Gospel Beginnings
Ephesians 6:1-‐4 Ephesians 6:1-‐4
Leader’s Guide:
Lesson Overview
In this lesson we get specific about how we can live out God’s expectations for parents by establishing faith talks in our own homes. Faith talks are a primary vehicle we use to travel along the paths between milestones.
The objectives for this lesson are:
-‐ For parents to see that Ephesians 6 agrees with Deuteronomy 6.
-‐ For parents to have a working definition of a Faith Talk (and understand it’s relationship to family devotions, family worship, etc).
-‐ For parents to overcome obstacles to faith talks and be prepared to successfully begin/continue faith talks in their own home.
In Lesson Two we learned that God has chosen parents as the primary faith
influencers because they have the natural concern, have the most connection over time and have the most comprehensive influence.
We looked at the active verbs of Deuteronomy 6:4-‐9 -‐ Hear, Love, Impress, Talk, Tie, Bind, Write
In Ephesians 6:1-‐4, the Apostle Paul reinforces the ancient command for households.
o What does training and instruction in the Lord look like?
§ Training: An intentional process of entrusting knowledge and skills to another person so they become competent.
• I do it while you watch me
• Do it along side of me
• You do it while I watch you
§ Instruction: specific teaching to understand the how and why
• Facts
• Connections
• Examples
• Reasons
• Counsel
Parallels between Deuteronomy 6 and Ephesians 6
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind.
Deuteronomy 6 Ephesians 6
Strategic, planned
Intentional “Teach them diligently” Bring them up in the training…of the Lord.
“teaching”
Spontaneous, unplanned
“Talk along the way” Bring them up in the…
instruction of the Lord.
“counsel and admonition”
-‐ One way to make this biblical instruction actionable is through faith talks.
o What are faith talks?
§ Faith talks are intentional times set aside at least one each week for conversation around the Scripture with your family.3
§ By doing the assignment this past week, you have done a faith talk!
§ Intentional times, pave the way for spontaneous observations.
o How often?
§ Some families do it every time they gather for a meal
§ Some families have a faith talk every day
§ Some families commit to one time per week
• Once a week is a great goal.
• During this milestone we are asking you to do seven lessons during four weeks’ time.
3Brian Haynes, “Faith Talk Seminar,” May 23, 2013, http://legacymilestones.com/assets/1397/
faith_talk_seminar6.pdf.
o How does a Faith Talk relate to Family Worship?
§ Family Worship is the ideal context for a Faith Talk. By
including time for prayer, singing and conversation you have a forum that prepares children for worship and engages in worship together.
§ You may choose to have an activity or just talk instead of family worship—the point is that you are having intentional time.
o Tips for having Faith Talks
§ Choose a specific day and time
§ Prepare your lesson and gather materials.
§ Keep it short! Keep it simple
§ Be creative!
§ Aim for consistency.
§ Remember now is the easiest time to begin.
§ Just do it!
Small Group Time
Take some time to talk through the following questions. As leaders, your goal is to help parents process the material, provide encouragement and support and share from your own experience.
Welcome everyone back and lead them through the following questions:
-‐ How many of you began a Faith Talk with your son or daughter using In the Beginning guide?
o Did you do it at the time you had identified?
§ If not, what got in the way?
o If you did do it, what benefits or blessings did you enjoy?
o How might it have gone better?
o How did your children take to each part?
§ Reading
§ Discussion
§ Coloring activity
§ Catechism questions
-‐ Leaders, please emphasize the importance of memorizing the catechism questions as part of the process. We’ll talk about these more next week.
Leader’s Guide:
Lesson Overview
In this fourth the goal is to help parents see how a catechism (like the Children’s
Catechism they are using) is a strategic tool to teach their children the great articles of the faith.
The objectives for this lesson are:
-‐ For parents to observe that children naturally memorize material -‐ For parents to be introduced to the question/answer, call/echo that
catechism provides
-‐ For parents to see that they too can teach their children the great articles of faith with relative ease
-‐ For parents to develop in skillful use of not only asking questions supplied, but also probing deeper
Review:
So far we have covered the following topics relating to training our children:
• The Spiritual Formation of Children
o Children have a God-‐given spiritual capacity.
o Parents should imitate Jesus by being physically affectionate and by blessing them with our words.
• God’s commission to parents
o Parents have the most care, connection, and comprehensive influence
o God has commissioned us to teach and influence our children as the primary disciple-‐makers.
• Establishing Faith Talks at home
o Deuteronomy 6 and Ephesians 6 speak of teaching diligently/training
o Faith Talks creating space to talk about God’s word o In the Beginning explores creation, fall and redemption o The Catechism resource creates deeper learning
• Tonight we are going to talk about the strategy of using catechisms, which are an integral part of the In the Beginning Faith Talks.
Children and Memory
-‐ Have you ever noticed that children are especially good at memorizing information? Songs, poems, random facts, etc?
-‐ Did you memorize verses or catechism as a child? What was the result?
Gospel Beginnings – Lesson Four
Talking in Echoes—Catechism
Tonight we’re going to introduce a tool that uses memorization called a catechism.
What is a catechism?
• A catechism is a time-‐tested method of instruction where a teacher introduces truth and tests knowledge using a question and answer methodology.
• Perhaps the most famous catechism question is the first question and answer of the Westminster Shorter Catechism:
o Q. What is the chief end of man?
o A. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
• A catechism may range from as few as 20 to as many as 200 questions.
• These questions, together with the answers, cover a body of knowledge systematically.
• Catechisms were used by the ancients and throughout church history.
o Ancient Israel
o Plato’s dialogue (Socratic Method)
o Jesus at age 12 (“they were impressed by his questions”) o Catechumens in the early church and middle ages
o Reformation
o Counter-‐Reformation o Today…
The image of catechism—sonar
• The word catechism comes from the word “katecheo.” “Like many Greek words katecheo is put together from two words. In this case kata,
meaning ‘down toward,’ and echo, meaning ‘to sound.’ Katecheo is “to sound down.”4
• When you ask a question it is like sending a sonar message and awaiting an echo in an answer (see Dyken, 11)
• Through the sonar of catechism you may:
o Assess the knowledge of your student
o Know when and where to elaborate or clarify truths
Benefits of Catechism
A catechism is helpful to:
• Bring vital truths into one resource
• Give yourself and your child a body of knowledge
• Master content so that the truth becomes owned and internalized
• Be the basis for further conversation and application
4Donald Van Dyken, Rediscovering Catechism: The Art of Equipping Covenant Children (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2000), 12.
• Create a road map for further exploration
• The questions and answers work like shelves in a closet—they become places where something is stored and can be added to in the future.
How to use a catechism
• Commit to a specific catechism and make a plan to walk through it o In our case, The Cornerstone Children’s Catechism.
• Lead by example:
o As a parent, you need to work hard to memorize yourself
• Master the question and answers.
o Make every effort to memorize these together.
• Go deeper:
o Use questions as a launching pad for further conversations o Talk about the questions and answers along the way.
o Look for things they may not understand yet. Ask follow up questions.
• Keep going!
o We hope that this will only be the beginning, and that you will use this catechism section by section over the upcoming weeks, months, and years.
Small Group
Take some time to talk through the following questions. As leaders, your goal is to help parents process the material, provide encouragement and support and share from your own experience.
Welcome everyone back and lead them through the following questions:
-‐ How many of you have ever used a catechism before?
o Which benefit of the catechism resonated with you?
-‐ How are you and your child doing at memorizing the questions and answers?
o Do you think they can get all 15 in the next month or so?
o How are you doing at the answers?
-‐ How are things going in general as you meet with your son or daughter?
o Are you getting into a pattern?
o What’s been working well so far?
Leader’s Guide:
Lesson Overview
In this fifth and final lesson the goal is to prepare parents to lead their children to faith in Christ—that they may receive salvation.
Introduction
Every Christian parent desires for their children to experience new birth in Christ.
Receiving Christ by faith is the most important decision anyone will every make.
Generations into the future and eternity as well will be impacted by the act of receiving and depending upon Christ as he is offered in the gospel. The timing belongs to the Lord, but we are called to call forth faith in our children as 2 Corinthians 5 tells us.
The objectives for this lesson are:
-‐ For parents to begin praying for their children’s spiritual rebirth and life in Christ.
-‐ For parents to know the message of the gospel so clearly that they can express it in their own words.
-‐ For parents to be ready to lead their child to faith when they demonstrate readiness—not being pushy, but not neglecting opportunities either.
Your faith in Christ
-‐ It’s important to begin with your own salvation. Have you entered the kingdom through God’s cross by his grace? Take a few minutes to write out your story and what the gospel means to you.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Gospel Beginnings – Lesson Five
Leading Your Child to Faith in Christ—Salvation
Your role in leading your child
One of the exciting truths of the gospel is that not only does God give to us so freely, but He also makes us participants to help spread the message. Read and then discuss the text of 2 Corinthians 5:14-‐21
2 Corinthians 5:14-‐21 14 For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.
Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
You are Christ’s ambassador -‐ You are a new creation (v. 17)
-‐ You have been reconciled to God (v. 18)
-‐ You have been given the ministry of reconciliation (v. 19) -‐ You are called to implore others (v. 20)
The key truths that your child should understand to respond to God’s grace -‐ God made us in his image to know him and walk with Him
-‐ Our sin deserves death and separates us from God
-‐ Jesus died in our place on the cross and then rose again to conquer death.
-‐ When we place our faith (trust) in Jesus, we receive His salvation
-‐ We respond not only with faith in Jesus, but also repentance (turning from our sins)
-‐ The results of our salvation include:
o Forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38) o New life in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17)
o The Holy Spirit lives in us to guide us and help us (2 Cor 1:22) o Eternal life with Jesus now and when He returns (John 3:16) o A celebration in heaven because you are born again (Luke 15:10)
-‐ The Faith Talk guide goes through these truths step by step.
Leading your Child to Christ
-‐ How do I know when are my child is ready to receive Christ?
o Remember the four P’s:
§ Don’t be pushy—wait for God’s perfect timing
§ Don’t be passive—ignoring opportunities
§ Be patient. It is better to wait upon the Lord and let your child respond from internal desire than coercion.
§ Be prayerful. In truth, this moment is God’s work. Ask the Lord to regenerate your child by the power of His Holy Spirit.
o Watch for the fruit of readiness:
§ Your child will begin to understand gospel truths (listed above) after repeatedly hearing them in Faith Talks and at church.
§ Your child may begin to struggle with sin and want to be forgiven.
§ He or she may ask you directly about becoming saved (born again, receiving Christ, etc).5
§ They may return home from church and report that they have received Christ. If so, celebrate!
-‐ What should you say to lead your child to faith in Christ? Romans Road o Our Situation
§ We are all sinners Romans 3:23.
§ The wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23 o Our Savior
§ Jesus died on the cross to pay the price of our sin—death Romans 5:8
§ Jesus rose again because he had never sinned
5For an extended discussion of readiness to receive Christ at different ages see: Donald Ratcliff, Childfaith: Experiencing God and Spiritual Growth with Your Children (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2010), 61–68.
o Our Response:
§ When we put our faith in Jesus, he forgives our sin and gives us new life.
§ God asks us to respond with faith (trust). Romans 10:9; 13
§ Ask: Are you ready to turn from your sin and trust in Jesus?
§ If so, lead them to pray and receive Christ and his salvation.
o Our Celebration!
§ Tell them that you are so excited for them!
§ Invite them to tell others.
§ Have a born again birthday party
§ Tell them about the blessings God gives to His children (forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, eternal life, etc.)
o Our Lifestyle
§ Continue to walk with them and to live in terms of the gospel.
-‐ What if my child wants to become saved again? Now what?
o Take time to talk with them and listen to their heart.
o If applicable remind them of earlier conversations they have had.
o Be open to the fact that they might be more ready than an earlier time.
o Teach them how to repent and start fresh with God.
Looking forward
-‐ Receiving Christ by faith is the first step to life-‐long growth in the gospel.
o We never out-‐grow our need for the gospel, but continually live from faith to faith (Romans 1:17) in terms of God’s grace in Christ Jesus.
William Farley writes these words about the gospel:
“The gospel—the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus—is our tutorial. It teaches us everything we need to know about people, God, ethics, marriage, humility, submission to authority, excellence, ambition, heaven, hell, hope true love, and much more. The applications are almost infinite. I have been a Christian for many years, and every week I find new applications for the gospel.”6
-‐ As your son or daughter grows they will encounter discernable stages.
At Cornerstone we have a Milestone for each of these upcoming phases.
o Elementary Years (becoming Bible readers)
§ Milestone 3 – Gospel Truth. The next milestone that your child will encounter is the 2nd Grade Bible reception. At that time we will help you lead them into knowledge and
appreciation of God’s Word. Help them to embrace God’s word as truth to make them wise for salvation.
o Jr. High (growing in their awareness of the world and relationships)
§ Milestone 4 – Gospel Business: (J-‐12)
§ At the end of 6th grade all 12 year olds are called to commit to:
• Walk with the Lord Jesus Christ all their days.
• Walk closely with their parents looking to them for wisdom and seeking to be a blessing to them.
• Be about their Father’s business.
-‐ Perspective on Teen Years.
o One author who has captured the heart of God on raising teens is Paul Tripp.
“It’s time to reject the wholesale cynicism of our culture regarding adolescence. Rather than years of undirected and
unproductive struggle, these are years of unprecedented opportunity.
They are the golden age of parenting, when you begin to reap all the seeds you have sown in their lives, when you can help your teenager to internalize truth, preparing him or her for a productive, God-‐
honoring life as an adult.
6William P. Farley, Gospel-Powered Parenting: How the Gospel Shapes and Transforms Parenting (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2009), 186.
These are years of penetrating questions, the years of
wonderful discussions never before possible. These are the years of failure and struggle that put the teen’s true heart on the table. They are the years of daily ministry and of great opportunity.
These are not years merely to be survived! They are to be approached with a sense of hope and a sense of mission. Almost every day brings a new opportunity to enter the life of your teen with help, hope and truth. We should not resign ourselves to an increasingly distant relationship. This is the time to connect with our children as never before. These are years of great opportunity.”7
Summary:
-‐ In this series we have seen the following:
o Children have a God-‐given spiritual capacity (Mark 10)
o God has asked parents to play the leading role in faith formation (Deut 6:4-‐9)
o Parents can walk the path between the Faith Milestones by using the vehicle of Faith Talks (Deuteronomy 6:4-‐9 and Ephesians 6:1-‐3) o Parents have front row seats to invite their children to receive Christ
by faith through the ministry of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:14-‐
21)
o It is through the gospel that we continue to grow in Christian formation.
Thanks for participating and we look forward to seeing you at the celebration and recognitions.
Wrap up with your Small Groups
7Paul David Tripp, Age of Opportunity: A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens, Second Edition (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2001), 19.
Small Group
Take some time to talk through the following questions. As leaders, your goal is to help parents process the material, provide encouragement and support and share from your own experience.
Welcome everyone back and lead them through the following questions. Please take note of their answers and share any helpful remarks or recommendations with Pastor Tim.
-‐ What’s been the most beneficial part of this Faith Milestone for you?
-‐ What could we have done to improve it?
-‐ What’s one thing you hope to take with you?