Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NKJV) 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NKJV) when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 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.

EQUIPPING OUR PARENTS Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Equipping Our Parents  It is a very scary and humbling thought to bring a child into the world  The responsibility placed upon the shoulders of the parents is enormous  It is multiplied even more by the fact that the world we bring them into is a world full of sin and wickedness

Equipping Our Parents  I remember all the help we had with Will in the hospital from nurses and doctors  Once we got him home we thought, “Ok, now what?”  Many parents might be wondering that same thing as their children continue to grow up

Equipping Our Parents  The Bible certainly does equip us for all we need in our Christian service (Eph. 4:12; II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet. 1:3)  This also includes parenting as well  A look through God’s word can give us some important principles that we can take and use in our quest to raise godly children

Equipping Our Parents  1. Put God first  If you want to be a good parent, then your first priority must be with God  When God comes first, everything else seems to fall into place  That’s why Moses started out the way he did in Deuteronomy 6:4-6

Equipping Our Parents  1. Put God first  We see the results today of many homes that do not put God first  Having God as the center of the family will unify that family in doing things God’s way  Having God first means giving Him priority in how we spend our time, energy and money

Equipping Our Parents  2. Love your children  We love God first, but we love our children right after that  This might seem like another obvious, “that goes without saying” type of comment  We do not need to take loving our children for granted!

Equipping Our Parents  2. Love your children  Paul said some men will be “without natural affection” or “unloving” (II Tim. 3:3)  Paul told Titus that the older women should teach the younger “to love their children” (2:4)  It seems strange that some would not love their own children

Equipping Our Parents  2. Love your children  Do we view our children as a blessing or a bother? (Ps. 127:3-5)  How often do we tell our children that we love them or that we are proud of them?  How often do we demonstrate this love for them? (I Jn. 3:18)

Equipping Our Parents  2. Love your children  Are we patient with our children?  Do we spend time with them?  When we are with them, is it all about us or do we think of them and consider their thoughts and feelings?  Remember there is a sacrifice involved

Equipping Our Parents  3. Train your children  “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6)  “And you, fathers…bring them up in the training and the admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4)

Equipping Our Parents  3. Train your children  “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” (Deut. 6:7)  The bible is abundantly clear on the duty of parents to teach and train their children

Equipping Our Parents  3. Train your children  Some parents are only reactive when it comes to training their children  Most of our work with our children needs to be proactive  If we only wait until our children make mistakes to teach them, that delayed teaching may come too late

Equipping Our Parents  4. Discipline your children  Discipline should be a part of the upbringing of a child  Hebrews 12:5-11 teaches us some things about discipline  It teaches us that discipline is expected by God (vs. 7, 9-10)

Equipping Our Parents  4. Discipline your children  It teaches us that those who discipline their children are those who love them (vs. 6, 8)  It teaches us that discipline is a proper way to correct one and put them back on the right path (vs. 9-11)  Discipline helps children obey God’s commands (Eph. 6:1; Col. 3:20)

Equipping Our Parents  4. Discipline your children  Solomon said that those who do not discipline their children hate them (Prov. 13:24)  We must be consistent in the discipline of our children  If we say we are going to do something, then we need to do it!

Equipping Our Parents  5. Set the right example  All of this means nothing if parents do not set the right example in the way that they act  Children will pay more attention to what we do and how we act then what we say  We need to demonstrate to our kids what the home should function like (Eph. 5:22-6:4)

Equipping Our Parents  5. Set the right example  We need to set the right example when it comes to our attitude  Set the right example in your faithfulness to God and His church (Matt. 6:33)  Set the right example in good works and deeds (Matt. 5:16)