Memory Verse For Parents

Introduction

Good morning. Good morning, everyone. Please open your Bible to 119 Psalms. I’ll be starting in Psalm 119 in just a moment. Those of you who remember me from being here before, remember I can be really insistent about you following along in the Word of God of me, please. Please open a Bible. If you don’t have a Bible, lean over and grab one out of the rack in the pew in front of you or slide over next to somebody and elbow them firmly and say, share. But let’s look in the Word of God together in the 119 Psalms where I want to start. Hey, as you’re turning there, I just want to say again how glad I am to be here once again. Brother Bob pointed out this morning, this is the third time now that I’ve been with you, and I just appreciate the elders giving me another chance to get it right.

They’re very optimistic. Maybe this time it’ll be something that’ll work out well for you. I’m just really excited to be here, and I’m really excited to have the opportunity to talk a little bit about this business with families. This special series built to last, building strong families for the 21st century. That’s what all of us, parents, friends of family, aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, that’s what we’re looking to do. At a time when society is regularly crushing and smashing families, we want to build something that is lasting and enduring of eternal significance and value. And I do want to say a word or two about the series and what’s going there, because I know that you have looked at some of these titles and some of these topics and so forth.

Really want to talk with the men tomorrow night. Want to talk about leadership in the home and what it means for us to lead our homes, men. And I know that you have your eye on that lesson on Tuesday evening. Yes, I really am going to talk with you about the scourge of pornography. I do want you to know, Mom and Dad, that you don’t need to be afraid at all. Not going to be anything coarse or vulgar in that lesson. Don’t be afraid. Not going to do anything that’s inappropriate. But I would say this as pornography becomes ever more present in our society today, this is not the time for us to stick our heads in the sand and hope that our kids don’t aren’t in any way touched and don’t see any of the vile wickedness that is everywhere around us.

This is an important matter. It may be destroying more families than anything else going in our world today. Hope that you’ll be with us on Tuesday night. And in fact, I noticed some great cards that you can hand out to friends and neighbors and to loved ones. Saw those on the table in the foyer. I would really encourage you to invite people who’s not interested in good families. And if you’re going to invite somebody, think about flat making that your invitation Tuesday night. Going to talk about pornography, going to talk about what the Bible says, going to talk about how it’s so deceptive and what a lie it is. Make it uh take advantage of this opportunity with these cards. Make an opportunity to talk to somebody and invite them to come and be part of this gospel meeting effort.

I think the Lord will bless those efforts if we’ll be involved in doing those kinds of things. I am really glad to be here. Very excited about it and anxious to get started. Let’s do that in the Word of God. In Psalm 119, I’m reading there in verse number 11. Psalm 119 and verse number 11. There the text says, I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Some translations there have, I have hidden in my heart. It’s a wonderful passage that speaks about memorizing the Word of God. Now, if you’re like me and you grew up in some kind of arranged Bible class situation, then you are familiar with the term memory verses. Remember those? There’d be that lesson quarterly, and on the top of each lesson, there was a verse typed out there.

That’s today’s memory verse. I can remember how glad I was when I finally got out of those little kids’ classes and we didn’t have memory verses anymore. Then I remember the sheer terror of being in a class when I was in high school, and the Bible class teacher had the audacity to say we were going to memorize those verses. None of us took you. Come on, memory verses for kids. Until we came into the next class, and he went right down the row, asking every student to say the memory verse, embarrassed and flustered. We had no idea. None of us had looked at that memory verse. I couldn’t remember in high school meeting in the library at lunch with several of my buddies, and we would work on Wednesdays on that night’s memory verse so that we could say the memory verse in class.

We were so glad when that guy rotated out. We didn’t have teachers anymore. Memory verses, man, that’s for little kids. What’s up with that? But of course, as I look at Psalm 119, I don’t see anything here that says that’s for little kids. You see something in there that says, you know, little children ought to do that. But adults, they don’t need to worry about treasuring thy word in the heart or storing up the word in the heart. Nothing in that passage is marked for small children only. Nothing in the context demands or indicates that scriptural memorization is something just for children. That’s why today I want to talk with parents about memorizing the Bible. In fact, this morning I want to talk with parents about memory verses that will help you.

Now, don’t worry. I’m not going to go right down the row and make you recite. I think I heard a sigh of relief right there. There’ll be no recitation. But I do want you to take seriously the opportunity to look in God’s word, to store up God’s word in our heart, to give us the kind of guidance that we so desperately need. All around us, we hear all the time how difficult it is to parent it, how much trouble it is to parent, and how many things are broken and going wrong in our world today. Well, you see that everywhere all the time. Aren’t we all moms and dads looking for something that would shine like a lighthouse in a storm? Giving us certainty, giving us confidence, helping us to know the way to go.

Isn’t it true? That’s exactly what God’s word does for us. If we just knew God’s word. This morning I want to share with you three powerful passages that I believe every parent needs to commit to memory. It is simply worth your time and energy to know these verses by heart. But more than just wrote memorization, I want us to understand these passages, and I want us to understand their implications for us as parents today. We want to see what the Lord is saying to moms and dads right here, right now, through his word. And then we want to hide that word deep within our hearts so that in the moment of crisis, in the very most difficult times, those words will come to mind and they will assist us and help us and strengthen us so that we can parent as God would have us to do.

1. Children, Obey Your Parents in the Lord

We memorize stuff all the time. Phone numbers, social security number, the roster of the local team that we cheer for. We know all kinds of stuff. I want to suggest today that if we’ll add three verses of scripture to what we memorize, to what we know, we can immediately become much better parents. Let’s start that then in Ephesians, please. Let’s look at Ephesians 6 and verse 1. This is the passage that I spoke from in the Bible class hour, and I want to build on this some right now. In Ephesians 6, look carefully with me in verse number 1. There the apostle says, Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Now, let’s say a word or two about what this passage means.

The word obey there is exactly the same word as used in verse 5. Slaves obey your masters. It means to submit to the authority of another. And notice that expression, for this is right. That is an interesting turn of the phrase. What exactly does the apostle mean there for this is right? Some have suggested that maybe he means this is the divine order and the divine commandment, but actually in a moment, he begins to strengthen the divine commandment and talk more about that. It may well mean that when he says this is right, that what he’s doing is he’s just referring to the natural sense of foods. It’s just the right thing. That this just the natural way to go. And I like that because there really is something obviously true about how kids need to do what their parents tell them to do.

You ought not need a ton of verses to establish that. You don’t have to quote from the front of the Bible to the back of the Bible to show that a fine-year old who has no clue about what life is about, who doesn’t understand, doesn’t have any wisdom or any maturity or experience, that it would be dangerous for him to be in charge, telling everybody what to do. He needs someone to tell him what to do. Yet, of course, in our society today, we see all kinds of examples of how parents are not in charge anymore. That’s precisely why I am urging you to memorize this verse. Because it reminds every parent, you are in charge of your children. You are expected by God to teach, instruct, to guide, to discipline.

You are in charge of your children. All around us, we see parents who don’t seem to understand that, who don’t seem to be interested in that at all. Every one of us have been to Wally World, and here’s the kid, and he’s crying and screaming, and mom and dad said, No, we’re not buying that toy, and the kid is crying and screaming some more until finally, no, we’re not buying that toy becomes what? Put it in the cart. We’ve all seen that kind of thing where a parent is manifestly not in charge. The child knows all the right buttons to push, all the right strings to pull, and is clearly manipulating mom and dad to get what the child wants. Ephesians 6 1 says, that’s messed up.

That’s not what God wants. That’s not best for the parent. That’s not best for the child. That’s not best for anybody in society. That’s not God’s order. Yet I’m amazed at how we accept much less than God’s order. In fact, I read recently an article detailing how kids are in charge is fast becoming the norm. Even in picture books, parents buy to read their kiddos. In fact, in one picture book, this is Olivia about a little piglet. Over and over, this article noted how parents are portrayed today as being hurried and harried and befuddled. They scurry around to fulfill a child’s wish and they only hesitantly ever draw any lines. So, for example, in Olivia, the little piglet’s bedtime routine looks like this. She says, I’m not at all sleepy.

Read me five books tonight, mommy. The mom says, No, no, Olivia, just one. How about four? Two, three. Oh, all right, three. After reading the required three books, the mom says, you know, you really wear me out. But I love you anyway. Olivia then replies, I love you anyway, too. Who’s in charge here? Who is obeying who? I say again that parents, not children, parents today need to memorize Ephesians 6, 1. You are supposed to be in charge. This is mandated by God, and I might add, it is absolutely a necessary and essential step to helping young ones understand that someday they will be answerable to God, who is in charge. And as they responded to their parents’ authority, so they must now learn to respect God’s authority.

Think about it. You can’t wind your way into heaven. Oh, how about a little gossip and drunkenness and adultery? Oh, okay. God says, you really wear me out, but you can come into heaven too. That’s nonsense. That’s absolute nonsense. More parents need to take Ephesians 6, 1 to heart. I’m in charge. And I will answer to God for how I raise this child. Instead of making excuses, talk about this a little bit in the Bible class hour. For why my child is not obedient. Oh, he’s tired. He’s cranky. We’re missing an hour of sleep thanks to daylight savings time. He’s going through a phase. He’s two. He’s four. He’s seven. He’s 77. Whatever it’s going to be, what we need to do is we need to say, I have abdicated my responsibilities.

I am not teaching obedience. I’m not expecting obedience. I have given up and surrendered. I am disobeying Ephesians 6 1. That’s what parents need to say today. Actually, what parents need to say today is I’m going to do what God tells me to do. And I’m going to expect that in my home. Because this is right. One writer said the Bible straightforwardly presents a model of the family in which the parents possess an authority over their children that is non-negotiable and essential for the health and happiness of the entire family. In our current culture, there are few collisions more direct than between the secular and the biblical conception of the role of parents. I would suggest to you that that collision occurs in Ephesians 6 1.

2. He Who Began a Good Work in You

Godly parents know they are in charge. They make no apology for fulfilling the divine mandate. Now, let me show you another passage, moms and debt, that you ought to think about memorizing. This is in Philippians, please, in Philippians chapter 1. Just turn a page or two. In Philippians, please. In Philippians chapter 1, read with me, verse 6. In Philippians 1 and in verse 6. The apostle says there, I am sure of this, he tells the Philippine brethren, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. In many ways, this becomes a theme verse for the book of Philippians. Paul has tremendous courage and tremendous certainty that what’s going to, that what began there in Philippi is going by the work of God to be completed.

That God is helping those brethren, in those brethren, working through those brethren to accomplish his will. In the immediate context, Paul is clearly talking to those Philippian brethren in their circumstance. But I want to enlarge on that a little bit to talk about our circumstance, our situation, because I believe what was true in Philippi is still true today, and that is you can do what the Lord wants you to do. God is at work in you, mom and dad, to accomplish his will for your children. You can do this. You can do this. God’s going to help you do this. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like parents really believe that very much anymore. A couple of gospel meetings back, I was in the home of a young couple that had about 19 small children, and they had had a bunch of other young couples over who all also possessed equally large numbers of small children, such that the house was just overrun with small children.

And I’ll tell you, it was an absolute zoo. There were kids pushing and shoving and sharing and not sharing and hitting and playing nice and not playing nice. And mostly what the kids seem to be most interested in doing is trying to destroy a brand new plasma television set that the owner of the house had. And it was just amazing. Watching all these kids interact and parents throwing themselves in front of the television to try to save it the last possible second. It was a crazy evening. And as all this was going on, it was interesting to listen to these young parents talk. Because what they talked about was how impossibly difficult it is to be a parent today. And all these little ankle bitters. And I mean, there’s just so much going on in their lives, so many things happening, so many things that can go wrong.

I mean, it’s just impossible. By the time they got done talking about that, I felt like anybody who had the audacity to stand up, get up in the morning and try to be a parent, we ought to just give them a medal or something. It’s just so incredibly difficult. In fact, one of the most ironic and interesting parts of the evening was when they would finally turn and notice a guy sitting in the corner and they said, Brother Roberts, do you have children? And I said, Yes, I do. I have two wonderful girls. How old are your children? And I said, I have a daughter who’s 22 and a daughter who’s 20. And then there was just this amazed look. Oh, you have it made, don’t you?

As if the problems that come with kids in college, let’s see. Drugs, alcohol, date rate, casual hookups, not to mention how you’re going to pay for college. I realize how those problems pale into insignificance when you’re considering whether your four-year-old might miss a play date. I realize that raising a four-year-old is just so incredibly difficult. Yet in all that defeatist language, and all that talk about how hard it is, why isn’t anybody talking about God wants us to do this? Have you thought about that? As much as you love your child, the Lord loves your child more. Yes. Yes. In fact, the truth of the matter is, our love for our children is nothing compared for how much God loves our children already. And the Lord has given you these children.

Why? Because He believes the very best possible arrangement for that child that he loves so dearly. That child for whom he gave his son to die on the cross. That child that he wants to come and live with him for all eternity. He believes the very best possible arrangement for that child to grow and develop and to come to know him and love him and serve him is for you, a godly set of parents, to have that child in your home for some period of 17, 18, maybe a few more years. You are the very best possible mechanism to raise that child. Not a government, not a daycare, not even the local church. God gave you those kids. Because God thinks you can do this. Why do we believe the Lord?

Why do we not believe God? Over and over again today, I see parents who have the expert syndrome. They are just sure that they must not ever make a move until they consult every best selling book, every scientific study. We have to have statistics to validate anything that we do. What do we end up with? We end up with stuff like this. This is an amazing study, 20 year study, your tax dollars at work, finding after 20 years of careful research that small children should be hugged by their parents. Am I going too fast for you here? This is a this is just complex stuff here, isn’t it? Did we not know that? What’s happened today is that the researchers have robbed us completely of our common sense, and they have robbed us completely of our confidence that we can do what God gave us to do.

People have been rearing children without Oprah’s advice for thousands of years. Can you believe it? They actually did that. And you can to. God wants you to do this. And in fact, God will help you do this. Think about all the things that God provides for you so that you can, in fact, do this. Think about the power of the Bible. Read your Bible. You can learn so much about parenting. Look at Noah. How did he do that? Such a wicked world. We think it’s so hard today. Certainly can’t say today that there’s only eight faithful people on the planet. Can you say that? That was Noah’s time. He raised godly children. If Noah can do it, we can do that. In fact, we can learn from Noah how to do that.

Dad can ask you. You are reading your Bible, aren’t you? Regular, daily Bible reading. And when you read your Bible, you’re reading your Bible to see, among other things, what can I learn today that’ll make me a better dad? What can I learn today that’ll help me raise my children to know and love the Lord? See, God is going to help us, gonna help us through his word, gonna help us through the body of Christ. So many local Christians right here. We’ve all got the same goal. Trying to get our kids from earth to heaven. We’re all working in the same direction. We’ve got to pull together. We gotta do this thing together. In fact, part of this local church is older and wiser Christians who have been there before, who have seen it, done it, been there.

They could help us, couldn’t they? Yet think about this. How often is it that if somebody dares to offer child rearing advice, what do we do? I mean we are offended. Here’s a child who is disobedient, not obeying mom and dad, according to Ephesians 6 1, that child is in violation of the scriptures. Mom and dad are not helping that child be right and do right there in violation of the scriptures. Yet if anybody dares to say, hey, you know your kid doesn’t ever do what you tell him to do. Could uh could we get together and have some coffee sometime, talk about Charlie Manson here and what we can do to help him a little bit? What happens when you do it? People get offended.

People, how dare you? Don’t meddle in my family. I’ll thank you to keep yourself over there on your side of the line now. I’ve got this God. Really? Really, you’re doing such a great job with that, I see. Why do we not take the advice of older wiser Christians? If you don’t like what I’m talking about, don’t come tonight. We’re talking about that at great length tonight. What about Bible classes? What about Bible classes? So much opportunity for adults to learn here, interact in the Word of God, for our children to learn what they ought to be before the Lord. Your kids are here for every Bible class. Yes. I’m amazed. Kids don’t miss public school for anything. But if Johnny’s a little tired, nah. Can’t make Bible class, it’s just too difficult.

Just can’t be here. And then what about the great help of prayer? How much praying are you doing? That God will bless you. That God will use you. That God will help you to see in his word what you need to see so that you can raise kids to know him. Moms and dads, we need to know the Lord is giving us what we need so that we can get this job done. It is not fair for us to complain and act as if this is an impossible burden. No one can do it when we will not avail ourselves of the great help God gives to us. When you think you can’t, when you’re going down for the last time, when you’re as exasperated as you possibly can be, call to mind.

3. Whoever Spares the Rod Hates His Son

Philippians 1 6. God has begun a great work in me as a parent, and with God’s help will get the job done. Now let me share with you one more passage to remember. In Proverbs, please let’s look at Proverbs in Proverbs chapter 13. In Proverbs chapter 13, I want to read there in verse 24. In Proverbs 13 and verse 24, the word of God tells us about a powerful resource to help us get the job done. What is that resource? In Proverbs 13 and verse 24, whoever spares the rod hates his son. But he who loves him is diligent to discipline him. Can I identify for you the powerful importance of disciplining children today? The Bible is full, particularly the book of Proverbs, with passage after passage that talks about how this is absolutely essential in parenting.

Let’s grab some of those verses. Stay with me in Proverbs. Let’s try Proverbs 19. In Proverbs 19 and verse 18. In Proverbs 19 and verse 18, the text says there, discipline your son, for there is hope. Do not set your heart on putting him to death. Now in Proverbs chapter 22. In Proverbs chapter 22 and verse 15. Proverbs 22 and verse 15. Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him. In the 23rd chapter of Proverbs in verse 13. In Proverbs 23 and 13, do not withhold discipline from a child. If you strike him with the rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol.

In Proverbs 29, then, two more passages for please. In Proverbs 29 and verse 15. There we read, Proverbs 29 and verse 15. The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. Now, verse 17, discipline your son. He will give you rest.

Now, while the Bible instructs parents to love their children, we need to fully understand that that love is never warm, fuzzy kind of thing that does not act in a child’s best interest or help a child do what’s right. Our business as parents is not to give our child everything the kid wants. In fact, oftentimes what a child needs and what a child wants is diametrically opposed. What children want is to rule the world. They want to be selfish little tyrants who have everybody at their beck and call so they can have everything they want as soon as they want it, when they want it and where they want it. What they need is discipline. They need discipline. By the way, that is a word that means what?

Discipline means training. They need discipline so they can control themselves and do what is right, not merely what is fun or entertaining or feels good. Now don’t get lost here in the spank, no spank debate. That’s not what this is about. What we need to see here is that we are in charge, as parents, of disciplining our children. Spanking is one kind of discipline, but it is certainly not the only kind of discipline. What these passages inform us, mom and dad, is that as parents we have the right to discipline, and not only do these passages give us the right to discipline, they assure us it is the right course to choose. That’s important. Because our society’s decided discipline is all wrong. In fact, beginning in the 1960s, when Dr.

Spock took spanking out of the parenting toolbox, over and over again we hear more and more about how discipline is just all bad. In fact, a recent article in the New York Times cited another one of these experts who announced that even using a timeout is bad. We ought to, he says, call that forcibly isolating a child. Oh my. And he went on in the article to say that even using positive reinforcement, why that’s out too, because I’m quoting here, that teaches children that they are loved and lovable only when they do what we decide is a good job. The author of the article cited said nearly all forms of discipline are morally suspect. That’s the world we live in. And as a result of that, moms and dads, we’re afraid, aren’t we?

We’re afraid to discipline our children. We’re afraid of child protective services. We’re afraid of what our peers will think. We’re afraid of what the author of the latest bestseller on the television is going to say. We are afraid to do what the Bible tells us to do. Yet the Bible affirms that children desperately need discipline. And that good parents discipline their children. I’m saying to you today that what we need to learn, mom and dad, is to stop listening to the spirit of our age and start listening to what the Holy Spirit says in divine scripture. The Bible says kids need discipline. One parent well summarized the teaching of Scripture by saying, I love you too much to teach you that you can make bad choices without any consequences.

Choose to sin, choose to suffer. You reap what you sow. I love that. Choose to sin, choose to suffer. Yet therein may be the very problem. Because today parents are increasingly viewed as the life fixers whose function it is to make everything perfect in life for little types. Parents are to run in front of children, rolling out the red carpet, smoothing over every obstacle, and making sure that everything is always perfectly wonderful and absolutely fine with our little ones, lest in some way their self-esteem be harmed. That means, of course, there can be no discipline. Because as the Hebrew writer says, no discipline seems pleasant at the time. But what I need to do is I need to be reminded of what God is expecting of me as a parent.

That I will teach my children to obey me. Why? So that someday they will obey their heavenly Father. As soon as I understand that goal, I realize my job is not to be their best friend or be their buddy. My job is not to buy them everything that they want. My job is to teach my children about obedience so they can be obedient to God Almighty. And the book of Proverbs, and yea, all of Scripture affirms for me that discipline is a vital and significant tool to accomplish those ends. I urge you, mom and dad, to memorize Proverbs 13, 24. It will give you strength. It will give you courage because it will remind you that it is right to discipline. And that whatever everybody else is saying, however, they look at me, askew and the stance that I would dare to do such a thing, it is the right thing to do, and God will bless me when I do what His word tells me to do with my children.

Conclusion

Parents must discipline their children. Now I certainly acknowledge that being a parent today is very, very difficult. I understand that. I have, as I said, two daughters, and I have some understanding of the dimensions of the problems today. But I don’t think for a moment that God has left us unequipped to do this most vital of tasks. I believe the scriptures help us. And in fact, I believe these three passages reach out to moms and dads and say, you can do this, and here’s how to do it. And that’s why I think these verses are worth memorizing. But I will tell you this. This will only work if you have real faith in the Word of God. If you believe Dr. Phil knows best, if you believe the latest experts you read in the paper, really has it going on.

If you believe the Bible’s antiquitated and dusty and doesn’t really matter now, don’t waste your time memorizing the word of God. But if you have deep faith in the living and abiding word of God, ever powerful and always relevant, sharper than any two-edged sword. Hide God’s word in your heart. It will help you, Mom and Dad, to take on this challenge and to succeed in building strong families. Let’s pray about that. Would you pray with me, please? Oh Lord, we come before you, Father, so thankful for your awesome and powerful word. Open our eyes and help us see how relevant, how strong, how powerful it is, even yea, to our day right now. Help us to study it afresh and anew as parents to see your tremendous principles of right and wrong there, Father.

Help us to believe your word. And help us, Father, to teach and implement your word as we parent these precious little ones. It’s in your Son’s name that we pray. And amen. Grab a song book, please. We’ll finish up with an invitation here. An invitation to obey the living word of God. You know, you sure can’t give away what you yourself don’t have. And I need to ask you, Mom and Dad, need to ask everyone. Have you obeyed the word of God? Have you done what the Lord says to be a Christian? That’s not complicated or difficult to discern in the Bible. In Acts 2 and 38, people who want to become Christians are told to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins.

Have you done that? If not, what are you waiting for? God commands we obey, and we should obey when? Instantly. If you are a child of God and you’re away from the Lord, you’re not doing what God tells you to do, you need to obey Him as well. Repent and turn yourself around to serve Him in a new and better way. If we could help you this morning to obey God, do what’s right and become a Christian or be a better Christian, would you make your way right down front while we stand, while we sound like