OceanSide church of Christ

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Part of the series: PARENTING TIPS
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ANCIENT PARENTING TIPS (1)

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.   There are several things that I have learned about parenting over the years that apply to most.

1.     Most do not study the subject of parenting before becoming parents.

2.    Most say that they will not parent like their parents, but they do.

3.     The perfect parents are either those who do not have children, or, those who no longer have children living in their homes.

 

B.   Parenting is an awesome task.  It is also a task that requires knowledge and skill.

1.     This knowledge and skill can be acquired from our own experiences.

2.    This knowledge and skill can be acquired from the experiences of others.

 

C.   The Bible contains a lot of information about parenting when it is considered from that perspective.  In tonight’s lesson, let’s look at some parenting tips that are taught very early in the Bible.  The title of our lesson is:  “Ancient Parenting Tips (1).

 

I.          PARENTING IS A BLESSING

 

A.   How one perceives something is important to the manner in which something is done.

1.     I look at filing as a time-consuming and repetitive task.  Thus, I do not enjoy it.

2.    There are many parents who see parenting as a burden instead of seeing it as a blessing.

 

B.   God calls it a blessing.

1.     In Genesis 1:27, God creates man.

 

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

 

2.    God’s first words to man involve a blessing and children (Gen. 1:28).

 

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth…

 

C.   Several Bible characters were blessed with children.  When they were, they lifted up their voices in praise and thanksgiving.  Why?  Because they saw children and their role as parents as a blessing from God.

1.     Abraham and Sarah named their son Isaac (Gen. 21:3).

a.    His name means “laughter.”

b.    At his birth, this elderly couple laughed with joy (Gen. 21:6).

 

And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.

2.    Hannah was another who viewed having children as a blessing.  God blessed her with a son named Samuel.  In I Samuel 2:1, she begins a prayer unto God.

 

And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord…

 

3.     Mary, the mother of Jesus, also took joy in the fact that she would bear a son (Luke 1:46-47).

 

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.

 

D.   Parents, let’s look upon parenting as a blessing from God.

1.     Let’s rise to meet its challenges.

2.    Let’s seek the help of God who is prepared to give us everything we need to experience our children as a blessing.

 

II.        GOD CREATES CHILDREN UNIQUELY, SPECIALLY, AND FOR A PURPOSE

 

A.   It is true that it takes the physical union of a man and a woman to produce a child.  God, however, is intricately involved in the developmental process in the womb (Ps. 139:13-16).

 

For thou hast possessed my reins:  thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.  I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:  marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.  My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.  Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

 

B.   Because of God’s knowledge and care for the child in the womb, one author referred to Him as “The First Parent.”

 

C.   Eve knew where her children came from and acknowledged it at their births.

1.     Cain (Gen. 4:1)

 

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.

 

2.    Seth (Gen. 4:25)

 

And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth:  for God said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.

 

D.   There are some truths that exist concerning our children since they are the creation of God.

1.     Every child is unique and one-of-a-kind.

2.    Every child is very special.

3.     Every child of God has a purpose in the mind of God.

4.    NOTE:  Our children need to hear these things from both mom and dad.

a.    One mom would tell her children:  “I can hardly wait to see what great things God has for you to do.”

b.    For our children to believe this:

1)     Parents must parent intentionally.  We cannot just “hope” our children understand these things.

2)    For them to believe these things, we cannot keep our children from God.

3)     For our children to believe these things, parents must first believe these things about themselves.

 

E.   When Moses was born, Amram and Jocebed saw he was a proper child (Heb. 11:23).  We, too, should see our children as more than ordinary.  They are gifts from God and wonderful potential.

 

III.      PARENTING NEEDS TO BE DONE CLOSE TO GOD

 

A.   Listen first to three verses:

1.     Genesis 2:8

 

And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

 

2.    Genesis 3:8a

 

And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.

 

3.     Genesis 3:23

 

Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

 

B.   All of the above passages happen before the births of Cain and Abel.  Thus, Adam and Eve reared their children outside the pristine fellowship of God in Eden.

1.     Rearing their children in the garden was God’s original intent.

2.    Adam and Eve had to parent their children in a world tainted by sin and ruled by Satan.

 

C.   There is a place today that is in the world, but it is not of the world.  That place is the church of Christ.

1.     The very definition of the word “church” is “the called out ones.”

2.    The church is the place today wherein individuals can have fellowship with God (Eph. 2:16).

 

And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.

 

D.   Parents need to do their parenting within the church to be truly effective with their children.

1.     They do not need to be completely out of the church.

2.    They do not need to be out most of the time.

3.     They do not need to be partly in and partly out.

4.    They need to be in the church all of the time.

 

E.   If you think you do not need the church, then:

1.     You do not need Jesus for He is the head of the church (Col. 1:18; John 15:5).

2.    You do not need the gospel of Christ, for the church is the pillar and ground of the truth (I Tim. 3:15).

3.     You do not need the cleansing blood of Christ which flows to those who are in fellowship with him (Acts 20:28; I John 1:7).

4.    You do no need the encouragement and prayers of your family, the house of God, the church (I Tim. 3:15; Heb. 10:24-25; James 5:16).

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.   What have we learned in this lesson?

1.     Parenting is a blessing and should be appreciated.

2.    Our children are God’s gifts, created uniquely and for a purpose.

3.     Parents need to parent close to God.

 

B.   Perhaps you need to change your attitude, your approach, or your position, or all three to become a better parent.

 

C.   Whether or not you are a parent, if you are not in the church, you need to change your position:  from lost to saved, from outside the body to inside the body (Acts 2:47; Rom. 6:3-4; Rom. 6:17-18; I Cor. 12:13).