Parenting Seminar 2026 - "Biblical Dynamics of Family: Boundaries and Behavior" by Glenn Hitchcock

There are 4 things that can rob us of our joy.

And looking at it from the standpoint of one

of my familiar books that I love to use is the book of Philippians.

In chapter 1, circumstances can rob us of our joy.

Paul says you overcome circumstances by having a single focus

or singleness of mind. Paul says, for me to live is Christ,

for me to die is gain.

Families encountering circumstances that can

potentially rob them of their joy,

because Christian families have that submissive attitude,

we can lock in, in that submission on Christ.

Because for me to live is Christ, and for

me to die is gain. I don't let circumstances rob

me of my joy when I know I signed a declaration

of dependence and I'm operating within the boundaries of

God's word.

People can rob us

of our joy. What's the problem? People. Some of

the people that can rob us of our joy are some of our closest

family members. Yes or yes?

And when we understand that

you overcome people by having a

submissive mind— Jesus

had this submissive mind.

Did no sin, thought it not robbery

to be equal with God, made of himself no

reputation. He had a

valued relationship with God, and he served. He took upon himself

the form of a servant.

We overcome people by having a submissive mind.

We submit to

the scriptures, having the mind of Christ,

not allowing people to rob us of

our joy, whether they're talking about us or our children. You know, when you talk

about my daughter, now you— yeah, no.

When I have a submissive mind, I put in perspective what

I'm to do regarding that which is spiritual

rather than that which is natural. Because my natural inclination— you talk about my daughters—

is to blame you to that wall back there.

But I won't do that because I'm a child

of God, because I'm an example to my daughter. I wouldn't want

her to do the same thing because I'm

Discipline my daughter in the scriptures.

Materialism can rob us of our joy.

Money, greed can rob us of our joy.

I know this is not— I'm just trying to set you up for this.

So you overcome materialism Philippians chapter 3,

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

by having a spiritual mind.

Those things I count as rubbish.

Why? That I might win Christ.

That, that you count as important,

the Holy Spirit says it's rubbish. If it's materialism

and it's going to rob you of your joy, you don't need it.

It's not saying that money isn't important to some,

but you don't let it take away your joy.

You don't use money on children

that you treat as trophy

case children. Trophy case children

needs a lot of materialism thrown at them.

And you may say, well, Brother Glenn, I mean, it's not wrong for me to

get— no, it's not, it's not.

But, you know, as an elder and working with people,

sometimes I come in members' homes and we talk about their

problems they have giving. And one

of their main priorities is making sure they're giving their kids everything that they want.

I'm sitting there like, really?

So we have to adjust. But you overcome materialism

and money by having a spiritual mind. Finally,

in chapter 4, you overcome worry.

Worry robs people of their joy. I don't know if

y'all know that. I'm gonna let you in on a secret. It's not so

much a secret. Worry can rob people of their joy.

Worry about if my kids are going to grow up and be right. Worry about

if they're going to go to heaven. Worry about if my husband is going to

be faithful. Worry about where the kids are. Worry about what

the wife is doing. Worry about money.

Just worry about worry.

Worry is an inside job. Worry is like

a rocking chair, a lot of motion, but it doesn't take you anywhere.

You overcome worry by having a secure mind. Philippians 4:6.

Philippians 4:6

He gives us a list of things to think on.

If it's honest, if it's good, a good report, if it's just,

all these, he says, Think on these things.

They're positive, they're not negative.

And you can overcome the menace of worry about

your family. You can overcome the

menace of materialism. You can overcome the

menace of people,

the menace of circumstances. That all

rob us of our joy. When we

really learn with submission within

the parameters of God's Word, they give us

boundaries to operate in, that our

children can clearly see the demarcations between

God's boundaries and discern

the difference between the boundaries of this world.

Because within this world, 1 John 2:15-17,

1 John 2:15–17

love not the world, these things are in the world. For it's

all in the world. The lust of the eye, attractions.

Lust of the flesh, the addictions. The pride

of life, ambitions.

They constitute Those

signs that can blur our discernment

about God's parameters and

lead into all kinds of ungodly behaviors for us and

for our children. And so I

implore you to stay in the book.

Like I tell my fundamentals class, we have a motto in my fundamentals class If

it's not in the book, it probably came from

a crook. John 10:10.

John 10:10

But we want to stay within the parameters of the book when

it comes to family. Isn't that right? And so I want to talk

about that boundary. What are boundaries?

A boundary is a fine, definite place where you,

your responsibility ends and another person's begins. It stops

you from doing things for others that they should do

for themselves. A boundary

also prevents you from rescuing someone from the consequences

of their destructive behavior that they need to experience in order

to grow. Man, as a parent, I need

to know that. I told you,

don't touch the hot stove, baby,

it'll burn! And I turn around,

and I'm in the kitchen, and I hear,

ouch! And I look around, what happened?

Ooh! You touched the stove,

didn't you? Yeah,

yeah, he did. So boundaries are important.

Boundaries can correct our behavior if we respect them.

When we don't respect them, we're going to go crazy.

Many of our kids are crazy because we let them disrespect boundaries.

I'm just going to tell you up front.

I was almost— well, I better not say that.

I was confronted Parents

says, my kid deserves this, my kid

deserves that, bottle flats, they need this, they need that.

You know what I'm saying? Okay, if we do this,

tell me, what have you done in

response to what you want us to do?

I'm working. I'm trying to put

food on the table. I need you to take care of my kids.

Like it's my primary responsibility because I'm one of the elders in the congregation.

Like, I guess you need to just move on in with me.

Well, I'll,

I'll I have to come up with a plan.

They always have to come up with a strategy of intervention

that will work for the parent and work for the child also. You don't

just brush them off or just, you know, ignore them. You have to work with

folks. Brethren, what I've learned,

not so much as a preacher but as an elder,

all of us are in the process of maturation,

and we're all at different stages.

Never disrespect someone's maturity,

or what you may think of as immaturity, when they're trying

to respect the boundaries.

What do I mean by that?

God set boundaries or parameters for us to operate within,

to comply with the scriptures. Then the Lord God took

the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep

it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying,

of every tree of the garden you may freely eat,

but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not

eat, for in the day that you eat of it,

you shall surely die.

Did God set parameters in the Garden of Eden?

Did God place the family in the

garden to respect the parameters? Did God

tell them to respect the parameters?

Within the boundaries of these parameters,

we have a gift called the

word of God. It is a very

familiar gift to the children of God,

and it's about submission.

We have boundaries, family gatherings where we explain

God's parameters and God's boundaries.

We communicate it clearly to one another,

and if we haven't been doing that, we need to start doing that.

The initiators of love in the family,

being responsible as they are, out of their love for

God and Christ, in the spirit of Christ,

should be able to articulate clearly to his family

what God's parameters are

out of the guidebook, so much

so that the children not only can see him demonstrating it in his life

as he discipled them with

this guidebook in their lives.

And the goal for all of the Christian families is

to respect God's boundaries.

When children are respecting God's boundaries,

oh, they may act up some out of immaturity,

but what helps them to turn back in the way of compliance

is a loving gesture of Reminding

them of the guidebook, of the communication

from the initiator of love, or from the parents as a

or demonstrating by showing

them how this task

or this particular goal is to be accomplished.

To function within the parameters of truth,

as I mentioned earlier in another presentation,

we have to be honest with our children.

We can't coerce, lie, and threaten them into

doing what, what we know they need to do.

The formulation of their persona or character, their morality

and spirituality,

their patience development, all takes place as

a result of compliance,

adherence to the parameters of God's word.

They're molded and shaped by God's

word By God's parents, by the parents'

love of God and their willing sacrifice

and service to the family,

by doing those things that would glorify God.

I was just talking to someone a moment ago. You know, my daughter was telling

someone, you know, my dad, he,

you know, he's like, he's always studying the Bible.

Like, that's not a negative, that's, that's a positive.

Kids will say, well, why would— why did you do that? And it opens her

up for conversation. She can tell them her story. See,

because we can't tell his story until we tell our

story. And so she tells her story to them about how she

became a Christian, and she talks about the parameters

and, and complying to God's will because Someone

loved her enough to tell her about his story.

Well, let's look at the family guidebook, the Bible.

Christian family boundaries are rooted in scripture,

molded by Jesus, and essential for a healthy,

loving, and spiritually vibrant family life. They are a

sign of love, not division,

and they honor God by protecting his peoples well-being.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing

one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in

your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed,

do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God

the Father through him.

The book, the Bible,

the family altar, at home has

the Word of God to guide us.

If there's any question about some action, moral,

spiritual, or otherwise,

the guidebook has something to say about it.

If you don't know where it is, consult someone

who just might be able to help you. Titus gives us

that information. About the older women and the younger

women, the older men and the younger men, and elders

and leaders in the Lord's church working together.

A little bit about family gatherings, clear roles and communications.

As I said, families should not try to guilt or cajole their

children into proper behavior. Instead, we should tell them the truth

Children need the truth. Children need absolutes.

Children need certainty and clarity. And God provides

all of these for his children. Amen, amen,

amen.

Now, being a compliant member

of God's family, our methodology for

imparting that to our children takes different routes and

different pathways. I understand that no

one child is like the other, and no

one parent is like the other.

While that's the case, the word of God takes that into consideration

also. That's part of the nurturing practice that we'll talk about

momentarily. God's method of communication

is to tell his children the truth. Give them freedom

to choose, and enjoin upon them to

accept the consequences of their

choices. To allow

them to accept the consequences

of their choices. Why is that so important?

That we let them accept accept the consequences of their

choices. That's how you learn. That's how

you learn. It promotes discernment also.

How will I know the difference between good and evil if I'm not

given an opportunity to choose and to, to figure it out for

myself? If you figure it out for them all the time,

when you're gone, what are they going to do?

They're gonna be like, well, I sure wish my dad was here. Boy,

where's my mom when I need her? She had it up and down on me.

Now I'm all by myself. I'm gonna blame God for that one.

Allow them time to

experience the consequences

of their choices. Any questions on

that? You're tempted though, aren't you?

Okay. Adam and Eve were allowed to make their

own choices, but God told them the truth. This is true of

all the Bible characters who received communication from God.

Consider the words of Jesus, he that is not with me is against

me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. Matthew 12,

Matthew 12:30

verse 30. In order for our children to have a relationship

with God, they must give God their hearts. Matthew 22:37-38.

Matthew 22:37–38

How must we love the Lord? With all our what, what, what, and what?

All of our heart, mind,

soul, and strength.

The only way to give God your heart is

by choice.

Can we teach our children to choose to give God their heart

when we won't give God our— when we won't give our own hearts to God?

It's impossible to do, isn't it?

So it's a trust issue. They have to trust that I

gave my heart to God and see that I've given my heart to God to

help them to choose to do the same.

It is best to make choices when one is informed of

the truth. John 17, verse 17.

John 17:17

We've got to remain truthful and honest

with our kids. As parents, we must put God's word in our hearts,

then teach it diligently to our children. Deuteronomy 6:7-10,

Deuteronomy 6:7–10

one of the greatest texts on child training in the Bible.

As well as Ephesians 6:4.

Ephesians 6:4

To talk biblically to our children, we owe

our children the truth of God's word. Several truths are that

children should— all children should know. There is a

God. Teach that early.

Every moment I have with them, walking around outside,

in Baby, that's a flower. You know who made that flower? God made that

flower. There's an ant. God made the ant. I tell her about

my little pet ant named Sebastian.

Plays basketball. He's got a little

handkerchief in his back pocket. He wipes his left antenna when he sweats.

And my daughter's all intrigued by that. And I'm going like,

and he can dribble with both hands. And sometimes he can dribble

with his antenna. But guess what? God made Sebastian.

And she go, oh, I want to see, I want to see Sebastian.

And we move on a little further. God made the

dog also. And on and on.

Cradle roll, the D-I-B-L-E, that's the one for me.

God loves me.

We need to teach them that you will be judged. That the God who made

me also is the God who's watching me. He's looking over me,

not to judge or beat me up, but to

monitor my steps and to help me

to walk by faith and not always by sight.

You must obey the gospel to go to heaven. Our kids need

to know that.

You must be faithful to God. Sin hurts and makes life

hard. Some kids don't know that yet.

You may say, well, I'll teach them that when they're older. No, you better start

now. And for some, it may be too late. You can know

what is right and wrong.

All of my kids need to know that, and not just from

our Bible classes. They need to know it from being at home sitting on Mama's

knee and Daddy's lap.

The Bible school is an adjunct to the home.

The Bible school is not the primary disciple for your child?

The home is. It starts with the initiation of love by

the father. It's propagated by

the continuation of love by mom and dad.

They learn you can choose Jesus. Any other choice leads to hell.

I don't mind teaching that to my children. You may say, well, that's too negative.

You put it the way you want to, but it's still true.

They need to know about hell. You know, a lot of preachers

don't preach on hell. I know that's not a problem here, but a lot of

preachers don't preach on hell anymore. You know why?

It's too scary.

Some people don't even believe in hell, and some people think you can

be saved in your sins rather than from your sins.

Bible doesn't teach that. Well, I'm getting off the subject. Let me move on.

No human is exempt from God's rule or word. We're all

amenable to the word of God. These are just so many things we need to

teach our children, and we need to do this at home

as well as in Bible class.

Our family goal is to respect God's boundaries. God did

not always say yes to his children's requests.

Parents must not confuse loving their children with giving

into every request. I thought you'd say

yeah on that one. God told Moses no concerning

entering the Promised Land. David was told

no when it came to building the temple. Paul was told no

concerning the removal of his thorn in the flesh. Why should it be any

different with our kids? Parents who refuse

to chasten, restrict, limit, and even punish their children when necessary

are not parenting like God. It is a loving act to

say no to children sometimes. Let me say that again.

That may ring hollow in somebody's ear. It is a loving act

to say no to children sometimes.

Thank you. Children can't expect—

can be expected to know what is good for them, so God can—

God gave them parents to teach them. They don't always know

what's right. Someone has to be there to show them

how to discern between good and evil.

It was said of Jesus that he enabled them to discern between the bitter from

the sweet. Isaiah 7:15.

Isaiah 7:15

Eli did restrain his sons, and David had similar

issues with his. According to Moses, the law was given

for Israel's good. God often lovingly said no to his children.

Functioning within the parameters of truth,

talking is best when it is accompanied by honest

action. And sometimes that honest action

means correcting behavior that

needs to be corrected because you refuse to respect

God's boundaries or God's parameters,

and you're acting out. And as you act out because

you're refusing to respect God's parameters, I'm going to have to show

you through communication what those

parameters are, remind you what they are.

And if you persist to continue to disrespect God's parameters,

what do you think is left for me to do?

Now I know you can say, well, you know, how often should I forgive my

brother? 99? I'm not going to keep reminding them 99 times before I take action.

I'm going to take some action. Now, I won't abuse them. I don't

think abusing kids, especially if you're upset— don't, don't,

don't touch your children when you're mad and upset at

them. Just don't, don't do that.

Never abuse your kids.

But the correction course to God's parameters would

put them back on an even keel, even if they don't like it.

Eventually they will learn to respect it

because you are showing consistency in your parenting by

doing that, and they don't see you deviating from it.

Therefore, your consistency leads to

their compliance— eventual compliance, I should say. Because they don't

all unwrap at the same time, or when you expect them to. They don't.

They really don't. And it's okay. You may say, yeah, it's okay for you,

but you don't live in my house. I may not live in your house,

but God does. And if God says it's okay, be patient.

Be patient with our children. Probably look for them.

God's action towards his children matches his speech

to his children. Parents must not climb the mountain of self-righteousness

and pretend they have no remembrance of sins in their lives.

We were once children, teenagers, and young adults who sinned.

Amen. Kids already know this

to be true, so when parents feign perfection,

it puts children off. They can smell a

Don't feign perfection as though, you know, you don't

know anything about sin in your life.

Your kids know you. And all too often

we do feign that perfection. You know, we take

our trophy kids out on Sunday, parade them around, and everybody

loves them and all that. And when no one's looking, you bring them home

and stuff. You put them back in the trophy case and ignore them,

throw a little materialism in there with them, and they

take that because they don't respect God's parameters because you're not teaching

them to them. They're left to themselves and they're called

a lot of different names, you know, latchkey kids,

uh, and baby kids and

all that kind of stuff. They're gifts from God.

Treat them like a gift, and they won't be caged up like an

animal.

By the way, I love you.

To reach children with our words, we must

live God's words. Amen.

The behavior. You know,

we're all wonderfully made. The Bible

says, for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the

parents for the children.

For I know him, that he will command his children and

his household after him, and they shall keep the way of

the Lord forever. To do justice

and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham

that which he has spoken of him.

Deuteronomy 6.

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,

you shall bind them as a sign on your hand,

and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on

your gates.

The cycle daily of

training, the consistency of training

diligently,

the character training,

morals, values,

and spiritual truths,

not the latest ball club,

sports and stuff. But spiritual truths is

the consistent part of training that

we need to impart in our children.

So behavior and parenting, submission through

family scriptural molding Discipline versus

punishment. Primary disciple-making because

of our relationship and not because of ownership.

Look at scriptural molding. Scriptural molding involves reflecting

the character, actions, and teachings found in scripture so that

others see a living example of faithful discipleship.

Hearts are transformed by following and imitating godly examples

as Centered on the life of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Imitate me just as I imitate Christ. Scriptural modeling.

For to— for to this

you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you

should follow his steps. Scriptural modeling.

Seek God. How do you do that? Remove the inhibition

of fear or rejection. How do you do that? You transfer the

desire for earthly approval from men to heavenly approval with

God. A lot of parents are trying to just keep up with

the proverbial Joneses. Forget the Joneses.

Go with Jesus.

Seek heavenly approval rather than earthly approval when it comes to parenting.

The Apostle Paul put it like this, for I am now seeking—

for am I now seeking the favor of men or of God?

Or am I striving to please men? If I were still pleasing men,

I should not be a servant of Christ.

Can we hold an image in our hearts concerning this

matter? Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:18, but we all,

2 Corinthians 3:18

with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory

of the Lord, are transformed into the same image

from glory to glory. Notice that word

are transformed. We do not by act of the will

transform ourselves. We can't do

that. Well, how's it done? By having

our thoughts consistently set on the image of Christ,

holding him in our hearts day by day, we are transformed into the image.

This is what is meant by imagination. You put

the 2 words together You have imagination, which means you hold

an image in your heart, the image of Christ, and little by little,

without conscious thought or effort, you will find

yourself being transformed unto the image of

Christ. It's an act of faith,

not an act of the will, an act of faith.

Transform into the image of Christ. Trust him. You picture

yourself as being like Christ, and sure enough, that will happen. It is

a walk of faith, not of sight. What questions might you have on

that?

Oftentimes we think when we read the

Bible and all that it's a this way, that way, that way.

Here, when it comes to transformation,

It is an adjustment of the mind and faith meeting

together to say that with God all

things are possible. As I render

discipline and train my child, I'm doing

it holding Christ in my heart because this

is a precious gift from God

that I cannot tarnish I cannot— I

can't damage. I have to treat it

as God would have me to treat it, as a steward of

God, having the mind of Christ to do that

very thing. Courage to transform. And I've got to tell you,

some parents don't have the courage to do that.

They just won't do it. They'd rather do something else Farm

it out, give it to someone else to do.

The Bible does not encourage the abuse of children,

but it does demand that children receive proper degree of discipline.

Eli is singled out as a parent who refused to provide discipline

and was therefore responsible for the sinful behavior of his 2 sons.

It is said of Eli that his sons made themselves vile

and he restrained them not. 1 Samuel 3:13.

1 Samuel 3:13

Eli asked them, why do you do such things? But it is clear

from the narrative that merely reprimanding those sons was not sufficient

to curb their rebellious behavior. They wouldn't operate

within the parameters of God's word. God said

they should have been restrained.

What does this imply? It implies that a physical action

that would cause them to mend their ways was needed.

The Hebrew word implies failure, weakness on the part of Eli,

and is used in Isaiah 42:4, by the way, in describing Jesus.

Isaiah 42:4

He would not fail or be discouraged. Eli failed,

being weak and unwilling to restrain physically

the sons who were vile. It happens

every day in America and in the world.

We don't have the courage to transform our hearts to restrain

children who are not operating within the parameters of

God's word because we haven't taught them the parameters of God's word,

because we haven't initiated the action out of love

and the Spirit of Christ to start early with our children.

We skip that and we hope some, some way that

we'll be lucky that they get by.

That's not what the Bible teaches

parents to do. That's not Christian parenting.

And this is not to say that we have bad parents or anything like that.

Sometimes we just don't know. Sometimes we

have to have someone to pull us to the side and

help us. When I said earlier,

thank God for the family of God's people,

I'm thankful for that because someone had to pull me inside.

And I'm not a perfect parent by no means,

but I signed a declaration of dependence on God. And whatever resources he

equips me to have, I'm taking advantage of it because I want to be a

good daddy for my daughter. And if God gives me life, I want to be

a good granddaddy for my children, my grandchildren. As parents

and as a nation of people, we fail our kids when we refuse to

administer the discipline that can cause them to learn self-discipline

and discernment. Rather than an act of abuse,

proper discipline is a beautiful show of genuine love.

Amen. Hebrews 12 reveals that one

who is without chastisement is not honored. Whom the

Lord loves, he chastises. Parents must realize that they

do eternal harm to any child

by refusing to administer discipline that is needed

when it is needed, when they are not operating within

the parameters of God's word. Child abuse?

Of course not. But loving their kids enough

to correct the behavior that can have eternal consequences is

what discipline is all about.

Parents therefore are the primary disciple makers,

and I can't emphasize this enough. Now,

nearly every congregation I go to, when I go through

this, people come up to me and say, I didn't know that. Really? I said,

it's in the book. And I'm not a crook. It's in the book. Read it.

The generation now is a result of parents who did not see themselves as primary

disciple makers. If they saw themselves as primary disciple

makers, they thought they could contract it out to

the church or Christian camps, DBS,

PTP, or something like that, and thought that they never

abandoned that role when in fact some did.

Nothing wrong with PTP, nothing wrong with church camps, nothing wrong with

DBS and things like this, but when you

as a parent abandon your role to those

support functions for your child, putting it

on their shoulders and off of your shoulders,

it's as though you've abused your own child.

It's as though you said, I'm not responsible.

And heaven forbid if something happens to them at that camp or in that

particular, uh,

event.

And you want to blame someone because of

the way your child turned out. As these parents came to the elders the other

week and said, my kids are like this because

y'all didn't do this, y'all didn't do that. In Virginia, we say y'all. I don't

know about you guys, but in Virginia, we say y'all. Y'all didn't do that.

And again, we're crafting an intervention to deal with

that. But if there's

any fault to be assigned to, it's not on the shoulders

of the elders. It's on the shoulders of the primary disciple makers.

You know who they are? Let me give you a hint. It starts

with a P, and it's not the preacher. It's the parents.

That's us.

The church programs and youth ministers may

be valuable supplements, but they're not replacements

for parental discipleship.

I love you.

Parents got to teach this Teach the statutes, the judgments,

and the commandments of the Lord. That is the primary content of

moral and spiritual training. Note,

parents cannot outsource their obligation of spiritual training and scriptural

modeling. This can lead to putting disciple-making on

cruise control and later being frustrated with the outcomes.

When using outsourced resources, parents must remain engaged and

responsible for their children's spiritual Spiritual formation.

Family because of relationship,

not ownership. Our children we

have by relationship.

God has the ownership.

Whoo! I'm almost done. Let me

give you 5 takeaways, because I may not see some of y'all after

this. Let me give you these 5.

Our purpose of existence is disciple

makers as parents. I want my

child to go to heaven because that's God's child.

It's my child by virtue of stewardship and relationship,

not by ownership. Number next,

A pattern example demonstrated

by the parent.

The pattern behavior of parents will

determine the design of the child.

If the pattern is right, the design is going

to be right. And I'm not talking about Proverbs 22:6.

Proverbs 22:6

I know that's just a— that's a general saying. That's not always the case.

Some kids You know, you train them, you do the best you can,

and they are part of it. They just haven't returned to the bubble yet.

But I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about you

living your life for Christ before your children.

You preaching good news to your children before God, to his

glory, that when your children

open their lips, they will speak as the oracles of God

because of you. 1 Peter 4:11.

1 Peter 4:11

Priority is expected. The priority from God

is the same: put the kingdom first. Be devoted to

God. When your children see that you're devoted to God,

their priorities will be where they

need to be. There are 2 kinds of priorities.

And authorities. There's the BK priority

and the KFC priority. You be the KFC

priority. BK says, have it your way.

KFC says, I'm a kingdom-first

Christian. My priorities are where they need to be,

and my children are going to follow me because I've got

the kingdom first. When my daughter knows that

I love the Lord more than her mama, but I love her

mama. When my daughter knows I love her

mama and the Lord, I love her.

But she knows, she always knows,

for Dad is God and Mama,

for Mama is God and Dad.

And then she'll say, and I'm in there too.

Providentially, because we signed

a declaration of dependence as parents, we're not alone

in this boat. We have a support system.

God continues to provide for our families.

Don't be a Mrs. Job. God's providing

for his family. She says God's not providing for

our family. God— and Job says God's

providing for our family. Trust in the providential care

of God and depend upon him at every turn in

your parenting position as a husband and as a wife

for your children. And finally, You prepare

them for eternity, for departure. Don't know when it's

going to be, but it's coming.

And I want them to leave this world

and go into eternity to

the original Father that gave them to me,

to God. God gifted us with children.

That we can return the favor back to God.

Hell does need our kids.

Heaven is designed for all of us. Let's see

to it that we get there.

So family, fathers and

mothers in love, and God says,

yes, You're operating within the parameters,

within the boundaries. You have that great

love for God,

for each other, for our children,

and we have this bubble of protection.

We have the boundaries that we can operate within

this parameters. We have God.

We have the benefit and the byproducts.

And I haven't talked about all that yet.

I'll tell you what, Neil, I may turn that around for tomorrow's lesson.

I don't know. Well, we'll talk about it and see.

But I told you I had a lot of material,

so a lot to talk about when it comes to faith. Family.

But that's the end of our seminar

for today, I believe. And before we

end this, I'm going to ask Brother Hiram— is he there?

Would you lead us in a closing prayer, please?

God, our Father in

heaven, thank you for the word that gives us

guidance about our individual lives as Christians, but about our homes as a family.

Thank you for Brother Glenn and Miss Mercedes and them being here with us at

Cumberland Trace. Thank you for every visitor that's made the

sacrifice and our members to be here to learn, to develop,

to learn from your word and glean wisdom about how to get our families going

in the right direction and how to submit to your ownership and use the

delegated authority you've given us to be the people you want us to be.

Help us to take this material and to live it out. Sharpen and

bless our families and those in our homes that may not be

in line with your will and your word right now. Pray for patience for them

that they might be Redirect it, give us stamina and endurance

as we seek to do what you would have us to do. In Jesus' name,

amen. Amen. Thank you very much.

All right, just want to make a few announcements before we

close out. Again,

thank you to Glenn and for the lessons he delivered to us this weekend.

Thank you for making the priority to be here, and especially to some

of you coming a great distance, but Even our members, thank you for being here,

giving up a good part of your Saturday to be here. Hopefully we all learned

something that can encourage us and bless us. As Glenn mentioned, he has some more

material. He'll be doing our Bible class tomorrow morning and the sermon for Sunday

morning. So if you can be here, we'd love to have you present with us.

If you know somebody who would benefit from these lessons, we encourage you to be

here. On your way out, there are the take-home lunches. And if

you brought kids, don't forget your kids. All right. Other than

that, thanks for being here. And we appreciate it.