"4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
Our mission statement as a church is, "By the power of the Holy Spirit, we exist to glorify God by making disciples of all nations."
Often, whenever we hear the words discipleship, we think outward, not inward. We believe discipleship is something we do outside the walls of our home, not inside our home.
But, we must understand that it would be foolish to invest all of our time, effort, and resources to reach the lost outside our homes while neglecting the lost within our homes.
As parents, we have to understand that one of our most excellent calls in life is to disciple our children. Your children are important. Therefore, it is good to prioritize your time and energy into discipling your family.
WHAT IS FAMILY DISCIPLESHIP?
Now, family discipleship is a fancy term that we don't often define. So, when we throw around the words family discipleship, we mean this:
"The family of God partnering with and equipping parents/guardians to help build in their children an authentic faith in Jesus."
As the church, we want to equip and disciple families for family discipleship. We want to be a [F]amily that helps our [f]amilies be a beacon of hope and life. Family discipleship is the family of God coming together to pray for, teach, train, and show both our parents and our kids what it means to love Jesus.
FAMILY DISCIPLESHIP IS A BYPRODUCT OF LOVE.
"4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Before we ever see a call to teach our children about God, we find a call to love God personally. This tells us that you cannot teach your children to love a God that you do not love yourself. You can't teach your children about obedience while walking in disobedience.
One of the best things you can do for your children is to love God more than your children. As fathers, we ought to long to show our sons and daughters what a man who loves God looks like. As mothers, we ought to long to show our sons and daughters what a woman who loves God looks like.
True discipleship flows out of love for God. It's a byproduct of love.
And if discipleship is a byproduct of love, then that means that discipleship shouldn't be a burden that we tote around joylessly. Sure there will be nights where you would rather not read the Bible with your kids. But, that ought not to be the norm.
Because we love God, our greatest desire is for God to be glorified through our lives. Therefore, we commit ourselves to teach our children about him. Teaching our children about the Lord is an action that is done out of love for the Lord.
Before we teach our children about God with our words, we teach them with our actions. We first teach our children how to love God by loving God in front of them.
Words are vital. We must teach our kids about God's word. But, our actions will likely leave more of a lasting impact in our children's lives than our words ever will.
So, if your relationship with the Lord is dry or nonexistent, then step one of family discipleship is to go to the Lord and allow him to breathe life into your dry bones. Family discipleship first starts with a love for God.
YOU MUST BE A DISCIPLE BEFORE YOU MAKE DISCIPLES.
"6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children…."
We are to teach our kids that which is on our hearts. We are to teach our kids the very thing that we rejoice in, delight in, meditate on, and cling to personally. Before we see a call to teach, we see a call to study.
So, to make disciples, we must first be a disciple. To be a teacher, you must first be a student. We can't teach our kids something we are foreign to ourselves.
The Psalmist describes God's Word as something sweeter than honey and more precious than gold. The Bible ought to be something we feast on daily.
So, in teaching our kids about God's Word, we're not inviting them to join a meal that we despise ourselves. We're welcoming them into a delicious feast at the master's table. We are to teach diligently to our children the same commands that are written on our hearts.
USE EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO TEACH
7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
But, what does this look like logistically for us? How and where do we do disciple our children?
Well, we are to use every opportunity to teach and disciple our children.
"You shall talk of them when you sit in your house…." So, when you get home from work, and you get on the floor to play legos with your son, that's an opportunity to talk about the Lord. When your daughter is painting your toenails, that's an opportunity to talk about Jesus.
"When you walk by the way…" When you go to Walmart or Target, that's an opportunity to talk about the Lord.
"When you lie down…" When it's time to go nite nite, and you're putting your children to bed, that's an opportunity to talk about the Lord.
"When you rise…" When you wake up and are eating Mini-Wheats, that's an opportunity to talk about the Lord.
"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." We are to leverage every aspect of our lives to teaching and showing our children about God's commandments and his goodness.
Discipleship can occur in the mundane and the ordinary just as much as it can in the planned and the organized. Discipleship can occur on Tuesday afternoon on the way to soccer practice, just as much as it can on Sunday mornings.
Parents, you have been called and commissioned by God to teach your children what it means to love and serve Jesus. And to do this well, you need a plan and structure. But, discipleship doesn't always have to be planned and structured.
You don't always have to have your Bible's open to teach them about Jesus. The beauty of having God's Word written on your heart is that you can teach your kids anywhere and everywhere.
LEVERAGE YOUR FAILURES
If you're like me, you're not a perfect parent. You and I will fail our kids, and at times we will fail miserably. But, because of God's mercy, even our failures are an opportunity to teach our children about God.
When we blow it as parents, we can apologize, repent, asking for forgiveness, and then point our kids to the cross, teaching them about God's grace and mercy.
Just as much as discipleship can occur in the mundane and the formal, it can happen in the mess. Therefore, we ought to use every opportunity to point our children to Jesus.
One of the beauties of the gospel is that our heart of stone has become a heart of flesh. Our heart that once hated God has been transformed into a heart that now loves God. Now that we have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, we want everyone else to taste and see that he's good, as well!
There ought to be nothing that we want more for our children than for them to have a relationship with Jesus. More than we want them to succeed in sports, we want them to know and love Jesus. More than we want them to succeed in school, we want them to know and love Jesus. More than we want them to get married to a good guy or girl, we want them to know and love Jesus. More than we want them to enjoy a good job and good health, we want them to know and love Jesus.
We desire to equip one another to go home and disciple our children, raise strong disciples of Jesus, young men, and women who love the Lord THEIR GOD with all their heart and with all their soul and with all their might.
The children of Harbor Community Church are essential, and their parent's role in their lives is vital.
But so is the role of the church. Together as the church, we have the responsibility to pray for these little ones. As the church, we must come alongside our parents and hold them accountable to God's Word, praying they will love God wholeheartedly. And together, as the church, we have a responsibility to come alongside the parents in this room and help them teach and train up their little ones.