Raising Kids or Disciples of Jesus?
Bryan Borden
Matthew 28:18-20 ~ Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Ephesians 6:1-4 ~ Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. Honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.
I Corinthians 13:11 ~ When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.
Mark 10:14-16 ~ "Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it." Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.
Children:
• Obey your parents
• Honor your parents
Ephesians 6:4
• NIV ~ Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
• NLT ~ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.
• MSG ~ Fathers, don’t frustrate your children with no-win scenarios. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master.
Parents:
• Do not exasperate, provoke, or frustrate your children
• Cherish your children
• Discipline and train your children
Proverbs 13:24 ~ Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.
Hebrews 12:10-11 ~ For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening — it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
Dr. Christian Smith ~ “Most teenagers and their parents may not realize it, but a lot of research in the sociology of religion suggests that the most important social influence in shaping young people’s religious lives is the religious life modeled and taught to them by their parents.”
Mother Teresa ~ “Let me preach you without preaching, not by words but by my example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears to you.”
Judges 2:10 ~ After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.
We are called to go and make disciples of Jesus.
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