The Starting Point of Christian Parenting (Deut. 6:1-9) (8/23/26)

I wish to remind you that when we think of some

of the songs that we sing, we fail to realize

the power and the victory in them. Earlier, after

our gospel reading, we sang the glory potray,

and the story of that is simply this. There were

enemies of the triune God on one side of the

river, and they were shouting insults to the

faithful Christians, and this was their response,

the glory potray. No, we're praising all of the

triune God and it was this match back and forth

across the river There is victory in singing

to the Lord and praising him and worshiping him

As you're all aware we've been in a season of

Christian foundations we've spent all kinds of

time discussing God's creation of man and woman

and how that affects us in the world. We've spent

quite a bit of time discussing what marriage

is for, for the glory of God and the benefit

of the world. And we, of course, have looked

at the different roles that husbands and wives

play and what your callings are. We're going

to spend the next three Sundays talking about

Christian parenting. Today we're just getting

the starting point of Christian parenting. Our

text is from Deuteronomy chapter 6 beginning

Deuteronomy 6 · chapter mention

in verse 1, but let us now pray and ask for God's

blessing of it. Heavenly Father, by your mercies

and the work of your Spirit, reveal your law

of life to us. We beseech you to make the words

of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts

pleasing in your sight for the sake of Jesus

Christ, our risen Redeemer. Amen. Once again

our text is Deuteronomy chapter 6 beginning in

Deuteronomy 6 · chapter mention

verse 1. Now this is the commandment and these

are the statutes and judgments which Yahweh your

God has commanded to teach you that you may observe

them in the land which you are crossing over

to possess that you may fear Yahweh your God

to keep all his statutes and his commandments

which I commanded you and your son and your grandson

all the days of your life, that your days may

be prolonged. Therefore, hear, O Israel, and

be careful to observe it, that it may be well

with you, and that you may multiply greatly,

as Yahweh, God of your fathers, has promised

you, a land flowing with milk and honey. Hear,

O Israel, Yahweh our God, Yahweh is one. You

shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart

and with all your soul. and with all your strength.

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, and when you walk in the

way, and 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.

And you shall write them on the doorposts of

your house and on your gates. These are the words

of Almighty God. Receive them in your hearts.

As parents, we're instructed to do, and this

is what I want us to focus on today, three things.

Three things that God is teaching us here this

morning. That we are to teach God's law diligently.

We are to teach God's law diligently. The context

is parenting. But it does go beyond that We are

to bind God's law to our hand we are to bind

God's law to our hand and We are to let or allow

God's law to be as frontlets to our eyes We are

to let God's law be as frontlets to our eyes

Now I'm going to say the first one makes a lot

of clarity, right? You have some frame of reference.

The other two may be a little murky. Don't worry.

We're going to look at what God's word says to

give us understanding. My mentor Steve Wilkins

makes this point on parenting. He says this,

the family is one of the primary institutions

of society. Long -term reformation of culture

is impossible if families which make up the culture

are not growing more and more in conformity to

God's Word. For those of you that are presently

in the midst of training children, the relevance

is obvious. For those of you who do not have

children yet, or have never had children, or

those whose children are adults, this is still

immensely relevant. Saints of God, children,

are you listening? Look up this way. Listen to

me. At every child's baptism in this church,

your parents and you children as well, take the

vow. And I'm going to read it to you. Do you,

the congregation of Christ Reformed Evangelical

Church, promise to undertake the responsibility

of assisting these parents as they nurture their

children in the Christian faith and practice

to the glory of God? And then I ask you, if you

agree to this, say amen. And children, I know

you're saying amen too, right? Young and old

alike, we must be instructed in God's word. As

Psalm 109 teaches us all, that all of God's laws,

testimonies, decrees, precepts, statutes, commandments,

ordinances, and promises, those are all the words

used to describe God's law in Psalm 119. It's

176 verses, by the way. Right? They are to be

known. They are to be loved. And these laws,

commands, statutes, et cetera, they are to be

lived. This is exhaustive. God's Word is exhaustive.

Not it is exhaustive to us like we're tired,

but rather His Word is comprehensive. It covers

everything. In fact, 2 Timothy 3 .16 tells us

this. of scripture is given by the inspiration

of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,

for correction, for instructions in righteousness

that the man of God may be complete, that is

mature, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Sermon like these, regardless of what stage you

are in, makes all of us able to be conformed

to Christ as the individual. So when you hear

these things, the first application is to yourself.

Children, are you listening to me? There's going

to be a lot of interaction today. The first thing

is you hear this sermon or any sermon. It's about

me. And then how am I teaching it to others?

I have a responsibility to my parents, for sure.

You know that. But you also, children, have a

responsibility to you younger brothers and sisters,

and to the other children in this church. Those

of you who are oldest boys out here or oldest

girls out here, you must know and understand

that the smaller ones amongst us are looking

to you. So it matters if you were singing with

vigor. It matters if you stood low and served

them. It matters. if you say things that build

them up and edify them. So we are to study God's

word so we can teach and admonish and edify others

in their Christian life to the pleasure of God.

All of us, we must submit ourselves to obedience

of the whole of scripture or as one commentator

puts it, if our children do not grow up to be

faithful men and women who fear God and keep

His commandments, then all we have labored for

is lost. Children, I want you to hear. There's

a secondary reason today that I want you to pay

attention. Children and young people, hear me

now. You see, this morning as I teach on parenting,

It is so that you can know the basis for what

your parents are doing for you, and so that you

can begin learning how to be a good father and

mother. Children, young people, you know this.

You are often confused about why your parents

are doing certain kinds of things to you and

for you. Sometimes you question if it is really

for you. Pay attention this morning. the Word

of God taught, preached to you, so that you can

understand what your parents are trying to accomplish,

so that you can lean into Christ Jesus yourself

and more joyfully submit to what they're asking

of you. As all of you know, the Book of Deuteronomy

is largely a single sermon given by Moses to

the people of Israel. Its timing is this, right?

They have just left the 40 years of wilderness

wandering, of judgment, that God had purposed

for them to be humbled and to know what was in

their hearts. Are you listening? He purposed

them to go through 40 years of wandering so he

could keep providing for them so he could demonstrate

to them what was in their own hearts. Parenting.

is the exact same way at times. Sometimes it

feels like we're wandering around in the wilderness,

not getting anywhere. And as we undergo being

a parent, God humbles us and reveals truly what

is in our own hearts, as much as he reveals what

is seemingly in the hearts of our children. Parenting

reveals our ability to stoop low. patiently longsuffering,

so that our children may know our God. It's interesting

that in Colossians chapter 3 verse 21 it says,

Colossians 3:21

it tells us that fathers are commanded not to

provoke their children, but children are told

to obey their parents in all things, for this

is pleasing to God. So you have two things, father,

and this applies to both parents. Don't provoke

your children. Children, obey your parents. I

want to give one caveat here. For those of you

that are oldest children out here, right? There's

a handful of you out there. You're the oldest.

Guess what? This is the first time that your

parent has trained up someone in following God

at your age. And then if you have a family where

there's boys and girls, guess what? There's a

difference of how they're gonna address the girls

and how they're gonna address the boys simply

because remember how we've talked about this

before? God created you male and female and there's

design differences, origin differences, orientation

differences, all of these things are true. But

children, young people, be gracious to your parents.

They are figuring this out trusting in God and

Lord willing seeking God's word For truth and

admonition and how to help you Now back to this

about not provoking our children too often our

reactions to our children are not based upon

their sin Let me say that again too often our

reactions to our children are not based on their

sin But much more in our inconvenience our dislikes,

our unrelated aggravations, home or marriage

or work, and oftentimes because we're keeping

a record of wrongs. In moments like these, parenting

reveals our own hearts before God and our families.

Do not fall into the trap of self -loathing and

failure. but repent before God and to all those

in whom you've sinned against and in front of

and as Jesus tells us in John 8, go and sin no

more. Returning to our text Deuteronomy chapter

Deuteronomy 4 · chapter mention

4 and 5, in those chapters God reminds Israel

that they are His covenant people. Now this morning

you may have noticed particularly if you're visiting

with us I said Yahweh instead of Lord. That's

the covenant name God gave for himself to his

people every time you see Lord capitalized I

say this to you all the time, but I'm trying

to remind you. Why do I do this? Because I want

you to be startled into thinking wait This is

my covenant God to me and to my children and

as it said in the text today our grandchildren

and as both in Genesis to Abraham and Peter quotes

it in Acts to all of those who were far off He's

a covenant God who keeps his promises. He wants

us to be robust. He wants us to be joyful He

wants to help us do the trials of life that come

to us He gives us his law And we reject it and

have so much trouble But he tells God tells his

people his covenant people that he's delivered

them from his enemies and part of chapter 5 We

have a reader a reiteration of the ten commandments

through the ten words God repeats His promises

throughout all of Deuteronomy to be their God

and the God of their children. God has named

His people and He has put His covenant sign upon

them, circumcision. And then God lays out blessings

and curses to His people. Now this is the commandment

and these are the statutes and judgment which

Yahweh your God has commanded to teach you, that

you may observe them. And He goes on and talks

about these commandments. It talks about the

blessings, right? Blessings in your life, that

your days may be prolonged for you and your son

and your grandson, it says. And it says, therefore,

hero Israel, and be careful to observe it, that

it may be well with you, that you may multiply

greatly, as Yahweh, your God of your fathers,

has promised you, a land flowing with milk and

honey. Dearly beloved, Passages like this are

sometimes a barrier for those who struggle with

questions of grace alone as opposed to grace

and obedience. For the church, God has made the

covenant sign of baptism for us and our children.

God places his triune name upon us and our children

in baptism. Satan slithers in though with his

fiery darts of doubts in conditions Do not fall

prey to this deceit. Conditions do not nullify

grace. For the only way to fulfill any law of

God is by the grace of God in Christ Jesus by

the power of the Spirit. We must begin by knowing

for ourselves and teaching our children that

their identity is a Christian. God sovereignly

and graciously chose who your parents are. Children,

are you listening? Older adults with angst with

your parents? God chose that for you. You say,

how can this be? Some of this is so terrible.

He's working in your life to His glory, the benefit

of the world. God chose whether each one of us

were male or female God chose that you would

be baptized and have his name placed upon you

and so it is true that it is mighty sovereign

mercy and grace that Christian children must

bring their children for baptism and then teach

them and treat their children as Christians a

people who belong to God We are truly not our

own, but we belong to God. Most of you in this

church have the Child's Catechism book, I Belong

to God. And in answering question 105, it says

this, the question is this, why was I baptized

as an infant? And the response is this, because

God chooses to love the children of his people

and includes them in his covenant. In baptism,

He makes their children His own. Because I am

baptized, I must be faithful to God my whole

life. My baptism binds me to God and His people

forever. In this, people of God, we truly know,

as 1 John 4, 19 tells us, speaking of God, it

declares, we love Him. because he first loved

us. Returning to Deuteronomy 6 verse 3 tells

Deuteronomy 6:3

us that through the commands and statutes that

we are to learn the fear of God so that the blessings

of the promised land would be experienced by

parents, children, and grandchildren in a prolonged

life in God's joy and providence. Again, he says

in verse 4, hear O Israel, Yahweh your God is

one, you shall love Yahweh your God with all

your heart, with all your soul, with all your

strength. So God speaks to His covenant people

as their covenant God, and He is one. Children,

are you listening? Adults, are you listening?

There is only one God, the triune God, in three

persons, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.

There is no other God, there is no other path

to God, but in Jesus the Son, by the administrations

of the Spirit. All these words, in verse six

it says, all these words which I command you

today shall be in your heart. In the scriptures,

the heart is the center of thought, emotion,

and life. God is commanding parents to make the

Word of God the center of your life centered

first by God himself then in the worship of God

and Then gratitude towards God and then it reflects

the glory of God to others by Conformity to the

words of God in every single aspect of life children

adults There is nothing that you're going to

come across in your life where the Word of God

doesn't speak. Nothing. You say, how can that

be? We've got all this new AI stuff. There's

new technologies here and there. At the base

of it, there's nothing new under the sun. There's

some basis. There's some truth that God has in

relevance to every single thing in life. And

all of this reminds us, confirms what it says

in Deuteronomy 8, man does not live by bread

alone, but by every word that proceeds from the

mouth of God. Now God now directs his people

as how to pass on this teaching of the living

God. We're reminded of this in Ephesians 6 -4,

and you fathers, I'm doing this again, different

text. The first one was Colossians 3, now we're

in Ephesians 6, and you fathers, Do not provoke

your children to wrath, but bring them up in

the training and admonition of the Lord. Although

it applies to both parents, men, you are the

thermostat of your household. If you are not

joyfully obedient to God, if you are not delighting

in your wife and cheerfully enjoying your children

and who they are and what interests they have,

You will exasperate your children You will provoke

your children if you murmur complain are irritable

impatient or inconvenienced or unavailable To

your children You are discouraging them and even

Driving them away from God God graciously gives

us clear directions How we see the Word of God

made true for our children There God here in

this passage gives us Four actions four actions

you shall teach them diligently to your children

the laws And you 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 all that's

part of one you shall bind them as a sign on

your hand They shall be as frontlets between

your eyes and you shall write them on the doorposts

of your house and on your gates God's law is

authoritative and comprehensive You can see this

in Psalm 119 160 or Psalm 19 verse 7 We hear

Psalms 19:7

it very clearly in Proverbs 30 beginning with

verse five. Every word of God is pure. He is

a shield to those who put their trust in Him.

Children, are you listening? Adults, are you

listening? Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke

you and you be found a liar. People of God, your

feelings and opinions are not authoritative.

Trust God and do good. In contentment, parents

joyfully obey and teach God's word to your children.

How often and to what extent should we teach

God's word? Every conversation should be foundationally

set in and through scripture. And if you don't

know how to do this, I understand. Come talk

to your elders. But let me also tell you this.

Study God's Word. Read the book of Proverbs over

and over again. There are a ton. It's so deep.

You're never going to reach the bottom of all

that just Proverbs can give you in these truths.

Everything from a flower in that pot over there,

to the biggest tree, to the sun in the sky, to

science and math, and how you drive a car, and

how you enlist what you do in your strength in

your work. All those conversations are foundationally

set in God's Word. Now, I've been studying God's

Word earnestly since about the middle of high

school, and I still have so much more to learn

and to know, right? Get after it. You gotta be

reading God's Word. You gotta be looking for

application. We need to be talking with our children

about life as understood in the light of God

and His holy word. We're told that we're to do

it when we're sitting. This word sitting means

where you dwell and abide. Now I know right now

you're thinking it particularly like your house,

where you're sitting in your house. But if it's

where you dwell and abide, let me explain that

just as a little bit. Parents, where do you dwell?

Are you dwelling, that is abiding, Jesus. Do

you desire to be fruitful in all of your endeavors

especially your call to see your children faith

as faithful Christians in every area of life?

Jesus said this in John 15, abide in me and I

in you as the branch cannot bear fruit itself

unless it abides in the vine neither can you

unless you abide in me. in our daily lives, we

must ourselves as parents abide in Jesus so that

we may actually take dominion and be bountiful

in the fruit of the Spirit. You yourself cannot

be bountiful in the fruit of the Spirit unless

you abide in Christ, unless that is your dwelling

place. And then by extension it becomes a dwelling

place for your children. We're not just to teach

in our homes, but also as we walk along the path

of life you make observations One of my favorite

one even for me. I still have to work on this

driving down the road All right, can you believe

how those people are driving what morons? How

about this I mean if we're honest, how about

this Lord Jesus have mercy on them watch over

them. I don't know what's going on May they know

you. May they learn how to drive in a competent

way for the safety of others and themselves.

We are to teach our children, not just in something

simple like that, but do we teach our children

to trust in God and what seems like all the challenging

paths and moments? Do we do that? When difficulties

come, when real hardship hits us, look, you gotta

practice on the little things like driving, how

you speak to those things, so that you're prepared

and you've laid the groundwork for when the real

troubles of life happen. Psalm 37, remember this,

we studied it the first Sunday this summer. Verse

23, the steps of a good man are ordered by Yahweh,

and He delights in His way. Though He fall, He

shall not utterly be cast down, for Yahweh upholds

Him with His hand. Hold on to that because we're

coming to hand in just a few minutes. Do the

inconveniences or true adversities of life cause

us to teach our children to turn to God, to rely

on God, or do these adversities cause us to despair?

complain, and to be irritable. Do we center the

life of our household by morning and evening

prayers? Do we start and end our days in prayer

and meditation and thanksgiving? We often do

not live to teach that the purposes of the Christian

life is to glorify God by pleasing him and pointing

others to an abundant life. in Christ Jesus.

God's word should be so much instructing in every

set of circumstances, in every idea, in every

action. We do them. Children, are you listening?

God's word in all this. Your parents ask you

and teach you and work on memorizing God's word.

Accept it with joy. It's the way of life. The

next three steps that God gives here in Deuteronomy

6 gives us more clarity for the first step. God

tells us to bind His commands and ways of life

to our hand as a sign. I do this frequently.

Children, look at me. Look at your hand right

now. What is it for? It is for strength. It is

for rule. It is for the glory of God. The next

time you ball it up, go to pop somebody, ask

yourself those questions. The people of Israel

mistook this instruction and attempted to fulfill

this literally by taking the edges of their prayer

shawl, the tallit, and having the end threads

tied in knots representing the commands of God.

And what they would do is they would take and

wrap this around their hand. Right? You know,

they could almost go down like a rosary, like

counting each one of the knots reminded them

of a law. There's some practical part of that.

But they failed to take it to what God's intent

was. You see, God's intent was not this, but

rather that the scriptures in the hand See in

the scriptures the hand represents power and

authority. We see this in Psalm 110, 1 Samuel

5, 1 Samuel 23, and 1 Samuel 26, just to name

a few. And that went out in your notes yesterday.

The hand represents the delegated power of God

to us in this world. We need to teach our children

how God has given us life, strength, authority,

and responsibility, and how they are to treat

people, how they are to work, how they are to

speak, and how they are to play and do recreation.

Parents, you must not have rules in your house

that simply exist for your convenience and ease,

but rather that are based on sin or righteousness

or wisdom or folly. or childlikeness or maturity.

As we spoke of last week, we are given a throne

in our household, and it is likened to Christ

Jesus' throne. And we must remember that as Christ

is to us, we desire that our children be able

to come to our throne of grace, finding mercy

and help in a time of need. We must be patient.

long -suffering, kind, here's a big one, consistent

and wise as we determine if a situation with

our child is willful disobedience, ignorance,

general folly or foolishness, or merely childish

ways. Parents, we need to imitate Christ and

stoop low. considering not our rights as authorities,

but rather, or really even your inconvenience,

but as Jesus who for the joy set before him endured

the cross, despising the shame for our benefit.

Moms, dads, stop what you are doing and give

your full attention to your child to train them

in the Lord as children of the Lord. Too often,

we're gonna be late. So we're going to be shamed,

or more importantly, I'm going to be shamed.

No, no, no, no. Stop and deal with it. Just like

if you're having an argument on the car or the

way to church, go get it right out there and

then come in here. There ought to be a lot of

ways to make that quick. But don't make it about

the shame you're going to feel. No, no. Lovingly,

righteously, turn to your kids, deal with the

situation. Right? How often do we sit somewhere

and we just holler at them from a distance instead

of getting up and going and dealing with what

we see? And do we go there thinking about where

they are, how old they are, what they know, what

you've already talked to them about? How do you

need to remind them? Do I need to spank them?

Do I need to talk to them? How do I help them

with this? I promise you this. Parents, if your

children are really paying attention today, guess

what's gonna happen on this? They're gonna start

struggling if you're not faithful to this. They're

gonna look at you and they're gonna say, you're

not being consistent. You're not doing what the

pastor said. You better step back. Don't just

say, I got the seat of authority, but say, hmm,

let's talk about that. Maybe you need to go away.

Maybe you need to say to your older kids. Hey,

hold on a minute I need to go pray and read my

Bible on this I'll come back to you Right, don't

don't be prideful in your seat of authority be

prepared And I'm gonna tell you something else

if your parents if your children parents never

come to you Not one time or hardly ever to say

I got questions about how you're doing this You

don't have a throne of grace that they can boldly

approach. We should welcome it as an opportunity

to teach them, to train them. Children, be respectful.

Don't be more disobedient because you think your

parents are doing something wrong. Your charge

by God is to be obedient to God. For God's sake,

be obedient to your parents. But parents, welcome

the questions. God tells then tells Israel that

the laws of God shall be as frontlets and their

eyes So basically all their power their strength

all that has to do with they should see their

hand It is governed that power that responsibility

that strength is governed by God's word So then

God tells Israel that the laws of God shall be

as frontlets between their eyes Frontlets what

in the world is a front? Right once again The

people of God took his instruction, God's instruction,

and they misapplied it, totally missing the great

truth given to them. And in this way of totally

doing it in their own fashion, they sued their

conscience by fulfilling the letter of the law,

but not God's intent. See, what happened was

is that the men of Israel would take... The especially

the spiritual leaders they would take God's Word

they'd write it on a little piece of skin or

a piece of papyrus and then they'd roll it up

and Then they'd stick it in a little wooden box

and then they strap the box to the front of their

forehead near between their two eyes I Got that

figured out All right, I'm ready to go right

these boxes were called phylacteries Jesus in

his declaration against the woe declaration of

woes against the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew

23 says this He says for they bind heavy burdens

hard to bear and lay on them men's shoulders

But they themselves will not move with one of

their fingers But all their works they do to

be seen by men They make their phylacteries broad

and enlarge the borders of their garments. That's

back to the holding the law of God in their hands.

They love the best places at feasts, the best

seats in the synagogue. Jesus rebukes the leaders

and the supposed fathers of Israel for laying

heavy burdens hard to bear upon their children

and the people of Israel. Are you laying heavy

burdens too hard to bear? Imagine this, it says

that they won't even lift a single finger to

help them. So the smallest part of the hand where

authority and power to deliver and help They

don't do any of that. There's no grace. There's

no mercy. There's no joy and restoration and

making people disciples of God Instead they do

things to glorify themselves Jesus here specifically

points out that they had made these boxes on

their heads broad I want people to see, I got

God's work. Think about this. If you make that

box really broad and wide that you're holding

all these laws on this external thing, you're

going to have to do two things. You're going

to have to make it really, really tight. This

constraining your head, making it heavy. Or.

You're going to have to let it fall down in front

of your eyes. And your way of trying to obey

God blocks your vision. You know, they were shouting,

declaring to everybody around them, look at all

my knowledge of God's word. But they had no mercy,

no kindness. Men, especially in a Reformed church,

you need to listen to me now. I do not care how

much you know about church history, church doctrine.

Have all the scriptures of God memorized. If

you are not full of mercy and kindness, fall

on your knees and beg for forgiveness before

God. Don't go to the feasts of the church. and

be boasting, I've got this seat, I've got these

hearers, I'm so good, look how smart I am. Who

cares about how big your phylactery is, it's

strapped to your head. You see, Jesus cries out

against them, declaring that they shut up the

kingdom of heaven against men. and that they're

not going to the Kingdom of Heaven, and more

than that, that they are blocking people from

getting into the Kingdom of Heaven. Lord, have

mercy upon us. When we parent from pride and

arrogance and anger and our judgments, we are

shutting up the Kingdom of Heaven to those whom

we are charged with their care. So what's the

practical application? What's the right way?

As you know, the eyes are the organ of judgment,

right? So we are, if they're to be frontlets

to our eyes, they are to be the lens with which

we judge and make decisions and how we are to

interpret everything that we see. You see, if

we are to interpret things, Rightly, we must

be tethered to God's word so that we can make

right judgments and decisions and take right

actions. We must study God's word so that we

can tend and guard our households for the glory

of God and the good of the world. Finally, God

commands us to write the law of God on the doorposts

of our house and on our gates. Again, we can

get carried away and talk about all the ways

that the people of Israel did it in principle

but didn't understand what God was doing. You

see this is simple that the words of God are

for our lives in our homes and our lives in the

world. What is true inside our homes and outside

our homes are both regulated in the same manner

and our comings coming in and are going out.

Dearly beloved our homes are to be gardens of

righteousness. It takes the grace and wisdom

of our God to parent to the glory of God and

the benefit of our children. You might be feeling

overwhelmed. You might think, man, I've got a

lot of mistakes I got to work on. Turn to Christ.

Boldly approach God's throne and ask for mercy,

grace, and wisdom. Ephesians chapter two says,

but God who was rich in mercy because of his

great love with which he loved us, even when

we were dead in trespasses made us alive together

with Christ. That in the ages to come, that he

might show the exceeding riches of his grace

and his kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.

Turn to Christ, right? Make these changes, right?

So in what? The ages to come and the rest of

the life that you have with your children. Right?

You'll show the exceeding riches of His grace

and His kindness. Turn to Jesus, ask Him for

help. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, You've given

us all. You've given us all that we need in Christ

Jesus. We humbly ask that You grant us wisdom,

grace, joy, and patience to train up our children

in the nurture and admonition of Your Word. We

are weak. but you are strong. Please use your

mighty hand to help us and deliver our children

to faithfulness to your glory and the benefit

of the world. We ask all this for the sake of

your son Jesus who reigns with you in the Holy

Spirit forever and ever. Amen. Let us continue

our worship by the giving of our tithes and offerings.

All hail the... Would be for your glory and for

service in your kingdom blessed be God forever

and ever amen