Discipleship at Home (Part 2 of 3)

Welcome back to “Practical Faith” – where today, we will continue in our short series on the topic of “Discipleship at Home.”

Transcript

Welcome back to “Practical Faith” – I’m Nick Cash, and today, we will continue in our short series on the topic of “Discipleship at Home.”

Now, all throughout the Bible, God communicates that His primary plan for the discipleship of children is parents.  Now for those of you who have doubts about your abilities in this arena, I promise you: you can do this.  No matter what your fears may be, no matter how unprepared or unsure of yourself you may feel – YOU CAN DO THIS!

Now – there are four main categories of objections I hear whenever the topic of family discipleship comes up, and, they are all valid.  Objections to discipleship at home usually fall into one of these four categories: “I’m Unable”; “I’m Disqualified”; “My Family’s Not Interested”; or “It’s Too Late for Us.”  And these are all legitimate hurdles – BUT! they are not insurmountable – I promise.

I want to help you today – I want to help you overcome these hurdles.  As a pastor, part of my job is to help equip people to lead themselves and their households closer to Jesus at home!

This spring, the ministry I am a part of printed up a resource on this topic, and today, we are giving every single listener a free copy of it – it’s The Family Discipleship Guidebook, and it is full of the theological foundations for discipleship at home, along with tons of practical how-to instructions for leading yourself and your family into a vibrant, growing, daily relationship with God at home!

Visit LikeTreesPlanted.com and download your free copy of The Family Discipleship Guidebook today!

Alright, think with me about Psalm 78:4-7 – It says, “We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done.  He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which He commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.  Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget His deeds but would keep His commands.”

I was praying one night when my three older kids were much smaller, and I was mad at myself following a particularly poor evening of parenting (in my opinion), and in my prayer, this is what I said to God: “God, I wish these kids had a better dad…”

Now, I don’t hear God’s audible voice – I believe some people do – but He does speak to my heart and mind, giving me thoughts and feelings that I know aren’t from me or someone else, and which align with the counsel of Scripture.

Immediately after I prayed, “God, I wish these kids had a better dad,” I received God’s response, lovingly but clearly in my spirit.  He said to me, “They don’t have ‘a better dad’; they have YOU.  I chose you to raise these kids; and you are the right man for the job!  You be the better dad that you want your kids to have.”

To Christian parents, Pastor Andy Stanley has said, “Your greatest contribution to society may not be something you do, but someone you raise.”

And for those of you who may feel it’s too late, my Discipleship Professor in seminary, Dr. Matt Friedeman, would often say to us, whenever we were lamenting a late start on something in life, he would say, “If you want apples, the best time to plant an orchard was 20 years ago.  The next best time is now.”

Next time on “Practical Faith,” we will wrap up this short series on “Discipleship at Home” by addressing one of the most common objections people have with this topic.  Until then, may God bless you, surround you, and guide you in your leadership of yourself and your family at home!