LESSON 9, 28/4/2019
PARENTING GODLY CHILDREN
Devotional Reading: Jer. 35:1-19
Topic for Adults: Train Your Children To Give You Rest
Topic for Youths: Be Obedient To Godly Instructions
Topic for Intermediates: Shun bad Company
Lesson Scriptures: Matt. 7:24-27, James 1:22-25, 1 Cor. 11:1, Deut. 6:4-9, Eph. 6:1-4; Lam.
2:19, Prov. 29:17, 22:6
MEMORY VERSE: “Train up your child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6) NKJV
BACKGROUND
Christian children should remain true to their conviction. They should not take to
ungodly instructions like the Rechabites. Jonadab gave the instruction that they should stay
separate from the Canaanites, so must our children stay separate from the conducts of
unbelievers. Parenting godly children is very challenging. It is a God’s given responsibility
which demands obedience, seriousness, diligence, prayer, love and so on. Parenting is much
more than giving birth to children. There are many children who have constituted
themselves to be nuisance, armed robbers, drug addicts, kidnappers, prostitutes and so on
because of lack of godly parenting. Every parent must bear in mind that the opportunity
God has given you to have one or more children, carries with it the great responsibility of
godly parenting. God who gives children, also gives the grace to raise godly children.
PART 1: GODLY AND MODEL PARENTS – MATT 7:24-27; JAM. 1:22-25; 1 COR.
Parents who will raise godly children must have an encounter with Jesus. They must have received Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. They must be new creatures as a result of repentance and conversion. It is what you have that you can give to another person.
ungodly instructions like the Rechabites. Jonadab gave the instruction that they should stay
separate from the Canaanites, so must our children stay separate from the conducts of
unbelievers. Parenting godly children is very challenging. It is a God’s given responsibility
which demands obedience, seriousness, diligence, prayer, love and so on. Parenting is much
more than giving birth to children. There are many children who have constituted
themselves to be nuisance, armed robbers, drug addicts, kidnappers, prostitutes and so on
because of lack of godly parenting. Every parent must bear in mind that the opportunity
God has given you to have one or more children, carries with it the great responsibility of
godly parenting. God who gives children, also gives the grace to raise godly children.
NOTES ON THE TEXT
PART 1: GODLY AND MODEL PARENTS – MATT 7:24-27; JAM. 1:22-25; 1 COR.
11:1
Parents who will raise godly children must have an encounter with Jesus. They must have received Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. They must be new creatures as a result of repentance and conversion. It is what you have that you can give to another person.
It is faith in Jesus that can empower parents to raise godly children. Such parents must make the word of God the ruler of their lives in daily practice.
Their choices, decisions and ways of life must conform to the Bible. They must allow the
word of God to have the final say about everything they do. They must strive to bear all the
aspects of the fruit of the spirit as a lifestyle (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control).
Moreover, parents who will raise godly children must live exemplary lives. They
must live lives worthy of emulation. Hypocrisy and duplicity have hardened the hearts of
some children. What they observe in the lives of their parents at home are contrary to the
message of the Pastors and the Sunday school teachers. Hence, they have been misled. The
parents who gossip, fight, backbite, curse or who are easily provoked cannot raise godly
children. Some husbands beat their wives, how sad!
As a parent, what your children see you do have greater impact on them than what
you preach. If you want your children to be honest, humble, and diligent, practise those
virtues.
If you want your children to cultivate the habit of personal Bible study and prayer, let
them see you doing same. In Luke 11:1, when Jesus’ disciples saw him praying, one of them
said to him, Lord teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples. This was what gave rise
to the popular model prayer in Matthew 6:9-13.
Their choices, decisions and ways of life must conform to the Bible. They must allow the
word of God to have the final say about everything they do. They must strive to bear all the
aspects of the fruit of the spirit as a lifestyle (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control).
Moreover, parents who will raise godly children must live exemplary lives. They
must live lives worthy of emulation. Hypocrisy and duplicity have hardened the hearts of
some children. What they observe in the lives of their parents at home are contrary to the
message of the Pastors and the Sunday school teachers. Hence, they have been misled. The
parents who gossip, fight, backbite, curse or who are easily provoked cannot raise godly
children. Some husbands beat their wives, how sad!
As a parent, what your children see you do have greater impact on them than what
you preach. If you want your children to be honest, humble, and diligent, practise those
virtues.
If you want your children to cultivate the habit of personal Bible study and prayer, let
them see you doing same. In Luke 11:1, when Jesus’ disciples saw him praying, one of them
said to him, Lord teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples. This was what gave rise
to the popular model prayer in Matthew 6:9-13.
PART 2: HOW TO RAISE GODLY CHILDREN –DEUT. 6:4-9; EPH. 6:1-4; LAM. 2:19; PROV. 29:17, 22:6.
God will surely hold every parent accountable over every child who grows under
their care or watch. Every parent must raise children to be godly and fulfil God’s purpose.
On this note, a few suggestions will be made on how to parent godly children.
1. Intercession (Lam. 2:19, Lk. 22:31-32) - Every parent must diligently intercede for their
children right from when they are conceived in the womb. The devil targets every child
to steal, kill and destroy. Below are some of his devices:
o He attacks some children in the womb through sicknesses, deformities, demonic
possession and afflictions.
o He hardens the hearts of some children against the gospel.
o He influences many children to be addicted to drug, sex, violence and various
crimes.
o He influences some children to be indolent, careless, pleasure seeking and so on.
Hence, every parent must intercede to raise godly children.
2 Modeling (1 Cor. 11:1) - Parents must be examples of godly virtues.
3. Consistent Teaching (Deut. 6:4-9, Eph. 6:4) - The Bible instructs parents to diligently
teach their children the word of God in order to be well established in the Lord,
overcome temptations and fulfil God’s purpose.
4. Discipline (Prov. 23:13-14) - Parents should appropriately correct their children when
they err with love. Let them know why you are correcting them. Beating children may
make the children to be hardened. If you have to use the rod, it must be with love and
not in anger or furry so that you don’t injure them. Note that there are countries that
have promulgated law against beating children. It is counted as child abuse. Parents in
such countries should not take law into their hands.
5. Protect your children against sexual immorality and rape (Prov. 6:20-35; 7:1-27, 1 Cor.
6:15-20, Heb. 13:4) - One of the potent tools that the devil is using to ruin the lives of people is sexual immorality, therefore, teach, enlighten and warn your children against
it. Give your children sex education early enough before their peers, mass media and
internet mislead them.
6. Encourage your children to be involved in church services and programmes (Heb. 10:25)
Don’t leave your children at home while going to church. This will definitely not help
the children. Encourage your children to identify their gifts and use them.
7. Encourage your children to cultivate the lifestyle of personal communion with God (Mk.
1:35) - They should set a particular time aside to praise God, study the word of God
consistently and offer prayers to God.
8. Teach your children to be diligent (Prov. 6: 6-11; 22:29; 26: 13-16) - One of the habits the
parents should inculcate in their children is diligence at work. Many children are lazy.
They are not interested in hardwork either at home or in their studies but they want to
eat the best food, put on good dresses and live in pleasure. Some girls cannot prepare
good food. This will give them problem when they get married.
9. Train them to have absolute trust and confidence in God (Matt. 7: 24-27, 1 Sam. 1: 8-18,
Heb. 11:11-12, Rom. 4:18-22, Heb. 13: 5-6) - As parents, we must put our total trust in
God in times of difficulties, problems and challenges of life. We must also teach our
children to do same.
10. Family devotion or Family altar (Deut. 6:4-7; 2 Tim. 1:5; 2 Tim. 3:15) - Apart from the
personal devotion, every member of the family must come together before they leave the
house in the morning and before they sleep in the night to read the bible and pray
together. The family devotion strengthen the relationship among members of the family
and also enriches their relationship with God.
their care or watch. Every parent must raise children to be godly and fulfil God’s purpose.
On this note, a few suggestions will be made on how to parent godly children.
1. Intercession (Lam. 2:19, Lk. 22:31-32) - Every parent must diligently intercede for their
children right from when they are conceived in the womb. The devil targets every child
to steal, kill and destroy. Below are some of his devices:
o He attacks some children in the womb through sicknesses, deformities, demonic
possession and afflictions.
o He hardens the hearts of some children against the gospel.
o He influences many children to be addicted to drug, sex, violence and various
crimes.
o He influences some children to be indolent, careless, pleasure seeking and so on.
Hence, every parent must intercede to raise godly children.
2 Modeling (1 Cor. 11:1) - Parents must be examples of godly virtues.
3. Consistent Teaching (Deut. 6:4-9, Eph. 6:4) - The Bible instructs parents to diligently
teach their children the word of God in order to be well established in the Lord,
overcome temptations and fulfil God’s purpose.
4. Discipline (Prov. 23:13-14) - Parents should appropriately correct their children when
they err with love. Let them know why you are correcting them. Beating children may
make the children to be hardened. If you have to use the rod, it must be with love and
not in anger or furry so that you don’t injure them. Note that there are countries that
have promulgated law against beating children. It is counted as child abuse. Parents in
such countries should not take law into their hands.
5. Protect your children against sexual immorality and rape (Prov. 6:20-35; 7:1-27, 1 Cor.
6:15-20, Heb. 13:4) - One of the potent tools that the devil is using to ruin the lives of people is sexual immorality, therefore, teach, enlighten and warn your children against
it. Give your children sex education early enough before their peers, mass media and
internet mislead them.
6. Encourage your children to be involved in church services and programmes (Heb. 10:25)
Don’t leave your children at home while going to church. This will definitely not help
the children. Encourage your children to identify their gifts and use them.
7. Encourage your children to cultivate the lifestyle of personal communion with God (Mk.
1:35) - They should set a particular time aside to praise God, study the word of God
consistently and offer prayers to God.
8. Teach your children to be diligent (Prov. 6: 6-11; 22:29; 26: 13-16) - One of the habits the
parents should inculcate in their children is diligence at work. Many children are lazy.
They are not interested in hardwork either at home or in their studies but they want to
eat the best food, put on good dresses and live in pleasure. Some girls cannot prepare
good food. This will give them problem when they get married.
9. Train them to have absolute trust and confidence in God (Matt. 7: 24-27, 1 Sam. 1: 8-18,
Heb. 11:11-12, Rom. 4:18-22, Heb. 13: 5-6) - As parents, we must put our total trust in
God in times of difficulties, problems and challenges of life. We must also teach our
children to do same.
10. Family devotion or Family altar (Deut. 6:4-7; 2 Tim. 1:5; 2 Tim. 3:15) - Apart from the
personal devotion, every member of the family must come together before they leave the
house in the morning and before they sleep in the night to read the bible and pray
together. The family devotion strengthen the relationship among members of the family
and also enriches their relationship with God.
PART 3: HOW SUCCESSFUL IS YOUR PARENTING RESPONSIBILITY? – PROV. 22:6
The Scriptures speaks of the need for parents to train their children in the way they
should go. Reasonable parents must adhere to this injuction. They should encourage their
children to seek God. There are four basic styles which parents use in training their children.
These styles were identified by Diana Baumrind – a clinical and developmental psychologist
The four types are briefly explained below:
1. Authoritative parenting: It allows enough freedom of expression for the development
of children. It maintains control over the children, deals with them according to the
level of their development. They teach by example not just dishing out commands.
2. Authoritarian parenting: This is a strict disciplinarian that exercise absolute control.
The communication is one way. They don’t allow the children to express themselves.
Children raised under this method seems to be obedient reluctantly, quiet and sad.
3. Permissive parents: Under this method, there is no control. Children are
overindulged to do whatever they like. Parents set rule but never enforce it. Children
are given all they want with a view to showing them love. The children raised under
this platform may likely lack manner and be responsible.
4. Uninvolved parenting: Children are provided with their basic needs but the parents
are not directly involved in the children’s growth and development. They are
emotionally distant from them. They put priority on their own need above the needs
of their children. In view of this, children raised with this style feel unimportant.
As a Christian parent, how successful are you in your parenting responsibility? It is
not too late for you to rectify whatever anomaly you observe. Train up your children
effectively in the way they should go.
CONCLUSION
should go. Reasonable parents must adhere to this injuction. They should encourage their
children to seek God. There are four basic styles which parents use in training their children.
These styles were identified by Diana Baumrind – a clinical and developmental psychologist
The four types are briefly explained below:
1. Authoritative parenting: It allows enough freedom of expression for the development
of children. It maintains control over the children, deals with them according to the
level of their development. They teach by example not just dishing out commands.
2. Authoritarian parenting: This is a strict disciplinarian that exercise absolute control.
The communication is one way. They don’t allow the children to express themselves.
Children raised under this method seems to be obedient reluctantly, quiet and sad.
3. Permissive parents: Under this method, there is no control. Children are
overindulged to do whatever they like. Parents set rule but never enforce it. Children
are given all they want with a view to showing them love. The children raised under
this platform may likely lack manner and be responsible.
4. Uninvolved parenting: Children are provided with their basic needs but the parents
are not directly involved in the children’s growth and development. They are
emotionally distant from them. They put priority on their own need above the needs
of their children. In view of this, children raised with this style feel unimportant.
As a Christian parent, how successful are you in your parenting responsibility? It is
not too late for you to rectify whatever anomaly you observe. Train up your children
effectively in the way they should go.
CONCLUSION
It is important for Christian parents to train their children in the way of the Lord.
Any child that is not trained brings shame to his or her parent and harm to him or herself. It
is expedient for parents to not fail in their responsibility in parenting godly children.
QUESTIONS
Any child that is not trained brings shame to his or her parent and harm to him or herself. It
is expedient for parents to not fail in their responsibility in parenting godly children.
QUESTIONS
1. What do you think parents must possess before they can raise godly children?
2. Explain how important intercession is in the upbringing of children.
3. Why do you think the society is filled with youths who are into drug addiction, prostitution, stealing, armed robbery and so on?
4. What is the place of unity between the husband and the wife in the upbringing of their children?
5. How important is obedience in the lives of children as their parents make effort to raise them up in goodly ways?
2. Explain how important intercession is in the upbringing of children.
3. Why do you think the society is filled with youths who are into drug addiction, prostitution, stealing, armed robbery and so on?
4. What is the place of unity between the husband and the wife in the upbringing of their children?
5. How important is obedience in the lives of children as their parents make effort to raise them up in goodly ways?
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