Parental Guidance

It's been quite a long time since I wrote a post about the fine sermons we hear at our church. I hope to do a better job about that in the future. But what I'm going to point out today was a series of six sermons that were given last year from September 16 through October 21. The subject is raising children. The theme is guiding our families to God's best. I know - a lot of people are turned off already. Well, I can't control that. Give me one more argument before you tune this out completely.

Well, two arguments. The first is that I think this fits in with my last post where I stated that there are some things we need to teach our children that we often overlook. We just assume that our kids will figure out how to set up a cleaning routine for their room or apartment and stick to it. And, if they don't, we sometimes think that repeatedly harassing them about it will get them to figure it out. Well, these sermons are much better than that. And this is the second argument for your not just dismissing this series - it is very practical. This is not just a bunch of Bible verses from Proverbs with no application to modern families. These messages were written and presented by our pastor, Ben Feldott, who has raised (and continues to raise:-) four children. Well, I can't just say that. Ben wrote these messages with input from the Bible and the Holy Spirit. Nothing we do worthwhile as Christians comes solely from our own understanding. Anything we do that is lasting and good comes from God.

Here are links to the six sermons with a short description of each one. I've also included links to study notes for each sermon. Those are written by another minister in our church, Ken Hart.
 

1) What Guides Do, September 16, 2012
As parents, we have "signed on" to be guides for our children. What do professional guides do that we should be doing for our children?
    The message (video)
    The study notes

2) Priorities, September 23, 2012
Is giving our kids the best of everything the best path? We try to give our kids more than we had. We desperately try to have them not miss any experience or we feel they will miss out on life.
    The message (video)
    The study guide

3) Friends and Influences, September 30, 2012
While parents have the ultimate responsibility for their children, they are going to have other influences in their life, too. Whether we like them or not. We have to be careful to not let these other influences reduce our role in their lives. 
    The message (video)
    The study guide

4) Raising Kids Who Live for God, October 7, 2012
We can't force our children to love God and we wouldn't want to. They depend on us to act as role models. How do we get them to depend on God and to love him?
    The message (video)
    The study guide

5) Healthy Discipline, October 14, 2012
Discipline is NOT being beaten into submission. It has three factors, the law of consequences, the power of being forgiven and the privilege of trust.
    The message (video)
    The study guide

6) Prodigals, October 21, 2012
Children must be raised to prepare them for making their own choices. The choices they make don't always turn out well. We can't control their hurts but we can help them when they occur.
    The message (video)
    The study guide