Kingdom Minded Moms & Dads

We wrapped up our Family Matters message series over the last two weeks with messages focused on parenting. We began with a message for moms & looked at 1st Samuel 1. This chapter of God's redemption story begins with a woman who desperately wanted to become a mother. However, her desire for a child wasn't just about satisfying her maternal instincts. Her desire was that God would use that little life to glorify His name & further His Kingdom. In fact, in Hannah's prayer in 1st Samuel 1, we see that before she is even pregnant, she sets aside her son for God. She knows that being given a child is a gift from God, but she also understood something profound about motherhood:

"The Greatest Gift A Mother Can Give Her Child 

Is To Give Her Child To God."

Hannah surrendered her plans & hopes for her child to God's plans. She knew that, above all else, being used by God & serving His Kingdom should be her desire for her son. Sometimes as parents we let our protective instincts go off the tracks, & if we're not careful, we end up protecting our kids from God Himself. As a result, we inadvertently rob them of the only thing that matters in life. May we all pursue Hannah's example of surrender.

This past weekend we focused our message toward dads by looking at a season of King David's life that was a total train wreck. In 2nd Samuel 11 David has his scandalous fall with Bathsheba. The chapters that follow tell a tale of chaos & calamity in David's family. And it all started with David losing the battle in his heart. David should have been on the battlefield, but instead he was on the roof. The fallout from David's sin landed squarely on his family. In the end he loses three sons, & one of his daughter's has her life destroyed when her half-brother rapes her. All the while, David did nothing as his family fell apart. He had lost his moral authority & credibility on that rooftop. David's life can teach us something important as fathers:

"Our Biggest Battles Will Always Be In Our Heart & Our Home."

David probably though his slip up with Bathsheba was no big deal until it spiraled out of control...the way sin always does. The truth is that the battles we often think are big are insignificant, & the battles we think are insignificant are actually the big ones. Too many men are on the rooftop rather than on the battlefield. They're being distracted by the things of the world, & like David they're eyes are lingering a little too long. It's time for fathers to focus their attention on the battlefield for the sake of their families, for the sake of the next generation, but most importantly for the sake of the Gospel.