --> 00:08:53.000 children and we take our heart experience into our relationship with one another. 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:54.000 What does that mean? 00:08:54.000 --> 00:09:00.320 It means that we're patient and sacrificial, that we put others first, that we unconditionally 00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:09.360 love, that we train ourselves as we seek to train our children and that we show our children 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:15.080 forgiveness and ask for forgiveness from them and from one another. 00:09:15.080 --> 00:09:18.919 And everything I say about parents is true of us all together. 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:20.399 So we have to guard our heart. 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:23.440 But I'm going to take a couple of other verses from different places in Provence. 00:09:23.440 --> 00:09:28.000 I think you're allowed to do that because it's that kind of thematic book. 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:33.000 To guard our heart, so just what we are inside, a relationship with Jesus inside, but also 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:34.000 we have to watch our life. 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:39.620 And there's a couple of verses there, Proverbs 7, 20 and 31, 28, where it says, the righteous 00:09:39.620 --> 00:09:43.080 lead blameless lives, blessed are their children after them. 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:46.680 And her children, speaking about a mother, arise and call her blessed. 00:09:46.679 --> 00:09:55.759 And both these verses stem from the fact that the parents are living lives honestly and 00:09:55.759 --> 00:09:59.120 openly before their God as their Savior. 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:02.679 And their example brings blessing to their children. 00:10:02.679 --> 00:10:06.519 So there's a follow on from their life that brings blessing to their children. 00:10:06.519 --> 00:10:08.079 We know that to be true, don't we? 00:10:08.079 --> 00:10:14.039 The importance of a good example, not just as parents as it can be in the workplace, 00:10:14.039 --> 00:10:20.599 it can be in the home, it can be in the university, it can be among colleagues, whatever. 00:10:20.599 --> 00:10:24.639 Our example stems from having guarded our hearts, doesn't it? 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:31.360 As we guard our hearts, as we live in relationship with Christ as believers, then that flows out 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:37.639 into how we live our lives and how we consistently follow Jesus Christ. 00:10:37.639 --> 00:10:41.199 So it's always about living lives. 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:45.120 When it says blameless, it doesn't mean that we're innocent. 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:49.480 It means that we are taking our failings and faults to the Lord Jesus Christ seeking His 00:10:49.480 --> 00:10:50.480 forgiveness. 00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:53.440 It means that we're not hypocritical and having double standards. 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:59.040 It means we don't let our lives are garred down in private and we're one thing in public 00:10:59.040 --> 00:11:00.040 and one thing in private. 00:11:00.040 --> 00:11:06.040 It means we're pure inside and outside as we strive to live His way. 00:11:06.040 --> 00:11:10.560 It means the way we treat our husbands and wives and our children in private and how 00:11:10.559 --> 00:11:16.279 we speak to colleagues and friends and people in church in public is the same. 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:19.119 It means that we live humbly. 00:11:19.119 --> 00:11:23.519 It means that we deal with the way we deal with mistakes and failure is the way Christ 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:28.759 has dealt with us in grace and forgiveness and patience and long suffering. 00:11:28.759 --> 00:11:34.119 It means that we deal with our shortcomings and our bad tempers and our failings before 00:11:34.119 --> 00:11:36.239 the living God. 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:42.039 Our use of time, our use of leisure and pleasure, the way we express love, our commitment, our 00:11:42.039 --> 00:11:48.680 priorities, our humility is all reflective of our hearts and guarding our hearts so that 00:11:48.680 --> 00:11:52.080 we are also watching our lives. 00:11:52.080 --> 00:11:57.840 You know it's true, don't you, that children are the sharpest mimics and learners. 00:11:57.840 --> 00:11:59.399 They learn very quickly. 00:11:59.399 --> 00:12:07.639 I think I've told this story before here about my nephew who lived a lot of his very 00:12:07.639 --> 00:12:09.240 young life on the farm. 00:12:09.240 --> 00:12:13.120 Katrina's dad was a shepherd and he lived with his grandfather. 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:15.319 My nephew lived with his grandfather early on. 00:12:15.319 --> 00:12:16.319 He was very young. 00:12:16.319 --> 00:12:22.639 From a very young age he was out working the sheep and mimicking his grandfather. 00:12:22.639 --> 00:12:28.399 One day he came in and someone said something to him at the kitchen table and he went like 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:30.039 that, pardon? 00:12:30.039 --> 00:12:33.439 Because it was exactly what his grandfather would do. 00:12:33.439 --> 00:12:36.439 You know it's funny to see a three-year-old boy going, pardon? 00:12:36.439 --> 00:12:39.240 Because it was such an old manish kind of thing to do. 00:12:39.240 --> 00:12:43.360 And yet he mimicked his grandfather in that way and that's what children do and that's 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:45.959 obviously a very physical, simple example. 00:12:45.959 --> 00:12:53.120 But we often, children often mimic what they see, the bad habits and the good habits. 00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:57.079 And that's not absolutely true in church also. 00:12:57.080 --> 00:13:00.120 But you see other people doing this, Christians, oh, if it's okay for them to do that, then 00:13:00.120 --> 00:13:01.120 I can do that. 00:13:01.120 --> 00:13:04.879 It's okay to speak like that about people, then I can speak like that about people. 00:13:04.879 --> 00:13:15.440 So how we live and how we example our faith in Christ is what children see. 00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:16.600 So we need to watch our lives. 00:13:16.600 --> 00:13:25.879 But we also have a great duty as parents and with one another to teach what we live. 00:13:25.879 --> 00:13:31.960 Then we have Proverbs 1, I think in the next slide, teach what you live. 00:13:31.960 --> 00:13:36.759 Proverbs 1, 7, 8, if fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom 00:13:36.759 --> 00:13:41.240 and instruction and then listen, my son, to your father's instruction, do not forsake 00:13:41.240 --> 00:13:42.240 your mother's teaching. 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:47.120 Isn't that a great reality of parental responsibility? 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:58.919 Because you are the great educators in their lives, you're incredibly influential. 00:13:58.919 --> 00:14:07.240 And chapter 4 where we read, verse 4 says, Let your heart hold fast, my words, keep my 00:14:07.240 --> 00:14:09.120 commands and live. 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:12.759 And we know we can't keep the commands. 00:14:12.759 --> 00:14:13.759 What are the commands? 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:18.080 Summarize, loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind. 00:14:18.080 --> 00:14:19.600 Love your neighbor as yourself. 00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:22.480 But that's why we come to Christ, isn't it? 00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:29.840 Because He's kept them for us and it's through Him we can seek to follow and live that way. 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:32.120 The fear of the Lord being the beginning of wisdom. 00:14:32.120 --> 00:14:33.120 Where do we find that? 00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:35.000 Where do you go to find the fear of the Lord? 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:37.679 It's at the foot of the cross, isn't it? 00:14:37.679 --> 00:14:43.559 That's where we find our understanding and respect and love and worship of the Lord when 00:14:43.559 --> 00:14:48.319 we see Him crucified on the cross for our sins. 00:14:48.319 --> 00:14:51.199 And our identity, therefore, is in that. 00:14:51.199 --> 00:14:58.639 And our freedom, our individuality, our belonging and our security, our adventures and our ambitions 00:14:58.639 --> 00:15:00.279 are there. 00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:05.479 And we take that and we educate them in that truth. 00:15:05.480 --> 00:15:12.840 We teach them and we teach our children here, all of us, because you're going to take a 00:15:12.840 --> 00:15:16.879 vow at the end of the service, you're going to take a vow as a congregation again in baptism 00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:20.800 because we all have a role to play with all the children come down to the front and all 00:15:20.800 --> 00:15:28.480 the children we see and know and all the children that we might be in contact with in our lives. 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:33.800 And we teach one another that the Bible isn't just stories, it's not just about morality 00:15:33.799 --> 00:15:39.039 but it's about grace and relationship. 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:44.039 The gospel is good news, it's not good advice. 00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:50.399 And we need to teach our children that the ethics, the morality, the truth of the gospel 00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:54.719 has to be bounded in the relationship with God. 00:15:54.719 --> 00:15:56.759 It's not a philosophy. 00:15:56.759 --> 00:16:00.599 We live it, our lives are changed by it. 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:04.960 We have open hearts that are honest, confess our need for good. 00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:11.360 And I think one of the greatest things we can do as parents particularly is to say sorry 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:16.080 when we make mistakes and in the church, one of the greatest things we can do with one 00:16:16.080 --> 00:16:21.680 another is to say sorry when we make mistakes and seek God's forgiveness because that is 00:16:21.680 --> 00:16:26.519 teaching what we believe is at the core of our lives. 00:16:26.519 --> 00:16:31.600 What we do teach, all our children God's wisdom for them and the Proverbs are full of 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:32.600 it. 00:16:32.600 --> 00:16:37.039 They're full of the need for obedience, for loving others, for guarding our minds, for 00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:42.039 what we watch and what we're watching, what we're listening, the friendships we have, 00:16:42.039 --> 00:16:47.600 self-control we need, how we speak, the use of resources, our money management, hard work, 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:48.600 laziness, marriage. 00:16:48.600 --> 00:16:50.960 The Bible speaks into all of these things. 00:16:50.960 --> 00:16:54.319 It speaks into the friendships we have, the sexuality we have, the image we have, the 00:16:54.320 --> 00:17:00.000 ambition, what we do with alcohol and drink and drugs, how we equip ourselves and how 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:04.200 we equip one another and how we equip our children to live in this life. 00:17:04.200 --> 00:17:09.640 I know that in school longer than sometimes it seems that they're at home, but you are 00:17:09.640 --> 00:17:12.759 the great educators. 00:17:12.759 --> 00:17:19.759 They are far, they are much, much more influenced by what they see in the home than what they 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:26.119 see in school and what they take is what they see in that loving relationship of trust 00:17:26.119 --> 00:17:28.680 and grace. 00:17:28.680 --> 00:17:34.720 So we teach them and at the same time we're also, I think, training them in Proverbs 22, 00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:39.519 very famous words that many of us are, train up a child in the way he should go, even when 00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:41.559 he's old he will not depart from it. 00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:49.519 That great responsibility, I think for each of us, for one another, warning, correcting, 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:59.559 rebuking, loving, strong, training in God's Word and in His truth, thoughtful, persuasive 00:17:59.559 --> 00:18:03.000 and above all grace-filled. 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:09.400 We're teaching one another and teaching our children right and wrong. 00:18:09.400 --> 00:18:16.839 What is acceptable is we believe it to be through God's truth and what is unacceptable. 00:18:16.839 --> 00:18:18.319 You know what it's like, don't you? 00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:27.679 We all know what it's like to be in the company of children who have never grown up or who 00:18:27.679 --> 00:18:36.839 have never been taught and who have been allowed rampant freedom because very often they are 00:18:36.839 --> 00:18:46.000 thankless, rude, uncontrolled and spoiled and none of us want that for ourselves and 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:51.519 we certainly don't want it for our children because that's so important. 00:18:51.519 --> 00:19:00.319 And what therefore we pray for, both for ourselves and for our children and within a church context 00:19:00.319 --> 00:19:04.559 is to take it right back to the beginning as for God's wisdom as we rely and trust in 00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:11.640 Him because our children, above all, they need parameters, they don't need walls, they 00:19:11.640 --> 00:19:15.319 need principles, they don't need prison. 00:19:15.319 --> 00:19:20.119 They need to be equipped towards independence and maturity. 00:19:20.119 --> 00:19:26.439 We want to flick them out the nest so that they will fly and we want to give them wings. 00:19:26.439 --> 00:19:32.319 We want to give them independence and freedom but we want it to be founded in that beautiful 00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:36.559 relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and the maturity He gives. 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:47.919 There may be lots of mistakes, there will be lots of things that we will grieve over 00:19:47.919 --> 00:19:56.359 but we entrust them to our Heavenly Father and we will see them flying free and safe 00:19:56.359 --> 00:19:59.399 where on the currents of grace. 00:19:59.399 --> 00:20:03.359 That's where we want them to be, that's where we want them to soar, that's where we want 00:20:03.359 --> 00:20:09.479 them to run, where we want them to walk, we want them to walk in the relationship with 00:20:09.479 --> 00:20:12.559 Jesus Christ that we have. 00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:16.439 They can't rely on our relationship. 00:20:16.439 --> 00:20:18.799 They need to trust themselves as we will see. 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:26.399 We talk very briefly about baptism but that is our hope. 00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:33.560 And we live in that light then with a sense of forgiveness, not a sense of paralysis or 00:20:33.560 --> 00:20:38.200 regret, but with the Holy Spirit's help we will prioritize forgiveness and grace and 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:39.360 moving forward. 00:20:39.360 --> 00:20:44.320 And that absolutely goes for us as a church as well. 00:20:44.320 --> 00:20:50.680 It's absolutely significant and important that all of us hear these truths because the 00:20:50.680 --> 00:20:56.320 proverbial truths that we have are obviously not just for parents, not just for children, 00:20:56.320 --> 00:21:02.720 they're for each and every one of us in that greater church family and with our Heavenly 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:05.640 Father as our Lord and guide. 00:21:05.640 --> 00:21:13.519 I'm going to finish with some words from Mother's Prayer which I actually read here once before 00:21:13.519 --> 00:21:18.519 but probably not that many people are still here from the time I read it by Mother, it's 00:21:18.519 --> 00:21:24.599 by Kirsten Getty, before you close your eyes to sleep I have a promise still to keep as 00:21:24.599 --> 00:21:29.000 I hold you in my arms. 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:30.720 I knew this with Ham. 00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:40.400 I pray your little frame grows strong and faith takes hold while you're young. 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:42.599 This is my prayer for you. 00:21:42.599 --> 00:21:49.039 Hold my hand, I'll teach you the way to go through the joys and through the tears. 00:21:49.039 --> 00:21:55.559 The journey of these years, may you trust Him till the end. 00:21:55.559 --> 00:22:00.719 This world is not as it should be but the Savior opens eyes to see all that is beautiful 00:22:00.719 --> 00:22:01.719 and true. 00:22:01.719 --> 00:22:07.240 O may His light fill all you are and the jewel of wisdom crown your heart. 00:22:07.240 --> 00:22:09.439 This is my prayer for you. 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:13.720 You'll travel where my arms won't reach as the road will rise and lead your feet on a 00:22:13.720 --> 00:22:16.480 journey of your own. 00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:24.360 May my mistakes not hinder you. 00:22:24.360 --> 00:22:27.120 But His grace remain and guide you through. 00:22:27.120 --> 00:22:29.400 This is my prayer for you. 00:22:29.400 --> 00:22:36.680 Take His hand and go where He calls you and whatever comes seek Him with all your heart. 00:22:36.680 --> 00:22:38.960 This will be my prayer for you. 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:45.039 Whether hear my ceaseless prayer will keep her in your care. 00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:51.440 These are the kind of prayers that we offer for one another, I hope, as we consider our 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:52.440 church family. 00:22:52.440 --> 00:23:01.039 And as a family and as a church, we seek to support our parents, especially in their roles 00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:03.920 and the pressures which are very great. 00:23:03.920 --> 00:23:07.539 We hope we equip you and support you. 00:23:07.539 --> 00:23:14.359 We also encourage families and marriage and the longings and fears and insecurities and 00:23:14.359 --> 00:23:18.240 false expectations and the tiredness and the chaos. 00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:20.680 We hope we encourage and support you. 00:23:20.680 --> 00:23:27.839 But as we live as a church family, we also value every single individually, equally. 00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:32.399 And we think of all of us as a community, as a family. 00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:37.880 As individuals, a child, a teenager, someone who's single, someone who has been married 00:23:37.880 --> 00:23:45.920 and loved and lost, married couples, families, all equally critical to this church, all loved 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:50.320 and all supported in their different battles. 00:23:50.320 --> 00:23:56.080 And we do have a special consideration for our children and we do pray for them and we 00:23:56.080 --> 00:23:57.080 care for them. 00:23:57.079 --> 00:24:04.879 We do love when they run around here in church and we just want them to be safe. 00:24:04.879 --> 00:24:10.000 So I try not to have them run around in here when there's coffee and tea in case one spills 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:11.279 on their head. 00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:16.480 So I am the ogre sometimes with them, but only because I love them. 00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:22.079 And they can run in the corridor and in the hall all day long. 00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:29.079 We do love them and we reach out to the gospel, with the gospel to them and seek to show them 00:24:29.079 --> 00:24:34.639 what we know and what we love and who we know and who we love and the difference it makes. 00:24:34.640 --> 00:24:53.320 Amen.