Walking with God…as Children and Parents – Part 2

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION

“According to [Dr. Jean] Twenge [a co-author of The Narcissism Epidemic and professor of psychology at San Diego State University], indicators of self-esteem have risen consistently since the 1980s…. But, she says, what starts off as healthy self-esteem can quickly morph into an inflated view of oneself—a self-absorption and sense of entitlement that looks a lot like narcissism….”

~“How to Land Your Kid in Therapy” by Lori Gottlieb in The Atlantic Monthly

“The trouble with human nature is that we are born with a heart that loves ourselves over and above everything else in this world, including God. In short, we are born slaves to the lust for self-gratification, i.e., concupiscence. That’s why, if left to ourselves, we will always love those things that make us feel good about ourselves, even as we depart more and more from God and his ways. Therefore, God must intervene in our lives in order to bring salvation.”

~Dr. Ashley Null, resident scholar at Humboldt University in Berlin in his work “Thomas Cranmer’s Doctrine of Repentance: Renewing the Power of Love”

“When we are securely rooted in personal intimacy with the source of life, it will be possible to remain flexible without being relativistic, convinced without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive, gentle and forgiving without being soft, and true witnesses without being manipulative.”

~Henri Nouwen (1932-1996), priest, professor, and writer

“Don’t worry that your children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.”

~Robert Fulghum, American author

“One of my mom’s favorite sayings: ‘Behind every successful child is an astonished parent.’”

~Cory Booker, attorney and U.S. Senator

SERMON PASSAGE

Ephesians 6:1-4 (ESV)

Ephesians 5

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Ephesians 6

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 6

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.