Archive for May 11, 2011


May 11

Sermon Follow-up: “A Home Pleasing to The Lord”

2011 | by Trent Hunter | Category: Sermon Follow-Up

In Sunday’s sermon, “A Home Pleasing to The Lord,” Ryan preached from Colossians 3:20-21, where Paul gives these instructions to children and to parents: “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.”

At the conclusion of the service, Ryan referenced an article by Matt Schmucker, “39 Lessons, 20 Tips and 10 ‘Dont’s’ For Parenting.” Print, read, and hand this article around. Here are a few of Schmucker’s lessons, tips, and don’ts, to whet your appetite for this wise counsel.

Lessons About Ourselves:

  1. To be a faithful steward of your children you must abide in Christ (John 15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”).
  2. “Trickle down theory” – Mom’s daily devotion naturally trickles down to encouragement and instruction in the Lord for the children.
  3. Not listening to your children causes you to misjudge them (James 1:19-20: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires”).

20 More Tips for Raising God-honoring Children

  1. The saying goes, “When mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” We believe daddy is actually the problem. From a complementarian’s viewpoint one needs to conclude the above saying with, “And if daddy ain’t happy in the Lord, ain’t nobody happy.”
  2. In a stay-at-home-mom scenario, dad tends to back away from discipline when mom has been with the children all day. In one sense this is wise as he has not observed the rhythm and rhyme of the day. However, dad needs to catch up and jump in.
  3. Talk to both good and not-so-good parents; you’ll learn lessons from both.

Ways To (Wrongly) Provoke Your Children

  1. Make it a habit to discipline your child while angry.
  2. Make it a point to scold your child – especially in public. Mockery and ridicule work well.
  3. Deliberately embarrass your child in front of his/her friends. Name calling really gets their attention.

Of course, our text in Colossians lined up nicely with Mother’s Day. We’re grateful for God’s wise design for the family and for mothers. For the very reason that motherhood is honorable, motherhood can also be a difficult subject. For some women who have lost children, or long to be mothers, Mother’s Day is a reminder of loss and unfulfilled longings. This is a reality in a fallen world, and one Christians mean to address with the comfort of the gospel. On this subject, Wendy Alsup has a helpful post for all us us, “For Moms, Former Moms, and Wannabe Moms.”

Finally, here are a number of helpful resources on parenting, many of them available at the Resource Center: