Peacemakers of the Heart
Family Faith Quiet Times
Introduction:
1. Many believers live crazy, stressed-out lives and believe that it is normal. Yet we have learned that a life of stress is not how we were meant to live.
2. God’s Word is clear that it is God’s will for us to live lives of peace, with a sweet peace at the root level of our inner spirit.
3. That kind of divine peace does not come by accident, but it permeates our inner man as we keep our priorities in the proper place.
4. We have already examined four of these priorities:
• Our quiet time with God
• Our quiet time of rest and relaxation
• Our quiet time with our spouse (our huddle time)
• Our internal peacemaker
5. Now we will explore our fifth priority – family faith quiet times.
6. Just as it is important that a husband and wife have their huddle time, families also must have a huddle time. If a peaceful life is to be pursued and found, it needs to be a family affair. Colossians 3:15, 18-21
• If the family is out of joint, peace will not come.
7. Every family needs an anchor of peace. That anchor is consistent family faith time.
What does it mean to have family faith quiet time?
1. Life gets so busy that each family member is tuned to a different channel, so to speak.
• Illustration: Dad is tuned in to the news, Mom is tuned in to the Cooking Channel, one kid is on the Discovery Channel, another on ESPN, etc. I am speaking figuratively, of course.
2. Family faith quiet time means that, once per day, all members of the family are tuned in to the same spiritual channel.
• It is a time to focus on the Lord together. Psalm 46:10
• It is a time to rejoice with one another. Romans 12:15
• It is a time to bear one another’s burdens in prayer. Galatians 6:2
• It is a time to train our children in the ways of the Lord. Proverbs 22:6; Psalm 78:4-7
• It is a time to settle unresolved conflict. Ephesians 4:26
3. Illustration: A twelve-year-old boy told his mom she had lived 14,662 days. If our child is ten, it means that we’ve had 3,650 days to train that child in the way he or she should go. How many of those days have involved substantial teaching about the Lord? Probably not enough. Consistent family faith time can correct that.
Whose responsibility is family faith time?
1. For forty years, Israel had wandered in the wilderness basically insulated from anti-God ideas because of their separation from the world around them. But then they had to move into their Promised Land.
• They would have to live for the Lord among the plush affluence and the pagan influence of Canaan, much like our children do today.
• Moses put the responsibility for spiritual health right where it belonged – the parents! Deuteronomy 11:2, 5, 7, 19
• “Teach” is the assignment, and everyday life is the setting, with God’s truth being systematically communicated.
2. Ephesians 6:4 teaches us that the ultimate spiritual buck stops with Dad.
• The responsibility for family faith belonged first to Adam.
• Nowhere did God explain to Eve about the forbidden fruit. God told Adam, and He expected Adam to tell Eve. After their disobedience, God came looking for Adam. Genesis 3:9
• Although Eve committed the first sin, God held Adam responsible. Nothing has changed. God still holds dads ultimately responsible for the spiritual training of the family.
3. Why are dads given this responsibility?
• Dads make good coaches. Raising up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord is basically coaching on a spiritual level.
• Dad doesn’t have to be a world-class theologian or scholar. God gives the coach’s hat to Dad, and he simply passes on the faith. He doesn’t have to be perfect. He is only a failure in God’s eyes if he doesn’t try.
• If Dad isn’t on God’s team yet, Mom can also establish family faith time. Illustration: Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:5; cf. 3:15.
4. If our children are to experience peace, they must be taught the ways of the Lord. If this is to happen, it needs to come through Mom and Dad. The Youth Group, Christian School, Sunday School, and AWANA Clubs are all supplemental.
5. Family faith time is clearly non-negotiable, but it will never happen until Dad (or Mom) decides it must happen.
How do I conduct family faith time?
1. Vary your approach (read a verse and comment, read a Bible story, give them a Bible truth using a personal story from your life, use an event from that day to teach a Bible truth, etc.).
2. Be creative (children love object lessons).
3. Keep it simple (2 to 5 minutes).
4. Sing together. Colossians 3:16
5. Pray together.
• Allow each member of the family to share their burdens and prayer requests.
• Each night you can take turns leading in prayer.
• If they are young, teach them how to pray and help them.
6. Use the classroom of everyday life. Deuteronomy 11:19
• If you look for teachable moments, you will find them. It can be very powerful!
7. Establish a set time.
In Conclusion:
1. Families who find the Lord together daily can find each other too. Without this Super Glue, the natural tendency of busy personal lives will be to fly apart.
2. Because our lives are so full, we can’t seem to fit in consistent family faith times. Because our lives are so full, we must.
3. The storms outside your home will intensify, but you can build your own little island of sanity inside your house if, each day, you will focus on the Lord together.
4. But remember, stress has little to do with external pressure. It comes from internal disorder.
5. Peace, by God’s definition, is restoring order to our inner man.
6. Order begins when we:
• Begin each day with our quiet time with God (there is no hope of peace until this happens).
• Insist on regular rest and relaxation (this helps us keep our perspective).
• Guard our huddle time with our spouse (this brings balance to our lives).
• Reprogram our minds through implanting God’s Word (this enables us to have peaceful responses).
• Protect our family faith times (this provides stability to your inner circle).
