Chapter 3: Biblical Priorities

Revolutionary Parent's first priority is God. Their second priority is their children. Why? Serving God by loving our neighbors or, put another way, doing the work of God's kingdom is the second part of the Great Commandment. And our children are the neighbors God has entrusted to us in a unique way. Our neighbors across town and across the globe are important, but our children are our primary mission field. Teaching them to know, love, and serve God is our greatest act of service to Him.

(pg 54-Revolutionary Parenting Workbook:Leader's Edition)



Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward. (Psalm 127:3)

Do you see your children as a gift, a reward? How do you see them?

How would (or how does) seeing them as a gift affect the way you interact with them?


Read Deuteronomy 6:1-12, 20-21


In this passage, Moses gave God's instructions for parents.

1. Describe how God wants the actions of parents to affect their children and grandchildren.

2. How does God want parents to go about training their children to obey His words?

3. What principles here are relevant to us today?

If your child were to ask you, "Why do we live according to the Bible instead of the way non-Christians around us live?" what would you say?

Chapter 2: The Goals of Revolutionary Parents


Chapter 2 discusses three basic parenting strategies that were discovered in Barna's research:

• Parenting by default-simply following what one sees society, family, or friends do, or the expectations they loudly voice.


• Parenting by trial and error-assuming there are no absolute guidelines, some parents try something; if it doesn't work, they try something else.

The goal of these two strategies is the survival of parents and children.

But there is also a third strategy that was found.

• Treating God's Word in the Bible as the chief source for the goals, the thinking , and the actions of parents. The goal of these parents was nothing less than the transformation of their children into the image of Christ. they set the bar way above survival.

Revolutionary Parents look to the Bible for their parenting goals. (Read Mark 12:28-31)

With this in mind-

1. What does it mean to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? What thoughts, feelings, and actions does this involve?

2. Imagine the people your children might be at age 25. Imagine what they might be like if they become people who love God fully with heart, sould, mind, and strenght, and who seek the good of others as much as they seek their own good.

1. How would that affect the way thier use their time?


2. How would it affect the way they use money?


3. How would if affect their thoughts?


4. How might it affect their career choices?

Weekly Challenge:

It's not immediatley obivous to many of us how to raise children who love God and others. Whith our busy scheules, we may feel grateful simply to raise children who do their homework and eat decnt food! However, it can be done. The first steps are simply saying;

• "Okay, I see what God is asking me to aitm at."
• "I'm interested in learning how."
• "I want to know what this is going to cost me in terms of time and effort."

Are you able to affirm these 3 statements? If not, what's the sicking point for you?

We'd Like To Hear Your Thoughts On This Question.

Research has found that simply taking kids to church, Sunday school, and youth group is not enough to make it likely that they will grow up to love God and others deeply. Can you think of any reasons why that might not be enough? If so, what are they?

Keeping Current

Children's Ministry magazine is a wealth of information - not just for children's ministers. In the July/August 2010 issue there is an article entitled "Keeping Current" In that article several of our children's favorite celebs are listed as well as the "scoop" on just how "kid friendly" they are.

1. Jasmine V

Sony Epic's newest recording artist. Her music has an R&B and pop beat. Song you may know: "Serious"

Parent's Take:

Jasmine's music highlights typical teen girl topics such as love, the gutute, and friendships. She has been homeschooled since the 3rd grade, she has a strong work ethic and is very ambitious. She enjoys giving back to her community too!

2. Sterling Knight

Star of "Sonny with a Chance" on the Disney Channel. Sterling has broken out on the music scene with apop rock beat. Song you may know "Starstruck"

Parent's Take:

Sterling Knight is popular with older kids, the lyrics to his songs are mild and appropriate for a young audience.

3. Miranda Cosgrove

Star of "ICarly" on Nickelodeon.

Miranda has just released her first full CD "Sparks Fly" with the single "Kissin U"

Parent's Take:

Her lyrics are free of offensive language or themes. Her music is appropriate for young listeners and at this point serves as a positive role model.

Today is Book Club Day: Revolutionary Parenting by George Barna

Chapter 1: A Crisis in American Parenting

Chapter 1 starts out listing qualities by which parents measure the success of their parenting. Things such as, meeting their physical needs, the children have decent friends, they aren't alcoholics, not the victim of abuse, they don't have a criminal record. Barna says while all these are good criteria, is this the scale God would use to measure your parenting successes? " God measures our hearts...most of our children are biblically illiterate, few are motivated to share their faith, not even half state that their religious faith is important, salvation baffles most of our young ones." (p.8 - Revolutionary Parenting).

With this in mind:

1. Ask yourself - "Where do I get my standards for measuring how well I am doing as a parent?

What role do you think God and the Bible should have in setting those standards?

2. Do you know anything about the guidance the Bible gives to parents about children and families? If so what are some relevant principles or stories that come to mind.

WEEKLY CHALLENGE:

Take some time to think and pray about your children. Then describe the kind of human beings you want them to become by the time they are 30 years old. If your thoughts run to matters like career, income, or marital status, write that down. If you have in mind character qualities like, passion for God, Honesty, or Concern for Justice, write those down. If you have different hopes for different children, it's fine to distinguish among them.

We'd like to hear your thoughts on this question:

To what extent do you agree or disagree that children today are in a crisis morally, relationally, physically, educationally, or spiritually? What leads you to think that?

Disney Fans - You'll love this recipe

I found this recipe in my in box. I subscribe to DisneyFamily.com which is a wonderful resource for family fun ideas. I loved this one and had to share it http://tinyurl.com/disneycupcake. Kids can help with the decorating, or this is great for your child's birthday party.

Christian Film Critic

I found this websitehttp://www.moviereporter.com/ while roaming the world wide web, and I really like it. This critic is real. I felt the reviews were honest and came from a Christian perspective. I am pleased with this site and hope you will enjoying referencing it as much as I have! It is the responsibility of parents to know what information is floating around out there that our kids are exposed to. Even if you don't sit and watch the movie, this site at least gives you an idea. Check it out!

Revolutionary Parenting - A Book Club

Kids Revolution is proud to announce the kick off to our first ever parents book club! We will be reading "Revolutionary Parenting" by George Barna. This book is a must read for all parents looking to raise up spiritual champions! We will kick off the book club on August 16. Books are for sale for $14.00 each at the Child Enrichment Center of Gardendale-Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church or can be ordered here http://tiny.cc/revolutionaryparenting. Join us on-line August 16 as we discuss chapter 1 of the book that has changed the way Christian parents raise their children.