1 Teach Your Children Well Deuteronomy 11:16-21 & II Timothy 1:3-7 & 3:14-17 Argyle - 6/29/14 - Building Godly Relationships Introduction to Scripture (Pray) It is a conversation I have thought about a lot over the years. I thought of it again this week as I was meeting with Kyle Espositio, our Young Life staff guy. The conversation was over breakfast with my friend, Chris Edwards, who was then the pastor of the West Hebron Presbyterian Church. He said, I ve decided that our church is going to get out of the youth work business. I nearly choked on my eggs. West Hebron had a very active youth program and we often did things with them. I ve given up on youth ministry, Chris said. As I ve reflected on my years of doing youth work the majority of my former students who are doing well spiritually as adults came from committed Christian homes. I added very little to their Christian nurture. On the other hand, very few of the kids who came from lukewarm or non-christian homes have gone on to pursue Christ. I was unable to overcome what those kids were learning at home. So, I ve decided to stop doing youth ministry and focus my attention on parenting ministry. I began to argue that my experience had been different, but as the names and faces of my former youth group and Young Life kids floated through my memory, there was an unmistakable theme. Most of those who were doing well spiritually as adults came from homes where they had been taught God s word and seen it
2 lived out in their parents lives. At the time I was leading a high school guys Bible study involving 10 guys. It was a frustrating experience, because about half of them were very irregular in attendance. Then it hit me. The 5 guys who showed up regularly all had dads who were part of men s Bible studies. The 5 guys who were irregular in their attendance didn t. Some of their dads came to church, but there was not a lot of Biblical instruction or modeling at home. In my conversation with Kyle this week he was quick to point out that he was an exception to this trend. He came from a non-christian home, met Christ in Young Life and is a Christian ministry leader. I am an exception to that trend, as well, having grown up in a nominal Christian home. It wasn t until later in life that my parents really began to grow spiritually. Spence and Missy are exceptions, as well. They are former Young Life kids of ours from our days in Reading, PA. They stopped by for lunch yesterday on their way through the area. There are exceptions, and they are worth the effort we put into reaching them for the gospel, but most of us who have done youth ministry will agree with Chris Edwards about the value of growing up in a committed Christian home. You ll see what I mean by a committed Christian home as we go on. This morning s sermon is on the relationship between parents and children. It is the last in our series on building Godly relationships. We ve talked about aspects of relationships like love, trust, dealing with conflict and forgiveness, and
3 we ve talked about the specific relationships of friendship, marriage and now parents and children. If you have missed any of these sermons they are posted on our website or you could contact the office for a printed or video copy. In talking about the relationship between parents and children we could have talked about the command to honor our parents. I appreciate Ryan covering that in his Children s Message, but I want to remind us that that command isn t just for young children. Or, we could have looked at the warning about lax parenting in Proverbs - Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them (Proverbs 13:24). In our study of I Samuel we saw the disastrous results in Eli s family of failing to discipline children. Or, on the other hand we could have looked at the warning to dads not to be harsh with their children. Paul wrote, Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). There are a number of parenting themes we could have studied this morning, but I don t think there is anything more important to talk about than our responsibility to build a foundation of Biblical knowledge and imagery into our children. Our hope and prayer is that they will build upon that foundation as they get older. Timothy came from that kind of home and Paul referred to it when he wrote to him. (Read II Timothy 1:3-7 & 3:14-17)
4 What kind of homes do we want to provide for our children? We get two important insights about that from the home Timothy grew up in. Immersed in Scripture First, Timothy grew up in a home in which he was immersed in Scripture. Paul told Timothy, But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (3:14-15). From the time Timothy was an infant, he had been taught the Bible. Our passage in Deuteronomy gives us some ideas for how we do that. God told the Israelites, Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth (Deuteronomy 11:18-21). God s word is to be ubiquitous in our homes. I ve always wanted to use the word ubiquitous in a sermon. It means found everywhere or everywhere present. Where can you find God s word in your home? No doubt it can be
5 found on a shelf somewhere, but that is not enough. To lay the kind of Biblical foundation our kids need, God s word also must be found in the hearts and minds of parents and grandparents. God s word must be found in our everyday conversation. God s word must be found posted on our bulletin boards, refrigerators and Facebook walls. Children are not going to be equipped to face the spiritual dangers of this world if their only exposure to the Bible each week is here at church. We take seriously our responsibility to preach and teach God s word as a church, but what we do here is supplemental to the Biblical diet children are being fed at home. If that diet is deficient in quantity and quality our children will be spiritually malnourished. Parents and grandparents, don t zone out on me here. You must be aggressive in pursuing your own knowledge of God s word, so that you can create the kind of home where your kids are immersed in Scripture. Immersed in Imagery The other important thing about Timothy s upbringing is that he was immersed in imagery. Paul wrote, I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also (1:5). And again from chapter 3, But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it... (3:14).
6 If you are a parent, then you have had the experience of putting something together for your child. It might have been a bike or a swing set or a doll house. The words some assemble required strikes fear in many of our hearts. But the thing that has made that process easier in recent years is that instructions now come with pictures that go along with the written directions. So when it says, Using screw #1 connect leg A to leg B, you can see what all of these parts look like. Combining the written word with images is very helpful. Timothy grew up in a home in which he not only heard about the Christian faith, but he saw it lived out. His grandmother, Lois, and mother, Eunice, were believers. Paul described theirs as a sincere faith. He said that Timothy was convinced of the truth of God s word because he knew those from whom he had learned it. The Bible had credibility to him because he had seen it lived out before his very eyes. So, when he read about honesty or love or faith or sacrifice in the Bible, he had images in his home in the behavior of his mother and grandmother that helped him understand what those things looked like. It is important that our children grow up being immersed in Scripture, but if they don t see that Scripture being lived out in our lives it won t make much of an impression on them. They need to be immersed in images of Biblical truth as well as the words of Biblical truth. They need to learn how to love their neighbors from their Bibles and from our example; to tell the truth from their Bibles and from our example; to give
7 generously from their Bibles and from our example; to reject false gods from their Bibles and from our example. What kinds of imagery is your life providing for your children? Conclusion Working on this sermon reminded me of another conversation I was a part of over 30 years ago. I helped to facilitate a monthly Christian businessmen s gathering in downtown Reading, PA. Eight to ten of us would meet for lunch and to listen to a guest speaker on some topic of faith. As we were introducing ourselves one day, the guest speaker noted that half the guys there that day had the last name Roland. He said, Tell me about the Roland family. Why are there so many of you from the same family who are prominent in the Reading Christian community? They all agreed that it went back to their grandfather. They described a man who was active in his church; who knew his Bible inside out; who prayed with them and for them; who loved his wife and kids and grandkids; who was known for his honesty in business - in other words, a man who gave them an image of what it meant to know and love Jesus Christ. May we be that kind of parent and grandparent.