A few days ago a friend of mine called in response to the Short Time post. We talked for about 45 minutes about what would be some essential topics to cover with your kids before they left the nest. We talked about the fact that when they leave that their faith will be challenged in ways that we cannot predict. (I wrote about this in Your Walk, their walk, read an excerpt about attacks on our kids). As we talked through this we came up with a list of essentials they are:
Would there be any topics that you would add?
- Purity
- The Holy Spirit
- The Person of Christ
- The Sovereignty of God
- The Love of God
- The Holiness of God
There were specific reasons for each of these topics we discussed. Over all of this we talked about the necessity of equipping our kids to dig into the Word for themselves, to arm them so that they would be able to stand against false teaching. That means that they think critically about what they are hearing and reading and require that it fits the Bible. To arm them thus, means that when they leave our nest they know how to study a book of the Bible, a topic, a chapter, a verse, or a word for themselves.
Would there be any topics that you would add?
A pastor friend emailed me this response - excellent and crucial addition:
ReplyDeleteTHE CHURCH… Read Eugene Peterson’s new memoir about his life as a pastor. The community of faith is essential for a healthy life regulated by the scripture and accountability to the Body of Christ. I am working with a couple whose marriage is disintegrating partly because they have not had Christian fellowship with other couples who share the faith.
Randall Faulkner, DMin
Metropolitan Baptist Church