Skip to main content

Introduction to the sin of series

Okay, so we’re going to be talking about various sins that highlighted in the Bible – the sins of parents. Now before you stop reading and run to lock yourself in the toilet (come on parents, who has not done that at least once when you needed some space from your children) bear with me for a bit. 

Every parent I know feels like they are not doing a good enough job at some point. We walk under the weight of failure. The aim of this series is not to add to this burden of guilt, but rather to bring clarity as to what the Lord expects from us as parents. 

Raising children in today’s world is confusion and at times perplexing. Boundaries and best practice seem to change each month and there is a great drive to comply with the world’s expectations. The added pressure of ‘if you don’t do this you will damage your child’s future, if you do this you will harm them.’ It’s enough to stir the most well-meaning of parents into inaction.

Sometimes it is unspoken, but the standards and judgements of the world are a moving goal post. But God’s standards of parenting have not changed over the years and the challenges to parents are essentially the same though the contexts are vastly different. 

As we drill into 7 different sins from parents in the Bible, I hope that these will serve as guard rails for us as we raise our children not to make us feel weighed down, but rather to free us to do what is right without caring what others think about our decisions because we are seeking to follow God’s leading in the way we raise our children.

This does not usually require more time (a cause for celebration among all of us as parents). It does require clarity and intentionality. If you are in any doubt about what you should be doing as a parent and what is the best way to raise happy, hope filled, confident young people then I hope this series will bring the clarity that is needed. 

God has blessed us with our children to raise them for such a time as this. This is our privilege and joy. Let’s take this responsibility in both hands as we travel along the road of parenting, being careful to avoid the ditches either side of the road that have ensnared parents from all times in history. 

In the coming weeks, we’ll be looking at:
   1. The sin of Eli
   2. The sin of Samuel
   3. The sin of Abraham
   4. The sin of Hezekiah
   5. The sin of Jacob
   6. The 2nd sin of Jacob
   7. The sin of David

I look forward to you joining me on this journey.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Wot No School?

With the recent announcement from the UK government of the closure of schools for all but essential workers, we know some parents are dreading the practical implications of what this will mean for their family. While I am sure some parents will be delighting in the prolonged holiday together many parents are wondering how they can help keep their children’s education moving forward and continue working from home as well. As a parent who works from home and who has also schooled our children at home over several years I hope the following will be of help. 1) Don’t panic In times of uncertainty it is easy to panic as we try to work out how things will work. Our attitude should not be one of panic, but one of trust and faith in God. He will bring us through this time stronger and more ready to bring His kingdom to the world. When you take this attitude, your children will pick up on it and find the same strength in the Lord. 2) Do structure It would be easy to let the da...

Bible Reading: Encouraging personal devotional (part 3)

My children clean their teeth most days now without us having to ask (though they do still need the odd reminder).   This is the fruit of some very intentional work on our part as parents. We saw personal as an essential part of their preparation for future life so built in a routine of brushing their teeth from when they were very little.  Supporting the more when they were younger, then encouraging them and now leaving them to it.  In the same way we should encourage our children to develop their own times of reading the Bible.  In our home this is encouraged from when they have the skills to be able to read the simplest Bibles and are older than five so able to take some measure of responsibility for it.  Set a target Set a target of reading for your children, perhaps by guiding them to a particular book. For children in primary school a few verses or a short story is a good starting point, for children in secondary school a chapter a day is very achiev...

Parental Authority

God has given you authority over your children.  I’m not thinking about this in terms of discipline, though if you are in a battle with a toddler or a teenager it can be helpful to remember who God put in charge and who should act as an adult next time you feel tempted to throw something across the room.  Rather I want to think about the spiritual implications of us having authority.  Jonah was able to preach to the Ninevites because he had been sent. The kings of Israel had authority over the land of Israel and the priests of Israel were given authority over the people’s lives. Abraham was able to intercede for Sodom because his family were there. Authority has almost become a dirty word in modern day families. We are happy to think about responsibilities in the family, but the word authority brings to mind an authoritarian style of parenting where parents clamp down on their children’s every move and barely let them breathe or eat without permission. Let’s not confuse a...