Nurturing and Training Children in Christian Faith & Practice, Part 2, 7/26/26

Today we continue in the following sermon from

last week on nurturing and training children

in Christian faith and practice. We're going

to look today or begin with Psalm 78 verses 1

Psalms 78:1–8

through 8. You can turn there in their scriptures.

Psalm 78 is quite a long psalm. The Works of

God and the Failures of His People for 72 verses.

But we're going to look at the beginning because

this introduction is a key to developing the

subject that I'm going to be looking at today.

Hear the word of the Lord. Give ear, O my people,

to my law. Incline your ears to the words of

my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable.

I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have

heard and known and our fathers have told us.

We will not hide them from their children, telling

to the generation to come the praises of the

Lord and his strength and his wonderful works

that he has done. For he established a testimony

in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which

he commanded our fathers, that they should make

them known to their children, that the generation

to come might know them, the children who would

be born, that they may arise and declare them

to their children, that they may set their hope

in God and not forget the works of God, but keep

his word. And may not be like their fathers,

a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation

that did not set its heart right and whose spirit

was not faithful to God. Let's pray. Fathers,

we come into this subject today. Lord, I pray

that you would again open my mouth with your

words, Lord, that you would inspire me, Lord,

through the Holy Spirit to be able to declare

your word accurately and faithfully. We pray

that you would open up our hearts to receive

it, Lord. Change us, O God, where we need changed.

Encourage us, Lord, where we need encouraged.

And in everything, we pray that your people would

be edified and that you would be glorified. We

ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. A few weeks ago,

we considered the truth that God calls the children...

of at least one Christian parent as holy children,

saints of God. This is in 1 Corinthians chapter

1 Corinthians 7 · chapter mention

7, which we've been going through. Paul says

they are not unclean, but set apart and considered

to be saints of the Lord. Then last week I followed

with a sermon on how to disciple these children

who belong to God. How we as parents are to love

them, modeling the father as he loves his son

Jesus, And as God loves us, for God is love.

The directive given to parents then is to bring

them up in the nurture and admonition of the

Lord, which is the way Paul describes the discipleship

process in Ephesians 6, verse 4. And you fathers

Ephesians 6:4

do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring

them up in the nurture or the training and the

admonition of the Lord. Now, as I said last week,

we're speaking here to a broad audience. There

are some of us whose childbearing years are long

gone. Some of us are grandparents. Some of us

are single. And there's also a good number of

us who are in the midst of the childbearing years.

But it's still good for all of us because we

are also called to help each other. Just as we

promise in the baptismal promise. to love, care,

and to support these parents as they raise their

young children. So this is something good for

us all to hear, even if we are not in the middle

of childbearing years. Now our premise is that

raising covenant children is a high and a holy

calling, for we are commanded to love these children

and to nurture them in the gospel and under the

lordship of Jesus Christ. And by God's grace,

by God's grace, with his help, we can then raise

a generation that hopes in him, that keeps his

commandments, and that, as Psalm 78 says, declares

his praises to the next generation and to their

children as well. Now on this subject, the great

preacher Martin Lloyd -Jones observed, said,

It is very interesting to observe in the long

history of the Christian church how this particular

matter, the one of which we are speaking, always

reappears and receives great prominence at every

period of revival and reawakening. Interesting

how that happens. In other words, when the Spirit

of God works in a mighty way in His people, This

subject comes again to the hearts of the people

to pass on to their children and to disciple

them. He continues, the Protestant reformers

were concerned about it and the instruction of

children in moral and spiritual matters was given

great prominence. Now there are several other

directives given in God's word that expand this

responsibility. And today I want to look at three

more. responsibilities that are given to parents

in addition to loving them and nurturing them

we are also to teach them to train them and to

correct and discipline them now there's a lot

of overlap between these but i'm breaking this

out just to for us to be able to really get in

and and understand this truth all of this of

course is discipleship all of these that is love

nurture teach train and correction. They're part

of the covenantal responsibilities that we have.

And it flows out of God's covenant with us as

he has saved us, washed us clean and sanctified

us and blessed us with children as a heritage

and a reward. You're raising little Christians.

They are God's covenant children who are your

brothers and sisters in Christ. And God has given

you the responsibility, parents, of laboring

in the Lord to see that Christ is formed in them.

We see that in Galatians chapter 4, verse 29.

Galatians 4:29

We read of Timothy, who was a disciple. He was

the son of a Jewish woman who believed, but whose

father was a Greek, understood to be an unbeliever.

Paul writes to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1 as a dear

and beloved son. And he says, I call to remembrance

the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt

first in your grandmother Lois and your mother

Eunice. And I am persuaded is in you also. See

the multi -generational vision there, even in

the case of an unbelieving father. Because we

don't hear really nothing more of Timothy. But

of Timothy's father. He was the son of this woman

who believed and of a grandmother who believed.

And he says, Paul says that, Therefore I remind

you to stir up the gift of God which is in you

through the laying on of my hands. May the Lord

give his church hundreds and thousands more like

this. Yea, even millions. of people like Timothy

who have been discipled by their parents and

by their grandparents, that they are faithful

ministers, servants of the Lord in whatever capacity

the Lord gives them. And by ministers there,

I don't just mean somebody standing in the pulpit.

I am talking about whatever God gives in the

gifts of ministry in every sphere of life. May

the Lord give us many more. And so to this end,

let us consider three additional points of discipleship.

The first is to teach your children. And for

this, we turn to the book of Deuteronomy chapter

Deuteronomy 6:6

6, verse 6 and 7. And these words which I command

you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach

them diligently to your children and shall talk

of them. When you sit in your house, when you

walk by the way, when you lie down, and when

you rise up. Now in the prior verses to this

passage, the initial opening of the Great Shema,

which is the central confession of faith in the

book of Deuteronomy, Moses reminds the children

of Israel that the Lord is one God. He says,

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is

one. And then he proceeds with the central command,

Which is the command that Jesus says is the first

and greatest command in the whole of scripture.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your

heart, with all your soul, and with all your

strength. And these words which I command you

today shall be in your heart. Your heart, your

soul, and your strength. From the very beginning,

God desires worship, love, and obedience to him.

From the heart. That is the innermost being.

The thoughts and the desires of the heart. To

love and to worship and to obey with all the

strength that lies within us. The worship of

God was never about performance, mindless duty,

or rote obedience. He commands that it come from

our heart, our soul, our mind. And with all of

our strength. The rich liturgies. The worship

practices. And obedience to the laws of God in

the scripture. Are to be from the heart. And

this should be the desire of every Christian

parent. To teach your children. Yes. Be an example

to teach them. How to worship. How to join in

the Lord's prayer. Or to list the apostles creed.

And sing the Gloria Patri or Sanctus. And shout

out Psalm 134. Behold bless the Lord. But it's

also from within that that they would have a

fervent love for God. That they would love Him.

And from that love would come reverent worship.

Worship that comes from the heart, the mind,

and the soul that continues on through the teen

years and on into adulthood. That is the desire

of God. It's not just do this, do this, do this.

No, it's got to spring from a deep love and conviction

within the heart. So with that as a foundation,

then the instruction and command then comes in

verse 7 of Deuteronomy 6. He says, you shall

teach them diligently to your children. Now,

teach them diligently is actually one Hebrew

word. It means to whet, to sharpen, to teach

incisively, even to pierce. So it's not just

didactic teaching, it's to sharpen them. to make

them aware, to teach them in that way. And this,

of course, requires frequent repetition, putting

in the hearts and minds of your children so that

they are sharp and ready and well taught. There's

a good reason why children are likened to arrows

in light of this. In Psalm 127, verse 4 and 5,

Psalms 127:4

like arrows are in the hand of a warrior, so

are the children of one's youth. Happy is the

man who has his quiver full of them. They shall

not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies

in the gates. So again, we see this whole picture

of parents sharpening, whetting, teaching their

children so that they are faithful arrows. In

the hands of a warrior or like that. This is

the command of Deuteronomy. And preparing them

to be arrows or weapons of warfare requires teaching

them diligently. Parents, you are to instruct

your children in God's word. God's word lives

forever. It is the incorruptible seed of life.

The word of God will always retain its power.

But if you're to teach well, John Calvin says,

then you must go to the trouble of being instructed

in God's word in order to do your duty. In other

words, if you're going to teach it, you have

to be being... taught or living in it yourself

being taught by reading the word of god or by

hearing god's preaching the hearing other preaching

or or to be instructed by wise teachers if you

do not take great care to read and meditate on

the word then you will not be able to teach well

And this instruction, by the way, and teaching

should come from both parents, father and mother.

Proverbs 1 verse 8. My son, hear the instruction

Proverbs 1:8

of your father and do not forsake the law of

your mother. So it comes from both. And so if

we're going to teach our children God's word,

then we ourselves must be taught in the word.

And that is a personal. vibrant relationship

with the lord and the study of his word in whatever

way that we are able different people learn in

different ways some of it might come through

reading some from listening to sermons some from

reading articles some from reading thick theological

or heavier books there's all sorts of different

ways sometimes it comes in the form of story

There are some great teachers who can powerfully

use story to illustrate it. Sometimes it comes

from listening to something versus reading it

yourself. But in all of this, simply the desire

here, what is expressed is that we need to receive

in order to teach. We need to be in the word.

Now what does this teaching consist of? It speaks

of talking to our children about God's holy words,

his commandments, his precepts, his principles,

his stories, and his history, woven together,

and this is very important, with the gospel and

with grace. Because the word of God is not just

a series of principles. It's not just a collection

of pithy sayings. No, it is the powerful word

of God that is sharp. It's sharp like a sword

and it reaches into the innermost heart of the

being. And so in order to teach the word of God,

then we must include together with it the whole

story of the gospel and of grace and the power

of God to change people's lives. The word of

God to your children will not make them new just

in and of itself. You must have the gospel with

it. The gospel underlies the principles and the

precepts and the laws and all of these things.

And it takes and it pierces the heart. So it

must be the gospel and grace woven together with

the law, the commandments, the precepts, the

principles and the stories. Again, Psalm 78 verse

Psalms 78:4

4, which we read, we will not hide them from

our children, telling the generation to come

the praises of the Lord that they may set their

hope in God. Another way of teaching is for you

fathers to lead your children in family worship

or to lead your family, your household in family

worship. Read a short passage of scripture. Explain

it. Discuss it with your children as appropriate.

And then pray together. And this is going to

look different if your children are really young

versus when they get older. There might be more

interaction or you get a little bit deeper. If

your children are really young, sometimes it's

just a couple of verses, something that they

can understand from it. And then you sing. and

pray with them, and there you have it. Some way

of discipleship with your children. If you have

difficulty with this, there are wonderful aids

that help. Pastor Kevin Swanson has some great

guides for many of the books of the Bible at

generations .org, where he just takes it and

again just provides a concise outline of the

passage, a few points from it. It can be very

helpful in family worship. reformation heritage

books also has a family bible worship guide again

kind of in the same way and that is on every

chapter of the bible when your children are very

young keep it simple give them one or two concepts

but however you do it teach your children to

love and to worship god and to love his word

furthermore if we are to teach them then the

education of christian children must be a Christian

education. The education of your children must

be a Christian education. Two hours on a Sunday

morning, while absolutely vital, will not suffice

to bring up your children to nurture and train

them in Christian faith and practice. Why should

our children drink deeply? At the fountain of

atheistic and worldly teaching about the origins

of the world or of the humanistic and rationalistic

methods of understanding God's world that we

live in or of science with false premises or

of history distorted by enlightenment assumptions

or social studies shaped by the claim that all

cultures are equal and that woke or multicultural

ideologies are the measure of truth. How can

we expect to raise Christian children when they're

sitting in that for four or five days a week

and then we just supplement with going to church

on Sunday now yes we need to have family worship

that is also a help but children need a Christian

education when the glories of the created universe

are taught and the beauty and the glory of the

earth or the incredible complexity of the human

body or even the order of mathematics we should

be led to worship to praise our God and to understand

it according to his will, his ways, and his word.

We should be led by all of these wonderful subjects

to adore the God who created all of these things.

The children of the covenant belong to God. They

are not... to be discipled primarily by a system

that ignores him or even worse, that denies him.

This is one of the reasons why, looking into

the future, it is our desire and hope to have

a Christian school in this town someday. Now,

homeschooling is also part of it. There's various

ways of education, but a Christian school is

certainly part or one of the ways. Number five,

teach them the history of the works of God in

the world. So teach them. We're looking all just

fleshing out this, what it is to teach them.

This should include world history, ancient history,

church history, and even the history of our nation.

This includes... teaching the bad parts too,

just like the Bible does. The times when the

worship of God was forsaken and the people were

disobedient. Consider this passage from Psalm

48, and I'm going to get to it in just a moment.

But as we read this Psalm, we need to read it

in light of the passage from Hebrews chapter

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

12, which speaks to the Christian church. It

says, but you have come to Mount Zion and to

the city of the living God. the heavenly Jerusalem.

So when you hear the word Zion in this psalm,

think of the dwelling place of God by the Spirit

with his people, both Old and New Testament,

is the center of true worship and the assembly

of God's people. Now hear these words. Excuse

me. The smoke is... Walk about Zion and go all

about her. count her towers, mark well her bulwarks,

consider her palaces, that you may tell it to

the generation following. For this is our God,

our God forever and ever. He will be our guide

even to death. Psalm 48, 12 to 14. Let's unpack

this a little bit in light of the teaching, because

the teaching is in here. We are to tell it to

the next generation, the generation following.

So walk about her, count her towers. This means

to review the work of God in the ages past. He

says to mark her bulwarks well. That is the buttresses

of faith and truth through the ages that have

kept and guarded the word of God. Paul tells

Timothy, I write so that you may know how you

ought to conduct yourself in the house of God.

Which is the church of the living God, the pillar

and the ground of the truth. So we're looking

here at pillars, grounding, bulwarks, buttresses.

These are all great foundational principles.

The principles of the word of God. Thus teach

your children or find teachers that can tell

them about the importance of the word. That can

flesh it out. but also in historically the importance

of the early creeds and the controversies that

surrounded them or the solid confessions of faith

that were born in times of great difficulty and

of doctrinal differences that brought together

a good and faithful summary of biblical doctrine.

Tell them about the renewals and the true revivals

that stood against apostasy and false doctrine

and apathetic living. Regale your children with

the stories of Athanasius. who stood against

the false teaching of Arianism, or Boniface,

the English missionary, who went to the dark

and pagan Germanic tribes, and he chopped down

that big tree that was considered their idol,

and then he broke up it into little branches

and told them to go home and rejoice in the birth

of the Lord Jesus Christ on the earth, which

is the beginning of many of the festivities of

Christmas that we have in the greenery. That

was Boniface. Or of Polycarp, the aged bishop

who would not recant his faith in the time of

ancient Rome and was then martyred for his faith.

Or Perpetua, the one whose nursing daughter was

torn away from her breast and she was slaughtered

and killed because of her faith in Christ. Or

of the stories of King Alfred the Great. That

great Christian king of the Anglo -Saxons who

defeated the Viking invaders. He promoted Christian

education. He helped to set up schools so that

the young could learn. And he created a fair

and just law code based on the Bible. This was

in the 800s. I could go on and on. Count her

towers. Mark her well, her bulwarks. There are

great resources that will teach and tell some

of these stories that your children can listen

to or that you can read and then tell them. As

I have mentioned before, Pastor George Grant

is a tremendous resource for many stories. If

you go to georgegrant .net, his humanities courses

are just amazing and great for history on antiquity

or modernity or American culture and Christendom.

But then also we consider her palaces. That is

the great and notable deeds of God. The incredible

exodus from Egypt and the miraculous deliverance,

the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving

of the law, the service of God, and the promises

as Paul recounts in Romans 9 verse 4. They're

Romans 9:4

the glories of Christ and of his ordinances and

his church. The flowering of art and science

and architecture and political and spiritual

freedom and the glorious culture that came because

of the Christian faith and the worship of God.

There is so much. And sometimes our mind can

get boggled with all that is available. Just

start with a few. Tell your children. Pass on

the works of God. Tell it to them. Because this

is how the next generation knows. Tell them the

great works of God in your own life. Those of

your remembrance. Or those of your grandfather

or your father. A few years ago, I learned more

of the story of my great -great -grandfather

who was on his deathbed and somebody came. He

did not know the Lord. He was raised Amish, but

he did not have saving faith. And a preacher

came to minister to him on his deathbed and was

preaching the gospel to him. And my grandfather,

was listening on the other side of the door.

This preacher may have never known this. I don't

know. And through that, the Lord saved him, and

it affected our whole family. I stand here. I

stand here today by the grace of God, yes, but

by the grace of God working in that man who went

and ministered to my great -grandfather, my great

-great -grandfather. What an amazing thing. These

are stories that need to be told. They need to

be passed on. To the next generation. Because

your God is also their God. And he is their God.

And he will be your guide. And he will be their

guide forever. Teach your children. Number two.

Train your children. Proverbs 22 verse 6. Train

Proverbs 22:6

up a child in the way he should go. And when

he is old he will not depart from it. A child

left to himself brings shame to his mother. Proverbs

Proverbs 29:15

29 verse 15 and Ephesians 6 verse 4. Bring them

Ephesians 6:4

up in the training and the admonition of the

Lord. Parents, you have been given a great opportunity

before God. Not only do you have offspring, that

is your flesh and blood, and the creation of

eternal souls that have come into being by the

grace and the mercy of God through the act of

knowing each other in a physical way. Let me

just repeat that. This is such an incredible

truth. Husband and wife come together in the

way that God has created them. And the creation

of eternal souls come into being by the grace

and mercy of God through this act. Mothers, you

went through nine months of nourishing that little

one then in your womb. And during the pain, of

the bodily changes, of how things change for

you, and then the pain of childbirth. And now

God has charged you, fathers and mothers, with

the overwhelming responsibility and opportunity

to take that eternal soul and to train your child

in the way that he or she should go. To train

up is to dedicate, is to inaugurate, is to bring

up. It is to teach and to form by practice. And

thus it is closely related to my earlier point.

God instructs you to form your children by instruction

and practice. And you train them for glory. Both

in this life, both glory in this life and the

glory of the world to come. This is the work

of God and his mercy that you may rejoice and

be glad. And as you train, let this prayer of

Moses from Psalm 90. Verse 14 to 17, be your

prayer. Oh, satisfy us early with your mercy

that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Make us glad according to the days in which you

have afflicted us, the years in which we have

seen evil. Let your work appear to your servants

and your glory to their children and let the

beauty of the Lord our God be upon us and establish

the work of our hands for us. Yes, establish

the work of our hands. Lord, let your work appear

to your servants and your glory to their children.

Because of God's work through you and in you,

then children's children are the crown of old

men and the glory of children is their father.

Proverbs 17, verse 6. Training involves the whole

Proverbs 17:6

person. It is the character, the affections,

the attitudes, the motivations, and the actions.

Matthew Henry says to train up a child, train

up children in that age of vanity to keep them

from the sins and the snares of it. In that learning

age to prepare them for what they are designed

for. Catechize them. Initiate them. Keep them

under discipline. Train them as soldiers who

are taught to handle their arms, to keep rank,

and observe the word of command. Train them up,

not in the way that they would go on the bias

of their corrupt hearts would draw them aside

but in the way they should go the way in which

if you love them you would have them go john

gill further adds train up a child in the way

he should go as abraham trained up his children

and those born in his house in the way of the

lord in the paths of justice and judgment which

are the ways in which they should go and which

would be to their profit and advantage This is

in Genesis chapter 14 and verse 14. This is the

Genesis 14 · chapter mention

duty of parents and masters in all ages. To bring

up those under their care and the nurture and

the admonition of the Lord. Now this training

should start at a very young age. Surrounding

your children with love and care. You also start

teaching them what your word means when you say

no. No. You don't wait till they're five or six

to start telling them no. No, at a young age,

sometimes even a nursing child will start exercising

their will against you, perhaps by arching their

back or biting or other such things, and you

can look them in the eye and say, No. Affirm

no. When your child starts crawling and reaches

for things that are not good, like a hot wood

stove, for example, don't just remove them from

the premise, but show them the item. Tell them

that this is a no -no. Maybe even flicking their

hand if they continue reaching for it, that in

some way they associate, oh, mom said no, dad

said no. This is important. This is training.

It must happen. It teaches them in a loving way

that mother or father are to be obeyed and there

are limits to what they can do. And this training,

of course, as I began this, it requires obedience

from them. But as you require obedience, you

also point them to Jesus as you teach them to

obey. Why? Because Jesus is our example. We teach

them to obey like Jesus who was subject to Mary

and Joseph. Luke 2 verse 51. Then he went down

Luke 2:51

with them and came to Nazareth and was subject

to them. Hebrews describes his obedience saying

of Jesus who in the days of his flesh when he

had offered up prayers and supplications with

vehement cries and tears to him who was able

to save him from death and was heard because

of his godly fear though he was a son. yet he

learned obedience by the things that he suffered.

Jesus always did the will of the Father in heaven,

and in this he is both our Savior and our example.

So this obedience we need to teach to our children,

that they are to obey right away and with a cheerful

attitude. And if you have to threaten or count

to ten before your children obey you, then it's

not obedience from the heart, but it's out of

fear of punishment or the loss of reward or something.

You can teach and train your children to obey

you right away and with a cheerful attitude.

But you've got to work at it. It's hard work

for this and paying attention. And of course,

this all must be surrounded with love. You can

teach them to use good manners, to say thank

you or please and to be grateful. Train them

to have and maintain a cheerful heart, to be

able to change their attitude and to show respect

to whom it is due. Again, this requires diligence,

application and your time and attention. It requires

also... that you govern your own attitudes, your

own manners, and your own affections. Because

if you are ungoverned, your children also will

be, because they will imitate you. In all your

training, though, let it not be too perfectionistic

or demanding. Your children will make mistakes.

Love them. Laugh with them. Let your relationship

with them be warm. and not based on their performance.

Let the aroma of your household be that of the

fruits of the Holy Spirit at work in you as parents

and in your children. What are the fruits of

the Spirit in the household? It is an aroma of

love, of joy, of peace, of long -suffering, of

kindness, of goodness. of faithfulness and gentleness

and self -control. These are the fruits of the

Spirit, and we need these in our own lives, but

we need to also demonstrate them to our children

so that they might learn them as well as the

Spirit works in them. Surround your training

by love and affection. Hear the wise words of

Bishop J .C. Ryle on this subject. He says, Train

up your child with all tenderness, affection,

and patience. Love should be the silver thread

that runs through all your conduct. Kindness,

gentleness, long -suffering, forbearance, patience,

sympathy, a willingness to enter into childish

troubles, and a readiness to take part in childish

joys. These are the cords by which a child may

be led most easily. These are the clues you must

follow if you would find the way to his heart.

Children's minds are cast in much the same mold

as our own. Sternness and severity of manner

chill them. and throw them back. It shuts up

their hearts. Let them see that you have an affectionate

feeling toward them, that you really desire us

to make them happy and do them good, and that

if you punish them, it is intended for their

profit. and that, like the pelican, you would

give your heart's blood to nourish their souls.

They must be wooed with kindness if their attention

is ever to be won. Love is one grand secret of

successful training. Anger and harshness may

frighten, but they will not persuade the child

that you are right. If he sees you often out

of temper, you will soon cease to have his respect.

End quote. But what amazing and wonderful words

the venerable bishop writes. J .C. Ryle. Number

three, correct and discipline your children.

Proverbs 3, verse 11 and 12. My son, do not despise

Proverbs 3:11

the chastening of the Lord. For whom the Lord

loves, he corrects. Proverbs 29, 15, the rod

and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself

brings shames to his mother. Proverbs 13, 24,

he who spares his rod hates his son, but he who

loves him disciplines him promptly. Proverbs

Proverbs 3:12

3, verse 12, for whom the Lord loves, he corrects,

just as the father of the son in whom he delights.

And Hebrews 12, 5 to 7. Whom the Lord loves,

he chastens. Now no chastening seems to be joyful

for the present, but painful. Nevertheless, afterward

it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness.

The scripture is full of guidance and the need

to use correction and discipline in the training

and formation of children. And not only children,

but for all of us. Because of our sinful and

stubborn hearts, teaching and admonishing is

not always enough. Sometimes we need a corrective.

A chastening that is understood and it drives

away foolishness. For adults, of course, this

looks very differently than it does for young

children. But God, sometimes, as one of my pastors

used to say, sometimes God needs to spank us.

And he does through circumstances or through

experiencing the consequences of our own actions.

But for our children, Proverbs and Psalms speak

much of this foolishness foolishness is bound

up in the heart of a child but the rod of correction

drives it far from him indeed we are by nature

the children of wrath and left to ourselves we

conduct ourselves in the lust of the flesh fulfilling

the desires of the flesh and of the mind. Ephesians

Ephesians 2:3

2, verse 3. A child less to himself or to herself

will be a child of ruin. This is not to say that

the grace of God cannot accomplish something

great. It can, but there will be much hardship.

But the fact is that God has entrusted us as

parents to give them correction and to bring

chastisement at times. Correction begins with

clear words and expectations. A child needs to

understand, first of all, what the expectations

and rules are. You cannot punish or discipline

if you have not made it clear what the expectations

are, what the law is. These cannot be arbitrary

or changing parameters like the shifting hills

of sand. And then when the child disobeys, the

correction or the discipline needs to be commensurate

with the offense. Lying is a much greater offense

than being grumpy. Sometimes a child needs to

be sent to their room and told to come out when

they've changed their attitude. We need wisdom

in all of this. When I lied as a boy, my parents

would put soap in my mouth. And it tasted absolutely

horrible. I learned very quickly not to lie because

of the consequence of soap in my mouth. It taught

me very quickly to control my tongue. But while

correction and discipline is not the only use

of corporal discipline, it is not only the use

of a rod or a paddle in a spanking, but it does

include it. God's way of training includes the

use of corrective discipline that will sharpen

the mind and bring the child's attention to the

matter. But when this is done, parents, you must

be self -controlled, not cruel, harsh, angry,

or unreasonable. If you're angry or frustrated,

wait. Get your heart settled first and then work

with your child. in the disobedience. And accompany

the session of discipline with prayer, with love,

and with forgiveness. With forgiveness. Done

rightly, this will bring wisdom to the child.

It will show them love and it will yield the

peaceable fruit of righteousness. If you're unsure

of some of the practical aspects, which I'm not

going to get into in this sermon, feel free to

ask parents who have successfully trained or

raised their children or who have wisdom in this

matter. But correction and discipline are a necessary

part of bringing up and raising God's covenant

children that he has given to us. Finally, a

few more practical applications as we bring this

to a close. One is, parents, be very careful

with technology, particularly smartphones, tablets,

and other media that's connected to the Internet.

It's a tool, like power tools are tools in the

shop, but don't turn a three -year -old loose

with a drill. It's a tool. Do not turn children

loose with it until they are mature enough to

use it well. They can be like drugs, and they

should wait until they are mature enough to handle

them responsibly as tools, and even then, they're

safeguards to be able to help. I just encourage

you, don't babysit your children with a screen.

It's not good for it at all, and many bad things

can happen. Secondly, in an application, use

creativity. Train, but do not stifle. Oppressive

control can drive creativity underground, only

for it to emerge later in harmful ways. Encourage

godly creativity and channel it rightly, but

you need to allow creativity to flourish in your

children. And then I came across these... This

wonderful thing. John Bunyan's General Duties

of Parents to Children. Thought they were so

good and I wanted to share them with you. Be

a pattern and a model. Your life must not contradict

your teaching. Instruct them diligently in the

principles of the Christian religion. This is

the author of Pilgrim's Progress. Bring them

up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Ephesians 6 .4. Correct them with wisdom, love,

and consistency and not in passion. Pray for

them. continually and i should have said i alluded

to it before but i should have made it a point

pray for your children pray earnestly often and

urgently for your children that christ would

be formed in them keep them from all from evil

company and worldly snares and provide for their

bodies while prioritizing their souls and teach

them both by precept and example that the fear

of the lord is the beginning of wisdom And finally,

I want to address this, and that is failure.

What if you failed? Some of what I preached about

today has been our experience, but I also see

many areas where I missed it, where I failed,

and I acknowledge how much better I could have

done. Now, thankfully, there's much good teaching

available, many better resources now than there

was before, 30, 35 years ago. And I praise the

Lord for this. But nevertheless, there is grace

from the Lord for the forgiveness of sins. And

the power of the Holy Spirit to work in a way

that is far above what we can ask or think. So

if you're looking back and you think, oh, if

I just would have known this. Oh, if I just would

have done this differently. Yes, we can certainly

do that. I mean, we look back and we can remember

and it should just drive us to the Lord and say,

Lord, have mercy. And please remediate this in

the life of our children or grandchildren or

whatever it may be the case. But there is forgiveness

of sins and we thank God for that. And while

there are consequences, sometimes God in his

mercy and his grace mitigates even those consequences.

He does it many times. And for this, we are grateful.

And one of the greatest examples of that in the

scriptures, I've mentioned this some time ago,

but I'm going to bring it again here today. And

that is with the sons and the grandsons. Of Samuel

the prophet. Samuel the prophet. Samuel was a

faithful judge. He had a heart after God. He

walked with God. But he was gone a lot. He had

to travel the length of Israel. And he had various

places that he was set up. And his sons grew

up to be not like him. They took bribes. They

were corrupt. Became corrupt judges. But he had

a grandson. and the grandson records his actions.

His grandson was named Heman. Heman was one of

the chief musicians appointed by King David to

lead the worship and the service of song before

the tabernacle and then later in the temple.

Heman was the son of Joel. His dad took bribes.

He was not right. His grandfather was a very

godly man. And Heman directed a group of singers

and musicians along with Asaph and Ethan or Juduthin.

And Heman had 14 sons and 3 daughters. 14 sons

and 3 daughters. What happened to them? All of

them served. In musical ministry. Underneath

his direction. In the temple of the Lord. In

the house of the Lord. This is in 1 Chronicles

1 Chronicles 25 · chapter mention

chapter 25. Heman himself is credited with authoring

Psalm 88. And he is called the king seer. This

lineage then shows a redemptive arc. While Samuel's

sons fell short. His grandson Heman became a

faithful servant who led Israel in worship and

his descendants continued in that role. Samuel's

influence or prayers may have borne fruit in

the next generation despite his son's failures.

And I say this not to excuse failure, but to

show the grace and the mercy and the blessing

of God. It thrills me to read that account. And

so, dear church, may your household be like the

man described in Psalm 112. Praise the Lord.

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights

greatly in his commandments. His descendants

will be mighty on earth. The generation of the

upright will be blessed. We are so grateful for

the forgiveness of sin and for the bringing of

new life to the dead and for stirring within

our own hearts and blessing. our children and

our grandchildren and our great -grandchildren.

This is our desire for all of us, that our descendants

would be mighty on earth and the generation of

the upright would be blessed. Let's pray.