WEBVTT 00:00:01.500 --> 00:00:04.400 Well, good morning Valley View. 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:08.233 It's great to continue in our series in the book of Proverbs. 00:00:08.233 --> 00:00:12.199 We've been going through the big middle section of the Book of Proverbs. 00:00:12.199 --> 00:00:15.599 Looking at the book of Proverbs, one topic at a time. 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:22.100 And, side note here, keep our technology in your prayers. 00:00:22.100 --> 00:00:31.565 We've as you can see, we've got a projector that's on the glitch and probably needs to be replaced, which leads to a lot of other questions about the state of our equipment. 00:00:31.565 --> 00:00:33.133 So keep that in your prayers. 00:00:33.133 --> 00:00:38.633 I might be bringing a, special giving opportunity before you here before long. 00:00:38.633 --> 00:00:39.165 We'll see. 00:00:39.165 --> 00:00:41.365 But keep all that in your prayers. 00:00:41.365 --> 00:00:46.399 I'm grateful for the team that keeps things moving along, even in the midst of the challenges. 00:00:46.399 --> 00:00:51.765 But Proverbs is where we are seeking wisdom. We all need wisdom. 00:00:52.765 --> 00:00:57.133 All of life around us is pulling us away from wisdom in this modern age. 00:00:57.133 --> 00:01:00.865 And we are looking for ancient wisdom for the modern age. 00:01:00.865 --> 00:01:05.933 So we've looked at things like how we use our words, how we shape our character. 00:01:05.933 --> 00:01:12.365 And today we're going to be looking at a topic that I think will relate to everyone in this room in some way or another. 00:01:12.365 --> 00:01:16.700 We'll just take a little quiz here to see if it might relate to you or not. 00:01:16.700 --> 00:01:24.632 If at some point in your life you have had either a mother or a father, just raise your hand. 00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:26.533 Okay, looks. 00:01:26.533 --> 00:01:29.266 What about if you've had both? 00:01:29.266 --> 00:01:30.099 Yeah. 00:01:30.099 --> 00:01:30.799 Okay. Good. 00:01:30.799 --> 00:01:31.200 Yes. 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:34.900 So there's a strong likelihood you have had both a mother and a father. 00:01:34.900 --> 00:01:36.566 Now I get that. 00:01:36.566 --> 00:01:38.433 Maybe they've been distant. 00:01:38.433 --> 00:01:40.165 Maybe you've never met them. 00:01:40.165 --> 00:01:43.599 Okay, I know there are challenges within that. The reality is we. 00:01:43.599 --> 00:01:56.766 Even if we don't have children ourselves, we've been in a relationship of some type with a parent, and we've had to navigate that parent to child, child to parent, and the book of Proverbs actually has a lot to say about that. 00:01:56.766 --> 00:01:57.933 So we're going to look at that today. 00:01:57.933 --> 00:02:09.832 I think as I looked across the book of Proverbs, Proverbs in particular, it talks about four dynamics of the parent child relationship, four dynamics of that that we're going to look at today. 00:02:09.832 --> 00:02:14.066 And the first, and if you didn't get a handout, raise your hand we’ll try to get one over to you. 00:02:14.066 --> 00:02:22.432 There should be someone around you with some extra, but the first one and the first three start with the letter D. 00:02:22.432 --> 00:02:25.432 The first one is the issue of direction. 00:02:26.432 --> 00:02:27.300 Direction. 00:02:27.300 --> 00:02:32.000 I think probably the word we see more often in Proverbs is instruction. 00:02:32.900 --> 00:02:43.566 One of the key roles of a parent is to teach your children about life, to teach them about morality, to teach them right from wrong. 00:02:43.566 --> 00:02:48.332 Look at a couple of the verses here in the handout, chapter one, verses eight and nine. 00:02:48.332 --> 00:02:55.566 And this is the very beginning of the book of Proverbs- hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching. 00:02:55.566 --> 00:02:59.699 You could probably make a case that this is the main point of the whole book of Proverbs. 00:02:59.699 --> 00:03:05.133 You have a mother and a father writing down some things that they want to pass on to their children. 00:03:05.133 --> 00:03:07.466 Pass on wisdom, write it down. 00:03:07.466 --> 00:03:14.699 Make sure they know it's probably beyond the basics of just making sure they stay alive. 00:03:15.066 --> 00:03:19.599 Some days you feel like I succeeded today, my kid is still alive. 00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:21.332 We made it through the day. 00:03:21.332 --> 00:03:25.165 That's kind of the very basic level of parenting. 00:03:25.165 --> 00:03:26.633 They're alive, they're safe. 00:03:26.633 --> 00:03:27.532 They got some food. 00:03:27.532 --> 00:03:30.400 They have shoes occasionally. We're good today. 00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:32.066 We made it through the day. 00:03:32.066 --> 00:03:38.665 Once you get past that level, the next level is, okay, how am I being intentional to train them, to give them direction in life? 00:03:38.665 --> 00:03:42.765 6-- train up a child in the way he should go. 00:03:42.765 --> 00:03:45.133 Even when he is old, he will not depart from it. 00:03:45.133 --> 00:03:50.966 Now keep in mind it's a proverb, not an exact promise always to hold true. 00:03:50.966 --> 00:04:02.233 But in general, the proverb is true that the direction you set your children on, there's a good chance if you’re intentional, if God shows up and works in their lives, that they will continue on that path. 00:04:02.233 --> 00:04:06.265 That's part of the key role of what we do is to be intentional to train them. 00:04:06.265 --> 00:04:12.866 And of course, we have people that help us with that, that come alongside us with that, whether it's the school or the church. 00:04:14.099 --> 00:04:21.600 But there's no amount of help the church can provide that will supersede what the parent is called to do. 00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:30.733 We want to come alongside you, but the core responsibility of the parent is to be training, teaching, directing the child. 00:04:30.865 --> 00:04:35.165 Now, of course, there's a lot of different ways we can do that. 00:04:35.165 --> 00:04:38.766 And I think in particular there's probably two main methods. 00:04:38.766 --> 00:04:44.132 If you look here in the notes, there's the formal, but there's also the informal approach. 00:04:45.033 --> 00:04:45.533 Right. 00:04:45.533 --> 00:04:52.800 There's the intentional time where we're sitting down and we're looking at the Bible together and we're talking about verses or you're in a class. 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:55.199 There's that very directed, intentional time. 00:04:55.199 --> 00:04:57.632 And everybody knows this is what this is that's about. 00:04:57.632 --> 00:05:05.533 But then there's the informal part that is probably, I think oftentimes more powerful even than the formal part. 00:05:06.065 --> 00:05:09.165 And you all know how this goes, right? 00:05:09.165 --> 00:05:13.199 Your kids are going to pick up more of what you do, even more so than what you say. 00:05:14.199 --> 00:05:20.365 That's why the whole phrase, you know, do what I do or do what I say, not what I do, just doesn't work. 00:05:20.365 --> 00:05:25.199 Your kids are little imitators, or they're going to imitate what they see, whether you want them to or not. 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:28.699 There's sometimes where that gets revealed to you real starkly, like like a mirror. 00:05:28.699 --> 00:05:35.766 I had a I remember a mom sharing with me, she was going down the road and just had a 2 year old girl in the backseat. 00:05:35.766 --> 00:05:37.399 Normal day. 00:05:37.399 --> 00:05:42.899 All sudden somebody pulls out in front of her and so she slams on the brake to avoid slamming into him. Really. 00:05:42.899 --> 00:05:46.000 You know, just trying to make sure to keep the family safe. 00:05:46.000 --> 00:06:02.932 And as the car comes to a stop, without even looking up from the little toy she was playing with, she just yells out, jerk! And the mom turns around and goes, she must have got that from dad because she didn't get that from me right? 00:06:02.932 --> 00:06:04.300 She don't even know why she's saying it. 00:06:04.300 --> 00:06:08.033 She's just heard it, and she knows that's what you do in moments like this. 00:06:08.033 --> 00:06:11.033 She's picked that up automatically. 00:06:11.565 --> 00:06:13.365 Modeling is really important. 00:06:13.365 --> 00:06:15.600 That's the next, bullet point here. 00:06:15.600 --> 00:06:29.932 There is the great importance of modeling and what we do, how we live. Living as an example, Proverbs 20, verse seven, the righteous who walks in his integrity, blessed are his children after him. 00:06:30.266 --> 00:06:35.899 You know, if you do nothing else right and of course, I hope that we do a lot of things right. 00:06:35.899 --> 00:06:43.500 But at the bare minimum, focus on pursuing Christ yourself and growing with him and growing in character and growing in integrity. 00:06:44.665 --> 00:06:53.966 That will have a profound influence on your children, on those around you, even more so than what you say and teach. 00:06:53.966 --> 00:06:55.565 Of course, we're called to use our words as well. 00:06:55.565 --> 00:07:05.432 We talked about that in our whole session on words, but there's something so profound and powerful about the way we model our behavior about the way we live. 00:07:05.432 --> 00:07:09.333 We also want to make sure we're modeling growth really well. 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:18.565 And of course, that's the big emphasis for us as a church this year is how are we growing into oaks of righteousness? 00:07:18.565 --> 00:07:21.065 We're all called to continue to grow. 00:07:21.065 --> 00:07:29.966 I hope that our children see us hungering to grow, that we are modeling what it means to continue to hunger for God's Word to grow in knowledge of His Word. 00:07:29.966 --> 00:07:33.065 They see us almost accidentally. 00:07:33.065 --> 00:07:37.966 They catch us studying our Bible or reading a book that's challenging us to grow spiritually. 00:07:37.966 --> 00:07:46.333 Or they see that we're engaged in a small group or a service ministry where we've developed an accountability group with people around us. They see that. 00:07:46.333 --> 00:07:47.065 They pick that up. 00:07:47.065 --> 00:07:48.899 They they realize that that's normal. 00:07:48.899 --> 00:07:50.699 That's how I should be living my life. 00:07:50.699 --> 00:07:54.565 That's what it's a big part of what it means to be a Christian and connected in church. 00:07:54.565 --> 00:07:57.565 We want to be modeling that for them. 00:07:58.165 --> 00:08:02.699 The next one here is model being teachable. 00:08:02.932 --> 00:08:14.065 In fact, in chapter four, verses three through four, the writer of Proverbs is saying, hey, I remember back to when my father taught me, now I'm here to teach you. 00:08:14.065 --> 00:08:16.899 That means I remember when I needed to be taught. 00:08:16.899 --> 00:08:21.733 And by the way, I hope that we continue to stay teachable, even as parents. 00:08:22.766 --> 00:08:24.000 In fact, look at this next verse here. 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:25.065 12. 00:08:25.065 --> 00:08:36.899 Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young. The rest of it goes, but set an example for the believers in speech in life, in love in faith and in purity. 00:08:37.899 --> 00:08:44.332 There's something about a parent child relationship that sometimes becomes too top down, like it's my way or the highway. 00:08:44.332 --> 00:08:45.100 This is how it is. 00:08:45.100 --> 00:08:49.100 And even if they bring up a good point, you can't hear it. 00:08:49.100 --> 00:08:57.232 It's got a might even feel a little defensive to be questioned, even though as you're thinking about it, you realizing that actually makes sense. 00:08:57.232 --> 00:09:01.399 But I can't let on right now that that makes sense because that would show weakness. 00:09:01.399 --> 00:09:03.832 Well, no, we want to model, teachability. 00:09:04.899 --> 00:09:14.399 We want to see we want them to see someone who can learn, who can grow, who can be teachable, who can learn a new thing even from our children. 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:19.666 And there's plenty of times, I gotta tell you, there's plenty of times my kids have brought up a point and I'm like, you know what? 00:09:19.666 --> 00:09:20.432 That makes sense. 00:09:20.432 --> 00:09:22.899 I, I don't want to say the word wrong. 00:09:22.899 --> 00:09:24.765 I won't I don't want to go that far. 00:09:24.765 --> 00:09:26.899 That's a hard word to get out of your mouth. 00:09:26.899 --> 00:09:29.966 But we'll just say I've learned something today. 00:09:29.966 --> 00:09:31.600 We need to model teachability. 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:33.365 Let them see that I can. 00:09:33.365 --> 00:09:34.332 I can admit wrong. 00:09:34.332 --> 00:09:37.166 I can say I've grown, I've learned something new. 00:09:37.166 --> 00:09:39.966 And then I think this last one goes in line with this. 00:09:39.966 --> 00:09:43.432 In terms of how we model what we model in our lives. 00:09:43.432 --> 00:09:51.399 We model repentance, we model confession, and we model apologizing. 00:09:52.533 --> 00:09:54.200 Model apologizing. 00:09:54.200 --> 00:10:00.000 That definitely is a powerful example of being teachable. 00:10:00.332 --> 00:10:07.732 We want to make sure that we're showing them that it's okay to admit when you're wrong. 00:10:07.732 --> 00:10:19.799 You know, if in your home, you've often wondered how come it is that my children really struggle to ever admit they're wrong or to ever confess sin? 00:10:20.166 --> 00:10:23.100 I think in that moment we have to pause and ask ourselves, maybe. 00:10:23.100 --> 00:10:26.100 Maybe they've not seen it done very well. 00:10:27.899 --> 00:10:33.633 And I know that's a hard thing to do, is to confess a sin to your child. 00:10:33.633 --> 00:10:38.633 Listen, I wronged you, and I'm sorry, in fact, I. 00:10:38.633 --> 00:10:39.432 I've done this before. 00:10:39.432 --> 00:10:42.166 I won't do it today. 00:10:42.166 --> 00:10:48.365 But I think if we were to ask around the room, how many of you had parents that ever apologized to you about anything? 00:10:48.365 --> 00:10:50.566 It's shocking how many hands go up. 00:10:50.566 --> 00:10:52.166 I never saw that in my home. 00:10:52.166 --> 00:11:00.066 My parents would never admit wrong and that's a hard situation to be in. 00:11:01.033 --> 00:11:02.600 We need to model it well. 00:11:02.600 --> 00:11:10.066 We need to model confession of sin, repentance, apologizing, teaching them how it's done rightly. 00:11:10.666 --> 00:11:18.232 And so I've got to be okay with coming back to my child and say, listen, I'm sorry about the way I spoke to you. 00:11:18.365 --> 00:11:20.200 I was too angry. 00:11:20.200 --> 00:11:23.100 I yelled at you because I was angry. 00:11:23.100 --> 00:11:26.100 I got out of control. 00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:28.832 Now, here's the delicate part. 00:11:28.832 --> 00:11:30.666 Here's the part we need to be careful about. 00:11:30.666 --> 00:11:33.666 Don't follow it up with a big but, right? 00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:35.033 The. 00:11:35.033 --> 00:11:38.832 I yelled at you, I was angry, but you made me. 00:11:39.466 --> 00:11:40.432 No, no. 00:11:40.432 --> 00:11:41.100 Okay. Yes. 00:11:41.100 --> 00:11:43.200 I reacted to something they did. Don't. 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:43.799 Don't blame. 00:11:43.799 --> 00:11:44.265 Shift it. 00:11:44.265 --> 00:11:47.000 Don't turn it into an opportunity to blame them. 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:48.066 Just apologize. 00:11:48.066 --> 00:11:50.666 The way, the way I acted was wrong. 00:11:50.666 --> 00:11:51.966 I don't want to do that anymore. 00:11:51.966 --> 00:11:53.133 I don't want to treat you that way. 00:11:53.133 --> 00:11:55.332 I'm sorry. Will you forgive me? 00:11:57.100 --> 00:12:00.765 Now you may need to come back around and deal with the behavior that they display. 00:12:00.765 --> 00:12:03.765 That's part of our job too. 00:12:03.765 --> 00:12:05.133 But model apology. 00:12:05.133 --> 00:12:06.200 Model confession. 00:12:06.200 --> 00:12:09.200 Model repentance. 00:12:09.500 --> 00:12:15.600 Look, that's part of the big secret of growing up is when you're little, you think your your parents know everything and have it all figured out. 00:12:15.600 --> 00:12:19.566 And as you grow up and become parents, you realize they didn't, right? 00:12:19.566 --> 00:12:21.000 Because I don't know what I'm doing. 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:23.666 I'm trying to figure it out too. 00:12:23.666 --> 00:12:25.399 Parents aren't perfect. 00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:27.399 Not, even great parents aren't perfect. 00:12:27.399 --> 00:12:30.000 I have fantastic parents. 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:32.700 They're great. But they weren't perfect. 00:12:32.700 --> 00:12:34.600 There's a lot they could have done different. 00:12:34.600 --> 00:12:44.500 In fact, I've been building up a list since I was very young that I want to present to you today of a few things I think they could have done different. 00:12:49.765 --> 00:12:55.765 We'll start here at number one and just work our way down, if you don’t mind. 00:12:55.765 --> 00:13:03.066 You know, look, I would never do that because let me tell you how long their list would be, right? 00:13:03.432 --> 00:13:04.265 My parents are here. 00:13:04.265 --> 00:13:12.066 By the way, if you're a visitor, you're wondering, we don't let them have a microphone because of this. 00:13:12.066 --> 00:13:14.732 Look, the reality is, none of us are perfect. 00:13:14.732 --> 00:13:18.000 The parents aren't perfect, children aren't perfect. 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:19.500 And children, let me speak to you. 00:13:19.500 --> 00:13:22.399 By the way, isn't it convenient that our kids are off at camp today? 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:24.799 Right? They're not here to hear all this. 00:13:24.799 --> 00:13:32.633 But if you're wondering why my parents don't ever seem to apologize, well, maybe you could model it as well. 00:13:32.633 --> 00:13:33.133 It's okay. 00:13:34.533 --> 00:13:37.365 12, set an example for the believers. 00:13:37.365 --> 00:13:42.000 I can't tell you how many times I've been inspired by seeing a young person do things right. 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:45.600 Seeing a young person pursue Christ, someone very young. 00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:54.533 And I and I look at that and I go, man, I need I need to be more like them even, seeing their passion for Christ, their generosity, their kindness. 00:13:54.533 --> 00:13:56.832 Of course they don't do it all right. 00:13:56.832 --> 00:14:04.466 But we want to make sure that at times when we can, we're modeling behavior well. 00:14:04.466 --> 00:14:07.799 So that's the first letter D- direction. 00:14:08.399 --> 00:14:10.500 How are we giving direction to our children? 00:14:10.500 --> 00:14:13.166 Training, instruction, intentional direction. 00:14:13.166 --> 00:14:16.166 Second here is the letter D-- discipline. 00:14:16.432 --> 00:14:20.332 And I really see these as two sides to the coin of raising children. 00:14:20.332 --> 00:14:22.765 One side is giving them instruction and direction. 00:14:22.765 --> 00:14:25.765 The other side is correction, discipline. 00:14:25.932 --> 00:14:36.365 When they don't follow the path they should, part of our job is to redirect, to pull them back towards God's standard, his direction for them. 00:14:36.399 --> 00:14:45.500 You know, this is really if you think in terms of how God designed humanity, this is how things were to be from the beginning. 00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:49.299 This is the God's plan for evangelism. 00:14:49.299 --> 00:14:51.666 In fact, I mean, he created a family. 00:14:51.666 --> 00:14:55.166 His first institution he created was mother and father, a marriage of family. 00:14:55.166 --> 00:15:03.899 They had children, in theory, families should have been passing on their faith to the next generation for generation after generation after generation. 00:15:03.899 --> 00:15:07.799 And that change continues and everyone knows about Christ. 00:15:07.799 --> 00:15:13.265 They know to follow him because they learned it from their parents, who learned it from their parents and passed it on. 00:15:13.265 --> 00:15:15.732 Of course, we know that's not how it goes. 00:15:15.732 --> 00:15:16.633 There's a break down. 00:15:16.633 --> 00:15:18.399 Sin enters the world. 00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:20.299 We all have our own choices to make. 00:15:20.299 --> 00:15:22.200 Everybody has to make their faith their own. 00:15:22.200 --> 00:15:26.399 But in theory, that's what should be happening. 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:34.799 We should be passing down wisdom, knowledge, faith, love for Christ. 00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:41.000 But when things don't go right, there is the discipline aspect of parenting. 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:43.832 Look here at chapter three, verses 11 and 12. 00:15:43.832 --> 00:15:58.832 My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be wary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves as a father, the son in whom he delights. 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:09.000 The first thing to recognize about the importance of discipline is that discipline is actually a sign of love. 00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:13.500 Doesn't feel that way in the moment if you are the one receiving it, but it's a sign of love. 00:16:13.500 --> 00:16:25.700 24-- Whoever spares the rod hates his son. To not discipline actually shows a lack of care for a child. 00:16:27.265 --> 00:16:31.000 But he who loves him is diligent to discipline him. 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:34.432 15 says, the rod and reproof give wisdom. 00:16:36.899 --> 00:16:40.899 But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. 00:16:41.832 --> 00:16:52.666 You know, every generation has the distinctive way they approach parenting, training, passing on faith to the next generation. 00:16:52.666 --> 00:17:02.100 And some, I would say probably in past more previous generations, they we tend to swing one way or the other, in terms of the extremes. 00:17:02.100 --> 00:17:08.900 You might accuse previous generations of being too harsh, maybe too heavy handed, too top down. 00:17:09.032 --> 00:17:18.000 I think probably our generation, current generation, and those younger than us would probably have swung the other way in terms of being too hands off, too child directed. 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:20.700 Let the child choose which way they should go. 00:17:20.700 --> 00:17:26.032 15-- A child left to himself brings shame to his mother. 00:17:26.032 --> 00:17:30.000 A child undirected ends up in a bad place. 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:31.432 A child needs wisdom. 00:17:31.432 --> 00:17:35.700 A child needs wisdom from life that you can bring to the table. 00:17:37.566 --> 00:17:39.732 And a child left to himself. 00:17:39.732 --> 00:17:48.665 The two year old that hasn't learned about authority hasn't learned about that there are times that I need to submit to a higher authority over me. 00:17:48.665 --> 00:17:53.766 If they haven't learned that at two-- And of course, there is still hope in the coming years. 00:17:53.766 --> 00:17:59.432 But if they never learn it, they become the 20 year old who's going to have a very hard life. 00:17:59.432 --> 00:18:06.232 They're going to learn it the hard way from their boss or many, many, many bosses as they cycle through many jobs. 00:18:06.232 --> 00:18:08.799 Or they'll learn it from the police. 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:16.900 And you've all seen the videos of someone who won't take any instruction from a policeman, and that does not go well. 00:18:17.032 --> 00:18:19.299 Part of our job is to help them understand. 00:18:19.299 --> 00:18:22.732 Look, we're all under some authority in life, all of us. 00:18:22.732 --> 00:18:31.000 You pick the richest person on earth, they still have people they have to be mindful of, and in some ways submit to and respect their authority. 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:35.865 Whether it's a government or fellow businessmen or of fellow countries, they are, or not cooperating with. 00:18:36.900 --> 00:18:45.965 We've all got to learn that there is a higher authority above me, and I can reject that, but it's not going to go well. 00:18:45.965 --> 00:18:51.833 Now, the main word that's used related to this idea of discipline in the book of Proverbs is this word rod. 00:18:51.833 --> 00:18:54.365 15. 00:18:54.365 --> 00:18:59.799 Rod and reproof gives wisdom, but a child left to himself bring shame to his mother. 00:18:59.799 --> 00:19:01.000 That word rod is interesting. 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:08.732 It I think it can literally mean the idea of an actual physical rod that was used to bring pain. 00:19:08.732 --> 00:19:17.032 You see that in some verses I haven't listed here, where it talks about the importance of using the rod to direct the child. 00:19:17.165 --> 00:19:26.766 I think it also refers to the the position may be much like you might say, to refer to a judge's gavel. 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:34.333 You know that that little gavel in and of itself has has no real strength and has no authority in itself. 00:19:34.333 --> 00:19:40.266 But it refers to the position of the judge and the authority of the judge that we respect and honor and value. 00:19:40.266 --> 00:19:45.299 And so we are called to help our child learn to realize. 00:19:45.700 --> 00:19:47.665 And again, this comes back to modeling. 00:19:47.665 --> 00:19:48.932 Do they see that in our lives? 00:19:48.932 --> 00:19:52.165 Do they see a respect for authority in our lives? 00:19:52.165 --> 00:19:59.965 Do they see that we are willing to submit to Christ to follow his direction, more so than our own way? 00:20:01.532 --> 00:20:06.299 Now, part of the challenge with this idea and discipline. 00:20:08.365 --> 00:20:11.299 And. 00:20:11.299 --> 00:20:14.566 I got to tell you, while I was preparing this message, I put out a table in my office. 00:20:14.566 --> 00:20:16.633 I don't normally have an extra table in there. 00:20:16.633 --> 00:20:29.066 I set it out and I just wrote out on little yellow note cards all the ideas I wanted to address, and I set them out because I thought, there's there's so much we could talk about, how am I going to address it all? 00:20:29.066 --> 00:20:45.900 And I got done and I had so many yellow cards on my table, I thought this could be like a dozen messages, but there's so much to talk about and there's so many nuances in terms of all the pain that people have experienced, whether as a parent or as a child. 00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:55.865 So it's really hard to try to bring up even the idea of discipline, recognizing that we all have a wide array of experiences. 00:20:55.865 --> 00:21:03.833 And I finished my I got rid of about half the cards, I finished my manuscript, and I realized this message is still twice as long as a normal message. 00:21:03.833 --> 00:21:05.365 And so I was like, I gotta keep cutting. 00:21:05.365 --> 00:21:06.900 I gotta keep cutting. 00:21:06.900 --> 00:21:09.299 All that to say, we can't address everything. 00:21:09.299 --> 00:21:21.066 But let me give you a few principles, hopefully a few guiding points related to how we approach discipline, how we approach correction with our children. 00:21:21.066 --> 00:21:22.900 Look at I've got three letter C's here. 00:21:22.900 --> 00:21:25.900 The first is to make sure we stay calm. 00:21:26.633 --> 00:21:29.633 Stay calm. 00:21:30.333 --> 00:21:42.599 If you find yourself so full of rage and it's time to direct and give discipline to a child, that's the time to just pause and take a break. 00:21:42.599 --> 00:21:44.865 And it's okay to just admit that with them. 00:21:44.865 --> 00:21:56.532 4 here-- fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but instead bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. 00:21:56.532 --> 00:22:04.732 You know, if your discipline is salted with anger, they're not going to hear the instruction. 00:22:04.732 --> 00:22:07.732 What you hear is anger. 00:22:10.532 --> 00:22:14.032 I heard a story this morning, in fact, of someone who got pulled over recently. 00:22:14.032 --> 00:22:34.333 It reminded me of the more recent time that I was pulled over in my journeys back and forth between little Rock and Louisville, and I remember thinking, after this policeman pulled me over, this is really weird, but I remember being grateful because I was I was driving out of control. 00:22:34.333 --> 00:22:37.000 I was in a hurry to get back home. 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:44.133 I was kind of in a little bit of road rage passing everybody and and I thought, man, no telling what he protected me from. 00:22:44.133 --> 00:22:47.133 If I had continued in that behavior. 00:22:47.700 --> 00:23:01.566 But also I've I've heard stories of people who've had different encounters with police where the the police became angry, hostile, and so when they retell the story, it's no longer about their sin. 00:23:01.566 --> 00:23:05.299 It's no longer about how I was the one speeding and I got pulled over and I was wrong. 00:23:05.299 --> 00:23:15.200 Now it's all about how the policeman was irate and crazy and didn't treat me right, and we completely forget about our sin in this situation. 00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:21.232 Can you imagine if a policeman pulls you over and he's like, why do you hate me? 00:23:21.232 --> 00:23:23.099 Why are you speeding like this? 00:23:23.099 --> 00:23:28.599 And showing your lack of love for the community and the people around you? 00:23:28.599 --> 00:23:31.232 And how dare you interrupt my day? 00:23:31.232 --> 00:23:32.365 Who do you think you are? 00:23:32.365 --> 00:23:34.400 You know, you'd be like, what's your problem, man? 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:37.400 Just give me the ticket and move on. 00:23:38.200 --> 00:23:42.799 You see, we can't let anger control us and discipline. 00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:44.599 That's the time to pause, to pray. 00:23:44.599 --> 00:23:46.700 You can even admit it to one another. 00:23:46.700 --> 00:23:48.665 Look, I feel like I'm. 00:23:48.665 --> 00:23:50.700 I'm pretty stirred up right now, and. 00:23:50.700 --> 00:23:53.700 But you're going to get angry. 00:23:53.865 --> 00:23:55.032 It happens. 00:23:55.032 --> 00:23:55.799 Just own it. 00:23:55.799 --> 00:23:57.266 I'm so upset right now. 00:23:57.266 --> 00:23:59.599 Look, I don't want to discipline you in anger. 00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:01.500 I don't want to do that. 00:24:01.500 --> 00:24:03.165 Let's get a little bit of time apart. 00:24:03.165 --> 00:24:05.833 I'm going to go pray, try to get calm. 00:24:05.833 --> 00:24:07.365 We'll come back together. 00:24:07.365 --> 00:24:09.833 We still need to deal with the offense. 00:24:09.833 --> 00:24:12.833 There still needs to be correction. 00:24:12.865 --> 00:24:19.965 You know, it's not fun, but it's the role God's given us as parents to abdicate that is is neglect. 00:24:19.965 --> 00:24:22.732 We don't want to do that. 00:24:22.732 --> 00:24:23.799 We're not going to do it perfect. 00:24:23.799 --> 00:24:24.766 But we're still going to engage. 00:24:24.766 --> 00:24:32.099 But we're going to try to be calm in the way we approach our parenting to make sure to keep it focused on the issue, not make it about our anger. 00:24:32.099 --> 00:24:35.099 Second, be consistent. 00:24:36.432 --> 00:24:37.299 That's the second letter. 00:24:37.299 --> 00:24:37.766 See here. 00:24:37.766 --> 00:24:41.432 Under discipline, be consistent as much as you can. 00:24:42.833 --> 00:24:44.099 You want to say what you mean? 00:24:44.099 --> 00:24:45.965 You want to mean what you say. 00:24:45.965 --> 00:24:48.032 You want to be super predictable. Really? 00:24:49.099 --> 00:24:52.200 You want your kids to know, man, if I do this, this is what they're going to do, I know it. 00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:54.365 I've seen it over and over again. 00:24:54.365 --> 00:25:00.732 When the goal line and the boundaries are constantly shifting, that that creates problems where no one knows where they stand. 00:25:00.732 --> 00:25:03.099 I've had a boss like that in the past. 00:25:03.099 --> 00:25:06.266 You do something and you thought it was done, and then you realized it wasn't. 00:25:06.266 --> 00:25:07.400 They had something else in mind. 00:25:07.400 --> 00:25:11.333 It was constantly shifting and that led to constant confusion among everyone. 00:25:11.333 --> 00:25:12.665 No one actually. 00:25:12.665 --> 00:25:16.799 It ended up with no one wanted to do any work because you never knew if you were going to do it right or not. 00:25:16.799 --> 00:25:18.932 You never knew where you stood. 00:25:18.932 --> 00:25:21.365 So shoot to be consistent as much as possible. 00:25:21.365 --> 00:25:23.400 Now, let me give a caveat in that too. 00:25:23.400 --> 00:25:28.665 There are times to just own the reality that maybe I set up an expectation that wasn't right. 00:25:30.500 --> 00:25:33.833 There have been times where I've had to say, look, I told you, if you do this, this will happen. 00:25:33.833 --> 00:25:44.400 And I realized that I was that was not right of me, that was I said that out of anger or I jumped to judgment or your mom gave me the other side of the story, I realized I was wrong. 00:25:44.400 --> 00:25:44.665 Man. 00:25:44.665 --> 00:25:48.400 Those are the times to just again model confession. 00:25:48.400 --> 00:25:50.400 And it's okay to do that. 00:25:50.400 --> 00:25:53.633 But in general, you want to be consistent, that they know what to expect. 00:25:53.633 --> 00:25:58.833 And then the last letter C here-- be connected. 00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:02.200 Meaning being united. 00:26:02.266 --> 00:26:05.099 Make sure you and your spouse. 00:26:05.099 --> 00:26:15.799 And by the way, I am speaking about parenting mostly here from husband and wife together, parenting or man and woman together parenting. 00:26:15.799 --> 00:26:21.365 And yet look, I know there's plenty of single parents. 00:26:21.365 --> 00:26:26.099 And I just got to say, I really don't know how you do it. 00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:31.099 So grateful that you are trying and staying in there. 00:26:31.099 --> 00:26:35.799 I don't know how you always have to be, for instance, always have to be the bad guy. 00:26:35.799 --> 00:26:36.900 That's really hard. 00:26:36.900 --> 00:26:39.900 That's a lot on you. 00:26:40.266 --> 00:26:41.766 Just keep staying engaged. 00:26:41.766 --> 00:26:42.766 Keep doing your best. 00:26:42.766 --> 00:26:45.766 Lean on others when you can. 00:26:45.865 --> 00:26:50.032 I'm proud of you for staying engaged and not giving up. 00:26:50.799 --> 00:27:01.266 But if you are in a marriage, parenting together, husband, wife, man, woman, stay united in your approach to parenting. 00:27:01.266 --> 00:27:04.266 Don't let a child divide you. 00:27:04.432 --> 00:27:06.333 And they love to do that. 00:27:06.333 --> 00:27:09.333 They love to try to play you off one another. 00:27:09.333 --> 00:27:11.900 And by the way, let me speak to the children again. 00:27:11.900 --> 00:27:13.165 Is that what you really want? 00:27:13.165 --> 00:27:19.299 Do you really want your parents divided against one another just so that you can get your way in the moment? 00:27:19.299 --> 00:27:30.400 It's a strategy, certainly works, but it doesn't lead to long term flourishing and joy and delight as a family with parents. 00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:34.799 And I know there's plenty of times where mom and dad aren't on the same page. 00:27:34.799 --> 00:27:37.200 And if you aren't, that's okay. 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:39.566 But hash it out later. 00:27:39.566 --> 00:27:47.700 Know if if Julie and I are parenting and disciplining and I feel like maybe she's not going in the right direction, I might say, hey, can we can we chat for a second? 00:27:47.700 --> 00:27:53.232 Let's let's go off to the other room and talk for a second, or might just wait and later go, hey, let's talk about how that went. 00:27:53.232 --> 00:27:58.165 Let me hear what you were thinking and let's let me see your perspective. 00:27:58.165 --> 00:28:00.099 But let's stay united. 00:28:00.099 --> 00:28:01.766 I want you to know I'm. 00:28:01.766 --> 00:28:03.365 I'm on your side more than their's. 00:28:04.799 --> 00:28:08.165 We're not going to let them get between us. 00:28:08.299 --> 00:28:12.965 This happened once where my my oldest son came to me and said, dad, listen, I just got this call. 00:28:12.965 --> 00:28:14.432 There's this event I want to go to. 00:28:14.432 --> 00:28:18.599 It's an overnight thing, and they need to know right away if I can go or not. 00:28:18.599 --> 00:28:21.865 And I said, well, you need to know right now. 00:28:21.865 --> 00:28:23.700 Yes. Need to know right now. 00:28:23.700 --> 00:28:25.400 What does mom think when you talk to her? 00:28:25.400 --> 00:28:25.665 She. 00:28:25.665 --> 00:28:26.732 I hadn't had a chance to talk to her. 00:28:26.732 --> 00:28:27.500 I gotta know right now. 00:28:27.500 --> 00:28:28.833 Like. Well, then the answer. 00:28:28.833 --> 00:28:29.432 Definitely no. 00:28:29.432 --> 00:28:34.400 Then if you need to know right now, the answer is no. What? 00:28:34.400 --> 00:28:35.365 Why would you do that? 00:28:35.365 --> 00:28:36.200 Why would you not let me go? 00:28:36.200 --> 00:28:40.799 I'm like, well, look, I'm not going to make some kind of decision without mom involved in this. 00:28:40.799 --> 00:28:46.732 So if you can wait, because what ever seems like an emergency to you, it's not an emergency to me. 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:51.465 If you can wait, the answer might be yes, it might still be no. 00:28:51.465 --> 00:28:57.633 But I'm not going to get out ahead of her because she's still going to be around long after you're gone. 00:28:57.633 --> 00:28:59.000 I hope after your. 00:28:59.000 --> 00:29:00.732 I hope you're gone. Julie. Right. 00:29:00.732 --> 00:29:01.665 She's still going to be around. 00:29:01.665 --> 00:29:02.665 We still got to get along. 00:29:02.665 --> 00:29:04.200 We got to be connected. 00:29:04.200 --> 00:29:07.200 And I want to stay connected. 00:29:07.665 --> 00:29:10.299 Now let me give this last point. 00:29:10.299 --> 00:29:11.266 This is really important. 00:29:11.266 --> 00:29:20.200 And I think and as I've taught on parenting over the years, Julie and I have often done parenting classes together. 00:29:20.200 --> 00:29:22.566 This one often gets skipped. 00:29:22.566 --> 00:29:31.599 Parenting classes, teaching books often become about methods, ideas, approaches, and I love a good tool, or a good method or good phrase to use. 00:29:31.599 --> 00:29:32.133 That's helpful. 00:29:32.133 --> 00:29:34.465 But here's the key idea behind all that. 00:29:34.465 --> 00:29:43.200 This third letter D at the core of our at the core of our relationship should be delight. 00:29:43.599 --> 00:29:46.599 It should be love for one another. 00:29:46.865 --> 00:29:48.599 Yeah, there will be times we don't like each other. 00:29:48.599 --> 00:29:52.799 There'll be times where there's conflict, of course, but there should be delight. 00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:59.232 Look at chapter 23, verse 25 and 26 here, let your father and mother be glad. 00:29:59.299 --> 00:30:02.365 Let her who bore you rejoice, my son. 00:30:02.365 --> 00:30:04.232 Give me your heart. 00:30:04.232 --> 00:30:07.000 Let your eyes observe my ways. 00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:10.000 12 which was up under discipline. 00:30:10.232 --> 00:30:14.032 The last phrase there-- a father, the son, in whom he delights, 00:30:14.032 --> 00:30:22.465 20-- a wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother. 00:30:23.099 --> 00:30:30.566 There should be a delight, a love, a joy in one another, a celebration of one another. 00:30:30.566 --> 00:30:35.633 At the core of my parenting should be this desire to see my children improve. 00:30:35.633 --> 00:30:39.299 You know, there's a big difference between punishment and discipline. 00:30:39.299 --> 00:30:44.133 Of course, punishment may be involved in discipline, but we don't punish for punishment sake. 00:30:44.133 --> 00:30:47.133 I'm not punishing you to get back at you because you hurt me. 00:30:48.665 --> 00:30:51.599 No, discipline is more like pruning. 00:30:51.599 --> 00:30:55.066 You prune a bush back not to destroy it, but to see it flourish. 00:30:55.066 --> 00:30:58.799 To see it bear more fruit, to see it become better. 00:30:59.633 --> 00:31:01.232 That's what discipline is about. 00:31:01.232 --> 00:31:04.665 And delight together how they work together. 00:31:04.665 --> 00:31:06.200 Let me tell you, I love it. 00:31:06.200 --> 00:31:08.032 Well, okay, let me just be honest. 00:31:08.032 --> 00:31:12.965 Since my kids aren't here, how convenient is that to be able to talk about parenting on the day they're not here. 00:31:12.965 --> 00:31:15.099 Julie wasn't here last week when I talked about marriage. 00:31:15.099 --> 00:31:23.232 I promise I didn't plan all that in advance, but I love it when they excel in something beyond me. 00:31:24.500 --> 00:31:27.266 Now I say I love it, but part of you kind of doesn't. 00:31:27.266 --> 00:31:29.066 Oh man. 00:31:29.066 --> 00:31:30.900 You know, I remember the day. 00:31:30.900 --> 00:31:38.732 My, oldest son now, we would bike together and I love to bike. 00:31:38.732 --> 00:31:41.299 But I remember the day we would always sprint at the end of the bike ride. 00:31:41.299 --> 00:31:41.932 Always crushed him. 00:31:41.932 --> 00:31:48.099 But then there was this one day where he beat me, and I never beat him again. 00:31:48.099 --> 00:31:51.400 And part of me was like, man, that's the end of that. 00:31:51.400 --> 00:31:55.599 But part of me was so pumped for him because he's growing. 00:31:55.599 --> 00:31:56.833 He's flourishing. 00:31:56.833 --> 00:32:01.833 When I bump the volleyball around with my daughter, I'm watching her and I'm going, man, she's way more skilled than me. 00:32:01.833 --> 00:32:05.200 I love seeing that when I play chess with my son and he. 00:32:05.200 --> 00:32:05.566 Well, let's. 00:32:05.566 --> 00:32:07.932 No, let's not even talk about that, okay? 00:32:07.932 --> 00:32:10.900 Let's just say he is getting a lot better than me, even. 00:32:10.900 --> 00:32:12.932 And I love that. 00:32:14.066 --> 00:32:16.900 I love seeing them flourish. 00:32:16.900 --> 00:32:19.133 There is a delight and joy. 00:32:19.133 --> 00:32:21.766 I love coming home to be around them. 00:32:21.766 --> 00:32:27.599 I love being at church, but when all the work here is done, I love to go home and be around them and delight in them. 00:32:27.599 --> 00:32:29.165 And yes, we have conflict. 00:32:29.165 --> 00:32:30.299 Yes, there are differences. 00:32:30.299 --> 00:32:31.400 Yes, there are hard times. 00:32:31.400 --> 00:32:39.799 But at the heart of our relationship there should be love and joy and delight. 00:32:39.799 --> 00:32:42.000 And I think a key part of that is just learning. 00:32:42.000 --> 00:32:58.400 Even in the midst of the discipline, how am I appealing to their heart, not just trying to change outward behavior, not just focusing on externals, but pursuing the heart, getting to know them, connecting with them at a heart level? 00:32:59.700 --> 00:33:01.333 The last point here is the letter H. 00:33:03.432 --> 00:33:05.365 And it's the word honor. 00:33:05.365 --> 00:33:11.932 2 says, honor your father and mother, that it may go well with you. 00:33:11.932 --> 00:33:18.432 Now here's the key thing to address here, and the reason why I land on that letter H. 00:33:18.500 --> 00:33:22.200 Whether you're young, whether you you're old. 00:33:22.200 --> 00:33:24.400 This applies to all of us. 00:33:24.400 --> 00:33:27.732 And I know in a room this size and I'm not thinking of anyone in particular. 00:33:27.732 --> 00:33:35.266 Some of us have had abusive parents, have had parents who neglected us. 00:33:35.799 --> 00:33:38.799 In fact, bad situations. 00:33:39.000 --> 00:33:40.432 Here's the key idea of that verse. 00:33:40.432 --> 00:33:43.432 We're still called to honor them. 00:33:44.532 --> 00:33:49.700 Now look, this is one of those topics I thought we could take the entire message multiple days on this. 00:33:49.700 --> 00:33:59.865 So I know I'm just touching a raw nerve, but what I love about that verse is it says, honor your father and mother so that it may go well with you. 00:34:03.665 --> 00:34:05.599 And this could mean a lot of different things. 00:34:05.599 --> 00:34:09.599 Part of honoring them, if they're abusive is to set boundaries. 00:34:09.833 --> 00:34:12.400 That's honoring okay. 00:34:12.400 --> 00:34:17.865 But the goal is how is Christ growing me? 00:34:17.865 --> 00:34:20.465 How am I growing closer to him? 00:34:20.465 --> 00:34:26.532 If you see folks who are walking around with decades of unforgiveness towards a parent, it's killing them. 00:34:26.532 --> 00:34:28.900 It's hurting them deeply. 00:34:28.900 --> 00:34:31.900 You see him weighed down with that anger. 00:34:33.132 --> 00:34:34.500 Honor your father and mother. 00:34:34.500 --> 00:34:37.032 Part of that is forgive. 00:34:37.032 --> 00:34:37.500 And this. 00:34:37.500 --> 00:34:40.500 This isn’t easy. I'm not trying to throw this out flippantly. 00:34:40.500 --> 00:34:46.000 This is one of the hardest things people do is to forgive a parent that has hurt them. 00:34:46.000 --> 00:34:49.565 This isn't meant to be just some quick fix and go. 00:34:49.565 --> 00:34:52.932 It could be a really long process, could take years to get there. 00:34:55.365 --> 00:34:56.965 Honor your father and mother. 00:34:56.965 --> 00:34:57.565 Why? 00:34:57.565 --> 00:35:02.166 It's for your own benefit, your own growth, your own delight, your own joy. 00:35:02.166 --> 00:35:04.865 And here's the reality. 00:35:04.865 --> 00:35:13.800 In this day and age, I think the home is probably the most powerful way to declare Christ to the world. 00:35:13.800 --> 00:35:22.733 Because I could come over to my neighbor all day long and tell him how great my church is, and how great I was going to say my pastor is that sounds weird. 00:35:22.800 --> 00:35:26.199 How great the church members are, the elders and the deacons. 00:35:26.199 --> 00:35:32.632 I could do that all day long, but if they see me as a tyrant at home. 00:35:33.699 --> 00:35:36.300 Full of anger, they're not going to want to hear it. 00:35:36.300 --> 00:35:39.300 Hey, that's great, John. 00:35:41.400 --> 00:35:49.233 Honor your father and mother that it may go well with you and my prayer for our church. 00:35:49.233 --> 00:35:51.900 There are no, by the way, no perfect families. 00:35:51.900 --> 00:35:59.166 But my prayer is that our home is a place of refuge, of shelter, of love, of joy. 00:36:01.132 --> 00:36:04.465 And I know a message like this can be really overwhelming. 00:36:04.465 --> 00:36:07.432 Just pick one thing in here that you heard today that you say, you know what? 00:36:07.432 --> 00:36:08.465 I want to grow on this. 00:36:08.465 --> 00:36:10.632 I can't control what my parents might do. 00:36:10.632 --> 00:36:12.400 I can't control what my kids might do. 00:36:12.400 --> 00:36:15.599 But here's where I'm going to seek to grow. 00:36:15.599 --> 00:36:18.266 That's what God has called us to do, is to keep growing. 00:36:18.266 --> 00:36:21.266 Let's pray. 00:36:23.400 --> 00:36:27.065 God, thank you for the great delight. 00:36:28.400 --> 00:36:29.800 That children are. 00:36:29.800 --> 00:36:32.800 That parents are. 00:36:33.932 --> 00:36:36.699 And I say that knowing, none of us are perfect. 00:36:36.699 --> 00:36:38.300 We've made plenty of mistakes. 00:36:40.666 --> 00:36:43.500 You've designed the world to work this way. 00:36:43.500 --> 00:36:44.599 We don't understand it all. 00:36:44.599 --> 00:36:48.500 But we thank you for the family you've given us. 00:36:48.500 --> 00:36:51.500 Help us to honor you in all that we do. 00:36:52.132 --> 00:36:54.300 Help us to be good at forgiving. 00:36:54.300 --> 00:36:56.365 Good at confessing sin. 00:36:56.365 --> 00:36:59.365 Help us to model growth. 00:37:01.800 --> 00:37:06.333 And Jesus, my prayer would be that none of us here would try to do that on our own strength. 00:37:06.333 --> 00:37:09.333 That we would lean on you completely. 00:37:11.166 --> 00:37:19.800 And also just want to take a second and pray for those who have had deep trauma or abuse or neglect. 00:37:19.800 --> 00:37:22.800 God, would you bring healing? 00:37:24.599 --> 00:37:37.233 I pray that you would, even today, began to bring comfort and healing, that you would give them great wisdom, that you would bring people into their lives that would help them to heal and find love in you. 00:37:42.432 --> 00:37:43.400 Jesus, we love you. 00:37:43.400 --> 00:37:53.599 Help us to honor you in the way that we are in family relationship with others, and help this church to be a place where families can flourish. 00:37:53.599 --> 00:37:57.565 I pray for our students while they're traveling today. 00:37:57.632 --> 00:38:00.132 May they feel your grace and presence in their life. 00:38:00.132 --> 00:38:01.465 We love you, Jesus. 00:38:01.465 --> 00:38:04.333 Amen. 00:38:04.333 --> 00:38:09.400 Well, thank you all for coming today for joining us, if you would. 00:38:09.400 --> 00:38:20.199 Let's stand and we'll have a closing prayer of benediction and be on our way for a week of July 4th week. Have some fireworks. 00:38:20.199 --> 00:38:24.532 How many of you have your fireworks stock already developed and ready? 00:38:25.666 --> 00:38:27.900 I'm disappointed. 00:38:27.900 --> 00:38:33.632 My son had his whole lot of fireworks about a month ago. 00:38:33.632 --> 00:38:35.000 He knew we'd be out of town this week. 00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:37.099 He's planning that far in advance. 00:38:37.099 --> 00:38:39.766 Okay, so get with it this week. 00:38:39.766 --> 00:38:41.865 All right, July 4th is coming up. 00:38:41.865 --> 00:38:44.865 But anyway, great week for that happen in this week. 00:38:44.865 --> 00:38:46.632 Make sure you connect with one another. 00:38:46.632 --> 00:38:48.365 Well but let's have a closing prayer. 00:38:48.365 --> 00:38:49.333 Been benediction. 00:38:51.300 --> 00:38:54.932 May the Lord bless you and keep you today. 00:38:55.166 --> 00:39:05.132 May his face shine upon you, and may you feel the fullness of his presence and countenance in your life today. 00:39:05.132 --> 00:39:09.565 No matter what you're facing, you would know he's there with you. 00:39:09.599 --> 00:39:20.099 And may you experience the fullness of his peace, the fullness of his joy, and especially today, the fullness of delight in one another. 00:39:20.432 --> 00:39:23.632 Thank you, Jesus, for giving us hope and peace in you. 00:39:23.632 --> 00:39:27.500 We love you and it's in your name we pray. Amen. 00:39:27.500 --> 00:39:28.900 Go in peace. Have a great day.