How to raise God-centered kids

Your kids are in trouble. This world is determined to destroy their souls. They live in a culture that promises happiness but delivers only death. Idolatry was never more alive than today. Your children are walking in a marketplace with hawkers selling false gods on every side. I’m afraid – and you should be too.

How can you raise God-centered kids? How can you help them survive in a world of unbelievers? What will it take to raise your kids in a culture that loves everything except God?

God is not silent on these questions. He has given you concrete and specific directions. He knows your kids better than you know them yourself. He loves your children even more than you love them. God himself is passionate that none of your little ones would be lost.

Consider the greatest commandment. “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” This is God’s kind and loving direction to you. They are a rescue line that draws us back to our creator. They are practical for every minute of your day. But the blessing of God’s instruction is not for you to keep only to yourself. Immediately, God gives us concrete ways to pass this treasure on to our children. His instructions move beyond the immediate context and describe His whole plan for God-centered families. The kind of families that can raise God-centered kids even in a world that is at war with their souls. How can you raise kids who take God as their greatest treasure?

1. Focus first on your relationship with God. You cannot pass on what you don’t have for yourself. Before you can teach you must know. You must love God with all your heart, soul and strength. God wants you to live a radically God centered life. Your life must show that God is bigger and worth more than anything the world is offering.
2. Be diligent in teaching your kids. Your children will not be God-centered if you instruction is half-hearted. You must be intentional and determined. You must pay the price. The time and effort you invest will benefit you children for all eternity.
3. Use everyday situations. Your child’s life is full of teachable moments. While sitting at home. On the way to the grocery. At bedtime. In the morning. Show your kids the joy of loving God in everyday life.
4. Use simple visual reminders. Post fighter verses on the fridge. Write on your hand. Help your kids to make posters of Bible promises. Find ways to remember and think about God’s word. Clutter your home with scripture.
   

This list is from Deuteronomy 6:4-9. But don’t stop there. God has taught us well in His Word. Remember what is at stake. I’ll be praying for your kids.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9
(4) "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (5) You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (6) And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. (7) You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. (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.

How to teach Church History for Senior Adults

How would a Reformed Children's Minister teach Church History to a Senior Adult Bible Study? Here is an excerpt from my introduction. We will be covering up to Luther over the next 15 weeks and then we'll spend about 20 weeks on Reformation through the present.

Three Goals Of This Study

1. To deepen our love for Jesus Christ:
• Christian history demonstrates the faithfulness of God both toward his church and through his church.
• By studying the perspectives of believers in the past, we can gain fresh insights into God and the Bible.
• In learning about former times we gain access to a treasure of devotional material and are able to appreciate its strengths and weaknesses.
2. To foster love and toleration for other Christians:
• Our spiritual bond with other believers is stronger than any divisions of culture, time or even death. As we look at the ancient Christians we must affirm, “These are my brothers and sisters in Christ.”
• By appreciating their struggles (through love) we can better appreciate the struggles of Christians that we know.
• To remove our fear and prejudice toward believers with whom we do not agree. This is greatly helped by understanding the beginnings of their beliefs and ours.
3. To foster self-examination and a humble certainty in our beliefs.
• To know why we believe we must examine how such beliefs have developed.
• To be equipped to refute unbiblical ideas that Christians often assimilate from the culture.