Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

The Role of Parents, Part 4 Transitioning Teens Every member of the family needs to fulfill their God given roles Wives - follow the leadership of the husband, show him respect, be a suitable helpmeet

The Role of Parents, Part 4 Transitioning Teens Husbands - love your wives, lead, provide and protect Children - obey your parents - obedience is the foundation for learning all other skills

The Role of Parents, Part 4 Transitioning Teens Three major periods of parenting: 1) Train them to obey. 2) Train their hearts. 3) Transition them to adulthood. Teen rebellion is a phenomenon of modern western society that has abandoned Biblical principles

Youth Culture Context of a Scripture passage tells you the approximate age of a “youth” False assumption 1: Teens are wise enough to make their own decisions without parental involvement

The Weakness of Youth Proverbs is written to give “youth knowledge and discretion” - even intelligent youth lack experience Teens need counsel from those older and wiser - starting with parents (Proverbs 1:8; 4:1; 1:5) Even Jesus had to increase in wisdom and stature - Luke 2:52

The Weakness of Youth Indiscretion is seen in passages mentioning the sins of youth (Job 1:1; 13:26, Psalm 25:7; 1 Tim. 6:11) Evil people in the entertainment and advertising industries target teens to entice them to sin Youth lack proper confidence because of inexperience - Jeremiah 1:6; 1 Timothy 4:12 cf 1 Cor. 6:10)

The Strength of Youth False assumption 2: Youth are not able to do anything very hard or of great importance Joseph as a “youth” in his early 20's became second in command of all of Egypt (Genesis 39-41) David as a “youth” kept his father’s sheep, learned to trust God and so defeated Goliath (1 Samuel 17)

The Strength of Youth Daniel & his three friends were “youths” who obeyed God and were exalted (Daniel 1,2, 3, 6) Youths need some protection, but they also need to learn how to stand firm for God

The Strength of Youth False assumption 3: Youth should have freedom, and should be protected from negative consequences Negative consequence is the teacher of the naive, the proud and the sinful - and we all learn from it

The Importance of Purpose Poor parenting and its tragic results on youth is primarily due to wrong purposes and philosophy We are to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4) and to be wise Salvation is in God’s hands, but parents are to teach God’s commandments & train obedience to them

The Importance of Purpose To produce a wise adult, you must set a wise example. Don’t be hypocritical Reprove them for their sin, and even more if you were guilty of the same or similar sins You don’t have to be a perfect parent, only an honest and humble one Will you raise your children according to the wisdom of God or the wisdom of the world?

The Importance of Purpose Raising godly children will result in conflicts with them, the world and even other professing Christians Godly parents train their children to become wise, responsible adults who stand firm against the world Raise your children so that they are those who influence others, not those influenced by others

Becoming Responsible It takes prayer, hard work, patience and diligence to raise a child to be a wise and responsible adult There is no magical age when you finish all of your parenting responsibilities - it varies with each child

Young children have very restricted worlds & few responsibilities Becoming Responsible ³ Freedom º Young children have very restricted worlds & few responsibilities As children learn to obey, their world is enlarged & they take on responsibilities Responsibility º

Becoming Responsible ³ Freedom º As children’s hearts are trained, their world expands even more & they take on more responsibilities Responsibility º

Becoming Responsible ³ Freedom º We teach youth the responsibilities & skills need to live life & establish their own homes Responsibility º

Freedom & responsibility must be tied together Becoming Responsible ³ Freedom º Freedom & responsibility must be tied together You transition from childhood to pre- adolescence to adolescence & youth to adulthood incrementally Responsibility º

Conclusions Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, For blessed are they who keep my ways. Proverbs 8:32 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, & he who begets a wise son will be glad in him. Proverbs 23:4

Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ