Hey, One and All, we are in week two of our parenting series, Raising Faith. If you have the One and All app, make sure to grab that because there are sermon notes in there that will help you as you follow along.

And let's get into it and hear what Dave Stone has prepared for us today.

Hello.

Hello.

I'm Dave Stone from Kentucky.

It's great to be back with you all.

And I think I'm...

I've had the chance to be here three times in the last nine weeks, so this is a special treat for me.

And I love this series.

Parents come in different shapes and sizes, right?

Parenting styles and values are as numerous as the stars in the sky.

And yet every mom and dad who is a Christian dreams of a future where their kids grow up becoming adults and embracing that faith.

and having a healthy relationship with the mom and dad and with those adult children, and them wanting to come back to visit.

That's what we all hope for, right?

As parents, there are things we can do to either crush or advance that dream as we lay the foundation for that dream to become a reality.

And I love this series, Raising Faith, and Jeff's first message last week.

It gave us a great start.

I love that, and I'm going to refer back to that several times.

If you missed last week, I want to encourage you to go back and catch that online.

Now, my wife, Beth, and me, we have three children, and we have 11 grandchildren.

And so I love to preach on this topic.

I always have, because I believe that parenting avails us the greatest opportunity to affect the spiritual trajectory of the next generation.

I really believe that.

I heard about a church that had a dedication service where parents had the opportunity in a ceremony to formally express their desire to raise their kids in the Lord.

And on their drive home from church, the parents noticed that in the back seat, their six-year-old son was trying to suppress tears.

And so the dad said, hey, buddy, what's wrong?

And the little guy whimpered and he said, well, the pastor said he wanted us to be raised in a Christian home, but I want to stay with you all.

Well, let me be clear.

Our desire is to raise our kids so that they will grow up and make the personal choice to follow Jesus Christ.

That's our goal, our hope, our prayer for our children.

The Apostle John said it quite simply and clearly in 3 John verse 4.

It says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

That was my mom's favorite scripture verse.

I didn't understand that when she told me that when I was a kid, but it makes more sense, you know.

We call this beginning with the end in mind.

You are trying to pave the way for your children and grandchildren to embrace Christ on their own volition.

I like what Pastor Craig Groeschel says.

He says, if you don't want your family to turn out like every other family, then you will need to raise them differently than everyone else.

And when it comes to parenting, your parenting is to be distinctive and spirit-driven rather than simply following the cues from our culture.

Psalm 127 verses four and five says it like this, like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth.

Blessed is the one whose quiver is full of them.

So if you have children, the Bible says you have been blessed.

So as a backdrop, I think we need to become familiar with the four stages of parenting.

And then after we talk about that, I'm going to talk about the three gifts that every person needs to give their children.

I know some of you all do not have children, and I want you to listen from the ears of being an aunt and uncle.

And maybe you'll have children in the future, who knows?

If you have grandchildren, this...

It plays a big part, all the things that we're going to talk about.

And even if you don't have children at any point in your life and you don't have nieces and nephews, can I tell you there's a whole lot of carryover from parenting and how it ties in your relationship with the Lord.

your heavenly father.

So four stages of parenting, then we'll talk about three gifts that every parent needs to give to their children.

Four stages of parenting.

You have to go through each of these stages, and if you don't, then you will have to go back and you will have to repeat one of them.

Here's the first one, discipline.

discipline.

This is birth to five years, let's say.

This phase covers that period from when they're very young.

Your primary goal as a parent is to establish your right to lead in their little lives.

This leadership is not oppressive, but it is authoritative.

It is a phase of tight boundaries, not unlimited freedoms.

And these boundaries will give way to freedoms as the child demonstrates responsible behavior.

Your task...

And this season is to get control of the child so that you can effectively move on in the next stage and train them.

If you cannot control your child, you cannot train them to their full potential, nor will anyone else be able to do so.

and that leads us to the second stage.

The second stage is that of training.

We would call that ages six through 12.

This is when you are on the sidelines.

You've disciplined and trained them, and now we watch and see how they do, but we have pep talks.

We have team meetings.

We pull them aside.

We can walk out on the field with them some and reinforce areas where it seems that maybe they didn't absorb something or continue to discipline in areas that are needed.

but we give them a little bit more freedom as they prove themselves faithful.

Now, if you've done the discipline phase well, then it's not a daily battle of who's in charge.

Your children need to know that this is not something that is up for debate, but there must be plenty of reminders and reinforcement through this period.

You are training alongside of them.

You are hand in hand.

You're trying to give them more opportunities, but you're right there beside them.

Well, the third stage that you progress through is a stage that we will call coaching.

And don't get too attached to these age numbers, but this is generally around 13 to 18 or 19.

This is a time when our children are in the game of life for themselves.

We can send in plays from the sidelines.

We can huddle up during timeouts, but we can no longer stop the game for extended periods of time and show them how to act and how to treat others.

They now progressively are learning to call the plays themselves and to move forward.

And parents are an active resource during this time as they provide assistance to them.

Well, the final stage is the one that we're all working towards relationally, and that is friendship.

Maybe that's 20 and older.

I don't know exactly, but this is the crown.

This is the reward.

It is the relational goal of our parenting, and that is friendship with our children.

This is a new season of life when our kids become adults and they become our friends.

And now in the friendship stage, the parent-child relationship does not cease.

It's just that the parent and child relationship enters into a new stage, a new season of life.

It is a disciple-making relationship that has progressed through the years, and now it culminates in this form of friendship.

Now, there are a number of permissive parents who make the mistake of trying to enter the friendship stage earlier than they should.

It may be when the child is 10 years old or 14 years old and they try to be their child's buddy but you're not your child's buddy and they don't need you as a friend, they need you as a parent.

Sometimes parents will try to be the cool mom or they'll try to be the cool dad.

They want to be friends with their 14-year-old but their parent will say, I want my child to like me.

and I understand that I want my kids to like me too but that's not what they need now they need you is that parental figure in their life who lovingly helps to coach and give them wise counsel those are the four stages of parenting and I'll say it again if if you skip a step or you slack off in one of those you'll have to go back and repeat it and so it's it's better to do it as you go you Now let's talk the rest of the message about three gifts that every parent must give to their children.

Here's the first one.

Consistent discipline.

You say, well, that doesn't sound like a gift.

If you're a kid sitting in there, you're going, that doesn't sound like a gift to me, right?

Well, Jeff talked about this last week from this passage in Ephesians 6.

So we won't spend a lot of time on this point, but it's worth underscoring and emphasizing the importance of discipline.

I think it's probably one of the ones that is lacking in our society more than some of the others.

But it's worth underscoring and emphasizing the importance of discipline.

The Bible teaches that God disciplines each of us.

Discipline grows out of love.

In Hebrews chapter 12, verses 5 and 6, it says, my son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline and do not lose heart when he rebukes you because the Lord disciplines the one he loves.

And parents, you need to know that you discipline out of love.

and that the way you discipline shapes your child's view of who God is.

It is another method or way to show a healthy relationship with the Lord and to encourage your children to follow in God's ways.

I mean, think about it.

There are these two words.

There's the word discipline, and there's a word disciple.

and they both come from the same root word, and the end goal is the same with both, and that's coming alongside to teach, to train, to model, and that's why God sent Jesus to show us the way.

It sounds kind of like what we as parents are trying to do with our kids.

We discipline our children because we love our children.

And whether you're a single parent or whether you've been married for years, being consistent in your discipline is an ongoing challenge.

If an unacceptable behavior is allowed one day, but disciplined the next day, your child will become confused.

And over time, confusion leads to chaos.

and if, as a parent, your bark is worse than your bites, then your child will quickly realize that you are just a threatening parent who never follows through.

So be consistent.

Grandparents.

Grandparents, by the way, that is the fastest growing segment of parents.

The latest survey, I just heard this last week, reveals that there are two million grandparents who are the sole person who is raising that child.

And I think that's going to continue.

You do know why grandparents and grandchildren get along so well.

They both share a common enemy.

I'll let that just sink in for a second, all right?

Grandparents, at times you may be involved in disciplining your grandchildren if you have the parent's blessing.

You are part of that process trying to reinforce the principles that you're trying to pass along to your children.

And while you may not administer the discipline or loss of privileges, you can pass that observation and information along to the parents.

And parents, never discipline or punish a child when you are angry.

it sends the wrong message.

It can fracture your relationship.

Fear may elicit obedience, but it will only last as long as you are bigger than they are.

So make certain that you think it through, that you pray about it, and that you are under control.

You have different bargaining tools based upon the child's age or temperament.

A phrase I heard my wife say whenever she would administer discipline at times, one of our kids was when they'd start to say, oh, I can't, well, and bellyache about something she, some privilege she had taken from them.

She said, oh, no, no, I didn't make that decision.

That's your choice.

You made that choice.

That was your decision.

So don't put this on me.

And helping them see that.

there are consequences to our actions.

And children are naturally curious and inquisitive, and very early on, a child will start to test the limits, and they'll start pushing boundaries.

It's normal.

It's an innate desire to try to test the system, to find out where the lines have been drawn and what freedoms you have.

So make certain you communicate your expectations clearly because kids inherently want and need boundaries.

Jeff talked about that last week, and he underscored that children actually derive security because of boundaries.

And discipline and structure communicate compassion and concern, regardless of the age of your children.

And parents, again, who skip through that discipline stage in an effort to become their child's friend, are building the future on a fragile foundation for their family.

If you skip it, you'll just have to go back and reteach it.

Now, I'll be honest with you, I made a lot of mistakes in parenting.

I especially made a lot of mistakes when we had our first child.

And I remember there was one day when I was watching my firstborn, Savannah.

She was two and a half years old.

My wife, Beth, was doing something that afternoon.

I was watching Savannah, and she got up on top of a chair.

She started climbing across the...

the kitchen on top of a cabinet, and she'd just been outside, her shoes were filthy, and she just started walking across like she was a lion and just growling.

She's making a huge mess with her muddy shoes.

I said, does mommy let you do that?

She said, no, but you do.

And that's when I realized, oh, I need to step up my game.

because that's not a good parent.

And she knows that I was lighter on her than my wife was.

Hebrews chapter 12, verse 11, that same chapter says, 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.

Josh McDowell says it like this.

He says, rules without a relationship lead to rebellion.

And some parents will bend and continually give in to their child.

Like I said, I struggled with that early on in my parenting.

School teachers can tell the very first week of school, the first day of school each fall, if the child rules the roost at home.

If you lean toward lenience, your child will consistently play up to you, whether they are three or whether they are 16.

They gravitate toward the parent that they can manipulate.

and if one of the parents lives by a double standard, then the child will always choose the easier of the two.

And when it comes to discipline and restrictions, you want this to be a progressive releasing.

Let me show you a picture that I want you to think of.

It's a good picture.

It's a picture of an ice cream cone, right?

Now, when you think about proper discipline in the process that we're trying to set up, I want you to think of that waffle cone right there.

Look down at the very bottom of it, at the base of it, okay?

That's the way it should be.

Responsibilities and freedom, they're very tight when they're very young, just like that cone is at the bottom.

At the base, the freedom is very thin, but it widens as you go up.

And so you give a child small amounts of freedom when they're young, and then gradually you give them more freedom as they prove themselves to be responsible as they mature.

And in this method, you are repeating, you're encouraging, you're disciplining, and there are a lot of rules at the start.

That's a good thing, but then they get more and more freedom, just like that waffle cone.

and the wider it gets because they have proved themselves faithful.

Here's the biblical pattern for parenting.

It's found in Matthew chapter 25, verse 23.

I think it actually appears two times in that chapter.

It says, you have been faithful with a few things.

I will put you in charge of many things.

And that's the pattern for parenting.

My friend Chip Ingram says it like this.

He says, the parent who balances love and discipline without compromising produces well-adjusted kids who maintain a positive relationship with mom and dad.

This is a daily process of prayer, of working alongside, coming alongside of your child.

So give consistent discipline.

That's the first gift.

Here's the second gift that every parent should give to their children, and that is frequent grace.

God certainly models this quality for us on a regular basis.

His amazing grace just keeps on going and going.

Nothing grounds you, nothing sustains you, nothing keeps you going like God's grace.

And that's so true.

As parents, we need to model and extend that same grace at times to our children.

Realize they will disappoint you.

They are human.

Sometimes they need discipline for that.

At other times, when they're expecting discipline, sometimes you need to offer grace because that might just be what they need.

When I was 15 years old, I experienced every teenage boy's dream.

My mom and dad went away on a trip with some friends for two and a half days.

I thought, freedom!

This is awesome.

And to make matters even better, they said, hey, we're going to ride with this other couple.

And I said, well, that's great.

My brother, he was 18.

I was 15 at the time.

So I said, so we'll stay here at the house?

Well, he said, no.

My dad was a dean of a graduate school at the time.

He said, I'm going to have you guys stay down at the university campus.

I said, well, why?

Don't you trust us?

He said no.

And it makes sense.

He said, this way I can keep an eye on you.

This way I'll know when you come in.

They had a curfew at that time.

So he said, you know, I think it's better for you guys to stay down there.

But they made one tactical error.

When they left with this other couple, mom and dad met up at the campus and so they left both family cars there.

And when they left, my brother came to me.

He said, Dave, you've been a relatively decent brother.

I said, well, thank you.

He pulled out the keys to the Blue Beauty.

The Blue Beauty was a 1969 Dodge Dart.

It was a chick magnet, all right?

He said, while I'm away at work today, why don't you take it for a spin out on the campus?

I said, you're the best brother to ever walk the face of the earth.

Now understand, I didn't have a driver's license.

You couldn't get your permit when you were 15 years old in Ohio, that was against the law to even get a thing.

You had to wait till you're 16 even to get the permit.

So sure enough, I took it out for a spin and I drove around the entire day and I just looked for people coming out of the building.

I say, hey Angie, where are you going?

Well, I'm going over to the library.

Well, hop in, I'll give you a ride.

Okay.

I drive her over there, she'd pray the whole time, right?

And then when she'd get out, I'd say, hey, just don't tell my parents, don't tell my parents.

I said, please don't.

I said, oh, no, no, no, Dave, your secret's safe with me.

Every person that got in that car with me, they said the exact same thing.

Oh, no, nobody's going to say anything.

Nobody's going to say a word.

So I ran a shuttle service for lonely secretaries for two days, all right?

All of them said they wouldn't say anything.

My parents came back in town, everything was fine.

One day went past, everything was cool.

Two days went past.

On the third day, my dad came home from work.

He slammed the door.

My dad was not a slammer, all right?

He slammed the door.

He said, boys, I wanna see you in my office.

We went in the office.

He slammed that door.

He started pacing.

It wasn't even that big.

He just started pacing back and forth.

He said, is there anything that you boys wanna tell me?

Well, we looked at each other.

They had been gone two and a half days.

We had done a lot of different things.

We weren't exactly certain what they had on us.

He says, is there anything you boys want to tell me?

And we live by a very simple philosophy, never confess to a felony if he only has you for a misdemeanor.

And so I said, we have nothing to declare.

And my dad, being a preacher, immediately begins to spout off an impromptu parable.

He says, a certain man went on a journey out of town with his wife.

Oh, no.

I know where this is going.

He said, before leaving, the father entrusted two sets of car keys to his older son, who in turn entrusted one set of car keys to his younger brother, who did not have his driver's license and yet proceeded to drive around the campus of Cincinnati Christian University for two solid days.

What should happen to these two boys?

Dead silence.

He said that again, what should happen to these two boys?

Finally, my Sunday school training kicked in and I said, as surely as the Lord lives, the elder brother must die.

As I recall, my dad did not think it was that funny.

And when I turned 16, a few weeks later, he came to me and said, happy birthday, but he said, you're gonna have to wait to get your driver's license.

I said, oh man, it was sticking a knife in.

But two days later, he came in my room, he said, let's go.

I'm like, prison?

You know, I didn't know where he meant.

He said, no, he said, let's go get your license.

I said, are you serious?

He said, yeah, you drove for two days, I made you wait for two days, let's go get your license.

I said, you are awesome, man.

Thank you so much.

We show grace because we need grace because we're all going to make mistakes.

No one's got everything figured out.

Parenting is a daily process of prayer and of working alongside with your child.

And that even continues into adulthood.

And if you say to me, well, Dave, hey, I have blown it as a parent.

I say join the club I'm right there with you but let's let's learn from the past and not live in the past I mean my words have wounded my kids at times my neglect has turned them from me at times maybe say my poor judgment has cost me credibility maybe said been detached and it's damaged my witness with them And I honestly say, you know what?

We're all in this support group together.

We've all blown it.

Have you repented before God and asked your kids for their forgiveness and committed to try to do better?

That's what needs to take place.

We're all gonna make mistakes.

You see, when it comes to your parenting, God is more concerned with your direction than he is your perfection.

God is looking for consistency.

He is looking for integrity, not a superficial facade or pretend religion.

As a parent, he wants you to be the real deal.

and we do that through consistent discipline.

We do that through frequent grace, and then the final gift that I want you to give is unconditional love.

I mean, you knew love had to be one of those gifts, right?

God gives that to us freely, and your kids need to receive that from you.

There's a passage that is often read at weddings.

It describes love, a biblical love that we're striving to have for others.

it's in first corinthians 13 it's often called the love chapter verse 4 says love is patient love is kind it does not envy it does not boast it is not proud it does not dishonor others it is not self-seeking it is not easily angered it keeps no record of wrongs Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

You see, love is foundational to the family, and love is foundational to your faith.

According to Jesus, love is to be the distinctive quality that makes you stand out from those who are not Christ followers.

Your love.

is what makes you stand out from everyone else.

Jesus said back in John chapter 13, verses 34 and 35, he says, a new command I give to you, love one another as I have loved you.

So you must love one another.

By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.

And parents, this is the area where we need you.

Man, we need you in this.

and one of the most tangible ways to express love is by sacrificing.

That means at times you sacrifice some of the things that you enjoy doing for the sake of your kids.

You know that.

You've done it time and time again.

But when you give up your time, you know, man, I just got hit with a wave of thinking about when my son was playing baseball in high school.

And, uh...

I get there as quickly as I could to those games and I try to make some noise let him know when I was there and every time we go back through after the game he go through all his at-bats with me and I noticed that he always knew when I got there he always knew exactly what inning I got there how many outs there were didn't matter.

He just looked for me walking or he looked for my car pulling in.

He looked for something and he was always aware of it.

Your kids see those little things.

God is the ultimate parent.

and he is always there.

He always has time for you.

He's available.

If you need to talk to him, he's there.

Matthew 11, 28 through 30, you probably know this.

Jesus says, come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I'm gentle and humble in heart, and you'll find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

God is there for us in parenting.

You are a representation of God to these little children.

And God has time for his children.

Do you have time for yours?

Do you make time for them?

There was a season when my son had not yet been born.

My daughters were both preschoolers.

I was kind of enjoying the corporate climb rather than pouring into my wife and small children.

I was saying yes to every speaking engagement.

I was working 65 hours a week.

I was a very driven workaholic at church.

My self-imposed quest to provide for my family was actually causing me to neglect my family.

But all of that changed on a Father's Day 30 years ago.

I was getting ready to preach and just before I was to preach this Father's Day sermon, there was a gal who sang a song and the song that she sang was entitled, Slow Down Daddy.

And she, I'll never forget, this song has a chorus repeated like four different times.

And here's what the chorus said, Slow down daddy, don't work so hard.

We're proud of our house, we've got a big enough yard.

Slow down daddy, we want you around.

Daddy, please slow down.

And she sang, and everybody clapped, and I confidently walked up to preach, and when I got there and opened my mouth, no words could come out.

and I tried to get something out.

Tears are streaming down my face.

Finally, I looked at our worship leader, and he grabbed a microphone and came out and said, hey, let's sing something together while Dave gets his composure.

Let's just sing something.

So they sang a song, and then I went on preaching.

Later, I learned that when that happened, our children's ministry director, Linda Brandon, was in that particular service with her young son.

And when I began to cry, he turned to his mom and said, why is Pastor Stone crying?

And Linda candidly replied, well, when the Holy Spirit convicts you of sin, sometimes you cry.

She is no longer on our staff.

But you know what?

She was right.

and when the Holy Spirit convicts you of sin, sometimes you cry, and I did that day, but I can honestly tell you, with my wife watching this right now online, that God used the words of that song and his providential timing, and it was a huge wake-up call, and with the Lord's help, I changed.

I intentionally placed my family where they belonged, and that is below God, but above work.

Be encouraged.

You can do this.

You really can.

You just can't do it on your own.

And so you have to invite the Lord into the equation.

from that point forward, things can be different when he's part of that team with you.

You can slow down and you can step up.

Someone said it like this.

They said, your greatest contribution to the kingdom of God may not be something you do, but it may be someone you raise.

Let me say something to the teens.

Teens, I just hope students, I hope you'll spend time with your parents.

Don't always be looking for ways to not be with them.

Don't always be looking for that next place or that next thing to do.

Your mom and dad love you more than anyone in the world.

So be willing to get off that iPad.

Take your AirPods out.

Find some common ground.

Maybe it's a series that you watch together.

Maybe it's exercising together.

Maybe it's a sporting event.

Maybe it's a hobby that you share together.

and I know what the young people are thinking.

What you're saying is, Dave, you don't understand.

I mean, why would I want to do that?

My parents aren't cool.

Well, I've met your parents, and you're right.

They're not cool, all right?

But perhaps, perhaps, stick with me.

If you were to spend some time with your parents, maybe some of your coolness could rub off on them, and you could take them under your wing kind of like a project.

Can I tell you something?

You don't need cool parents.

You need parents who love the Lord and who love you and who are willing to invest in your spiritual life, in your future.

Earlier, I mentioned that the fastest growing segment of the population who are raising kids is that of grandparents.

and in some cases God is using you to stand in the gap and many of you are single parents and you're trying to overcome the conflict and tension from that difficult relationship maybe it's from a divorce maybe maybe it's a battle over custody maybe it's over the fact that your ex is with someone else now and they don't parent the way that you would want your kids to be parented Maybe you are a happily single man or a single woman, but you wish there was someone helping you with parenting.

First, let me just say to those of you who are in that situation, my heart goes out to you.

But if you honor the Lord and you invite him into your family, he can do some pretty amazing things.

I love what Psalm 146 verse 9 says.

I love to share this verse with single parents.

The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow.

God says, I will be a father to the fatherless.

He can fill in those gaps.

Do you realize the implications of such a promise?

And to the single parent, God says, you can't do both roles in and of yourself.

But the Lord raises his hand and says, I'll help.

I'll make up the difference.

And he is that parent to the parentless.

And he models for us who we are to be as parents.

The good news is that whoever you are, whatever you've done, you are his child.

He loves you just the way you are, but he loves you too much to leave you that way.

He loves you so much that he allowed his own son to die on your behalf and mine.

Earlier in the message, I read to you from Psalm 127 verses four and five, where David compared children to arrows.

And maybe if we understood the process of what an arrow went through back in 1000 BC, we would better understand God's expectation for us as parents.

This is what needed to take place, the steps of the process for an arrow to be able to be used.

It had to be straightened, it had to be sharpened, it had to be aimed, and it had to be released.

And if you go through that process with your children, if you go through those four stages and prioritize when they leave the home that they will be equipped to serve and witness and that they're growing in their maturity in life and also in Christ, then it becomes a smoother transition.

Get this, you are raising them to release them.

A recent focus on the family survey asked 2,600 young adults the same question, what is the greatest problem in dealing with parents and in-laws?

And there were a variety of different answers, as you can imagine.

But amazingly, the number one answer came up to 44%.

You know what it was?

My parents won't let go.

Bob Benson said it like this.

He said, let go.

Laugh with them, cry with them, rejoice with them, dream with them, but let go.

Because then when they come down the driveway to see you, you will know that the only reason they're coming back is because they want to see you.

Again, you're raising them to release them.

My son, Sam, and his wife, Kathleen, they had their first child back during COVID.

And if you will recall that, if that was the situation for any of you, it was so strange of a time because not being able to go to the hospital and the in-laws were in town waiting at our house and we all wanted to be down at the hospital, but we weren't allowed to be there.

And usually when a person goes into labor, everybody kind of descends on the hospital and tries to encourage and they sit in a waiting room.

Well, we didn't get to do any of that.

So we didn't get to meet the baby boy until they left the hospital and they drove to our house a couple days later with the entire family waiting for them to come in.

But as long as I live, I will never forget what happened next.

Because Kathleen came in carrying the baby and she walked straight over to her mom with the baby.

And then our son Sam came in.

and he walked straight across the kitchen, and he went straight to his mom, and I could only overhear bits and pieces of what Sam was saying.

He just said two or three sentences, but then I saw Sam give my wife a hug, and I saw Beth begin to cry, and then Sam walked over to me, and he repeated the very same words to me, and this is what he said.

he said, I just wanted you to know that until a couple of days ago, I had no earthly idea just how much you all love me.

He said, but I do now.

Thanks so much.

When the child becomes a parent and begins raising their own kids, somehow the rules and the boundaries of their parents start to make much more sense to them.

Oh, that's why you took an interest in.

who I hung out with.

Oh, that's why you didn't want an unlicensed 15-year-old driving a two-ton vehicle.

No, it's because of love.

You know, earlier I read from 1 Corinthians chapter 13, verses 4 through 7, from the love chapter.

It's more of a description of how we are to be as Christians.

And if you were to insert your name every time that love appears, Would it accurately describe who you are in your interactions with others?

Well, today I want to do something different.

parents, I want to see if your love, the word love, describes you as a parent.

And so moms, ladies first, you might be 18, you might be 80.

If you're a mom, I'm going to have you read 1 Corinthians 13, 4 through 7, out loud together.

We're going to put it up on the screen.

And you'll refer to mom in the singular sense because it is describing you.

So whether you have infants or whether you have adult children, if you are a mom, moms, let's just see if this describes who we are.

Let's walk through this and join me in saying this.

Mom is patient.

Mom is kind.

Mom does not envy.

Mom does not boast.

Mom is not proud.

Mom does not dishonor others.

Mom is not self-seeking.

Mom is not easily angered.

Mom keeps no record of wrongs.

Mom does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.

Mom always protects, always trusts, always hopes.

Does that description fit the way that you parent moms?

Okay, dads, it's your turn.

I'm counting on you to say it a little louder than my sweet-spirited moms at all of our campuses.

Here we go, dads.

Dad is patient.

Dad is kind.

Dad does not envy.

Dad does not boast.

Dad is not proud.

Dad does not dishonor others.

Dad is not self-seeking.

Dad is not easily angered.

Dad keeps no record of wrongs.

Dad does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.

Dad always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

It all comes back to love.

It all comes back to love.

When you are raising them, you are raising them to release them.

And it's tough to release your children, but when you think about it, that is exactly what our Heavenly Father did with each of us.

He gave us free will.

God has released you to make a choice.

But that's not all he did.

He released his one and only son.

And I'm sure it wasn't easy for God to release his only child from a perfect and safe environment.

and to place him into a fallen world where he would be a defensive, tiny, helpless baby dependent upon everyone around him, all the while knowing that at some point his son would be crucified.

But God, God released him, and he did that so that we would have some earthly idea of just how much he loves us.

I want you to pray with me if you would.

Our Father in heaven, we can't imagine what it was like for you to send your son down to earth from this perfect place to leave the hails of glory for the nails of Calvary.

I can't imagine leaving a throne for a feeding trough.

But that's what you allowed to happen and that's what Jesus did.

and we thank you that you released him so that we would have a means of salvation.

And so, Lord, we pray for every parent in this room, and we pray that the love we see in Jesus Christ would be the unconditional love that we show to our kids.

I know every parent would say, boy, I love my child more than anything in the world.

And yet if we were to ask kids, do you feel loved by your parents?

A lot of them would say no.

And so, Lord, would you help us to do that deep work in the tunnel of chaos and just to dig in and to dive into being a person who disciplines consistently, who frequently gives grace, and who shares an unconditional love for their kids that's obvious and evident.

It's in Jesus'name that we pray.

Amen.

Thanks for joining us for the message today.

If you would like to make a decision to follow Jesus or you have questions about what that means, then we would love to connect with you at oneandall.church.com.

And for more resources on this series or other series, you might wanna check out our Conversations channel on YouTube, where we dive deeper into the weekend content with our pastors.

All right, church, let's go as we always do, with one hope, one life in Christ.