Our second attempt at webcasting stuff from the church will take place this morning at 9:00 AM. For those new to the ustream.tv concept… be warned. This is nothing like broadcast television. Think of this as a live camera feed, completely raw and unedited. (Something similar to the raw feed you can watch on FoxNews.com) You’ll be getting a raw audio feed as well… straight for a little mic on the sound board. Keyword for this second attempt: Experiment.
Message notes are below
A Mother’s Eyes
Acts 16:1-5
Three ladies were boasting about their grown sons.
– The first lady told of the extravagant birthday parties
her son provided her. “Why he even hired a full band for my last birthday.”
– The second lady bragged about how her son gave such
lavish vacations. “Just last month he sent me to
Hawaii
for the fourth time.”
– The third woman
was not to be outdone and she piped up, “That’s nothing. My son has been paying
a psychiatrist $150 a week for the last three years just so he can talk about
me.”
We all know that moms are the predominant influencer on
children’s lives. Just by the shear amount of hours that a mom spends with her
children, mom play a central role in the raising of all of us. In a lot of ways… we’re all mama’s boys,
aren’t we?
In the past few
months I’ve had a chance to sit in on a few family funeral for a dearly
departed mother. I’ve heard tributes like…
– “Mom was always there for us. Whatever we needed, mom
was there.”
– “Mom loved us kids and always knew just what to say
when we needed to hear it… good or bad.”
– “Dad was the enforcer in our household, but mom always
helped smooth things over.”
– “Mom held our
family together during the tough times”
– “Mom always looked on the bright side of things.”
– “Mom always made sure I had on clean underwear.”
Moms are very
influential in our lives, in many ways, they shape who we are today. In my own
life, I can hear my mom’s voice in good times and in bad.
Good times:
“Who’s the best mommy in the whole wide world?” [How mom
used to celebrate with us when she gave us a special treat]
Bad times:
“When life deals you lemons, make lemonade” [Mom’s way of
telling us that life is really all about adapting to our circumstances.]
Book:
Charles Swindoll had a friend who was raised by a Christian
mother that knew the value of a godly upbringing. When he was still just a
young baby she would sing him to sleep at night, not singing little ditties and
lullabies, but singing the hymns and other songs that speak of the Christian faith.
From the crib until he left home, she made sure he knew the truths of God’s
Word, which were so powerfully proclaimed in hymns such as “A Mighty Fortress
Is Our God.”
I would like to point out to you that many Christian mothers have been used by
the Lord to plant spiritual seeds that the Holy Spirit later reaps as powerful
spiritual fruit.
Big idea:
If you want to raise children who love and honor God, you
need to have a distinct strategy.
Today we’ll discover 4 principles, universal truths through all the ages, true
in every context and situation, that can be lived out that can capture the
spiritual heart of your children
– Some of you probably look at me and say, “Adam, you
dress up like a cow for a kids event, what on earth can you tell me about
having a strategy for raising my kids today.”
– Or, “Adam… your kids are still young. What could you
possibly know about raising an adolescent, or being a godly example to my grown
children?
– What do you know?
If that’s you…
You’d be right. I’m not an expert on parenting. As my own
kids reach each new stage in life… Kristen and I have to relearn how to parent
all over again. We have to adapt our methods to best teach our kids and raise
them to love and honor God.
– But I don’t want to let you get caught up this morning
into thinking that we’re talking about methods for raising kids.
o I’m
not going to say… “Do what I do and your kids will be fine.” Or “Here are 3
easy steps to making sure your kids will be perfect.”
– We’re talking about Biblical principles, from
God’s Word.
o The
Bible is perfect
o My
teaching is not.
– So don’t look at this as “wisdom from a new dad.”
– Look at it “timeless
truths from God’s Word about Biblical parenthood.”
Book:
How are we going to do that?
Let me introduce you to Timothy… a mama’s boy. Let’s examine
him this morning through the eyes of his mom. We’ll first see 4 character
qualities of Timothy and then later I’ll show you a biblical principle that is
universally true.
Three Character Qualities
of Timothy
Read Acts 16:1
– Heritage of
faith (Acts 16:1b)
o We’re
introduced to a young man Paul encountered on his journey, a young man named
Timothy.
§ A hometown boy from Lystra. A place where Paul
encountered some persecution account to 2 Timothy 3:11
§ A child of a single mom
· Most commentators believe that Timothy’s dad was
not part of Timothy’s life when he meets Paul
· For the most part, it is clear that mom and
grandma raised him. They raised him as a Christian. (Yes, non-ideal
circumstances can result in awesome kids!)
· Mom/grandma weren’t perfect… but they believed
and were sincere.
§ 2 Timothy 1:5 “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your
grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, lives in you
also.”
§ In Timothy’s life the sincere faith of his mom/grandma
breeds more sincere faith as evidenced in him.
§ 2 Timothy 3:14-15 shows us the process that
mom/grandma used to establish this “heritage of faith.” (take not of the past tense…), “But
as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of,
because you know those from whom you learned it, (grandma and mom!) 15and how from infancy
you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for
salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
· We learn of Timothy’s solid foundation in the
Word of God. Paul notes “from infancy” – not by accident, Timothy’s later
success (disciple of Paul, and pastor of the church in
Ephesus
)
comes by the deliberate act of mom.
o Timothy
also had a contrast to what faith wasn’t through his father… a greek. (A
non-Christian) evidently the sincerity of his mom/grandmother’s faith won him
over.
o This
resulted in the heritage of faith we see.
Big idea:
Eunice wanted to raise child who loved and honored God,
she had a distinct strategy.
– Read Acts
16:2 A good reputation (Acts 16:2)
o Both
in his hometown (Lystra) and another town Iconium, 18 miles away.
§ It is one thing to have a good reputation in one
place, isn’t it?
· For us… we can have a great reputation at work
and a terrible one at home, but a good reputation in all areas of our life
shows our true character.
§ Likewise, with Timothy, having a good reputation
at home and in other places validates his character.
o As
time went on, Paul learned to adore this young man as his own son:
Reflecting back on his time that he spent with
Timothy, They shared their feelings,
weaknesses and concerns with one another:
"Recalling
your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy" (2
Tim.1:4)
How many of your friends or family members have
rejected the faith because their parents or relatives were phony, maybe
legalistic Christians? They reject their faith, not knowing the representative
of Christ in their life was a phony and haven’t given the real thing, sincere
faith in Christ, a try. Timothy’s reputation proved that he was the real
deal.
o Timothy
fostered his good reputation by being the man his mother showed him how to be.
§ You can contrast Timothy to another young
disciple that Paul worked with, John Mark.
· In the face of trials, John Mark went home.
· In the face of trials, Timothy stayed the
course.
§ This is a character quality that is learned from
someone… Timothy’s father likely wasn’t involved with raising him, Timothy
learned this behavior from the women who raised him.
Big idea:
Eunice wanted to raise child who loved and honored God,
she had a distinct strategy.
– Read Acts
16:3-5 Willing to be taught, used, and submissive (Acts 16:3-5)
o Got
circumcised to stay relevant in the culture they were going to.
o Paul
says in Galatians, under the inspiration and authority of the Holy Spirit, that
circumcision doesn’t mean anything spiritually toGod!
§ Timothy was circumcised purely as a way to be
relevant to the Jewish culture he was going to minister in.
§ You can imagine the discussion the two of them
had… “Why do I need to have this done?” “Didn’t you say it was meaningless?”
“Didn’t the council of apostles and elders just send out a letter telling us I
didn’t have to be circumcised?”
§ But Timothy submitted to Paul… purely to reach a
Jewish culture.
· “because of the Jews who lived in that area.”
· This was purely done to open closed doors for
the gospel.
o Paul
mentored him as they went along… and they were effective, weren’t they?
o Timothy
faithfully stayed with Paul when times got tough… not just to serve, but to
learn how to be like Paul.
o Said
“yes” to Paul’s assignment
§ These actions in the life of Timothy show the
kind of man his mother and grandmother raised…
· He was no pushover, but he was willing to be
taught.
· A true sign of a man isn’t that he is tough,
hard-hearted, and his own man.
· It’s that
he’s willing to be taught, willing to submit despite his ability to do it on
his own.
§ We have seen that Timothy was a man who
developed character qualities any mother could be proud of.
· He had sincere faith
· He had a good reputation
· He was teachable, submissive
Look:
I’d like to take a moment and ask you about your strategy
for raising kids.
I’ve had a chance to talk to some parents about this… let me
be really blunt. If there isn’t a strategy… you need to develop one, and quickly.
Just like good marriages don’t just happen… good kids don’t just raise
themselves. They need strategic parents.
There’s no guarantee. But common sense tells us that you get
further when you have a specific strategy, doesn’t it?
Your faith is usually not enough.
Those of you who are single or married without children, don’t overlook the
positive influence you can have on your extended family. All of us bear a
spiritual responsibility to be mothers and fathers to the children of this
church.
So let’s take a look at 3 biblical,
universal principles from Eunice in raising Timothy.
Took:
Big Idea
If you want to raise children who love and honor God, you
need to have a distinct strategy.
- Establish a heritage of faith
- Don’t
have a heritage of faith? Me neither… start today! - Be
sincere. Romans 12:9 tells us, “Love must be sincere.” - No
one studies you more closely than your children.
- Don’t
i. If you are faking it, your kids know it.
ii. From the moment you are born your kids study your every
move.
1. They
know when you are sincerely interested in them and when you are a phony.
2. (Story
of Megan at the ice cream shop, “Daddy… did you hear me?”)
- Healthy
children will result from healthy parents.
i. Marriage, take care of it.
1. Go
on dates.
2. Get
a life!
3. (Story
of McLane’s/Bryant’s going on vacation without their kids)
ii. Singles/divorcee’s
1. Get
a life!
2. Take
care of yourself emotionally
a. (Personal
experience)
b. Guard
how you talk about your ex
- Root
your kids in the Word of God.
i. Plug your kids into KidsTown!
ii. Live Deuteronomy 6 literally for a while.
- Cultivate a good reputation
- Help
your children (whatever age) be the same person in all areas of their
life.
- Help
i. Stand up for them when they are wronged
ii. Help them to do the right thing when they are wrong!
- You
can do this best by cultivating a good reputation for yourself. - Model a willingness to be taught and
submit- Again,
no one knows you better than your kids.
- Again,
i. Allow your kids see you change as a result of what you
learn from God’s Word.
ii. When you demonstrate that you are willing to grow… your
kids will naturally learn to be teachable.
At the end of your life, people will reflect
on you.
How will the people you love answer these questions about you?
I learned from my parents to…
My mom influenced me by….
My grandmother showed me to…
PRAY
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