Preserving Covenant Faithfulness From Generation to Generation

Introduction

Imagine an Israelite boy sitting with his father and listening to Moses give this long sermon. And let’s imagine that this boy is a particularly attentive child, because when Moses gets to this section, the boy leans over and whispers, "Dad, haven’t we heard this before?” And his father says, “Yes, we have.” “Then why is Moses saying it again?”

That’s a good question. We studied very similar words in chapter 6 to what we just read here. So why does Moses repeat them? There are two good reasons for the repetition.

First, every parent understands the need for repetition. You tell your child, “Look both ways before crossing the street.” Do you only do that once? Probably not. You repeat yourself because you love that child, and the danger is still there, and the child can be forgetful. Moses loves these people. And the danger is still there. It's not just children that need repetition; adults do too.

But it is one particular danger that is the second reason for this repetition. The word "therefore" at the beginning of verse 18 points us back to how easily we can deceive ourselves into thinking everything is A-OK. That "therefore" points us back to verses 16-17, which say, "Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, lest the LORD’S anger be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from the good land which the LORD is giving you." Take heed; watch out, lest your heart be deceived. Small deceptions in godly parents can lead to bigger deceptions in the next generation. In the books of Judges, Kings, and Chronicles, you see this happen over and over again. You see a king who is described as being very good, and who even brings about incredible reform, and yet his kids (or sometimes his grandkids) turn out terrible. And according to Scripture, this lack of covenant succession is needless. Yet repeatedly very good kings produced very ungodly children and grandchildren. Why? Because one or more of the five things we are going to look at in this passage were brushed over too quickly. If we have these five things solidly in place, there is much less danger of the next generation falling away. But its easier said than done. It really is. It is so easy for us adults to fool ourselves into thinking that we can coast when things are going smoothly. So let's dig into each of these five points.

Guard your heart by laying up God’s Word (v. 18a)

The first key to covenant succession is to help your children to internalize the Scripture. In other words, don't be satisfied with head knowledge in your homeschooling. Verse 18 begins, “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul.” We've already seen in verse 16 that deception of our hearts is an ever-present danger. That means that the remedy must also reach the heart of each generation.

We sometimes imagine that deception only happens to people who have never been taught. But think about it - Moses is addressing people who have received extraordinary instruction. They had heard God Himself speaking the ten commandments to them from the mountain top. And you could not have gotten a better teacher than Moses. He was an inspired prophet. Yet they still needed this warning. Why? It's because head knowledge is not enough. Going to the best Christian school or obtaining the best homeschooling is not enough. The Scriptures must get past the head and into our hearts and souls of our children. Ben posted a great rap song that shows that its not enough to know about God; we must know Him. So yes, it is good to have your children memorize Scripture verses, but those Scriptures have got to grip their hearts and transform them on the inside. Knowing the truth does not guarantee that we will continue to live by it. And as you are training your children, make sure that you are not just giving them an academic training. Continually pray that the Spirit of God would transform the inner being of your children through the power of His Word. Thomas Hale said,

Our hearts first must be changed; they must be made spiritually alive (Ephesians 2:1, 4–5). God’s commands must be impressed upon [our] hearts.19 And God graciously does this for us. It is God who initiates our spiritual rebirth; He acts first. He redeems us, He calls us, He pours out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). And all we have to do is respond with grateful and humble hearts and offer our lives to Him in obedience and adoration.

19 Here Moses anticipates the establishment of a “new covenant” in which God’s laws will be written not on stone tablets but on human hearts (see Jeremiah 31:31–34; Hebrews 8:8–12).¹

If this is accomplished, then your academic understanding will also soar. But more importantly, what you have learned will be lived out. Without education reaching the inner man (the heart and soul), you can know that God requires honesty and still persuade yourself that a particular exaggeration in the political realm is necessary in this particular moment. Or to make it more personal (since we lost yet another football game), we can transmit unrealistic expectations of others to our children in how we react to losses. Yes, there are good analytical things you can come up with on why coaching and playing could have been better, but too often emotional responses is what we hear. Or to use another example, you can know that covetousness is wrong and still become dissatisfied with everything God has given to you. What are you modeling to your children? You are modeling that head knowledge is enough. And I am emphasizing the connection to the context because otherwise we can miss out on applications when we preach on smaller sections out of context. I’m really going to emphasize the context of this repeated emphasis on the kind of education that keeps the first commandment.

Anyway, Moses wants the Scriptures to be quickened to the heart and soul. Think of a musician tuning her violin. She doesn’t just tune it one time and assume it will remain accurate forever. That would be ridiculous. With change in temperature, comes change in tuning. Strings stretch. The instrument needs to be brought back to the right pitch on a regular basis. In the same way, our heart strings need to be constantly re-tuned. Fear, ambitions, losses,disappointments, and the expectations of others can pull us in various directions. And when your heart get pulled out of tune, you need to immediately go back to God and by His grace re-tune it.

Suppose you hear a sermon about truthful business practices. You agree with every point. But on Monday you discover that correcting an inaccurate invoice will cost you money. Will Scripture govern you then? Your children need to see that it does. We cannot preserve covenant faithfulness in the next generation while giving ourselves permission to evade it in this generation. And the compromises you engage in might be tiny - but your children will notice. And if we don't communicate that we are willing to re-tune our hearts on a regular basis by discussing how our inward instrument has gotten out of tune, we are missing opportunities to train our children.

So begin by asking, “What am I allowing to shape my convictions and make the violin of my heart go out of tune? What do I repeatedly listen to? What do I turn over in my mind? What carries the most weight when I make a decision?” The answer ought to bring us back to this command: lay up God’s words in your heart and soul. Treasure them. Don't just fake it outwardly; be transformed by the Word inwardly. And by the way, the Doorposts website has some fabulous materials to help you disciple your children in this way.² Just as one example, their laminated "If-Then" chart (that can be posted on a wall) has various misbehaviors that children commonly do, with the Scripture principle, and a place where the consequence can be written. Each time a misbehavior happens, you can point your child to the chart and incorporate it into daily training as well as into your occasional bootcamp trainings when things get out of hand.³ Every once in a while we had to institute boot camp for our kids. Talking about those things and practicing them will showcase to your children that Christianity is far more than just an academic verbal lesson.

Tune your heart to God's Word (v. 18b)

The rest of verse 18 speaks of binding these words as a sign on the hand and having them as frontlets between the eyes. In chapter 6 we considered the application of this language to our conduct (symbolized by the hand) and our thinking (symbolized by the forehead). I won’t repeat that discussion. Doorposts can give you creative ways to keep Scriptural principles constantly before your children's eyes.

But in this setting I want to emphasize how easy it is to have self-deception. You can have a Bible verse on your desk and still ignore it when you conduct business from that desk. You can have Scripture on a wall and fail to consult it when making the decisions that affect everyone living within those walls. The question is whether God’s commands actually direct us.

Let me suggest one way to make that visible to your children. Occasionally let them hear you work through a tough decision that you have had to struggle with. For example, you could include them in a conversation you have with your wife, saying, • “I would like to do this. It would be convenient. But here is the biblical principle we need to consider." That helps your child know why you have not taken the easy way - especially if the harder way impacts the whole family. • Or, “Hey kids, come over here and take a look at this Facebook post. I want you to see this. This is so convincingly written that I have to admit that I was ready to believe that accusation - just by reading it. But Proverbs 18:17 warns me about that, saying, "The first one to plead his cause seems right, until his neighbor comes and examines him." I have only heard one side, and Scripture warns us about that. Let's do some further investigation together." Now, your further investigation may confirm the accusation, or it may show how easy it is to be deceived by clever accusations that only give part of the truth. That can be a powerful lesson to your children. • Or, as another example, you can admit, “I spoke too quickly yesterday. What I said about that person was unfair. I need to correct it. I need to ask for forgiveness for having gossiped about them.” That models humility and how to deal with your own sin of gossip.

Those are important moments in a child’s education. They show that the Bible has authority over Mom and Dad too.

And parents, admitting that you were wrong does not destroy your authority. Not at all. It does the exact opposite. It shows that your authority is under God's authority. You see, refusing to submit to God damages the proper use of your authority. Your children need to see that your position does not place you above correction. Modeling is a kind of education.

Imagine a driving instructor telling a student to come to a complete stop, but after the lesson is done, the student watches the instructor fly through the next stop sign himself. That hardly inspires confidence in his teaching! His position makes obedience more important because someone is learning from what he actually does more than from what he says. But we all blow it, don't we? Yet, if your children hear you telling them that you have re-tuned your heart to God's Word, it makes it easier for them to re-tune their hearts when you hear their heart strings playing the wrong notes.

Train your children to apply God’s Word throughout daily life (v. 19)

Verse 19 says, “You shall teach them to your children,” and then speaks of conversation in the house, along the way, at lying down, and at rising. Again, the settings are familiar from chapter 6. But let's consider the same contexts in relation to not being self-deceived.

Having God's Word govern you when you sit down could apply to your attitudes at the dinner table, what program you watch on TV from an easy chair, or your give-and-take conversations with a friend in the living room. Your kids are picking up cues on what real life is like by watching you act and react when you are sitting down. If those reactions are not consistent with the Word of God, your kids will pick up on that, and may take your hypocrisy to the next level. I've recently been convicted of laughing with my brother over some of the terrible things we did as a kid. Those are not things to laugh about.

When you walk by the way is a phrase that could apply to your bargaining skills at a pawn shop, your reaction to a police officer who pulls you over, or your anger or lack of anger with an inappropriate statement that a neighbor has just made about you as you walked past his property. That neighbor was being mean to you, and your children will witness how different you are when you do not respond in kind, but instead later say, "Let's pray for that neighbor. I wonder if he is going through a hard time." Your children learn from your demeanor, the words you speak, and whether the Bible controls your emotions or not. It is in the real situations of life that integrity is modeled.

And notice the personal responsibility: “You shall teach them.” Parents may receive valuable help from others, but they cannot abdicate their responsibility to teach. I hope the preaching in this church helps you. Books can help you. Other believers can help you. But help does not remove the responsibility God has assigned to you. Part of the philosophy of this church is that we officers are to equip you for the work of the ministry. And that includes ministry to your children. We need to know what our children are learning directly and indirectly from us and whether they can apply the Word of God to real life situations.

A child may be able to give the correct answer to a catechism question about the ninth commandment and still be very careless with another person’s reputation. Has he really learned that lesson? No. He's academically learned it, but it has not gone to the heart. Well, that is a perfect opportunity to do more training. He may know the commandment against stealing and still have little respect for his sibling's toys - maybe throwing them against a wall. Has he learned his lesson? No. And so there needs to be further training about the eighth commandment. How you make all your kids handle everyone's toys could either teach sinful socialism or Biblical stewardship.

So ask questions that help him connect truth with responsibility in every day life. Deception of the heart is ever-present, and parents need to learn how to (first of all) recognize that deception, and then (secondly) how to correct that deception. It's a part of training.

Suppose a child comes home and says, “Well, everybody knows that boy is dishonest.” You might ask, “Uh. What do you personally know? Did you see him doing something dishonest?" And if the answer is, "No," ask, "Who told you that he was dishonest? And have you repeated it? What does God require before we accept an accusation against another person?” That conversation begins preparing a future witness, a future employer, perhaps a future juror. You are teaching your child that justice requires more than just strong feelings. There are video clips of various interviewers (like Nick Shirley) that expose how other people's strong feelings can be very ill grounded. Now, he is a Mormon, so I don't agree with his worldview at all. But you don't have to agree with him to be able to show your children from one of his clips how unfair people can be when the rational centers of their brains are shut down by emotion. There are lots of teaching opportunities even on social media. For example, your teenager may have read an alarming report online. Before joining his indignation, it might be helpful to interact with him by saying, “Interesting. I wonder what evidence that person has for this inflammatory statement. We ought to look into it.” That is a very practical lesson in biblical ethics. Sadly, many Christian who re-post other people's comments on Facebook model the exact opposite. They re-post accusations that they have never personally investigated.

And you don’t have to know the answer to every question. Sometimes the most helpful thing you can say to one of your children is, “I don’t know. Let’s find out.” And you then you go and try to investigate the facts and compare them to the Scripture. That teaches your children where to go when they don’t know the answer. It also moves them toward mature responsibility. What do I mean by that? Well, when children are babies, you have to make all the decisions for them, don't you? But as they grow, we should increasingly help them understand the biblical reasons for those decisions. Eventually they will have to make similar decisions when you are not present. They will need convictions they they themselves can explain and apply. So instead of always supplying the conclusion, sometimes ask them to identify the relevant principles. • “What would faithfulness require here?" Don't immediately give them the answer. See if your children know the answer. And if they don't, help them to research and find the answer. • Or “These protestors are really upset about x,y,z, aren't they? Do you think that is the right way to protest? What might be a more Biblical way for them to disagree? And who do you think has Biblical responsibility for what they are insisting the civil government should do?" That can lead to a short lesson on the Regulative Principle of Government. • Or “Has anyone’s property been taken? So why are they acting as if they have been robbed?" That can lead to a great lesson on the evils of socialism and communism. • Or “What do you think the Bible would say should be restitution in this particular situation?"

Those questions train your children to make godly judgment calls. This is one reason I value the opportunities provided by homeschooling. It allows the questions that arise in ordinary life to become part of a continuing education. But parents must actually use those opportunities. Lectures are not enough. It's easy to lecture, but it is hard to train children the way this passage calls us to train them. Moses calls for Biblical conversation as life unfolds. A child’s question at breakfast may open a discussion that he remembers far longer than a carefully prepared lesson.

Teaching a child to ride a bicycle gives a helpful picture. (And I probably should have put that as a picture in the outline.) At first you hold the bicycle steady. Eventually you loosen your grip. You stay nearby, but the child must learn to balance on his own. Similarly, we begin by making many decisions for our children. But we should increasingly help them understand and apply biblical principles and make decisions for themselves. And yes, sometimes there is the danger that they will make the wrong decisions, but it is far better for that to happen while they are under your continuing education than to make them after they have left home. Eventually they will face decisions when we are absent. We are preparing children to carry God’s truth into real life situations.

Establish God’s Word in both household and civic life (v. 20)

Verse 20 says, “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” There are two settings here, and we need to give attention to both in our Christian education.

The doorposts: household life under God’s Word

The doorposts identify a home. People pass through that entrance into a household with particular habits, expectations, atmosphere, and responsibilities. And God says His words should shape every aspect of the home.

We already considered the culture of the home in the earlier sermon and the sufficiency of Scripture for developing that culture. Here I want you to think about how homeschooling can help our children avoid heart deception - the kind that breaks covenant succession. For example, if you promise to pay your son for a particular job, do you keep your agreement? If the job was poorly done, do you deal with that honestly and fairly? If he did what you agreed upon, do you change the terms afterward because you have the power to do so? He is learning something about contracts in all of those interactions.

If you borrow an item and damage it, do you take responsibility? Or do you return it quietly and hope the owner won’t notice? Your children are learning something about property and restitution.

If a guest cannot repay your hospitality or advance your interests, do you welcome him kindly anyway? Your children are learning something about impartiality. Or - if your home never opens its doors to guests, your children are learning something negative.

And those lessons will accompany them beyond the home. A household is a little bit like a workshop that produces items. The work done there may eventually be carried far away. Parents rarely know all the places where the habits formed at their kitchen table will be used. That should make us thoughtful about what we practice there. We should be willing to explain why we do the things that we do - and even admit to doing them wrong and discuss what we wish we had done. When you look at some of the kings who had children that abandoned the Lord, it is my contention that the later big compromises of the children were learned from the earlier small compromises of the parents. That's why the Scripture repeatedly says, "He was a good king, but..." and then it mentions a compromise. The small compromises in the parent were magnified in the children. That is destructive to covenant succession.

The town gates: civic life under God’s Word

But Moses does not stop at the doorposts of the house. He adds, “and on your gates.” As we saw in chapter 6, these gates include the gates of their towns. Don't think of the gates of a town or city as simply doorways. Deuteronomy 16:18 says that judges and officers often did their work in the gates - in other words, where everyone could witness their actions. In Deuteronomy 21, a case is brought to the elders at the city gate - and everyone could see it, including any children who happened to be nearby. Do we deliberately expose our children to what happens in the gates of our cities and towns and help them analyze those actions by the Word of God? This passage indicates that those gates should be part of our education. In chapter 25, another dispute is brought before the elders who sat in the gates. Ruth 4 gives us an extended picture of a legal transaction conducted at the gate, with elders and witnesses present. So this verse indicates that the Word of God must be brought into the community’s public life. But more importantly, it is important that a parent occasionally let their children see what is happening (justly or unjustly) in the gates of their town. Too many homeschoolers completely insulate their kids from the corruption that is going on in the gates of the city. But our children can learn a lot about life through its good or bad examples.

I'll just give three examples of what is supposed to go on in the gates of the city, and how home education can have an influence upon your children's views of those gates.

First, we all know that justice must be impartial in politics. What are some tangible ways we can teach justice or injustice by looking at the gates of cities, states, and nations? Last Monday I read a Facebook post by a friend of mine who said that he and his wife were going to vote straight Democrat (even though he doesn't agree with the Democrats) because he is so frustrated with the Republicans. It was like a protest vote. It had nothing to do with who should be in office and who should not be in office - which is the whole point of voting. Well, if your kids saw a post like that, it would be a great discussion point. Talk about the terrible injustice that is being modeled by this Christian just because he is emotionally reacting. It's a reactionary vote.

Or as another example, in Nebraska, we get the opportunity to vote to retain or to not retain judges. That requires a lot of work to investigate the merits or demerits of each judge, and since getting bad judges out is such hard work, it may not seem like it is worthwhile even doing the research. You might think, "Why bother? Or let’s just vote against everyone." But I would say that you should take the trouble to do so because your research and discussions with your family about each judge could have a far more profound impact for the kingdom than the actual results of whether any given judge is retained or removed. Helping your children to see specific good decisions and bad decisions that each judge made, and not throwing a judge under the bus for making one bad mistake can help your children learn a lot about civics. I found some judges who would not let their personal views impact their judgments - they judged fairly according to the law. I was impressed. And actually, Scott Polski had an inside scoop that helped me on that.

The same is true about your reactions when watching a football team. Are you fair to the coach and the players or do you only have an emotional response that does not reflect justice? Is winning the national championship the only thing you are concerned about, or do you care about the team? Even your comments about referees can be helpful life-learning skills for your children. I know I am stepping on toes when I say things like this (especially after the disaster this past weekend), but that is what this passage is about - applying Scriptural principles to everything we do when we sit down or walk by the way. It's all education.

Children need to hear us apply God’s standards to people we support - critiquing what is bad and approving what is good. If we excuse dishonesty in one of our own party candidates when it benefits our side, they will notice. We must teach them to love righteousness more than partisan advantage.

Second, accusations require truthful evidence in politics. Deuteronomy 19 requires careful inquiry concerning false testimony. God knows that accusations can become weapons. But habits in this department start long before people get into politics. False accusations are rife on social media. I've already mentioned that, but I am repeating it in this context because it illustrates how to use city gates in your education. Pointing these out can be a learning experience for the family.

So teach children to distinguish what they know from what they suspect or have merely heard others say. Even an admission - “I don’t know whether that is true” can be a godly sentence. In contrast, “I dislike him, so he probably did it” is a dreadful basis for judgment.

We ought to be able to say, “I strongly oppose that man’s views, but I will not accuse him on this issue without evidence.” That is obedience to God, and it is essential preparation for responsible public life.

Third, public authority remains under God’s authority. We have mentioned the king’s obligation to read the law. Romans 13 likewise calls the ruler God’s servant. That gives his office dignity and accountability. How we speak about God's servants models something to our children. Of course, you can honor a public officer while strongly disagreeing with his unbiblical policies.

Using another example, Scripture requires care for the poor. But these protestors in France who want the government to throw money toward the supposed poor or to support their cause simply because they are rioting needs to be exposed as foolishness. We must help our children understand the responsibilities God assigns to households, churches, neighbors, and civil officers. Giving money to the poor is not a civic function. A compassionate intention does not settle every question about a proposed policy.

Prepare your children to be faithful participants in public life

Think about the boy learning honesty at home. One day he may handle someone else’s money. The boy learning to examine an accusation may someday supervise employees. The child learning that authority answers to God may eventually exercise public authority. Household instruction has consequences beyond the household. The gates belong in our children’s education because our children will eventually live beyond our doorposts.

Connect the household and the town without confusing their responsibilities

Now, there is something else we need to notice. The house and the gates are both under God’s Word, but they have different responsibilities and different jurisdictions. We already saw that in chapter 6.

A father is not authorized to exercise every power God gives a civil magistrate. We know that academically, so how could we unintentionally teach our children the opposite? One way would be by watching movies without discussing the merits and demerits of the movie. For example, when kids see us enjoying a movie where private citizens take justice into their own hands because they are frustrated that the civil government does not do so, it can evaporate the proper idea of justice from a child's mind. But if a good discussion of the movie happens where we let our children know that we appreciate the citizen's frustration, but he was overstepping his God-given role, the child has learned something valuable from even a bad movie. Children learn habits and convictions that they later bring into other callings. A child trained to disregard truth when it is inconvenient will carry that temptation into business and civic life. A child trained in accountable authority has received preparation for using authority faithfully.

Likewise, the need for public order does not authorize unlimited government power. Rulers must perform the work God assigns them. Those are questions our children should learn to ask. “What does God require?” And, “Whom has He charged to do it?” A magistrate does not become the father of every household. A father does not possess every authority given to a magistrate. Recognizing those distinctions is part of biblical civics. And there are all kinds of opportunities to train children in civics in every day interactions.

And civic education reaches beyond elections. It includes truthful testimony about a sister to a parent. If the accusation against the sister is a lie, then the sibling who made the false accusation should get the punishment the sister would have gotten if she were guilty. Biblical justice requires that. And the sooner they admit to the false accusation, the lower the penalty, which can escalate up to 400%. Education involves honest agreements about the use of toys, respect for a sibling's property, resistance to bribery, and fair treatment of neighbors.

Some children may eventually hold office. All will have responsibilities affecting other people. Prepare them for those responsibilities.

Labor for enduring covenant blessing across generations (v. 21)

Verse 21 connects these duties with the multiplication of their days and their children’s days in the land God swore to their fathers. Notice the contrast with verse 17. Verse 17 warned of perishing from the land. Verse 21 speaks of prolonged enjoyment of it. And don't think that this only applies to ancient Israel. Scripture gives ample reason to labor for future generations. Ephesians 6 renews the duty to bring children up in the training and admonition of the Lord and then attaches this exact same promise - "that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth." So Ephesians 6 is applying this verse to New Testament times. It completely undermines the two-kingdom narrative. Psalm 78 calls for the transmission of God’s works and commands so that another generation will hope in him. And the Great Commission requires teaching the nations to observe everything Christ has commanded. Well, that will only happen when covenant succession is eventually consistent. And it will only become eventually consistent when our education of children is consistent. So this promise is still relevant. It means we can undertake this work of training our children with confidence that covenant succession is possible. We are responsible to teach faithfully. But we need to do so trusting their hearts to God. He is able to give life to the Word, change hearts, and bring fruit from instruction that may seem very inadequate.

Think of someone planting a young fruit tree. For quite a while, watering it seems to be producing very little for all the work that is being put into it. But if a young tree is being nurtured and the parent can point to a mature tree that bears lots of fruit, the child is learning that there is value in having a long term perspective with this little newly planted tree.

But we parents can learn from that too. Parents often labor during that early season of watering a young tree. You may never know that a conversation today helps your daughter refuse a dishonest practice twenty years later. You may never hear a fair judgment your grandson renders because Scripture trained his conscience. God sees what we cannot see.

Conclusion

Let me close with four quick questions. • Is there something God has shown you something this morning that you still need to obey? Write it down, and commit yourself to beginning there. • Second, do your children see Scripture governing your everyday decisions? Strategize with your spouse on creative ways that you can teach them through example in the ordinary situations of life. • Third, are you helping them to increasingly exercise their own judgment, or are you always making the decisions for them? There is risk in letting your children make some independent decisions, but maturity cannot happen without taking that risk. It's like learning to ride a bike. There is a risk of falling, yes. But if you give opportunities to let them make such decisions early enough, you can help train them to make fewer and fewer mistakes over time. • Fourth, have you included the concept of gates in your training? Do you share some of your research at elections with them?

Some of you wish you had understood these duties earlier. Your children may already be grown. Bring those regrets to Christ. Confess what needs confession. I think most of us have regrets from our earlier years, but lets be humble enough to share those regrets. And if we are able to, lets repair what we can. Use the opportunities God still provides.

And listen to this sermon through the lens of the Gospel - not through the guilt-covered lens of the covenant of works. Jesus bore the curse we deserve. He gives his Spirit to enable obedience. We undertake these duties as people who continually need his grace - but who still remain secure in that grace. So, to the best of your ability, apply Biblical principles to the real life situations your children face every day. And may the Lord produce much fruit, even though our planting may feel inadequate. Amen. Let's pray.

Closing prayer

Dear Father, thank you that Your Word does indeed apply to all of life. Forgive us for the many times we have failed to consistently live it out before our families. It is our desire that you would cover over our past mistakes and help us to become more and more faithful in modeling and training others in what it means to be Biblical Christians. Cause the gospel of your Son to bear fruit among us. By your Spirit, strengthen our obedience and establish the work of our hands for the good of generations yet to come. In Jesus’ name, amen.