Marriage & Parenting: Discipleship In The Home

April 24th, 2022 | Casey Middle School

Title: Discipleship In The Home

Passage: Deuteronomy 6:4-9 CSB

“Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. 7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.

Pray: (Pause 3-5 seconds)

Background:

You know the phrase “keep the main thing, the main thing.” Moses is attempting to do this in this chapter of Deuteronomy. All 613 commands can be summed up and depend on this ONE command. Wow. Can you feel the significance of what God is trying to communicate to His people? For the Jews, this passage carried significantly more weight than all the other texts in Scripture.

Jesus also responds with this text when asked what command in the law is the greatest, He said ““Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” - Matthew 22:37-40 CSB

Today I want to talk about our response as dads and moms, and how this response will not only change our legacy, but it will also impact a generation.

Main Points: How to respond to the greatest command...

1. Respond To The Word With Our ALL (V4-5)

   1. Attention (Listen & Obey)

      1. “Listen, Israel” -> “I hear you and will OBEY you!”

      2. The word “Hear” is not just soundwaves in your ear, it’s listening with the intent to obey.

         1. Deuteronomy 4:1, 5:1, 6:3 (Listen & Do) 3. Illust: Our kids “listening” aka, not listening. 4. This is the “the Shema”, a hebrew word which means “ to Hear”. Jewish children will learn this as their first words. It would be the last words before they die. They would repeat it every morning as they wake up and every night as they lay down for the rest of their lives. It’s the pinnacle of all Scriptures. 5. What comes next is not mere information, but instructions to live by in your everyday life. 6. Your children will run in the direction that you walk.
         2. Do your children see a difference in the way you live your life compared to the world around them?
         3. Do you listen to the Word with the intent for it to transform every area of your life?
            2. Acknowledgement (You Are Lord Alone)

      3. “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” -> “I acknowledge that you are God alone!”

         1. The emphasis is not as much the unity of God (Trinity) as One as much as the exclusivity of God alone (No other gods). 2. “Acknowledge” is found many times in Scripture

         2. “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” 1 John 2:23 NKJV

         3. “And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God,” - Luke 12:8 CSB
         4. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” - Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV 3. This is a doctrinal belief known as Monotheism - belief in only one God. This is important to note because it makes the nation of Israel distinctive and prepares them before they enter into a land where people believed in many gods. Similar to the context of Boulder.
            3. Adoration (Deep Love & Worship)

      4. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” -> “I love you with ALL that I am!”

      5. Song: Let’s learn a Scripture Jingle together

         1. “You are to love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your heart, you are to love the Lord your God, with all your heart, soul, and strength.” (Repeat 3X)

         2. I learned this song as a young child, probably 4 or 5 years old and haven’t thought about it since, but then remembered it as I was preparing for this message. 3. Illust: Kids Bedtime Routine

         3. Relationships before rules (religion)

         4. Love before laws
         5. Belief before behavior

         6. Question: Do you see it? You can obey all the laws, make all the right decisions, but without a love relationship with God, you have missed the most important thing. 4. Instruction without adoration will lead to obedience without desire. Adoration without instruction will lead to desire without obedience.

         7. God is calling us to both conviction and compassion.

         8. Receive The Word In Our HEARTS (V6)
            1. “These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.” (V6)
            2. Question: What’s a reasonable reaction when somebody is trying to give you something? You either deny it or receive it, right?!

      6. Here Moses is emphasizing to not only receive it, but to place it at the center of who you are! The center of your affections, the center of your emotions, the center of your physical life, THE CENTER OF ALL!

         3. Truth must be in you before it can be taught to others.

      7. “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.” - Proverbs 4:23 CSB

      8. “With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.” - Psalm 119:10-11 NKJV

         4. Question: What is the most important thing that you want to pass on to future generations?

      9. Wealth - best business practices and financial stewardship?

      10. Health - best diet and exercise routines?

      11. Truth - God’s Word that is evident in your life and demonstrated by your values and priorities?

          5. To the Jewish ear, heart and mind is the same word, it’s the totality of who you are.

      12. Question: What areas of your life are you not allowing God to transform?

      13. If you want to make the greatest impact on your children, then allow God’s Word to make a great impact in your life!

      14. Repeat The Word To Our CHILDREN (V7-9)

          1. Your number one priority is not your friends, not your co-workers, not your neighbors, your number one priority is your home!

      15. Jesus’s plan A for taking the Gospel to the nations is in the family. Your primary responsibility in making disciples is in your home.

      16. Question: Are you creating an ecosystem of discipleship in your home?

          2. Repeat the Word to your children

      17. In prayer (pray scripture)

      18. During life decisions “What does the Word say?”
      19. Through songs (scripture jingles and worship songs)

      20. In teaching it to them.

          3. If you are discipling others more than you are discipling your children then there is a priority issue.
          4. Teach the Word to your children - Every day offers natural opportunities to teach and disciple your children

      21. When you sit in your house - meal time, reading time, idle time

      22. When you walk along the road - drive time, vacations, walks to the park, walks in your neighborhood
      23. When you lie down - bedtime

      24. When you get up - getting ready for school, driving to school, making breakfast

          5. Orthodox Jews took these commandments literally and would wear “phylacteries”, which are little containers with Scripture in them, on their forehead and left arm. They would also put what’s called a “mezuzah” on their doorposts and it would contain this text and possibly some others in it. Those entering the door would touch or sometimes even kiss the mezuzah as a sign of respect.

      25. While I admire their respect for the Word. I believe it’s more likely that the emphasis is on obedience to God’s Word in all we think and do. And that our homes are to be a place where God’s Word is honored, outspoken, and obeyed.

          6. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Repetition is a teacher's best friend. (V8-9)

      26. Illust: memorizing zip codes at UPS

          1. When you get that temptation box, you’re going to hit the red button and yell at the enemy, “Don’t go put that on my belt! I’m going to love the Lord my God with all my body, with all my thoughts, with all my actions! And then you chuck that box back at the enemy and claim victory in Jesus name! Amen!
             7. Make the investments now!

      27. “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” - Proverbs 22:6 NKJV

Closing: What Will You Give Them? What will you pass on?

Walking Points:

1. If you are single, give them a faithful example to follow as you prepare to meet your spouse and lay a foundation for the rest of your life.
2. If you are married, give them stability by establishing core convictions on the Word of God before they come.
3. If you are married and have children, give them a legacy to pass on to future generations. Give them the tools they’ll need to handle any and every situation. Give them a foundation of truth and grace. Give them the greatest gift, the gift of discipling them in how to have a relationship with God.
4. That’s the home I want to have. That’s the dad I want to be. That’s the mom I want to be. That’s the example I want to lead.