Shaping Faith: The Parent's Role in Spiritual Growth
Devotional
Sermon Summary
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Sermon Clips
"See, the first point I want to bring to you guys is that a child's faith journey starts with the parents. It starts with the parents. It doesn't start with the child. It starts with the parents. See, we like to think that a child begins their faith walk when they actually start to understand stuff. We start to think, oh, you know, like, they're not going to get it to like 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 years old. I'm not really going to do too much about it. But this isn't true at all for anybody who's come to realize that." [00:46:50] (30 seconds)
"Everything you do, every action you take will rub off on your children to some degree, right? To some degree. So today, I really want to encourage us is that your example is so important. As I see these kids, because I got tons of kids of this youth, and about 40, 50 percent of them come from non-church families. So I see, I see that. I see how an example can shape a child." [00:50:02] (25 seconds)
"See, if we just send our kids away, but we don't actually go out and intentionally disciple our children at home, they will have absolutely no foundation or very minimal foundation leaving the home because they had no example to glean from, right? They saw, you know, Pastor Stephen or Pastor Ewan or Pastor Emery doing their thing, but they came home and they saw their mom and their dad not doing those same things." [00:51:42] (25 seconds)
"Instead of being a disciple, be a parent who does their faith journey alongside their child. Alongside their child. You notice how I didn't say push your child away and, you know, let them do it on their own? Don't let them do it on their own. Do it alongside them, right? Do it alongside your children. It is so important to do it with them." [01:00:37] (23 seconds)
"See, here's the big thing, and you guys may have realized that, see, not all youth will be open to these things, right? Every youth is a little bit different. Every child is a little bit different. You could be the best parent in the entire world. You could be the most extroverted parent that pushes your children to do all these amazing things, and you still struggle to get them involved and to get them going. And I'm just going to say right now that even though we can try our absolute best, God is still in control." [01:03:48] (27 seconds)
"But here's the thing, is that we need to show our youth and our children that their faith journey isn't just about watching mom and dad, but it's about doing it alongside them. It's about doing it alongside them. Let's not be disciples. Let's not push our children away. Say, hey, you're not ready for this yet. I mean, certain things like, don't get your kids to brew a pot of coffee at age two." [01:04:48] (26 seconds)
"So I encourage you guys, even though your child is out of the house, maybe they are, maybe they're not, but once they do, your faith journey with them does not stop when they leave the house. I encourage you guys, I so encourage you guys to pray for your children, even if they're 40 years old, but they're still your kid, right? Pray for your children. Encourage them. Send them messages if you're able to. Tell them that you're praying for them. When you do see them, talk about the Lord with them, right?" [01:05:43] (34 seconds)
"One of the biggest things that I see a lot of is that parents will be like, hey, I really want my child to get involved in church. I want my child to maybe be a leader at youth when they're old enough. I want my child to grow in these things. But the parent themselves has no foundation. The parent doesn't actively practice their faith. They don't read their Bible. They don't pray. At least, they don't pray in front of their kids, right?" [01:07:15] (26 seconds)
"How does that work out? If we're not involved, and if we're not doing things with our children, then how do we expect the kid to do it, right? How do we expect them to do it when they're 25 years old? Well, mom and dad never were involved in church. Mom and dad never went to prayer. Mom and dad never went to, they never helped out with events that we put on. Why should I? They never, it's obviously not important. It's obviously not important because mom and dad didn't do it." [01:08:50] (26 seconds)
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"Everything you do, every action you take will rub off on your children to some degree, right? To some degree. So today, I really want to encourage us is that your example is so important. As I see these kids, because I got tons of kids of this youth, and about 40, 50 percent of them come from non-church families. So I see, I see that. I see how an example can shape a child." [00:50:02] (25 seconds)
"See, if we just send our kids away, but we don't actually go out and intentionally disciple our children at home, they will have absolutely no foundation or very minimal foundation leaving the home because they had no example to glean from, right? They saw, you know, Pastor Stephen or Pastor Ewan or Pastor Emery doing their thing, but they came home and they saw their mom and their dad not doing those same things." [00:51:42] (25 seconds)
"Instead of being a disciple, be a parent who does their faith journey alongside their child. Alongside their child. You notice how I didn't say push your child away and, you know, let them do it on their own? Don't let them do it on their own. Do it alongside them, right? Do it alongside your children. It is so important to do it with them." [01:00:37] (23 seconds)
"See, here's the big thing, and you guys may have realized that, see, not all youth will be open to these things, right? Every youth is a little bit different. Every child is a little bit different. You could be the best parent in the entire world. You could be the most extroverted parent that pushes your children to do all these amazing things, and you still struggle to get them involved and to get them going. And I'm just going to say right now that even though we can try our absolute best, God is still in control." [01:03:48] (27 seconds)
"But here's the thing, is that we need to show our youth and our children that their faith journey isn't just about watching mom and dad, but it's about doing it alongside them. It's about doing it alongside them. Let's not be disciples. Let's not push our children away. Say, hey, you're not ready for this yet. I mean, certain things like, don't get your kids to brew a pot of coffee at age two." [01:04:48] (26 seconds)
"So I encourage you guys, even though your child is out of the house, maybe they are, maybe they're not, but once they do, your faith journey with them does not stop when they leave the house. I encourage you guys, I so encourage you guys to pray for your children, even if they're 40 years old, but they're still your kid, right? Pray for your children. Encourage them. Send them messages if you're able to. Tell them that you're praying for them. When you do see them, talk about the Lord with them, right?" [01:05:43] (34 seconds)
"One of the biggest things that I see a lot of is that parents will be like, hey, I really want my child to get involved in church. I want my child to maybe be a leader at youth when they're old enough. I want my child to grow in these things. But the parent themselves has no foundation. The parent doesn't actively practice their faith. They don't read their Bible. They don't pray. At least, they don't pray in front of their kids, right?" [01:07:15] (26 seconds)
"How does that work out? If we're not involved, and if we're not doing things with our children, then how do we expect the kid to do it, right? How do we expect them to do it when they're 25 years old? Well, mom and dad never were involved in church. Mom and dad never went to prayer. Mom and dad never went to, they never helped out with events that we put on. Why should I? They never, it's obviously not important. It's obviously not important because mom and dad didn't do it." [01:08:50] (26 seconds)
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