The goal is The Way 

• Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

How to train your kids in the way

• Establish Authority 
  • Exodus 20:12Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

• Teach what is right 
  • Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

• Correct what is wrong
  • Proverbs 23:13-14 Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.  If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol. 
  • Proverbs 29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.
  • Proverbs 22:15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
  • Hebrews 12: 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

• Practice what is good
  • Ephesians 6:4 raise them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

• Love  
  • Proverbs 13:24 Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him. 
  • Proverbs 3:11-12 My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

Don’t forget the gospel 

• Proverbs 19:18 Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death 

QUESTIONS 

How could making THE WAY (following Jesus who is the Way) your ultimate goal in life affect specific decisions about your future? Are there specific ways it could change the direction of your life all together?

How have you experienced God’s loving discipline throughout your life?  What consequences for sin have you experienced that have led you closer to the joy and life in the way you should go?  Are there ways you need to embrace God’s discipline at this time in your life?

As a church member how might you personally better serve parents and their kids at Ashland? 

For parents

What decisions for your kids’ future would change if you made THE WAY, following Jesus who is the way, the ultimate goal of parenting?

When we fail to remember the gospel as parents how might this affect us as well as your kids? 

What are specific things can do as parents in your home to

• Establish authority 

• Teach what is right

• Correct what is wrong 

• Practice what is good