How to Parent Without the Pressure Crushing You

Hey, we're Todd and Julie Mullins, Senior Pastors here at Christ Fellowship Church, and we're so glad that you're tuning in for service today. Yeah, Christ Fellowship is one church that meets in lots of different locations, including right here with you. Yeah, and our prayer for you today is that you would sense God's love for you. See, I don't personally know all that you're going through today and what you're up against, but God does. And He hears your prayers, and He knows your name, and He's right here for you today as you call out to Him. Yeah, thanks again for joining with us today. We love you, and we're praying for you. God wants to exceed your expectations this year. What are you expecting God to do this year in your life? Those who are planted in the house of the Lord will flourish. We are a church for the one who is lost, that they will be found, and they will find their purpose in Jesus. The one who gave it all so that we could experience life and life to the full. God is more in store than you have in mind, and I believe so much more that it's going to blow your mind. Welcome home, church family. We're so glad you're here. You're in the right place today. I just want to remind you that the Bible says there is fullness of joy in the presence of God. So if you need hope today, if you want to remind yourself where your strength comes from, sing this out. Let's testify together. Rejoice and be glad. I have everything I need.

The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength today. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. Oh my soul, oh my soul, bless His name. All that is within me sing. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. It is my portion, it is my portion. Jesus, come what may, You are worthy. You are worthy, worthy of all my praise. Lord, You are faithful. You are faithful to Your promise. You are strong when I am weak. When I'm standing in Your presence, I have everything I need. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. Oh my soul, oh my soul, bless His name. All that is within me sing. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. ♪ The joy of the Lord is my strength ♪ Thank you, Jesus. I will rejoice and be glad. Rejoice and be glad because of who you are. So let it rise up like a river. Overflowing Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit. Let it pour out. Let it pour out. There's no limit. Overflowing Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit.

Let it rise up. Let it rise up. Like a river. Overflowing Holy Spirit. Overflowing Holy Spirit. Let it pour out. Let it pour out. There's no limit. Overflowing Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit. So we put our hands together because we serve a worthy God of all praise. Come on. You've been so good. You've been so good to us. You've been so good to us. So we sing. Yeah, the joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is my strength. I will testify of your goodness, O God. The joy of the Lord. It is my strength. You are my strength. And O my soul. O my soul. All that is within me, say. O my soul. It will bless your name. I will bless your name. One more time.

O my soul. O my soul. Bless his name. All that is within me, say. The joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is my strength. Thank you, Jesus. The joy of the Lord is my strength today. And church here at Palm Beach Gardens, it is your strength. And everyone joining online, let the joy of the Lord be your strength as well. Welcome home, everyone. In fact, would you help me welcome anyone joining online, all of the people who serve in our military forces as well, whether you're home or abroad. We're praying God's covering over you that he would be your strength today as you wake up and rise to serve. And let everyone hear. And this is our invitation to you from the outset. And those joining online, that we would look to him. I love what Hebrews 12, 2 asks us to do. It says, fix your eyes. Look to him. Put your attention on Jesus, the author and perfecter and finisher of our faith today. So that's what we've come to do. That's why we're singing these songs together. That's why we're pressing into his word together, that we would fix our attention on the one who showed us

grace and mercy today. It is good, amen, that we come and gather and worship together. And it's special. It's special today too, because before we continue in worship, we want to inspire you because God has done incredible work in our church, even in just the last couple of weeks. And so today we have people in our church who are going public with their faith. And we're going to get to hear a story today of faith as they go public, declaring their faith in Jesus. All right, Gabe, go ahead and share with us today. All right, everybody. We have our friend here, JT. Come on, show it up for him. JT, you told me a little bit about why you want to get baptized. Why don't you share with our church family? Yeah, absolutely. I found this love, this peace, this joy that I can't put into words. About 126 days ago, I was able to give up nicotine through the power of Jesus Christ alone. It was kind of out of the blue, but last week I came into the young adult service out of nowhere and I heard a message about Samson and the power and the promise that God had given him and the strength that was given to him and the blessings and the peace and the guidance.

And it just inspired me. And in that moment, I gave my life to Jesus Christ and I'm ready to make it public. Come on. That's awesome, man. Do you trust Jesus with your whole life? I do. Do you promise to follow him the rest of your life the best you know how? I do. Well, upon that profession of faith, it's my honor to baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, buried in the likeness of this day. This is the great exchange. This is the great exchange. Dance for life, amen? Come on, let's celebrate today. ♪ I searched the world but it couldn't fill me ♪ ♪ There's empty praise, it's treasures that fade ♪ ♪ I'd never ignore that you came along ♪ Thank you, Jesus. ♪ You put me back together ♪ ♪ And every desire is now satisfied here in your love ♪ Oh, the church sings. ♪ Oh, there's nothing better than you ♪ ♪ Oh, there's nothing better than you ♪ ♪ Oh, there's nothing, nothing is better than you ♪ Come on, let's celebrate today. ♪ I'm not afraid to show you my weakness ♪

♪ My failures and flaws, Lord, you've seen them all ♪ ♪ And you still call me friends ♪ Oh, it's beautiful. ♪ Because the God of the mountains ♪ Oh, it's the God of the valleys. ♪ Is the God of the valleys ♪ ♪ If there's not a place, your mercy and grace won't find me ♪ Again and again and again. ♪ Oh, there's nothing better than you ♪ ♪ Oh, there's nothing better than you ♪ ♪ Oh, there's nothing, nothing is better than you ♪ ♪ Praise you Lord, praise you Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, there's nothing better than you ♪ ♪ No, there's nothing better than you ♪ ♪ Oh, there's nothing, nothing is better than you ♪ ♪ No, there's nothing better than you ♪ Come on, I'm so grateful for the great exchange today. He's turning around. You turn mourning to dancing. Come on, is that anybody's story? You give beauty for ashes. You turn shame into glory. You're the only one who can. You turn graves into gardens. Oh, you're turning it around. You turn foes into armies. Oh, you're turning it around. You turn seas into highways. You're the only one who can. You're the only one who can.

You're the only one who can. There's nothing better than you. Oh, there's nothing better than you. Oh, there's nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing is better. Oh, we search and we find there is nothing better than you. Oh, nothing is better than you. There's nothing better than you. Oh, there's nothing, nothing is better than you. Come on, one more time, he turns it around. You turn mourning to dancing. You give beauty for ashes. You turn shame into glory. You're the only one who can. You turn graves into gardens. You turn foes into armies. You turn seas into highways. You're the only one who can. You're the only one who can. You're the only one who can. You're the only one who can. So turn your eyes upon Jesus. Jesus, look for me. In His wonderful face And the things of earth will grow strange We tend in the light of Your glory and grace Come on, this is your invitation today. Turn your rocks. Turn your eyes upon Jesus Look for in His wonderful face Oh, it'll all pass away. And the things of earth will grow strange

We tend in the light of His glory and grace Come on, thank Him today. Father, nothing compares to Your presence. Nothing compares to the great exchange. The thing that people have been experiencing. Hundreds of people in our church have been experiencing the great exchange. Mourning for dancing. Beauty shining. God, we praise You today for the work that You're doing. A newness. What Corinthians calls a new creation in us. A new way of thinking and speaking. Today, God, we thank You for such mercy. God, give us courage today. Strengthen Your church. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. I wanna look like You Lord, pour out and purify With Your refining fire I just wanna look like You As You're holy Make me holy As You're pure and lovely Jesus, purify me I wanna be marked Your word on my heart Till I'm wholly set apart As You're holy Make me holy

Make us holy, God Make me holy This is a lonesome cry before You, God Make us holy With Your selfishness Any entitlement Lord, I just wanna look like You This is my simple prayer Lord, do what You need to do This is Your space to move I just wanna look like You As You're holy Make me holy As You're pure and lovely Jesus, purify me I wanna be marked Your word on my heart Till I'm wholly set apart As You're holy Make me holy, Lord Make me holy I cry out in God Make me holy It's no longer I that live But Christ that lives in me It is Christ that lives in me So I pray, Lord Give me clean hands Pure heart Honest intentions

Keep me faithful Battle low Humble before You We sing Give me clean hands Pure heart Honest intentions Keep me faithful ♪ Bow low, humble before Him ♪ ♪ Give me clean hands, pure heart ♪ ♪ Honest intentions, keep me faithful ♪ ♪ Bow low, humble before Him ♪ ♪ Give me clean hands, pure heart ♪ ♪ Honest intentions, keep me faithful ♪ ♪ Bow low, humble before You, Lord ♪ ♪ Keep me humble as You're holy ♪ ♪ Make me holy as You're pure and lovely ♪ ♪ Jesus, You're in my heart ♪ ♪ You're a part of my heart, till I'm wholly set apart ♪ ♪ I wanna be marked, You're a part of my heart ♪ ♪ Till I'm wholly set apart, I wanna be marked ♪ ♪ You're a part of my heart, till I'm wholly set apart ♪ ♪ As You're holy, make me holy ♪ ♪ You make me more like You, Jesus, so I'm holy ♪ ♪ Make me holy as You're holy, so make me holy ♪ What a beautiful invitation for God to rid us of ourselves and to fill us with Him. Because I don't know about you, but I've lived life long enough to know that my own desires, my own strength, my own plans,

they are never good enough, but submitted to Him. Galatians 2 says, no longer I, you're Christ who lives in me. Can I tell you today, I'm grateful for Jesus. I'm grateful for His Holy Spirit, who's leading and guiding. I don't know where you find yourself today, but can I tell you, there is nothing better than submitting your life to Jesus and His plans. Not just one time in a salvation moment, maybe you gave your life to Him, but each and every day going, God, you can have all of me. So today, all across this place, if you're comfortable, I wanna encourage you to lift your hands and just invite the Holy Spirit. God, you are welcome here today to move and to speak and to change. And God, we don't want ourselves anymore, God, because honestly, at this point, I'm sick of myself. I've tried my own way. I've gone my own way. It's never been good enough, but praise God, you are there to move and to fill me with your Spirit. You can have every part of me. You can have every part of me, God, from my kids to my finances to the way I think and the way I talk, my relationships, it is all yours. Come and make us holy today. And the church said, amen, amen. Come on, can we give Jesus praise today for all that He's doing?

I love it. Church, so good to have you in the house today. Hey, I'm so excited to be in the next week of our series, Pressure Points. Got Pastor Ryan McDermott in the house today. It's gonna be incredible. Before we jump into that, why don't you turn to one or two people around you, give them a high five, shake their hands, and you can grab your seats. Pressure. It's how diamonds are formed. It's how gold is refined. And it's also a part of being human, kind of like this. Or this. Now, raise your hand if you've been here. Pressure can even look like this. So how do we find relief from the pressures of real life? Well, I don't know, but I do know that God meets you right where you are and leads you to real peace, real clarity, and real relief. Well, hello and welcome. I wanna welcome everybody joining us across all of our locations today. I'm personally very excited to jump into week two of Pressure Points, because if you're alive, you're experiencing pressure. If you've got a pulse, you've got pressure. Pressure is just a part of life. But the good news is that God doesn't want

to just help you withstand pressure. He actually wants to help us overcome it. But I got a lesson in pressure a few weeks ago. This is the last family photo on my camera roll. If you were to open my phone today, this is my last family photo. April 1st, we got to go up to the Kennedy Space Center. We got our tickets online and we got to watch the Artemis II rocket launch into space. It was unbelievable, incredible to be there. And I grew up in Florida. So this brought back like all kinds of memories for me of like watching rockets disappear into the sky, you know? And so we're there and the excitement is building and this thing goes off. And I was like, unexpectedly emotional. I'm like crying, this is amazing. You know, it was like, I just, it was all kinds of things, right? And as I was there, you know, they were telling you kind of all the details of the launch sequence down to the very second. I mean, they know exactly when everything is supposed to happen. And they said, as they were talking about the launch, you know, at one minute and 10 seconds, this rocket is going to experience max Q. And if you've ever watched a launch or been a part of it, you've heard that phrase before. Every rocket goes through max Q.

It's the moment of maximum dynamic pressure. It's usually about a minute after takeoff. And it is the moment at which this flight is going to sustain the most pressure that it's going to be under. And so a minute and 10 seconds after launch, if the rocket can handle the stress that's placed on it at the moment of max Q, then everything's gonna be okay because it's just about to, you know, reach 35,000 feet in the air and it's about to enter orbit. And the truth is that countless, like innumerable man hours and effort and work goes into preparing the rocket for that moment when it has to sustain the most pressure. And if at that moment, if there's a miscalculation or a detail that's out of place, if they got something wrong, then at that moment, the consequences of that are quite literally disastrous. And what I find to be really interesting is that the same is actually true in our lives. There will be a moment for each and every one of us where you will have to sustain life's maximum pressure. And if you don't build your life for that moment, if you don't build your life for max Q, the most amount of pressure that you're ever going to be under, if you don't build your life for that moment, then quite literally, the consequences are disastrous. So we have to think about how do we prepare ourselves

for the moment when we are under the most amount of pressure that we will experience I mean, school and work and family and friendships and health and gas prices and politics and all the things, every day, we're under an intense amount of pressure. And if we're not prepared for the moment where all of that comes to a head, if something is miscalculated or there's a detail of our lives that is out of place, we will crumble under that pressure. And so we need to design our lives for that day. Pastor Julie said last week, you can't predict all the pressure you might face, but you can prepare for it. And that's what this series is all about. Our key verse that we're examining over these couple of weeks is found in 2 Corinthians chapter four, verses eight and nine, it says this, we are hard pressed on every side. Anybody ever felt hard pressed before? We're hard pressed on every single side. I have felt like that, but we're not crushed. We might be perplexed, but we don't have to be in despair. We are persecuted, but we're not abandoned. We might be struck down, but we're not destroyed. And part of what the author of this scripture is trying to communicate to us

is that when all of these things come against us, when the pressure around us builds to a point where others might be in despair, we don't have to be. It's not gonna happen. If we might be in despair, we don't have to be because we got something different than the rest of the world. If we experience all of this pressure on the outside, the same pressure that the rest of the world experiences, we can know in that moment, we're not abandoned. We're not forsaken. We might be struck down, but we are not destroyed. See, part of the reason for this verse is that it reminds us that there is actually a way of going through pressure that doesn't leave us crushed. There is a way of going through pressure that doesn't leave us confused or stuck or stressed out because we have to remember, I wanna remind you today, we are not powerless in the face of pressure because God's spirit that is in you is greater than any pressure that's around you, right? God's spirit in you is greater than any pressure that's around you. around you. And so what we're gonna be talking about over the next couple of weeks is, man, how do we find that relief for our real life pressures? I think one of the most, one of the areas in which we experience the most pressure in our lives is the pressure of parenting.

Can I get an amen? Any parents know about pressure? You guys know about pressure? Grandparents know about pressure, right? Spiritual moms and dads, foster moms, parenting is not for the faint of heart, no matter what part you play, right? Parenting is full of pressure. Parents know all about pressure. Let me show you. I'm gonna need a volunteer for this. Let's see. I need a dad. Is there a dad? Yes, sir, come on right here. Everybody make some noise across all of our campuses. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. Tell everybody your name across all of our campuses. Nick. Nick. All right, Nick. Nick, I need you to stand right here, and you're gonna face right out here.

See that big red light on that camera? Just stare at that. All right, Nick. How many kids you got? Two. Two kids, how old are they? Four and two. Four and two. You, you're in it, brother. Terrible twos have kicked in. And we didn't arrange this beforehand, right? No. Okay, all right, great. So, Nick, just no matter what happens, stare at the red light, all right? So, I just wanna remind all of us about the pressure of parenting. Nick, you get bonus points today if you're already exhausted or tired, right? So, your job in the next minute or two, don't drop anything, okay? Don't drop anything. Easy enough, right? Start simple. If you're a parent, you're gonna have a car seat, right? So, I'm gonna need you to take this car seat, okay? So, you can't leave the hospital without it, and you need an engineering degree to install it, okay? You're gonna need the diaper bag. Go ahead, just throw it, just pile it on there.

Just go ahead, you throw them up, okay? The diaper bag somehow weighs more than the kid, right? You're gonna need parenting books because you're now a parent, right? You might have to switch to one hand. You might have to use this hand. Okay, this is a laundry basket. Dads, maybe you've never seen that before, but you'll never get to the bottom of this. It only gets worse. If you wanna get to the done with the laundry, find another dream. Okay, perfect. All right, so, groceries. Yeah, don't forget groceries. I think we got a finger right over here. We can kind of put groceries, okay? Bonus points if it's from Whole Foods because your kid's gotta be dairy-free, gluten-free, the air's gotta be free of all the allergens, all the things, right? Okay, but then they get a little older, right? So, you're gonna need, no, we're not done, brother. This is parenting, 101 right here. They go to school, they got a backpack, all right? Then don't forget, they gotta play some sports because they gotta go to college, right? You need a guitar case because they gotta be well-rounded. And then, where are we gonna put this, brother? No, okay.

And then, you're gonna need some new parenting books because now you're at a stage you've never been here before and you need to know more, more stuff, right? Okay, so, how many parents have ever felt like this? Okay, yeah, make some noise for Nick. You can just drop it, brother, just drop it. All good, just drop it. Come on, perfect. The pressure of parenting, my man, come on. That's what it feels like, right? Like, parents, grandparents, foster moms, dads, spiritual parents, like, step-parents, every kind of parenting comes with its own unique sets of pressure. I heard a comedian say one time that, like, having another kid, it feels like you're drowning and someone tosses you a baby. It's just hard, okay? And so, it's important that we just kind of acknowledge that. It's hard. But there is good news. See, the reason that all of this stuff feels so heavy, it's not just stuff. Parenting is sacred. This stuff can feel like a burden, but it's not a burden, it's a blessing. But sometimes, if we're honest, we can kind of just feel like there's this tremendous amount of pressure on us. And here's the good news.

Jesus says this in Matthew 11, verse 28. Jesus says, come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. If there's a verse that was written directly to parents, it might be that one, right? Like, come to me, Jesus says, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. And this is actually true for every area of our lives, but Jesus invites us to experience pressure differently, to lay it at his feet, right? And to actually experience not being weary, not. but actually experience rest. So according to Jesus, if we take him at his word, even the most weary and burdened parent can experience relief from the pressure they feel. Well, how do we do that? Well, I would argue that it begins, like most things, with doing it his way and not our way. I would argue that a lot of the pressure we experience in any area of our lives comes from doing it our way and not his way. And if we're honest, a lot of times when we think about our kids or our grandkids or our friend's kids or whatever it might be, sometimes we think about doing this our way and not his way. So what is God's way of parenting? What does God actually say about parenting? I wanna turn your attention to a scripture from the book of Deuteronomy, where God talks pretty specifically

about what it looks like to be a parent. Here's the scripture, starting in verse four. Deuteronomy chapter six, starting in verse four, says this. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. At least some of those words will probably sound familiar to you, right? He says, these commandments that I give to you today, they're to be on your hearts. Impress them upon your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road or when you drive them to school, right? Talk about them 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 put them on your gates. Now again, at least some of these words are familiar to you, but you may not know, this passage of scripture is known as the Shema. The Shema, it actually has a name and that word Shema means to hear or listen. It's actually the first word that we read in the beginning of this scripture, hear, O Israel, Shema. And more specifically, this word Shema, it actually means hear and obey. But because in the Hebrew language,

they don't have two separate words to convey that idea. It's just one word, hear and obey. And what's unique about the Shema is that for generations, this passage of scripture became the daily confession of all of Israel. In fact, multiple times a day, they would recite this very verse from memory. They would say it every morning and they would say it every evening in their prayers. In fact, to this very day, many faithful Jews will recite this prayer from memory multiple times a day. And they actually took this verse quite literally and they would carry around written copies of this verse in their clothing. Like they would carry it with them as they walked along the road. One of my favorite things that we brought back for our kids the first time we went to Israel, we didn't even have children yet. We brought back what's called a mezuzah. Maybe you've seen this before. A mezuzah is a small wooden box nailed to the doorframe of a home or a room. And inside that box, you would typically find a small scroll of parchment with these words penned on it. So they didn't just take this as like, God meant this figuratively. They actually took it quite literally and they carried this verse with them wherever they went.

They nailed it to their doorposts and they would recite this verse multiple times a day. All of that to say that this verse is absolutely foundational for their understanding of life. Foundational for their understanding of life. Because it shows us something much, much bigger than parenting. It shows us that our faith is meant to be woven into the fabric of everyday life. That's a lesson for all of us. That our faith is meant to be woven into the fabric of everyday life. So the thought that faith is just something you do on Sunday or if we're gonna get real honest today, maybe every couple of Sundays, is incompatible incompatible with what this scripture is talking about. It's really telling each and every one of us that our faith should touch every moment. in every aspect of our lives. But in this passage of scripture, we also see the purpose of parenting. God tells us all the way back in the book of Deuteronomy, why he's called you to be a parent, whatever that looks like for you. And God gives us in this passage of scripture, the purpose of parenting, which quite simply is this, it is absolutely 100% to pass on your faith in Jesus to the next generation. That is 100% the purpose of parenting. But here's the challenge.

Most of us don't actually believe that. And I would argue that's where a lot of the pressure comes from. There was a study that was done in 2022 called Family Matters, and here's what they found when they surveyed US parents. They found that 31% of US parents say that their goal in parenting is to ensure that their children are successful. So 31% of parents say, primary purpose of parenting, the reason God made me a parent is to make sure that my kids are successful. 30% of US parents would say that the primary goal is to make sure that their kids are happy. So 61% of parents surveyed in the US would say, the point of parenting is to ensure that their kids end up happy or successful. Here's what that means. About 61% of us in this room believe a lie about parenting. It's the same survey found that only 14% of US parents say that the primary goal is to pass down the values and faith that guide their children for their lives. And so I wanna challenge this, church. I mean, I hope that's not true of us, but the reality is that the lies of the enemy are powerful. And he's trying to get us off target. He's trying to have us aiming at the wrong thing. And what God says, makes clear in this scripture, is that the primary purpose of parenting is faith transmission,

passing on our faith in Jesus to the next generation. That's the goal. That's what the Shema is all about. And these verses from Deuteronomy, they actually give us four areas that we can focus on if we wanna do this. Here's the first one. It's what you believe. If you're gonna hit the goal of parenting, you have to think about what you believe and what that communicates to your children. The Shema begins with this phrase, hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one. And there are several reasons for that. But one of the reasons for that is that the belief in one God made them distinct and different from everyone around them. One of the reasons that they would make this confession, hear O Israel, the Lord your God is one, is that belief in a singular God is one of the things that immediately set them apart from everyone around them. So they were a monotheistic religion surrounded by a sea of polytheistic cultures. And so it was important in the verse that they repeated every single day to remind themselves that they're not like everybody else. There's something about them that makes them different. This statement reminded them not only of who God was, but who they were meant to be.

They were a people, first and foremost, marked by their belief in the one true living God. It's important. And it actually makes sense. Because if you think about your own home, man, if we believe in Jesus, we better look different than everybody else. If we believe in Jesus, our home better be dramatically different than every other home. If we believe in Jesus, then there are gonna be some things that are acceptable for other kids that aren't acceptable for our kids. Things that are acceptable in other homes or other places that aren't acceptable in our homes. And so we better be different if we claim to believe in the one true living God. But the more important thing here is that they're not just acknowledging who God is, but they're simultaneously acknowledging who they are not. Y'all, whether you're a parent or not, this one truth will change your life. Can I tell you something absolutely transformational? There is one God. you're not him. I wonder how much pressure in every area of our lives we would feel relief from if we truly understood there is one God, I'm not him. Because let me just give you one example, right?

We're gonna talk about some different things over these coming weeks, but if I just think about one area outside of parenting, right, when it comes to like my personal finances, just as an example, if I'm trying to control everything, if I'm putting my needs, my wants, my decisions above what God's word actually says about how I should steward my finances, if I'm trying to play the role of God and I'm not letting him be God, it's gonna cause all kinds of pressure. So even when it comes to finances, like when I read a scripture that I might not like, like maybe about giving or being generous or tithing, I gotta go like, wait, there's one God, I'm not him. It's not my decision. This actually will bring you so much relief in your parenting to understand there is one God and I am not him. Listen, don't miss this. The most foundational verse on parenting in all of scripture starts with the declaration that there's one God and I'm not him. I'm convinced that most of the pressure that we experience in parenting comes from trying to be for our kids what only God can be for them. Because I say that, like there's one God, I'm not him, you go like, yeah, I know that, but here's what it actually means.

What it actually means is I'm not their provider. God is. So that changes the pressure. I'm not their sustainer. God is. I'm not their savior. God is. But when you think about it, we all experience like maybe the pressure of perfection as an example, you know? You don't want your life to look like this, you know? So you're like, you want everything to look good on the outside, like we're good over here, we got it figured out, we're doing just fine. And then you think about your kids, you want them to like, you want them to talk right and act right and do right and be in all the things, right? There's just this overwhelming pressure of perfection. But guess what? There's one God and you're not him. So what does that mean? There's only one who's perfect and his name is? God. Jesus. So we have to stop trying to be something that we're not. I have to recognize what my part is to play. I'm not their provider or their protector, I'm their parent. So I need to do my part and I need to stop doing, trying to be something that only God can be. So you gotta think about what you believe.

Secondary would be this, what you love. What you love. What you love communicates something significant to your children. Think about it this way. If you love the Florida Panthers, there is a high chance that your kids love the Florida Panthers, right? And if you stop loving the Florida Panthers because they stopped winning, that's gonna communicate something else to your kids, right? But if you love fishing, there's a high chance that your kids are gonna love fishing because they love what you love. Your affections are shaping your kids. So good. What you love is shaping your kids. So if you really, truly, genuinely love God, there is a very high chance that your kids are gonna love God. If you really, truly, genuinely love the scriptures and your kids see you pouring through them every single morning, there is a high chance that your kids are gonna love the scriptures. If you love the house of God and you're committed to the house of God and you're serving in the house of God and you're giving to the house of God and you love the house of God, there is a high chance that your kids

are gonna love the house of God. Your affections are shaping your kids. If we do any of those things out of routine or ritual and not out of affection, that communicates something to our kids. We gotta think about what we love. I would challenge you to think about. What's optional in your home? Because all of us, you ever had that moment when you go to wake your kids up in the morning and they're like, daddy, my tummy hurts? And you wanna be like, oh, but really you're like, I don't care if you're sick, you're going to school. How many of you ever said something like that? Just be honest, right? Okay, or like your kids are tired at the end of the day and they don't wanna go to practice. And every good parent will say something like, you made a commitment, you're going to practice, right? Get your back in the car, we're leaving. That's what good parents do. But all through the week, we say stuff like that. And then on Sunday morning, you're like, y'all wanna go to church today? I would challenge you to think about what's optional in your home. Because our commitments, they highlight our affections. Listen, every parent, every good parent knows you can't force your kids to love God. And if your kids don't love God, you're not a failure.

That's not your job. You can't force your kids to love God, even if you do, but here's what you can do. You can show them the joy of a personal intimate relationship with God. You can do that. You can't force your kids to love God, but you know what you can do? You can make sure that you consistently get them in environments where spiritual growth is likely to take place in their lives. We actually can be very intentional in this area. We've got to think about, consider what you love. The third area this verse invites us to consider is what you teach. And this is kind of obvious because we kind of inherently understand that so much of parenting is about what we're teaching our children, right? But the truth that we need to hear in this passage of Scripture in particular is this, that the way God frames spiritual growth is that it's primarily meant to take place in your home. So that means that it is actually not the church's job to disciple my kids. It's my job. It's not the church's job to disciple your children. We're gonna help. We're gonna do everything we possibly can to make sure that your kids know and love God,

but it starts in the home. And that's why this passage of Scripture is framed around these rhythms, these rhythms. He says you should talk about the things of God at home. Talk about them on the road as you travel. Talk about them as you lie down Talk about them as you lie down and as you get up, right? He's talking about how the truth of God, the things of God should always be on our lips. We should be taking every possible moment that the Lord gives to us and using it as an opportunity to teach our children about the things of God. And even though this verse was written thousands and thousands of years ago, guess what? We still go to bed. We still wake up. We still travel throughout the day. And the Lord's just going, hey, those are spiritual windows, opportunities to teach your children. When you wake up, it's an opportunity to teach your kids how you start the day. Do you start the day with prayer, with worship? Do you start your day with anticipation for what God might wanna do? Do you start your day in the dependence? Man, as you go throughout your day, as you're in the car on the way to school, you praying on the way to school?

Hey guys, let's take a second right before we get out. Let's pray. God, I pray that you'd help our kids to have a good day in Jesus' name. Are you asking them like on the way home from school, hey, how was your day? Did you see God show up anywhere? Did you do this? As you sit down at the dinner table, hey guys, like let me tell you about what I saw today. Let me tell you about what God spoke to me. Let me tell you about what I read in scripture this morning. This might sound impossible. I assure you it is so easy because you talk about the things that you love. So I'm not telling you like do more stuff. I'm really saying like fall in love with Jesus and let it out. Like fall in love with Jesus and let your kids see it. How are you gonna use these rhythms, these moments to teach your children? And then finally, the fourth area, what you model. It's not just about what you believe, what you love, what you teach, but what you model. What are your kids seeing in you? The highest predictor of faith transmission in the home is that it was modeled, modeled. Not talked about, not that you showed up on Sunday, that it was modeled in the home. by the parent, that you didn't say one thing and do another.

That you actually modeled real, genuine, authentic faith. So let your kids see your faith in action. They don't need you to be a perfect parent. They need you to be a real one, an honest one, a transparent one. Tell them about your struggles. Tell them about your victories. Create a place for open and honest conversation. Model your faith in your home. Your kids see it. You know this, like I'll never forget the first time like my kids got a little bit older and they were like maybe three or four and they said or did something and you're like, that was me, this is bad. Like they start to emulate every single thing they do. You know, they talk like you, they look like you. You see and hear things in your kids that you're like, they literally picked that up directly from me. You modeled it, whether you thought about it or not. Just make faith the same. Just make it something that you do so naturally that your kids can't help but pick up what you model in your home. Let them see how you handle disappointment. Let them see how you handle celebrations. Let them see your prayer practices, your scripture reading. Model all of that for your kids because as you know, more is caught than taught.

So what we model for our kids is incredibly important. If you have your kids in any one of our environments at all of our locations today, when you pick them up, you're gonna get this card, Parenting on Purpose card. And there's just two things on here that are gonna help you do this. There's like conversation starters, iceberg. Like you don't know what to ask? Here's some questions you can use to just start a spiritual conversation in your home. There's also on this card five things that your kids need to hear from you every day. They need to hear, I love you. I love you, God loves you. They need to hear, I believe in you. They need to hear, God has a plan for you. And they need to hear, I'm proud of you. And so there's just some statements on here that we need to be teaching our kids every single day. And then on the back of this card is information on our Parenting for the Win class. So you're gonna get this if you dropped off your kids, but I would encourage anyone, even if your kids are in environments today, that if you are a parent or a grandparent or you know a parent or you're preparing to be a parent, this class will absolutely help. And it's starting across all of our campuses. And so there is an opportunity for each and every one of you to jump into Parenting for the Win.

So I would encourage you, take a next step. One more that you can take. On Wednesday night, 7 p.m., we're gonna continue this conversation. And so you can join me and a few of my friends online. We're gonna have a conversation about parenting and habits of the household and how do we do this. And here's what I would wanna tell you just as we close this message. I think sometimes when you hear a message like this, you can kinda go, oh, that's either A, not for me, or B, it can just feel like somebody handed you a car seat and a diaper bag and a guitar case and you gotta do more, you gotta be more, you're not doing enough. That's not the point. Remember, you're not God and you don't have to be because here's what God does. God takes every mistake, every shortcoming, every failure, and he redeems it for his good. And so no matter how long, like you may or may not have been doing this stuff, start today and let God do what he does and redeem the rest. God, I wanna thank you for the privilege it is to be a parent. And God, I pray for all of us who are in that boat, whatever it looks like, kids, grandkids, whether you're a foster parent, adoptive parent, you're a step-parent, a spiritual parent,

you're longing to be a parent, God, help us to know that wherever we are on that journey, we're not alone. You are with us, you will help us, you won't leave us, you won't forsake us. And so God, help us just to think about the purpose of parenting. God, that we would help our kids to follow you, know you, love you. Help us to examine these areas, God, what we believe, what we love, what we teach, and what we model. And then at the end of the day, God, may we be reminded before they were ever ours, they were yours. So we put our families and our kids in your hands, and we thank you, Jesus, that we can trust you with them. It's in Jesus' name that we pray, and everybody said. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen.