All right, if you would open up your Bibles, if you haven't, to Colossians chapter 3.
If you're new here for the first time, I've been preaching through the book of Colossians,
and we've entered this section of Colossians called the household rules.
And so a couple weeks ago, I preached on Christ-centered marriages.
Next week, I'm going to preach on Christ-centered employment.
And this morning, I get to preach on Christ-centered families.
And so if you would look at two verses, verses 20 and 21 of chapter 3, it's on page 1170 of your pew Bible.
Hear God's word.
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
May God bless not just the hearing, and not just the preaching of the word, but the doing of this word.
Do I have an amen?
Amen.
Okay, kids.
You're in with us today, and I'm so thankful.
I'm going to start off with asking you to draw a picture for me.
Do you know what a greenhouse is?
Children, if you're in the room 18 and under, say yes.
Glad to know that we have one child 18 and under in the room.
A greenhouse is a building with a lot of glass.
And a greenhouse has really one purpose, to grow plants.
You grow plants in a greenhouse to send them out to be replanted in other places.
And so maybe you've been to Steins with your parents, totally boring, but you might have been in a greenhouse.
Breezy Hill, you've got a greenhouse.
Greenhouse.
And if you're in a greenhouse, you walk into a greenhouse, you are immediately met by a number of things.
You're met by the temperature, right?
The temperature's just got to be right for a greenhouse.
And then you're also, you kind of feel the moisture in the air.
It's humid.
It's got to be right for a greenhouse.
And then all the glass, there's got to be a lot of sunlight.
And when you have those three things working together, you've got an environment for growth.
A Christian family is God's greenhouse for growing godly kids.
A Christian family is a place where children grow up and then are sent out.
And so, brothers and sisters, if we want to grow children who love the Lord, do you know what that means?
Jesus Christ must be the controlling center of our families.
And when Jesus Christ is the controlling center of our families, we will find ourselves in a Christ-rich environment.
I've got four points this morning in this sermon.
First one is this, vision.
I want to cast vision for the families in this room right now for a Christ-centered family.
A greenhouse.
And then I get to address kids, 18 and under.
That point is for you.
And there's one word you're going to need to hear.
It's the word obey.
And then the third point is to dads.
Fathers.
And you've got one word too.
It's lead, brothers.
Lead.
There's a way not to lead and then there's a way to lead in your homes.
And then finally, I get to speak a word of grace.
Because many of us in the room are living in the, but what if?
What if I blew it?
Oh, there is grace for you.
Christ must be the controlling center of our families.
And when he is, and he's the king of grace, not only do children grow, but parents grow too.
So let me give you a vision for the Christian family.
And this is point one of the sermon.
What needs to be happening within a church family, within a Christian family, in order for children to grow in godliness?
What needs to be true?
Well, I'd like to point you to two things.
I want to help you see something.
The first is, Christian mom and dad, you've got to see yourself as God sees you.
You've got to remember who you are.
This kind of like theological amnesia.
You forget who you are?
You've got to remind yourself of who you are.
So let me just remind you who you are by a kind of brief and amazing review of the book of Colossians.
Mom and dad, you used to be living in the domain of darkness, but you were transferred into the kingdom of the beloved son.
That's who you are now.
You have a new king and a new kingdom.
King of grace.
He is the firstborn of creation.
He's the firstborn from the dead.
He's the king of all.
And not only that, you've got a new identity.
You've died with Christ and you've been raised with Christ.
Chapter 2, verse 20.
Chapter 3, verse 1.
You're united with Christ in his death and resurrection.
You've got a new identity.
And you also have a new aim.
In chapter 3, verse 1, we read this.
If you then have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above.
Where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Brothers and sisters, moms and dads, you've got a new aim.
For your households.
Christ in heaven, who is reigning on high.
We also have a new time frame.
Church, what time is it?
You're living on Christ's time.
We live between his first coming and his second coming.
Which means we're living with a whole new perspective.
An eternal perspective.
That helps us not to live for the temporary trinkets of the world.
And for the timeless treasures of Christ.
We live on Christ's time.
And then what we've been seeing in verses 5 through 14 of chapter 3 is,
you've got a whole new wardrobe, brother.
Sister, you've got a whole new dress to wear.
You are to put off the old grave clothes of who you were when you were dead to God.
You don't wear those anymore.
And you're to put on the new self, which is being renewed in the likeness of your creator.
Verse 10, chapter 3.
That's Christ wear.
You're to put on Christ likeness, mom.
Dad, you're to put on Christ likeness.
Compassionate hearts.
Humility.
Kindness.
Patience.
Bearing with one another.
Forgiving one another.
And above all else, you put on the love.
Christ-like love.
The new commandment love.
Now, if you are trying to parent in your old grave clothes,
you know what kind of environment that's going to create?
That's going to create a toxic environment.
What you want to be wearing is your Christ wear.
And when you are breathing in Christ-rich air,
and you're putting on Christ likeness,
you're remembering who you are.
So the first thing in terms of kind of this vision for a Christian family,
you've got to remember who you are.
You've got to see yourself the way that God sees you.
The second thing I want to point you to is this.
It's what's got to be happening in your home.
It's not just remembering who you are,
not just seeing yourself as God sees you.
It's seeing your home for what it can be.
And we can see that from verses 15, 16, and 17.
I'll just be quick.
Do you remember how a greenhouse,
you need the right temperature,
you also need the right amount of moisture,
and you need sunlight?
For your greenhouse, brothers and sisters,
you need the peace of Christ ruling in your heart.
That's setting a temperature,
a warm temperature to raise children.
The peace of Christ is the shalom,
the peace that Christ accomplished between you and God
by dying on the cross for your sins,
and now we are able to bring that peace into our homes.
We're to be peacemakers now,
ruling our hearts
and helping it rule our children's hearts.
If you want a good book
on how to make peace in your family,
there's one that's second to none.
It's Ken Sandy, Peacemaking for Families.
I would highly recommend it.
So the right temperature is this,
verse 15,
the peace of Christ ruling in your hearts,
mom and dad.
That's, you're set,
you're creating a greenhouse
for your children to grow in that.
Not hostility.
Not what you see
in verses 8 and 9,
anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk,
lying to one another.
That's grave clothes.
You don't want to raise your kids in that.
You want to put on what you see in verse 12.
You want to raise them in that.
Verse 16,
the word of Christ dwelling richly among you.
If you look back at Deuteronomy 6,
verses 4 through 7,
it's called the Shema.
Hear, O Israel,
the Lord your God,
the Lord is one.
Love the Lord your God
with all that you've got,
and you're to have the word,
his word on your heart
and you're going to instruct your children
wherever you go,
night and day,
when you rise and when you fall,
when you're driving them to school
or bringing them to Meijer,
constantly talking about God's word.
It's the saturation of scripture.
It's like walking into a greenhouse
where you feel the moisture in the air.
Your home should be saturated
with the scriptures
that point to the Savior.
It's a Christ-rich environment.
How do you do that?
Well, if you want something very structured,
the New City Catechism
would be a great way to do that.
Another way is,
when I was a young dad,
I used what I call
the King Penguin approach,
and that is,
I would wake up
before anybody woke up in my house,
and I would have my nose
in my Bible,
and I would be reading my Bible,
and then,
whether it's over breakfast,
over dinner,
I would start a conversation
with my kids,
and I would say something like,
do you know what I read
in my Bible today?
I'm just kind of regurgitating
that to them
in the best sense.
I want to help them
digest God's word.
So it's coming from me.
I'm helping them
experience the goodness of God's word.
Verse 17,
the name of Christ.
Do everything in the name
of the Lord Jesus.
Do everything.
This is the sunlight.
Not S-U-N light.
S-O-N light.
Let Jesus shine
in your homes,
brothers and sisters.
Make much of him.
Do everything in his name.
Help your children
do everything in his name.
Here's something.
You could just kind of
huddle up sometime
in the morning,
and dads,
you lead out.
You say something like,
Lord Jesus,
we commit our day to you.
We want to live for you today.
We want to do everything,
word and deed.
We want to do it
for your name,
for your glory.
Do you know why?
Because Jesus is the son
of our solar system.
Everything orbits him.
He's the controlling center
of our lives.
And when you have
these three ingredients
operating in a household,
you've got the peace of Christ
ruling your hearts.
You've got the word of Christ
dwelling richly among you,
and you're doing everything
in the name of Christ.
Do you know what you do?
You know what you're doing?
Can you see it?
You're creating a greenhouse.
Christ-rich place
for your children to grow in.
Now, imagine your children
growing up in that.
That's what you're doing.
Before we move on,
I just want to say
one more thing.
I want you to vision,
you parents,
you've got to parent
a certain way.
It's easy to get sucked
into the tyranny
of the now,
but you've got to be
parenting your kids
with the send in mind.
When they're 18 years old
and they're leading your home,
you've got to be partnering
as a husband and wife,
as a mom and dad.
You're thinking like,
okay, where do they need to be
when they leave our home?
What needs to be true of them?
What needs to be true
of their character
and their conduct?
How do we cultivate
this kind of responsibility?
Mom and dad,
you've been called
to raise adults,
responsible human beings
who love the Lord Jesus
with all that they've got.
And so we parent
with the send in mind.
So your greenhouse,
mom and dad,
that you are building
and creating,
you remind yourself
of who you are,
and then you are bringing
these ingredients,
these components
of growth to bear.
It's all to send them
to be replanted elsewhere
as mature adults
who love the Lord Jesus Christ.
that's a vision
for the Christian family.
You're not going to hear
that on CNN.
You're not going to hear
that on Fox News.
You're not going to see that
and hear that
on your podcasts.
That's coming from this.
It's good.
So we move now
from a vision
for the Christian family,
a greenhouse,
Christ-rich,
Christ-centered,
to now children.
What does God require of you?
If you're 18 and under,
I need you
to make eye contact
with me.
I need you to listen
with what I'm about to say
because this is God
addressing you.
Not me,
God's word.
It says this,
children,
obey your parents
in everything
for this pleases the Lord.
If parents are creating
this greenhouse,
what is the responsibility
of a child?
And the responsibility
of a child
is to obey their parents
in everything.
What does it mean to obey?
It means to do
what your parents
are telling you to do.
It means to do
what they're asking you to do.
There are two parts
of verse 20.
There is
what you're to do,
obey,
and the motive
to do it.
For this pleases the Lord.
So obeying your parents
is doing what they say.
Kids,
did you know
that your parents
have the responsibility
of raising you?
They have the responsibility
of forming your character,
of helping you learn
how to obey.
obey.
Obedience is learned.
You grow in it.
It forms your character.
And so God
has given your parents
the responsibility
of forming your character
through obedience,
of training you
to obey
and do what's good
and right
in God's eyes.
and children,
your responsibility
is to obey them.
There's this passage
way back
in the Old Testament.
You know the Ten Commandments?
The Fifth Commandment
is this.
Honor your parents,
honor your father
and your mother.
Children,
you're to honor
your mom and dad
because God
has given them
a responsibility
for you
to respect
what God
has given them
for you.
You are to honor them
and the primary way
you honor them
is by obeying them.
Here's what that means.
Your mom or dad
asks you to do something?
Yes, mom.
Yes, dad.
Let me run you
through some examples.
I, I,
this may happen
in your home.
Maybe it doesn't.
Honey, make your bed.
Yes, mom.
Yes, dad.
Clean your room.
Yes, mom.
Yes, dad.
Do you know
what your parents
are doing?
They're training you
to be responsible.
They're forming
your character.
They're helping you
do what's good
and right in God's eyes.
Brush your teeth.
Yes, dad.
Take out the trash.
You got it, dad.
Dad.
Time to wake up.
You got it.
We, you children,
are to obey
in everything
and here's what that means.
You don't get to select
what you can
and cannot obey
with one exception.
If your parents
are telling you
or asking you
to do something
that God forbids,
you may not do that.
your parents
may not
cause you to sin.
Sin against God.
But in everything else,
you obey them.
Now, if you're a teenager
in the room,
you're like,
well, you know what?
I'm a little bit more mature
than an eight-year-old.
And chances are
if you're a teenager
in the room,
your parents are giving you
a little bit more space
to make your own decisions,
right?
That's good.
That's wise parenting.
But here's a situation
that might happen.
Let's say you're going out
with your friends
and your mom or your dad
says,
hey, where are you going?
And you might take that
as some kind of
invasive line of questioning,
but your parents
are actually training you.
They're not asking
something that is
unrealistic.
They want to know
that you're being responsible.
Where are you going?
Who are you going with?
When are you going to be back?
You need to be back
by 10.30.
These are things
that you obey
as a teenager.
You're being formed.
You're being shaped.
And as you do these things
and honor your parents,
it builds trust.
And so they are willing
to kind of give you
some more responsibility.
That's how it works.
But if you defy them,
if you disobey them,
it causes them
to not trust you
and it causes them
to pull back
on the responsibility.
That's not their fault.
That's your fault.
There's a motive in this.
Not only are you
to obey children,
but you are to obey
a certain way
to a certain end.
It's right there.
For this pleases the Lord.
When you honor your parents
by obeying them,
it pleases the Lord.
Kids, do you ever wonder,
man, I wonder
what the Lord's will is.
The Lord's will
is for you
to honor your parents.
It pleases Him.
So here's what that means.
Check this out.
Your parents will drop
to the floor
and you'll be like,
do they need CPR
if you do this?
Your mom, dad comes up
and you'll be like,
hey, sweetheart,
please make your bed.
And you're like,
yes, mom,
for the Lord Jesus!
Glory!
Child, if you did that,
your parents would be like,
here's 10 bucks.
Dad, I love you.
Children, here's what
I'm trying to say.
You might think
that obeying your parents
is to please your parents
and on one level it is,
but the ultimate person
you're looking to please
in your obedience
is Jesus the Lord.
So whenever you're asked
to do something
or told to do something,
you can say,
yes, dad,
for the Lord!
If you want to yell it,
yell it!
But if they ask you
to do something
that's sin against God,
you say,
no, dad,
for the Lord!
You see what I'm saying?
Now, if you can please Jesus
by obeying your parents,
then you can grieve Jesus
by disobeying your parents.
And that might be a flat out,
no, I'm not going to do that,
or it may be something like this,
grumbling,
complaining,
arguing.
When you grumble
and you complain
and you argue,
it's not just making it difficult
for your parents,
you're grieving God
in the moment.
You know what this means?
Okay,
raise your hand
if you've been a child
in the room.
raise your hand
if there was a moment
in time
in your childhood
that you disobeyed your parents.
Oh, like there's 4,000
in my, like,
13th year alone
I disobeyed my parents.
Do you know what this means?
Children,
you need a Savior.
Kids,
you need a Savior
to rescue you
from the disobedience
disobedience
that's in you.
You need Jesus
just like everybody else
in the room.
Kids,
your parents,
they're God's kindness
to you,
they're in your life,
God has given them
to you
to help raise you
to become adults
who flourish
outside of your,
outside of their home.
Allow them
to lead you.
Allow them
to form you.
Honor them.
We all need a Savior.
So we've gone
from talking about a vision
to addressing kids
and now
what God requires
of Christian fathers.
Verse 21.
Now in verse 20
we see something interesting.
Children obey your parents,
mom and dad,
honor your father
and your mother.
So both parents
have responsibility
for their children
and have authority
to tell them
what to do.
But then in verse 21,
Paul narrows his focus
to purposefully
addressing fathers.
That is not an accident.
Here's why.
Because in God's
good and wise design,
he has,
he has called
men
men to be the leaders
of their homes.
We see that
in verse 19.
A man is to be
a husband
who leads his wife.
And we see that
here in verse 21.
The same man
is to be leading
his children.
Dads,
we are to
create a context
in our homes
where both
our wives
and our children
are thriving
in the Lord.
If you're a dad
in the room,
I want you to feel
the weight
of verse 21
because God
is addressing
you,
brother.
Fathers,
dads,
do not provoke
your children
lest they become
discouraged.
And just to be
clear,
what God
is not saying
is that,
hey dad,
you're the
controlling center
of your family.
No, no.
Christ is.
And so what
that makes you,
dad,
is a manager
of his greenhouse.
You are to
manage the
greenhouse
the Lord Jesus
has given you.
You are to be
making sure
that the temperature
is right.
that the peace
of Christ
is ruling
in your heart,
in your wife's
heart,
in your children's
hearts.
You are to be
making sure
that the moisture
level is right,
that scripture
is saturating
your home.
You are to make
sure
that the sunlight
is shining bright,
that you are doing
everything in the
name of the Lord
Jesus.
I know,
brothers,
that when you can
hear this stuff
that you will be
either like,
hey,
bring it on,
let's do it.
Or you start
thinking like,
ah,
and you can
start making
excuses.
Well,
my dad was,
doesn't matter.
Or you start
thinking,
well,
my wife is like
three times as
spiritually mature
than I am.
Doesn't matter,
brother.
God's calling
you to this.
And when you
step into this,
he has grace
for you,
he's going to
grow you,
and you know
what?
You're going to
say something
like this,
hey,
this kind of
responsibility is
hard,
but it is good
and I delight
in it.
Thank you,
Lord Jesus,
for entrusting
this responsibility
to me.
Remember,
your authority
as the dad
is an outworking
of your
responsibility
given as a dad.
man.
So in verse
21,
we see two
things.
Brother,
you're told
what not to
do and why.
Do not provoke
your children.
In Ephesians 6,
4,
it's the parallel
passage.
It says,
do not provoke
your children
to anger.
You're not to
embitter your
children.
You're not to
make them resentful.
Now the question
becomes,
well,
how do you do
that?
How do you
make a child
resentful?
It's not rocket
science because
we've all
experienced this
before in other
venues.
What angers or
embitters a
child is when
you are exercising
your leadership,
dad,
in a way that
is more drill
sergeant than
ambassador for
Jesus.
It's when you
are exercising
your leadership
in your home
with some
kind of
authoritarianism.
You do it
because I
said do it.
That's not
how you lead,
brother,
not in your
home.
That's grave
clothes leadership
in the home.
That's not
Christ wear.
No,
you are
constantly
building your
children into
Christ.
You're serving
Jesus in your
leadership in your
home.
You're the
manager of the
greenhouse.
Jesus is the
owner.
And he's going
to hold you
accountable
some day.
Dads, we can
make this
error of
thinking that
we are the
controlling
centers of our
families when
we're not.
Christ is.
And so we
serve him and
our families in
that.
So the first
mistake is this
mistake of
authoritarianism.
But there's
another mistake
on the other
side of the
spectrum.
And do you
know what it
is?
Abdication.
It's still
self-serving.
Like
authoritarianism
is a kind of
self-serving.
my children
exist for me.
Or abdication is
this idea of I
am rejecting the
responsibility and
authority that the
living God has
given me for the
welfare of my
family.
That's abdication.
And that will
embitter your
children too.
When you check
out.
I have a
picture.
It's not an
original.
But a print of a
Norman Rockwell
painting.
That's called
Sunday Morning.
And in the
middle of the
living room is a
dad wearing a
red bathrobe
reading the
sports page
shrunk in his
chair as his
wife and
children leave
prim and proper
for church.
It's a picture
of abdication.
It's a
mistake.
We are not to
be authoritarianism.
We're not to
make the mistake
of abdicationism.
We are to be
ambassadors of
Jesus Christ in
our homes,
brother.
That's what
you're being
called to.
And we're
given a reason
why.
lest they be
discouraged.
Do you know
what a failure
of leadership
does?
It deflates
people.
It discourages
people.
It leaves
people wanting.
What happens
with an
authoritarianism is
often children
like, I want to
get out of this
house and I want
to stay out of
this house.
it's a mistake.
There's a
better way.
Brother, you
know what you
need?
You need Jesus.
You need to
treasure him
above all else.
You need to
rest in him and
the grace that he
has for you
today.
You've got a new
identity.
You've got a new
aim.
You're on a new
time frame.
You've got a new
wardrobe.
You've got a new
aim.
Christ above.
And we bring
that into our
homes.
There's this
quote, J.C.
Ryle.
It says, hey,
how do you heat
a church?
You put a
furnace in the
pulpit.
How do you heat
a Christian home?
Put a Christ
centered brother in
the middle of it.
I need to tell
you something,
brother.
You are a
target.
The devil
knows that
you leading in
your home is
going to advance
the kingdom of
God.
And he will do
everything he can
to discourage
you, to
distract you, to
disqualify you.
these are the
stakes.
Don't give him
opportunity,
brother.
Step into this
good responsibility
that God has
given you.
Do you have any
hidden sin in
your life that's
keeping you from
leading in a way
that you know
pleases Jesus?
Confess it.
Repent of it.
Have you been
exercising your
leadership in an
authoritarian manner?
Confess it.
Repent of it.
Have you been
abdicating?
Confess it.
Repent of it.
If you need to
tell your wife
and children,
do with it.
But don't let
these words fall
to the ground.
This is for
Christ.
What God
requires of you,
Christian father,
is not to be
an authoritarian,
not to be an
abdicator,
but to be an
ambassador for
Jesus Christ in
your home.
Now, there's a
series of
what ifs,
right?
But what if
point four?
The first one that
comes to mind is if
you're a single
mom.
But what if I'm a
single mom?
Sister, have you
heard of a
battlefield promotion?
Here's what
happens.
On a battlefield,
leadership gets
decimated, and
there's a vacuum of
leadership.
And you know what
happens?
Someone who may not
be the most
qualified is
necessarily put in
place because they
need to lead.
Sister, we are,
I wish we were
living, I don't.
wouldn't it be
great if we were
living in a sinless
world?
If we were living in
a sinless world, you
would not be a
single mom.
But we live in a
sin-riddled world.
So, sister, guess
what?
You're promoted to
leadership of your
home.
You are the one,
sister, to create
a greenhouse of a
Christ-rich environment,
the peace of Christ
in the word of
Christ, in the name
of Christ, permeating
your environment of
your home.
That's yours.
God has grace for
you.
Single mom, do you
know that God's grace
is bigger than your
circumstances?
He's bigger, way
bigger.
His grace is
sufficient.
And do you know
what?
Do you know
Timothy?
His mom, it's
likely a single mom,
at least his dad was
not a believer, and
Timothy's mom raised
him in a way that
pleased the Lord.
You can do that with
God's help.
But what if I'm a
single mom?
Sister, if you're a
single mom, God has
grace for you.
Enlist the help of
brothers in the church,
godly men, step into
your children's life as
well.
We'll do this together.
But what if my kids
aren't Christians?
Well, brother, sister, you
still are trying to create a
greenhouse of grace.
It doesn't change that.
Don't get distracted.
Preach the gospel.
Pick your battles.
But continue on allowing
the peace of Christ and the
word of Christ and the name
of Christ to be permeating
your home.
Find other brothers and
sisters in your life that can
encourage you because that's
hard.
Love them long.
Maybe you're a child in the
room and you're like, but
what if my parents aren't
Christians?
Or what if my parents
embittered me?
They've sinned against me.
Well, God calls you to honor
your parents.
No matter what they're like,
find ways to honor them, to
obey them, to make it easy
for them.
You're going to have to
forgive them if they've sinned
against you.
Because that's the way of
Jesus.
But what if I am a blended
family?
God has grace for you.
You and your wife, you
might have children from
different past relationships,
but that doesn't stop you
from creating a greenhouse
where the peace of Christ is
ruling your hearts and the
word of Christ is saturating
and the name of Christ is
being exalted.
God has a lot of
things.
But it's this last question.
But what if I've blown it?
What if I've blown it with my
kids?
What if I've sinned against
them and they resent me for
it?
What do I do now?
You throw yourself on the
mercy of Jesus.
You know what that points to?
You still need Jesus.
So you confess your sin to
him and as opportunity
affords, you own it with
your children.
Ask them to forgive you.
But realize this.
If you have grieved your
children to such an extent,
it may require time before
you're reconciled with them.
You might suffer the
consequences of past
mistakes.
So you wait on the Lord.
You pray regularly to him.
You ask him for help and
ask him to change you and
change your children,
trusting that one day he
will bring about what you so
long for.
And children,
what if you've blown it?
What if you know you've
disobeyed your mom and dad?
What if you know right now
you're hiding something from
them?
Well, you need a savior too.
You own it.
You confess it.
You ask God to forgive you
and make right with your
parents to rebuild trust.
It'll take time, but it's so
worth it.
And when you have people who
recognize that they're sinners
in need for God's grace,
get what you got.
You got a greenhouse
where the peace of Christ and
the word of Christ and the
name of Christ can be
exalted.
A greenhouse has a specific
purpose to grow plants,
to be sent out and
replanted elsewhere.
The Christian family is God's
Christ-rich greenhouse to grow
God's grace.
And parents.
Vision,
Christ's central family.
Children,
obey.
Dads,
lead.
And for the but-what-ifs,
grace abounds for us all.
Do I have an amen?
Amen.
In order for our homes to be
Christ-rich greenhouses,
Christ must be the controlling
center of our lives.
Let's pray together.
Lord Jesus, we need you.
We sin against our children,
and our children sin against us,
but your grace is greater.
Father, would you pour out your
spirit upon the parents and
children of our church,
that there would be this work
that you continue in which,
Lord Jesus, your name is
magnified in our homes,
that you're the controlling
center,
and we are delighted in that.
Have your way, Lord.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.