LGC - Rooted & Fruitful Part 23

Rooted & Fruitful (Part 23)

Speaker: Dalton Sim

INTRODUCTION

Order in a household leads to order in society. Strong families collectively build a strong society. In Ephesians 6:1-4, Paul addresses how parents and children ought to relate to each other in the household of God.

Children are told to obey their parents IN THE LORD and to honour them, while fathers are told not to provoke their children but to bring them up in the DISCIPLINE and INSTRUCTION OF THE LORD.

Parents are placed over children as authority figures representing the Lord (see Amplified Bible) providing a training ground for children to learn to stand under authority. It isn’t for the parents to lord over their children simply because. They are to do it in the Lord.

This brings to mind Deuteronomy 6:4-9 where the Israelites were told not just to love the Lord with all their hearts, souls, and might but also to teach the statutes and commandments of the Lord to their children diligently i.e. the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

These verses apply to all of us. We may not all be parents, but we are all someone’s child. As we learn to have right relationships with each other, we will build a strong and godly community within the larger society.

DISCUSSION

Read Ephesians 6:1-3. Children are to obey their parents because they are representatives of God placed over them to teach and guide them.

a. Have you personally struggled to view your parents as God’s representatives? Has this changed over time?

b. If your parents do not yet know Christ, how do you read these verses?

c. Today, how would you say your relationship with your parents relate to your relationship with God?
What does honouring your parents mean to you?

a. How might you honour them even if they hurt you?

b. How do you see the link between honouring your parents and honouring the other authorities placed over you (e.g. at home; at work; in church)?
Read Ephesians 6:4.

a. What does it mean to “exasperate your children” (NIV)? Why does Paul oppose to bringing them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord?

b. In order for parents to raise their children in the Lord, they must themselves be under His discipline and instruction.

(i) How do you ensure that you are constantly under the Lord? How do you guard against hypocrisy in your faith walk?

c. Reflecting on your discussion so far, what makes a successful parent?

(i) [For parents] How important is your child’s faith walk compared to his/her success in school/work/community? What trade-offs have you already made between spiritual and worldly success thus far?

(ii) [For non-parents] How important is your own faith walk compared to your success in school/work/community?
Our children will not know God if parents (and the adults around them) do not talk about God to them. In Deuteronomy 6:20-25, Moses told the Israelites to tell the younger ones what God has done for them. Asaph repeats this in Psalm 78:4, “We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.”

a. How often do you talk about God and what He has done in your life with those around you?

WHAT WILL YOU DO

Talk to someone about what God has done for you and/or your family. For example, share your salvation story or an answered prayer or a healing testimony.

MEMORY VERSE

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 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.” – Deuteronomy 6:4-7 (ESV)

An Each 1 Reach 1 Reflection

Matthew 18:1-14

All matters to God the Father, be it little children or the one person who has wandered away from the faith. As we reach out to the lost, let us be mindful not to discriminate against those whom we think are lowly and unimportant.

Jesus also has harsh words against those who lead believers astray (vv1-6). Let us therefore also put aside our preconceived assumptions when we speak to others and present His gospel accurately.

Shall we pray?