I. Children are a Gift From God
Genesis 33:5-Jacob told Esau that his children were a gift that God had graciously given him!
Genesis 48:9-Joseph told his dad that his sons were a gift from God!
Psalm 127:3-Children are a heritage from the Lord and a reward from Him!
-LAB says: Children are assets not liabilities. That shouldn’t be looked at or treated as distractions or nuisances. Children are an opportunity to shape the future!
-God is kind and gracious to give us these precious gifts!
II. Children are to be Directed by Their Parents
-God did not give the government the responsibility, nor the daycare, nor the school--whether public or private, nor the babysitter, nor Mr. Rogers, nor Hollywood--GOD GAVE THE PARENTS THE RESPONSIBILITY TO DIRECT THE CHILDREN!
-Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9-We must seek to place the word of God into the hearts and minds of our children!
-Someone said: As the home goes, so goes the nation
-Galatians 6:7 reminds us that whatever we so we will also reap!
-In a little booklet I read entitled “Taking Back Your Children” the author asks this question: Parents, if you are not clearly outlining your values and morals as the foundation of your children’s lives, then you must ask yourself, who is?
-Parents are failing! Teen pregnancy has increased 500% in the last 30 years, suicide among young people has increased 300%, and divorce has increased 700% in the 20th Century! In many homes both parents work, fathers are absent or are just “too busy”, TV is raising another generation & lack of discipline is prevalent!
-Public School System is Failing! It is moving toward tolerance and relativism. One of the top officials of the New Hampshire National Education Association said recently: If children come to school with different values than those that are taught at school, teachers should encourage the kids to discard the lessons that their parents are teaching. They call for diversity, tolerance; they are rewriting the history books to be “politically correct” rather than truthful! They seek to remove God from the schools, they no longer teach America’s spiritual heritage, evolution is taught as fact and creation, in many cases is not even mentioned.
-Entertainment is Failing! Pumps the idea of pre-marital sex and alcohol into our kid’s minds. Music and movies are full of profanity, tales of revenge, lewd lyrics & scenes! Hollywood is filling our children’s minds with filth and the parents are the ones renting it for them! You better know what they are watching, what they’re listening to, who their talking to online! Because what they see, hear & read does affect them! Much of the Rock Music promotes rebellion, Gothic Rock glorifies the occult, Soft Rock & Pop often promotes immorality, Country Music often glorifies alcohol, divorce & cheatin’!
-America is Failing! We have a society that has few values & morality. Many of our leaders live lives of dishonesty. The Homosexual Community is being promoted as being normal. The unborn children are slaughtered by the millions. The Playboy Philosophy is being flaunted.
PARENTS IT IS NOT THE SCHOOLS RESPONSIBILITY, THE GOV’T, THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY OR ANYONE ELSES. IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY!
Psalm 127:4-As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of the youth.
-Our children are like arrows. Until we release them as adults, we must spend time polishing them, sharpening them, straightening them, and aiming them in the direction of God’s will. One day we will release that arrow & to hit the mark we must make sure they are aimed properly!
Matthew 19:14 & Mark 10:14 Jesus invites the little children to come to Him! We must direct them toward Christ and His will! We cannot start too soon, but many parents are starting too late. Your kids need to know that Jesus is more important than: FOOTBALL, BASKETBALL, BASEBALL, VOLLEYBALL, HOCKEY! He is more important than the SUNDAY NIGHT MOVIE! Show them that He is more important than MAKING MONEY, THAN FISHING OR HUNTING, THAN PLAYING GOLF, THAN GOING TO THE LAKE! KIDS WATCH YOUR ACTIONS MORE THAN THEY LISTEN TO YOUR WORDS!
III. Children are to Honor God & Their Parents
A. You are to Honor God
-no matter what kind of Mother and Father you may have or had the fact of the matter is you have a loving Father in Heaven that invites you to be a part of His family!
-You are told to Remember (Reflect Upon) Your Creator in the Days of Your Youth (Ecclesiastes 12:1)
The Life Application Bible says: You can’t allow the excitement of youth & pleasures to become a barrier to your focus on God. Don’t waste your youth on sinful actions that later become habits!
B. You are to Honor Your Parents
-Proverbs 23:22-Tells you to listen to your father and not to despise your mother!
-Mark 7:10-Jesus reminds the people that the penalty for a child that cursed their mother & father use to be death!
-Ephesians 6:1-3 Read
We all need to remember:
1. Children are a special gift from God! We all were children at some time. God gave us to our parents as a special gift. Maybe they neglected that gift, maybe they didn’t but the truth is we were special in God’s sight and he welcomes us into His family by faith in His Son, Jesus Christ! Your children are a special gift to you--don’t neglect them, love them & cherish them.
2. Parents are to direct their children! You are to direct them to love, honor, respect and obey God! We are to direct by our example! We are to teach them! We are to bring them to church! We are to read to them the Word.
3. Children are to honor and obey both God and their parents.
