Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Applying the Gospel to the Hearts of Parents and Children

What does it look like for a parent to apply to the gospel to our own heart in relationship to our parenting? How in the world do we practically apply the gospel as we discipline our children.

Here are some helpful audio clips from C.J. Mahaney on this topic:

Gospel-centered Parenting and Young Children

The Gospel and Parental Sin

The Gospel and Discipline

Teaching Children to Love the Church

Monday, August 24, 2009

Gospel-centered Parenting Resources

I'm beginning a new series of posts this week as I mentioned in my sermon on Sunday where I will attempt to point out some helpful resources for parents.

As I mentioned on Sunday, bringing our children up in the instruction of the Lord and seeking to instill in our children a knowledge of God in the hopes that they will put their Hope in God is a tremendous responsibility. Our families are busy and the demands of life are great. However, the truth is we have no excuse. We must fight and consistently struggle to invest our time well in creating an environment in our homes where our children are exposed to the gospel.

The first resource that I would like to bring to your attention is a booklet by Donald Whitney called Family Worship: In the Bible, In History and In Your Home. I have copies available for people in our church so please ask for a free copy of this book. I read this book for the first time several years ago and it was very helpful to me.

In the book, Whitney quotes the great English Baptist preacher from the 1800s Charles Spurgeon, "If we want to bring up a godly family, who shall be seed to serve God when our heads are under the clods of the valley, let us seek to train them up in the fear of God by meeting together as a family for worship."

Here is a link to an interview with Dr. Whitney on this topic.

Parents of Hope Fellowship Church- I'm praying for you this week.