“If Christianity is false, it is of no importance. If it is true, it is of utmost importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” C.S. Lewis

2 Timothy 1:12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

The Hebrew word for train (ḥānaḵ) means to dedicate.

Not a guarantee... purpose of proverbs is wisdom literature... general principles that often produce the outcomes declared, but often in different ways that expected... 3:9-10

-give what comes first, not the leftovers

-give with the right heart

-acknowledging where it comes from and who it really belongs to

I’ve known plenty of great parents who have older kids who have never obeyed the gospel and even some who did, and then drifted away.

Deut. 6:4-9 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

“I’m gonna let them decide”... yes, it is ultimately their decision, but you have an influence

Don’t underestimate the influence you have on your kids, and others

Journalist Murtaza Hussain states, “Just because conventional religious practice is on the decline doesn't mean Americans will have no need to fill the country's "God-shaped hole."

Many people are joining campaigns and groups that aren't religious in nature, but often adopt the language of religion, spirituality and justice, a spirit of community albeit an angry one.

"Political debates over what America is supposed to mean have taken on the character of theological arguments. As one author puts it... this is what religion without God looks like."

Eph. 6:1-4 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

-exasperate-to provoke or make angry

-Nurture-training and discipline of the Lord... emotional support, connection, healthy boundaries, healthy appropriate autonomy and support

-Relationships... fathers, lead your families, engage, support, connect... high love, high expectations

-All of Ephesians is written as a reminder about the greatness of the church, the body of Christ

-It’s so easy to be critical today

-Any perfect parents or persons here today?

-A Harvard M.D. and. Harvard research scientist wrote 3 years ago on some studies...

A religious upbringing also profoundly affects lifelong health and well-being. We found regular service attendance helps shield children from the “big three” dangers of adolescence: depression, substance abuse, and premature sexual activity. People who attended church as children are also more likely to grow up happy, to be forgiving, to have a sense of mission and purpose, and to volunteer.

Our findings aren’t unique. A number of large, well-designed research studies have found that religious service attendance is associated with greater longevity, less depression, less suicide, less smoking, less substance abuse, better cancer and cardiovascular- disease survival, less divorce, greater social support, greater meaning in life, greater life satisfaction, more volunteering, and greater civic engagement.

The findings are extensive and growing. Important recent studies have been led by clinicians and social scientists ...

“If Christianity is false, it is of no importance. If it is true, it is of utmost importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” C.S. Lewis