From the Pastor

 Pastor Mike Burns

 Victory Church

 903.567.2072 (Ext. 3002) 

 MBurns@wordofvictory.org                                   

 

Thursday, April 19, 2018 1:50 PM

As parents, do we influence our children spiritually?

Thursday, April 19, 2018 1:50 PM
Thursday, April 19, 2018 1:50 PM

Parents have much more influence on children than many of us realize. Our salvation and our continuing relationship with Christ not only affect us, but our children as well. Even if there is only one believing spouse in the family, as that spouse allows Christ to live His life through them, the children receive the benefit of hearing and seeing Christianity being “lived out” before them. There is tremendous power and influence in the life of the believer. (I Cor. 7:12-14)

Our children are going to be influenced in either an unclean or a holy manner by us. Our surrender to Christ or our rejection of Him determines which influence we give our children.

What specific things can parents do to influence their children spiritually?

  1. Surrender our lives to Jesus. (A parent can’t give what they themselves don’t have.)
  2. Learn our identity in Christ. (Learn how to allow Christ to live in and through us. This is our life-style, NOT just our Sunday duty!)
  3. Teach our children to know, respect, and follow God’s word. Deut. 6:6-8; Eph. 6:1-3
  4. Teach by example. Eph. 6:4; Col 3:21; 1Thess. 2:11-12 (Training your children is to be accomplished through the parents or family members as a consistent lifestyle, rather than solely as a weekly classroom lesson at church. The church complements and supplements the parent. The parent does the training, not the church.)
  5. Pray for your children. (Pray for their salvation, spiritual growth, and their life in general.)
  6. Participate in a "Life-Giving" Church. (The church can complement and supplement the parent’s spiritual influence in the home.)
  7. Constantly affirm and communicate our love & appreciation to them verbally and physically. (They need to experience our love, not just hear about it.)
  8. Work for a loving and holy marriage. (Dad demonstrates love and caring for mom and mom lives out love and respect for dad.)
  9. Single parents, all of the above applies to you, and we encourage you to not live in the past or live with condemnation or bitterness. (If you don’t live with your children, then become as active as possible in their lives.)

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