Message Notes

Series Intro: There are many, many factors shaping who we are and how we answer questions like, “Who am I?” “Why am I the way that I am?” And, “how will I live?” In this series, we are exploring what Scripture says about these questions of identity: who we are and who God made us to be.

• Thinking about parents evokes many different ideas and feelings for us—some great, some less great, some painful, some memorable.
• Remember: each of us can play a parental role, even if we’re not parents in the traditional sense of the word.
• For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (Romans 12.4-5 NIV)
• Don’t underestimate the impact that your love, your words, or your time can have on someone.
• Scripture is full of parenting stories—many of which reveal that parents are flawed and imperfect people.

Foster, Don’t Frustrate

• Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6.1-4 NIV)
• Take the long term view: No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12.11 NIV)

Bless, Don’t Break Down

• Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” (Genesis 27.41 NIV)

Practice, Don’t Pretend

• These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6.6-9 NIV)
• The lives we live every day with our children are the lives we are giving them. How we practice life matters a whole more than the words we hang on our walls.

Apply

• Be gracious to yourself
• Be gracious to other parents
• Be gracious to your kids

Suggested Resources

• Image of God, The Bible Project (video)
• The Freedom of a Christian, Gilbert Meilaender (book)
• An Introduction to Theological Anthropology, Fuller Seminary (article)
• Whatever You Do, Luke Bobo (book)
• My Body is Not a Prayer Request, Amy Kenny (book)
• On the Soul and Resurrection, Gregory of Nyssa (book)

For Reflection

• How does today’s message resonate with you?
• What questions does this message raise for you?
• What actions does this message encourage you to take?
• How can you dig deeper into today’s message?

Take Your Next Steps

Remember: Jesus loves you right where you are, but He loves you too much to leave you there.

• Want to talk to someone about giving your allegiance to Jesus? Let us know.
• Looking for a deeper connection to others? Learn more about our groups.
• Looking for resources and tools to help you grow your faith? Sign up for AriseU.