Waypoints for Fathers: Raising Kids to Trust God

Jun 21, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Trust Built in the Deep End

The image of a father stepping back as his child struggles in the pool becomes a metaphor for God’s unexpected methods. Trust isn’t about avoiding the splash but discovering strength in the swim. Like a parent who knows when to let go, God often allows tension to build resilience. Our doubt in His timing mirrors a child’s hesitation on the pool’s edge—yet His voice still says, “I’m here.” True trust leans not on perfect safety but on the One who sees beyond the immediate struggle. [34:46]

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
(Proverbs 3:5–6, ESV)

Reflection: When has God allowed you to “doggy paddle” in a season of uncertainty? How did that experience deepen your reliance on Him?

Day 2: Waypoints Over Checkpoints

Road trips become sacred when marked by intentional stops—Grand Canyon vistas, bedtime stories, car conversations. These waypoints shape a family’s spiritual journey more than hurried arrivals. Like Joshua setting stones of remembrance, parents must name moments where God’s faithfulness becomes tangible. It’s not about racing to adulthood but curating mile markers of grace, even when detours feel inconvenient. [40:34]

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
(Joshua 24:15, ESV)

Reflection: What one “waypoint” could you intentionally create this week to help your family remember God’s goodness?

Day 3: Coaching From the Sidelines

Parenting shifts from play-calling to cheerleading as kids grow. Like a coach who trains athletes but stays off the field, fathers learn to release control while remaining present. This tension—guidance without micromanagement—mirrors how God shepherds us. The goal isn’t perfection but partnership, trusting the Holy Spirit to work beyond our instruction. [58:48]

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
(Ephesians 6:4, ESV)

Reflection: Where might you need to shift from “disciplinarian” to “coach” in your relationships? What fears surface in that transition?

Day 4: Monday Faith in a Sunday World

The gap between Sunday sermons and weekday living determines legacy. Kids spot incongruence like missing puzzle pieces—a father’s patience in traffic, integrity at work, or grace during conflict preach louder than sermons. Authenticity bridges the ideal and the real, proving faith isn’t a performance but a daily posture. [01:10:37]

“We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.”
(Psalm 78:4–6, ESV)

Reflection: What specific Monday-moment this week could become a teachable example of trusting God for your family?

Day 5: Crooked Paths to Straightened Futures

Parenting often feels like navigating switchbacks—progress seems slow, views obscured. Yet God uses winding journeys to build endurance, just as mountain roads reveal vistas flat highways miss. His plans for our children may veer from our scripts, but His detours craft better stories. Trusting His authorship brings peace when our timelines disappoint. [01:12:11]

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant.”
(1 Corinthians 13:4, ESV)

Reflection: What dream for your child feels hardest to release? How might God be writing a different—and better—story through that surrender?

Sermon Summary

The call to intentional parenting gets framed as a journey, not a race, where waypoints matter more than raw speed. The waypoint metaphor insists that direction not intention determines destination, so a family’s chosen stops and repeated practices become the road that actually forms children. The priority of trust in God stands as the family’s north star, outranking academics, athletics, and popularity, because a life that trusts God more outlives every other win. The contrast between the ideal and the real gets named head on, because Scripture raises the bar while God meets the mess, and grace always moves real families toward the ideal without shaming them for not being there yet.

Joshua’s charge calls every household to choose this day whom to serve, because rival gods always crowd the calendar, budget, and heart, and a home needs a clear confession, as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord. The family identity of love God, love people offers a simple mission that can be printed, repeated, and practiced. The training plan gets worked out in waypoints of character, faith under peer pressure, wise friendship, and honest talks about power, money, and sex, because those three will most quickly pull a life off course. The four phases of parenting move from disciplinarian to trainer to coach to friend, and wisdom refuses to skip steps so later friendship can be real.

Paul’s instruction in Ephesians puts a governor on tone and approach, because fathers must not exasperate their children but bring them up with the Lord’s discipline and instruction. The distance between Sunday and Monday becomes the diagnostic, because a dad’s behavior, not his beliefs on paper, earns respect and either props up or punctures future faith. The household liturgy of car time, dinner time, and bedtime reclaims ordinary minutes as formative waypoints where short but steady conversations build a long memory of trust. Psalm 78’s call to tell the next generation sets the family rhythm of sharing God’s works, God’s Word, and even current doubts, so children see living faith, not a curated highlight reel.

Love’s patience sets the timeline, because kids do not grow in microwaves and God’s plan for a child may outrun a parent’s plan. The invitation to trust the Father who runs after prodigals steadies the journey, because the perfect Father both names the ideal and supplies grace for the real.

Key Takeaways

1. Choose your family’s God today The household always serves something, and calendars and checkbooks usually betray the choice. Joshua’s charge calls a dad to say it and then structure it, because clarity starves rival gods. A simple confession becomes a living standard when habits, time, and money start to agree with it. [52:42]
2. Major on trust, not trophies Grades, goals, and followers are fine, but they cannot carry a soul through loss, failure, or loneliness. A growing reflex to trust God outlasts every scoreboard and quietly steers decisions when no one is watching. Parents who prize trust above performance give kids ballast, not just shine. [44:18]
3. Shape without exasperating your kids Authority without empathy breeds anger, and tone can cancel a well-aimed truth. The call is to bring them up, not break them down, so instruction arrives with presence, patience, and proportion. Respect rises where behavior is consistent, humble, and repentant when wrong. [60:54]
4. Name and plan your waypoints Character, friendships, faith under pressure, and honest talks about power, money, and sex do not schedule themselves. Intentional car rides, dinner tables, and bedtimes turn into small liturgies that compound over years. The plan keeps the journey from becoming survival mode on repeat. [54:01]
5. Close the gap between Sunday and Monday Kids remember lived faith, not just Sunday words. The tighter the fit between worship and weekday, the sturdier the handhold for their future trust. Quiet obedience on Monday often preaches louder than any platform on Sunday. [70:37]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[28:44] - Costa Rica clothing drive
[29:26] - Vision for generous giving
[32:18] - Father’s Day and mixed emotions
[33:04] - Greatest generation dad story
[33:57] - Learning to swim the hard way
[35:38] - Joy and weight of fatherhood
[37:39] - A church that helps parents
[38:56] - Waypoints over speed on the journey
[41:42] - Direction, not intention, determines destination
[43:25] - The big goal: trust God more
[45:00] - The ideal and the real in families
[52:42] - Choose whom your family will serve
[54:01] - Structuring strategic waypoints
[56:46] - Power, money, and sex talks
[57:18] - Disciplinarian, trainer, coach, friend
[60:54] - Fathers, do not exasperate your children
[64:13] - Car time, dinner time, bedtime
[66:49] - Tell the next generation, Psalm 78
[70:22] - The distance between Sunday and Monday
[71:50] - Love is patient, not a microwave
[73:05] - The Father who runs after them

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Joshua 24:15 (ESV)
“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Ephesians 6:4 (ESV)
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

Psalm 78:4 (ESV)
“We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.”

Observation Questions

What did Joshua challenge Israel to choose in Joshua 24:15, and what confession did he declare for his own household?
According to Ephesians 6:4, what two instructions does Paul give fathers about raising children?
What three things does Psalm 78:4 command believers to tell the next generation?
In the sermon, what metaphor was used to describe parenting as a journey, and why was it contrasted with a race? [38:56]

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think Joshua’s declaration (“as for me and my house…”) required intentional choices about priorities like calendars, budgets, and habits?
How might a parent’s tone or approach (Ephesians 6:4) either “build up” or “break down” a child’s trust in their guidance?
What might happen if families neglect to “tell the next generation” (Psalm 78:4) about both God’s faithfulness and their own current struggles or doubts?
The sermon emphasized that “direction, not intention, determines destination.” How does this principle apply to daily decisions in parenting? [41:42]

Application Questions

What specific choice could your household make this week to align your time, money, or routines more closely with serving God? (Example: A family “screen-free” hour to pray or discuss faith.)
Trusting God is prioritized over achievements like grades or trophies. What is one practical way to model or teach trust in God during a stressful situation this month? [44:18]
Reflect on a recent interaction with a child (yours or someone you mentor). Did your tone or approach risk exasperation? How could you adjust your response next time to “bring them up” instead?
Name one “waypoint” conversation (about character, friendships, money, or sex) you need to initiate with your child or a younger person. When and how will you start it? [56:46]
The “distance between Sunday and Monday” reflects lived faith. What small, quiet act of obedience or integrity could you prioritize this week to close that gap? [01:10:37]
Car time, dinner time, and bedtime are formative moments. Which of these could you reclaim for intentional connection this week? What would that look like? [01:04:13]
When was the last time you shared a personal story of doubt or God’s faithfulness with a younger person? What story will you share next?

Sermon Clips

52s

#ChooseFaithFamily

“Joshua recognizes this and he says to the people of Israel, you need to choose this day. You need to choose which god you will serve. Will you serve the gods that we left in Egypt? Will you serve the gods that the Ammonites across the river? Will you serve the gods that they worship? Will you look across at the greener grass and be tempted by that? Or will you worship the one true God who has proven to be faithful and gracious to you time and time again? And then Joshua declares, as you've seen this printed and framed in so many people's entryways when we walk into their house, Joshua declares, But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

54s

#TalkPowerMoneySex

“What about these? What about the waypoints of power, money and sex? Are you having intentional conversations with your kids about the three things that will take a family off track more than any other three things. These are the things that repeatedly come up again and again and again, right? Because we were lied to and we believed the lie about power, about money, about sex. And it destroyed ourselves, it destroyed our family, it destroyed our opportunity to parent well, our opportunity to lead. What kinds of conversations are you having to train your kids so that they are prepared for what's coming their way?”

54s

#ShareYourFaithJourney

“The next time that you're wrestling with God's faithfulness in your life to be open about that and honest about that with your kids. When's the last time you shared with your kids what God is personally teaching There is so much, there's so much potential for your kids to know that you too have moments of doubt, that you too have moments where you wonder if God's gonna keep his promises, where you too wonder when God is gonna show up in this circumstance. It's so good for your kids to know that you're leaning into God, that you're trusting in God and that you aren't sure how this story is gonna be written but you're trusting in the one who is faithful.”

44s

#CarDinnerBedtime

“We're not just training. We're not just teaching. We're not just disciplining. We are bringing them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord. Rather bring them up with the discipline and the instruction that comes from the Lord. how do we do this? How does that play out in everyday life? Well I think that there are a few times that are easily lost on us that we should just think about reclaiming and it's these three things. It's car time, it's dinner time, and it's bedtime.”

42s

#RaiseThenFriend

“He said, Rich, you can be friends with your children and then you will get to raise your grandchildren. Or you can raise your children and then you get to be friends with your grandchildren. Don't skip the step. Don't think that oh my kid's 15, we all want be friends. You're not friends with your 15 year old. You're a coach maybe. You maybe are still training. But someday you'll get to be friends if you don't rush the different steps. Okay waypoint number two, we get to shape them. We get to shape them.”

43s

#TrainingThenCoaching

“And the training years are so important because so much of training we've outsourced to other people. We've outsourced to their coach. We've outsourced to their teacher. We've outsourced to their guidance counselor. And we said you know what? There's all these professionals and they're gonna train my kids and I don't have to have these conversations with them. You absolutely have to engage in the training years with your kids where you're teaching them and you're training them. And then later come the coaching years. Coaching years are where you get to step back a little bit and say, I've trained you, now I'm gonna step back a little bit and I'm gonna let you be on the field. I'm not coming out on the field with you.”

41s

#GodsGraceForFamilies

“This is the message of the gospel and sometimes we get a little bit caught up in the confusion around I don't meet the ideal and so I'm not good enough for God or I'm not good enough for church and maybe there was a church or a person that made you feel that way, but let me tell you that is not God's heart toward your messed up broken family. That is not God's heart toward your messed up broken marriage. We all need God's healing in our marriage. We all need God's healing in our parenting. We need God's help as we do this but he doesn't, he will always call us to the ideal.”

48s

#DinnerTableMatters

“What can you do to be intentional, to gather the family around? I was a youth pastor for fifteen years and I could tell after a while, having a student in my youth group, I could tell you which kids had dinner together with their families on a regular basis and which kids didn't. It is incredible how much happens around the dinner table. And finally bedtime. Man, we want to rush through it. I know I was always so exhausted by the time it was dinnertime. Our first two kids were fifteen months apart, then we were twenty four months apart, then we were about thirty months apart. Those early years are a blur. I still don't remember much of what happened.”

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