Are funerals just a money making scheme? Sometimes. They are designed to help bring people firmly down to the bottom of death so they can be brought up by the resurrection. Train your children to understand and look at death so they can see the life they have in Jesus.

When troubles and tragedies hit, we need to train our children to be ready to be a blessing. They may not know what to do or to say but may find that the most important thing is to simply be there.

Jesus’ death is a scary thing for kids to think about. It really is for adults too but often Christians get used to hearing the story. But that death is real and needs to be made real for our kids so that they can know their death is only temporary.

The opposite of love is not hate -- it’s apathy. The worst that can happen to any relationship is that they decide to respond in no way. GenZ calls it “ghosting”. Jesus’ relationship with every person and his Heavenly Father went dark on the cross so that he could bring us to the light. God calls us to always be with our children now to connect them with Jesus forever.

Does sarcasm hit you hard? Have you been ridiculed by clever or close friends whose words are like knives? In the last moments before Jesus’ death he had insults added to injury like no one else and he willingly took them. He took them in our place so God’s good words will be all we hear when we face death. We train our young Christ followers to endure ridicule and cut downs built up by our words and the words of our loving God.

If you grew up following Christ or even just with the story of Good Friday as something you heard and learned, Jesus’ death may be old news and seem obvious or not interesting or significant. We need to raise the next generation of Christ followers to ever be shocked and amazed that God could die and would be willing to die.

Have you ever thrown your phone or destroyed something valuable because you were mad. The high priest did that when he tore his clothes after he was given the most true message from Jesus -- that he was the Almighty God, there to save him. We need to be ready and get our children ready for such a reaction when we share the same truth.

People looked and tried but they could not find anything that Jesus ever did wrong. What if they did that about you or about your kids? What would they find? We rejoice that Jesus gives his perfection to us as we train the next generation.

Peter abandoned Jesus when he was arrested but still had enough courage to follow him at a distance. Modern day Christians can be tempted to follow Jesus to try and keep a connection but not follow close enough to risk being seen as his followers. As we disciple the next generation we need to train them to follow dangerously close. We can only do that by being that close ourselves.

We may want so desperately for our children to follow the spiritual path we have set for them that we will use any tool. But certain tools, like force and sarcasm and guilt, can only force outward compliance and not inward discipleship. We need to see the difference and pull out our gospel toolbox to bless the next generation.