1. COMMON SENSE PARENTING
Foundation I: Loving God

2. Faith is a family affair.
Yahweh’s covenant is with whole families (Gen. 17:7; Ps. 103:17-18).
Covenant faithfulness covers the whole of life (Deut. 6:1-9).
The responsibility is on parents to cultivate a rich spiritual environment (Ps. 78:4-7; Prov. 1:6).
Parents must live it before they teach it.
“The children breathe in what the parents breathe out.” (Sinclair Ferguson).

3. Prayer:
Daily meetings in your closet (solitude, silence, simplicity, sincerity - Matt. 6:5-14).
Extended get-aways/retreats/seasons.
Minute retreats (Nehemiah 2:4-5).
Pattern of prayer (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication).
Practical tips: what do you do to assist your prayer life?
Family prayer: making prayer part of daily activity and dialogue.

4. Bible intake: Pattern of regular, sequential reading.
Studying – devotionals, commentaries, group studies, etc.
Journaling – writing focuses thinking.
Memorization (Ps. 119:9,11).

5. Meditation:
“His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Ps. 1:2).
“Ponder the way that is blameless” (Ps. 101:2).
Cow technique: be a spiritual ruminant.

6. Worship: Worship is progressive: private, family, public.
Worship is expected (Heb. 10:24-25).
Worship can be done in vain (Matt. 15:8-9).
Come prayerfully, expectantly, joyfully, boldly to praise God.
Get this right, and so much of parenting will fall in line.