Parenting
Teenagers
Facilitated by Sondra & Paul Turner
Biblical
foundation of parenting
4 “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. 5 Love
the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 These
words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. 7 Repeat
them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you
walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Bind
them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. 9 Write
them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. – Deuteronomy
6:4-9
Our primary
role as parents is to teach our kids to love the Lord your God with
all their heart, soul and strength. These have to be in our heart in order to
pass on to our kids.
What
does it profit if we teach our kids to love the world and lose their own soul?
Even the
best parents don’t always get everything right –
41 Every year His parents traveled to Jerusalem for the
Passover Festival. 42 When He was 12 years old, they went up according to
the custom of the festival. 43 After those days were over, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but His parents did not know it. 44 Assuming He was
in the traveling party, they went a day’s journey. Then they began looking for
Him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did
not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for Him. 46 After three
days, they found Him in the temple complex sitting among the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all those
who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers. 48 When His
parents saw Him, they were astonished, and His mother said to Him, “Son, why
have You treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching
for You.” 49 “Why were you searching for Me?” He asked them. “Didn’t you know that I must be involved in My Father’s
interests?” 50 But they did not understand what He said to them. - Luke 2:41-50
When the Pharisees heard that He had
silenced the Sadducees, they came together in the same place. 35 And one of them, an expert in the
law, asked a question to test Him: 36 “Teacher,
which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 He
said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is
the greatest and most important commandment. 39 The
second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the
Law and the Prophets depend on these two
commandments.” – Matthew 22:35-40
Practical Steps to
Getting Most of It Right
1. Start
where you are – evaluate where you are in the greatest commandment
2. Commit
to finding three – five people who will pray for you and for your kids. (parents,
grandparents, people in your church, people whom you trust, etc.)
3. Commit
to having one spiritual conversation with your kids at least once a week.
4. Commit
to having one – two meals/week as a family
5. Show
love and respect for your spouse/the child’s mother or father
6. Do
not abdicate your role to a paid professional (youth minister, etc.)
7. Be
an advocate for other parents and students
8. Stay
in the Word
9. Pray
with and for your kids
10. Do
not be their friend, be their parent. All major research projects conclude that
parents are the #1 influencer of their kids, whether positive or negative.
11. Remember
that you are a steward and not an owner of your kids. They are God’s on loan to
you.
12. Learn
the dance of when to be up close and when to back off.
13. Know
that girls find their greatest security in a good relationship with their
father, boys need their fathers just as much to show them how to me a man of
God. Mothers are just amazing. No man will ever match how incredibly gifted God
has made each of you.
14. Never
stop praying for your kids. Never! Some will choose to run, some will choose to
stay and not really be there, and some will choose to be who God created them
to be. Our role is to create the environment for them to see and learn how to
love the Lord their God.
Some Helpful Resources
www.christianitytoday.com/parenting
www.covenanteyes.com
www.cypu.org
www.family.org
www.heartconnex.org
www.teenswithproblems.com
www.theparentlink.com
www.troubledwith.com
www.lifeway.com
www.realworldparents.com
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