3. Train up a child in the way he should go…
Proverbs 22:6
4. Train a child in
the way he
should go, and
when he is old
he will not turn
from it. (NIV)
Teach a child to
choose the right
path, and when
he is older, he
will remain
upon it. (TLB)
Point your kids
in the right
direction —
when they're
old they won't
be lost.
(THE MESSAGE)
Directive…… Result……
5. • Dedicate -- “to give to the gods”
• A house (Deut 20:5)
• Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 8:63; 2 Chro 7:5)
• King Nebuchadnezzar’s image of gold (Dan 3:2)
• Train
• Setting aside
• Narrowing or hedging in – from evil towards
godliness
• Putting food in the palate of babies
Directive
6. …. in the way
• “way” – path, roadmap, principles for parenting
• “THE” – prescribed, definitive… the “proper” way
…. UP
• Direction
• Towards godliness
• Encourage & challenge them to rise to their full
potential
Directive
7. … he should go
• Not how parents want him to go
• Not in the way he would go
• But the way he SHOULD go
• Discern the child’s individuality and God-given
special strength
"Can you give us any special instructions about how we
should raise the baby after he is born?” (Judg 13:12)
Directive
8. Result
“As the twig is bent, so grows
the tree.”
Alexander Pope
Early training shapes later life
Cool bent tree near Geraldton, W Australia
9. A Tale of 2 young men…..
(from the Bible)
Early years spent with their parents….
then they were taken away….
but their feet had been set
on the right path……
Result
10. • Brought up as a Hebrew
child
• Taught in Egyptian court
• Led Israelites out of
Egypt
• Grew up in Judah
• Taken into captivity to
Babylon
• Became PM of Babylon
• Daniel in the Lion’s Den
Moses Daniel
13. King David – Children are the source of great joy as
well as great sorrow…. (Pro 23:24-25)
JOY…. Quiver full of them
(Ps 127:3-5)
GRIEF…. “O Absalom… my son Absalom”
(2 Sam 19:4)
Solomon would have broken David’s heart,
if he had lived to see Solomon’s idolatry.
14. Rebekah….
Esau was a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah
(Gen 26:35)
Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm
disgusted with living
because of these Hittite
women.… (Gen 27:46)
16. R
• Way of Jesus Christ (Jn 14:6)
• Instill in them an unshakable faith, trust in God
• Decision making – choose the right way
• Holiness
17. R
Susanna Wesley
• Susanna: "If I had stopped with 19
times, the whole labour would have
been wasted!"
• Habit forming—minimum 21-28
days
18. R
Prov 13:24 – “He who spares the rod hates his son, but
he who loves him is careful to discipline him.”
Prov 19:18 – “Discipline your son, for in that there is
hope; do not be a willing party to his death.”
19. R
Prov 22:15 -- “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.”
Prov 23:13 – “Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you punish him with the rod, he will not die.”
20. R
James Dobson
James Dobson: start disciplining your
children @ approximately 14 months
of age…. after 4 years old, the concrete
hardens a little and you have to work
harder to break it up
21. R
• Demonstrating how to do something
• Giving a set of tools, demonstrating a skill
22. R
• To feed & protect
• To support & encourage
• To bring up, train, educate
The sum of the environmental factors influencing
the behavior.
23. Tiger on Tightrope
Royal Hanneford Circus - Westchester NY, 2013-02-16
The only tiger in the world who has been trained to walk the tightrope
Parents are like tiger trainers….
