Choosing Good Friends Importance of Good Friends Do you remember your best friends in junior high and senior high school? Think back to the impact they had on what you did, where you went, what you watched or listened to, and what you thought was cool. Friends are a really important part of our lives…
Teenagers Tend to be Legalists Goal is Godliness While the Bible is filled with instruction and commandments for righteous living, we need to be careful that all our focus as parents is not on behavior and outward actions. Godliness cannot be reduced to a set of rules. “Godliness is humble, thankful worship that…
Proverbs 12:1 tells us that a wise person loves correction. How many teenagers love to be wrong? Does your son/daughter love when you correct them? Does this make them stupid or simply immature? Or does the correction come across as unappealing and out of touch with their reality? Most teenagers lack wisdom and desperately need loving, biblical correction. Is that what you are really giving? As I consider some of my poorly received attempts at sharing biblical wisdom, I know I was often guilty of sharing with the wrong motives or the wrong message.
Well, honestly, most of us get defensive when someone points out our weaknesses or mistakes, don’t we?. Expect this, exercise self-control, and be careful that your goal is conveying wisdom and not simply looking to win an argument.
Three Helps for a Defensive Teen:
Your Teenager is Worth It
Teenagers are usually not asking for your input. They will avoid difficult conversations and protect themselves from intrusion. Don’t give up! Pursue your teenager. Express your love. Ask deeper questions. Encourage them. They are worth all your efforts to stay connected and to be involved in their lives.
Tips for Talking
When you have something to share, keep it brief. Don’t lecture on the past and how you never talked to your parents that way. Think ahead of time about what you want to share. Make it interesting. Make it interactive. Help your teenager examine his actions, assumptions, desires, and choices. Let the wisdom of God’s Word be seen as helpful and true. Your authority or ability to win a debate are not the point. Holding up God’s Word and showing how it is working in your own life will be much more appealing.
P.S. The themes and main ideas come from Paul David Tripp’s book “Age of Opportunity”. I’m summarizing what I read, adding my own thoughts and Scripture too.
Remember when… Remember when you were a teenager? For me it was the awesome 80’s. Yeah, I’m old. Do you remember the self-consciousness? The physical self-awareness? Trying to be cool and turning out just dorky? Wanting to play like a kid but be treated like an adult? Being a good parent means being able to remember…
Life in a Fallen World As hard as we may try, we cannot protect or shelter our children from the imperfect, fallen world. We should not hide from it or act as though the brokenness of the world simply doesn’t exist. As our teenagers are hurt they will see the effects of sin all…
Family: A Redemptive Community In the context of family, it is hard to hide reality. We may all “put on a good face” for work, school, even church, but who we really are and what we are going through is revealed at home. The harsh realities of sin and The Fall should make the love…
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Rule of Love or Desire? Teenagers need their identities to be firmly rooted in Christian community. This should be accomplished through the family.
The Rule of Love or the Rule of Desire Rule of Love Rule of Desire Sound Familiar?
Opportunities I’m praying for you. Let me know how I can help or better serve you and your family. in HIS service, Pastor Mark P.S. The themes and main ideas come from Paul David Tripp’s book “Age of Opportunity”. I’m summarizing what I read, adding my own thoughts and Scripture too. You can read past posts on our church website HERE. |
Just as our teenagers need to anchor their identity in the existence and character of God, they also need their identities to be firmly rooted in community. This is another key function of the family.
Sinners naturally want to please themselves and will do pretty much whatever it takes to get their way.
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Trust & Obey Wrapping up the discussion of how theology should impact our parenting. Living to glorify God “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” 1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV) Glorifying God means we please Him and show others what He is like through our actions, words, and our hearts. By asking two simple questions, we can train our teens to ask themselves these questions and learn to live for Him.
Obey Help your teenager see that every moment is God’s moment and that in every situation they are called to trust and obey God. I’m praying for you. Let me know how I can help or better serve you and your family. in HIS service, Pastor Mark
You can read past posts on our church website HERE. |
Their Story is God’s Story Continuing the discussion of how theology should impact our parenting. Bible is a Storybook not an Encyclopedia We often describe the Bible as our manual for living. This is a good description, but sometimes we then treat it as an encyclopedia where we look up references for any given topic or problem.…
