Practical Things Parents Can Do

Welcome to family life to the going to be continuing today. The conversation we been having this week with John McDowell and Jay Warner Wallace about how we build a Christian worldview in our thinking and in our children's thinking, but were stopping here at the beginning of today's program to just pull back and reflect and think carefully about all that has happened in the last week David Robbins who is the person family life is here with us and David. This is been I been thinking in the context of my own life I lived through the 60s, so I've lived through some moments like this before, but I don't remember a national moment like this really in my lifetime yeah our nation is aching through this deep struggle that makes us certainly long for the Lord's return and also long for the promise that he will make all things new and and for us to ask questions of how can we participate in making all things new and in in this moment, this is a time for all of us to have some sober personal reflection to apply Psalm 139 search me oh God know my heart see if there be wicked ways in me bring that to the surface so that I can confess it and deal with it. How do you think we should be praying as individuals and as a family in the middle of this moment I wrote an article for family life.com that you can find there, and it basically is an invitation to intercede to parade to literally get on our knees and it walks through five different areas in the first is to confess and lament to pray that Psalm 139 verse 23 prayer to come in humility and to search out our hearts to feel pain to listen and to hear it and understand. And when you talk about lament and feeling pain. We may not be feeling it personally because these are not things that have happened to us directly, but the Bible says were to weep with those who weep and we have brothers and sisters fellow image bearers who are in pain. And God calls us to to feel that with them.

That's right, he says multiple times in the Scriptures do not fear, he says do not be anxious.

He never says do not be sad and he actually teaches us how to lament all throughout the Psalms, and multiple times in Scripture and us being able to understand how to lament as an act of worship is really important well and and you said confession as well. This is where I do think we need to examine our own hearts. I've been asking the Lord to reveal blind spots in my own life when it comes to how I interact with people who are different than me and and to bring those out in the open and confess that and listen and learn absolutely and to learn from people that have different experiences than us is really important.

The second area invite people to pray through is to pray for injustice to and that we would understand that all are made in God's image and to interceded piece would be found and that justice would be found.

Justice is a big theme in the Bible God is a just God. And when we as his image bearers are unjust with one another. We are marring the image of God and again that needs to be confessed as well. So I agree with you, pray for justice. Amos said for justice to role in our world and the third area is that we would pray for our leaders at every level in our country are national leaders all the way down to our community leaders and local church leaders pray for wisdom and compassion for them to engage with people with compassion, wisdom, and also to make decisions that bring flourishing for everyone in our communities and as we think about leaders I think about those public servants, police officers, and those who are in the military who been called out. I think about protesters as well. Pray for them to exercise wisdom and to protest appropriately.

That those seeking justice would also seek peace and for those who are seeking peace would also seek justice. There is a power in a peaceful protest yes before theory would be to pray for renewal and revival that we in this time, so much as been going on in 2020, what is God doing in our midst to break up hard into places in our hearts and we need to pray for God's spirit to move powerfully transformational. He and broadly through our land this past week was Pentecost Sunday when God poured out his spirit on his church and I thought we need a fresh pouring out of the spirit of God in our land today, so yeah. Pray for renewal and revival.

Absolutely he is put that same spirit in each one of us and that leads to the fifth point that we would pray for unity. Pray for unity among the body of Christ, pray that we would be one in expressing love and righteousness, together with the this is helpful and I just want to mention the these prayer areas are part of the article that you wrote that's available on our website@familylifetoday.com you can go there and refer to this maybe lead your family through this and it's just important that we take a few minutes here before we dive into today's program and and talk about these things you'll pray for us and for our world absolutely lower we come before you can get King's Lord of the Lords you've said for us to approach your throne of grace with confidence. We are in need of grace and mercy. Lord, we pray for ourselves individually and corporately that you would move in us and transform and form our own hearts and souls toward you and you would also form our country and our world toward you, that it would be on earth as it is in heaven.

Lord, thank you for getting to be a part of ministering to families where we would live at our vision of every home becoming a godly home Lord, would you do it in our day in Jesus name Amen amen thank you David that we have the and having a conversation this week about how we as parents can help our children think biblically think critically think from above biblical worldview about the issues that were facing in our world today and we've got friends who have been with us this week they're back again today Sean McDowell and Jay Warner Wallace are joining us because welcome again to family life today. Victor had asked Barry back, Jeff, Sean and Jay Warner are both involved at the Bible University has professors in the apologetics program that is one of the premier programs on apologetics in in the country. Maybe in the world. I think that would be safe to say really say that vessels gave us the top apologetics program at objective truth and you are equipping college students to know how to defend their faith in a way that brings reason and logic and says this is a list a reasonable fate. This is, this makes logical sense. But even on the college campus. It's not just middle schoolers, but college students.

The headwinds for Christian living. Today is it stronger than it's ever been, or about am I overstating the case. I think it shifted a little bit when I talk to my father, who spoke and on and on 1200 universities go back to 60s and 70s. He said the questions he used to get our is it true give me facts, there is this an assumption that there such a thing as truth and you should put evidence forward for your position.

What we now live in what's called a post truth culture in which people tend to navigate reality a lot through their feelings doesn't mean truth is not important but feelings for a lot of different reasons are shaping how people are even processing truth today and the questions have shifted from. Is this true give me evidence to the assumption that Christianity is bad.

How can you believe this, how are you not a bigot. How are you not hateful so we still have to make a case that Christianity is true and I would say.

People always inherently care about truth because were made in the image of God. But what happens now. It's not just the Christian's false Christianity deems being bad and it's been harmful and that a lot of young people look at us and go if I really want to love people. What is that mean for how I view marriage to cite the example he gave earlier because they're saying I want to follow the biblical worldview. I want to be a bigot. I want to be a jerk. Navigating those waters is really really tricky for this generation. How did Christianity and and hate get melded together in the minds us only people brought me think what is for second but what we've good sermon on the Mount Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. This is visiting them that the construct for Christianity. From the very beginning and I think part of world trade with young people now is were both at Summit worldview conference were talking a high score 07 sessions every seven or more every year and and a lot I try tell young people as well.

Are you really surprised this is what we were. We signed up for it. At some point ethic. We had to embrace this position. We hold that righteousness has never been popular. It'll never be popular in a fallen culture, what, why, he says.

Blessed are you, rejoice and be glad, he says, with your persecute this way because in the same way the prophets were persecuted before you. Why does that happen because when you speak the words of God to the ears of humans. You're going take to take it tough. It's gonna be hard hard sell is in the hearts offer. Even our own kid, you will be in the minority position because profits are the same way speaking the words of God to the world of fallen humans never goes well, but it is a grown-up. I'm equipped a little better to handle that than a 14-year-old who's trying to say who am I to people like me. How do I get people to like me. How do I fit in.

How do I not be an outcast and worse and owe you to follow Jesus, which is gonna make you an outcast and who wants to sign on for that. What don't you think the most the time though our young people are by their innate nature. A bit rebellious. We've always been at the gum people are buying very niche return if I carve a new way that is somehow slightly countercultural right that the culture is shifting now is actually embracing the views that the rebellious teenagers held two generations ago to be countercultural in this culture, I think means we could adopt the views Jesus was very countercultural. If you're looking for a countercultural role models.

I see we got on the pages in the New Testament.

I think her parents today.

It's really confusing like a practical question is should we put our kids in Christian school should we be homeschooling or do we put in in public school, I think so many young parents are trying to make those decisions and they feel very lost. I think that's gonna defend a lot on the quality of the public school. The quality of the private school. The resources to homeschool or not in the nature of the young person I've seen Christian young people thrive in all of those different settings and I seen them crash in all of those different settings. I think what parents have to do for goats and occasional public school be involved be engaged build relationships with the teachers find outlets being taught and be really active in that relationship and they homeschool has challenges.

If you private school that has challenges so I'm not to say you necessarily have to do one of the other, but I think parents need to be very thoughtful about this, they better find out exactly what is being taught in schools right now kindergarten all the way up through high school. In terms of what are called sexual health standards. There are things being taught in the public schools, which you cannot opt out your kids that are directly in contradiction with the Christian faith. That is not me know.

Christian parents can send their kids there, that's not my point, but few do. Be aware be involved and know exactly what you're getting into. And make sure there's a relationship there to counter some of the ideas that are coming through California, New York, and to a state near you you I gotta say some move up by my wife, Susie was here with me last time I was here for the radio show and she said something yesterday that struck me about this very thing she said it was so frustrating for her to have to have the conversations she had to have his. We did have our kids both and all he says you have some work is been in private school shun some of our kids, but in public school we homeschool for a season so we can experienced all of this and one of things was so frustrating for her was to have to what she said I had to interrupt their innocence in order to explain what they were about to encounter and can we have a sense that there is at an appropriate time, print these conversations and I want as a parent who knows my child best to be able to figure out when that time is not to have that time dictated to me because tomorrow and be talking about it in school so there was a sense of what she said it was so frustrating to have to interrupt our kids innocence to have that discussion. I think that's a fair way to put it right. I think that we it's one thing we would all agree is that as parents we ought to have the right to share the worldview to teach our kids bring our kids up in the worldview that we think is true so that it was called marriage that you think about this even homeschool parents today can't keep their kids from the eye does arise in the culture.

That's right, you are fooling yourself if you think oh I homeschool my kid. They're not getting exposed to pornography or not potentially get exposed to these ideas, it's ubiquitous, so unfortunately we have to start those conversation areas early. It breaks my heart. But we have to the sake of our kids obviously before if we can control some of their consumption of this digital media. If you have some parameters leisure monitoring what your kids are viewing x-ray and enough technological changes right now, they're out there that are designed to protect these platforms. If you install them on your platforms they will give you a good sense of what your kids are doing even reap send them by email screenshots of what they're saying on their phone.

That's pretty much a limiter for a lot of young people if they think their parents are going to get a daily email which you have screenshots from their phone. There are some ways you can set some boundaries some realistic boundaries think that's probably appropriate for us to do, but we try to do this book is we we recognize that there's a lot of of books are written about what is true what is true. It is true, this book we read wrote this time is really how do you take what is true and practically engage your kids with that it's a how-to book and the book is called so our listeners will know so the next generation will know by Sean McDowell and Jay Warner Wallace and as you said, it's practical, so let's make this practical. Let's get into if you were sitting at a table with a group of parents of middle school, high school, college-age students and their gone. We want our kids to to thrive and to embrace their faith and to be able to defend their faith and to hold fast to their faith where you start. Here's a couple practical examples of things parents consider giving now realized kids are different.

Some things work for one kid and not for another subpart of the book is to say, here's a bunch of tools you can try. Take what works and thought what doesn't.

So, about a year year and half ago my son wanted to see this movie about the rock band Queen and is called Bohemian Rhapsody's PG-13. I knew what what band I never heard of you and your little green) you plan and let's just acknowledge for folks who don't know Freddie Mercury was not a moral individual right yet to say the least. Fair enough.

So I read stuff about a new the rock and clean. So there's okay there's some things in this. There probably push in a certain agenda read enough and I said to my son he is 14 and I said okay you want to see this movie here City Hall pay for. I'll take a friend is fine now. I ask going by popcorn is when were done we just sit down and I just want to know what you think about it. What did you see what did you learn was Christianity. Present were there any ideas that you thought were being preached. She was a good story telling just how conversation he was sure dad. So we go to the movie.

I paid for it.

We come down afterwards and pry 30 minutes. We sit down our dinner table and I like what you see you ever feel their pre-check goes I had dad in this one scene. They said something they never would've said in that a user whatever air it was and we just simply had a conversation about it. So our goal in the book is to say there's more opportunities if we build a relationship present if will season, so another example is my daughter this past summer.

She's 12 wanted these Birkenstock shoes that are not cheap and she wanted him. I thought well okay what if I can find a way where she can get these that I bring some value to us that I said okay so I got an idea. There's the short videos online by one my favorite radio show host name Dennis Prager in there on religion in thereon, culture and politics.

Therefore, five minutes. I said if you watch 50. These just write a summary of each one, just one paragraph family may write 50 you have nothing of us start with 100, but I hundred dollars. These are not cheap and she really wanted him fairly on my my my compromise with him. I started there and she took it ice ice white watch just write a summary of each one and just tell me your mom, your grandparents simply what you learn in each one, and she did she watch 50.

The she's tell me you know this about Planned Parenthood.

She's like I'm subset I'm listening these you know this about history and she worked there all 50 daughter.

The shoes so she learned a little bit about things have a value know you work for something.

We had all these worldview conversations that my son just simply would not have done that right up my daughter in which he stuns you like don't think I do that again. I said that's fine is a good experience when you say the parent that says no way am I let my kids see Bohemian Rhapsody. Even if we have a discussion about it only say that parent I say why not, what are you afraid of right look. If your kid is eight I get it. If your kid is 14 years old. This is the world we live in. And it's not endorsing it. Necessarily by seeing that film and there's not sex scenes that are explicit at all, not its language and its suggestive so there are certain films I'd say no were not to see this and you do have to be careful and read ahead of time, but the way my parents raised me is to look at this as an opportunity and not be afraid of it. I think what happens is when we say they're not watching Bohemian Rhapsody, it becomes the forbidden fruit. I just want to take that away from the go. Hey, I'm not afraid of this.

We got discernment we have wisdom.

Let's watch it and talk about what human mind to the basic principle here is we do not want our young people to engage bad ideas for the first time when they're not with us to help them navigate that idea so the end I want them to engage every bad I got bless you Pastor, we would assign and read through all of the most popular New Age prospective new atheist books, you know, it is now to move us, playing a little bit. Yes, the idea was Dawkins.

It was Sam Harris. It was Christopher Hitchens, was all these folks were writing books are very popular and I want my young people to have heard every bit of every one of those books before they go to college. So they've already been there, done that, not examine the issue. Already overcome the issue only know the truth is from both sides before they hear one sidedly in a university setting for the first time you it's been said that one of the biggest challenges that we wrote a whole chapter on this is apathy that made the biggest challenge to theism is not atheism, but apathy is in and I think there's a good argument to be made.

There is that rolling your eyes. We talked about the past, right we have a sense that is only care about this in the how do we increase passion in our students. This is a challenge, but I would say the one thing we would offer as a common overarching principle that will change every conversation you will have with your kids so is not a new thing that you have to sell yet I could have conversations. Plus, this implies that we didn't want to. A lot of +ones on this book we wanted to see how do you transform what you're already doing even tense. His parents is to offer a lot of what's what is true, but the Bible what is about to teach about this was true about God what is God say about that.

What what what what what what was dead was offer to wise for every watt in you will see your conversations change you will see the interest in your students change your kids change because what really is happening is that is you want to wise for every what what is was about to say but that's fine. Okay.

So why do you believe that's true on the basis of what other evidence can you to demonstrate it is just because the Bible says so I think grandma hard time with a generation is bombarded with other viewpoints in a post-truth world. What objective reason should I believe that the Bible is actually accurate on that issue is to require us as parents to have a little bit more pocket than just his Bible says so yeah this can be important for a generation.

It's getting support for every other claim is that we are not studies.

I can assure the study as to why this act is true. I got science behind this I can ship all you guys have usually Bible what turns out we could make a case for everything this claimant Bible from both natural revelation ends from special revelation is our choice of organa do that or not. That's the first why the second wise, probably more important okay so you made this claim, but the Bible and you told me some good evidence for why the attribute why should I care but was a matter to me. I Change My Life to Accept This View, Which Seems Located. The Bible Says God Is Triune Matter to Me Doesn't Apply to Me in 2020. That's a Good Question.

I Think You'll Turns out That This Generation Reports Themselves. They Will Set Say They Will Identify Themselves As the Loneliest Generation and Think about That for a Second Then As We Reported at a Time When Students and Young People Have More Access Instantly to More of Their Friends Than Ever before, yet They Report Being Lonelier Now Than Any Other Generations of Reporting What Is That the Case Law. Turns out That It's It's Theological That That Thing You Thought Was so Bizarre This Idea That You and Your Christian Worldview Are Not Just a Soul You Body Your Soul Your Soulless Creature.

That's a Biblical Truth, I Can Make a Case for the Soul without the Bible I'm Going to Do That. But in the End. That Explains Why You're Lonely Because under a Christian Worldview. It Turns out That Your Body Matters and Being in the Proximity of Another Physical Body Is What Relationships Are Built on so You Can Have All of Those Soulless Relationships That Are Digital, They're Not Physical and You Will Always Be Lonely Because You Were Created in the Image of God, and He Gave You Both a Bucket by the Way, When We Die We All Could Be Nonphysical Beings. We Have a Resurrection Body.

We Will Always Be Connected As Both Physical and Spiritual, and That's What's Missing in the Lives of A Lot Of Young People As They Have Really Become More of a Nonphysical Relationship with All of Their Friends but They Are Strapped in the Reality of Being Created in This Way and They Crave This Kind of Physical Proximity so Turns out I Can Make a Case for What the Bible Claims about This Why This Is True Even.

There Was No Bible and Then Why Not a Matter to You and It Is Interesting. You've Artie Said That I You Know Even As a Parent or As a Youth Pastor Is Anybody Trying to Influence the Next Generation. They're Not Really Gonna Listen to the Wise. Even or the What's the Less They Feel and You Started the Book with This Question That You Level That's Open It in Junior at Me As I Looked at Even How You Broke the Book up the Generations Different. There's All Kinds of Different Influences but When It Comes down to the Core There Still Asking the Same Question. We Still Asked Today As Adults, but We Deftly Asked of the 1213-year-old Do You Love Me and Will You Show It, and Those Are Your Two Sections Is like How Do I Reach My Son and Daughter. They Are Gonna Want to Know First. Do You Love Me and Then Out Of That Relationship Right As II Live out Your Friends That That's the Heart of It at Its Core. I Think This Generation Wants to Be Called the Beloved. That's the Heart. We All Do, and Especially in Light of This Loneliness, Especially in Light of Distractions Especially in Light of the Constant Pressures and Anxiety in Their Heart. They Just Want to Be Known As the Beloved of an Adult. Steps in and Says I Care about You and Him and Help You Be Everything God Has Designed You to Be. They Might Not Show the Immediate Response They Want to, but That's Making a Difference in Their Life and More Often Than Not Bears Fruit the Long Run I Think That's the Most Important Thing That We Can Barely and on Is That Fact Because My Mom Recently Passed Away 90 Years Old and We Recently Just Celebrated Her Life and so for Her Celebration. Their 12 Grandsons, No Granddaughters, Only Grandsons Ages 28 to 41 All Stood up and Gave Her Attribute and Talked about the Impact That She Had Made on Their Life. Everyone in It Really Wasn't about Her Worldview. It Wasn't about How She Was Such a Theologian, Although She Lived Her Faith. It Was That She Loved Them.

She Saw Then See Played with and She Made Them Laugh, They Said, and She Sat down with Tess.

She Looked at Us in the Eye and She Said You I Love How God Made You. I'm so Proud of You and Basically Said She Said You Are My Beloved and I'm Telling You These 12 Boys They Would Give Their Life for Her and That's What Really Matters Delete Love Them Because We Can Make It so Complicated and Fearful.

His Parents Thinking I Need All These Answers I Need to Know Apologetic. I Need This Worldview. It Really Comes down to Where He Spent Time with and Will You Be with Them Engaging Their Questions and Their and Their Dialogue. They Just Want Somebody to See and to Love Them and Maybe If We Don't Know the Answers. We Can Help Them Find Answers and It's Not That the Apologetics Don't Matter Copywriter Said There Were Two Apologetics Ants Who Are Given Their Lives to Send These Truth Claims Do Matter and Both Are Important, but You Don't Have a Foundation to Communicate That and Let It What It What's the Old Line They Don't Care What You Know until They Know How Much You Care All the Way through Your Book, You Weave the Idea That This Is How You Love You Love This Way by Bike Sharing Truth by Engaging by Being There, but It's All with This Foundation of You I Really Do Care and I Respect You and I Will Listen to You and Morgan Have a Relationship and in the Context of That Little Talk about What Biblical Worldview Looks like Because You to Face Some Headwinds and You Have To Stand in the Midst of Those Headwinds. And Just like You Sean When You're 19 Years Old.

You May Think I'm Unutterably Well of the Stuff and That's Okay. Think Deeply about It Are Conviction, Your Conviction Is If People Will Think Clearly about the Bible.

The Bible School Validate Itself.

What Was It That I Think Was Spurgeon, Who They Ask Him If He Would Debate the Bible and He Said I Only to Debate the Bible Does Take off Its Leash. It's like a Bulldog. It'll It'll Defend Itself and the Claims of Christ Hold up under Intellectual Scrutiny, but the Foundation of Love We We Started This Whole Conversation by Talking about the Fact John 114 Jesus Came He Was Full of Grace and Truth. If Our Parenting If Our Christianity Is Not Full of Grace and Truth. There Something Deficient and We Got to Be Full of Both You Guys about Equip Us in Both Areas and and Were Grateful for the Book and Were Grateful for You Being Here. Thanks for Being on Family up to the House of Linda Bianchi and and Because There Are a Ton of Parents on Think of Right Now Who Need This Book and Realize They Need This Book They Can Go to Our Website Family like to.com Order the Book. So the Next Generation Will Know by Sean McDowell and Jay Warner Wallace.

There Is Also a Participant's Guide. You Can Get Together with Other Parents and Go through Eight Sessions Where You Interact and Talk about How You're Going to Do This with Your Kids. Great for Small Group or a Sunday School Class Again Find the Information on Our website@familylifetoa.com. You can order from us online or call to order one 800, FL, today is the number. The title the book one more time. So the next generation will no order online@familylifetothe.com or call 1-800-358-6329 that's one 800 F as in family L as in life, and then the word today. I again want to point you back to our website. Family life to.com at the beginning of today's program David Robbins to person family life joined us to talk about how we can be praying together as a family, as individuals, brothers and sisters in Christ, in the middle of the issues that were facing as a nation of the article David wrote on that. And the prayer prompts that he provided are available online@familylifetoa.com and let's take this assignment seriously.

Let's make sure were spending time praying for our nation.

Praying for the spirit of God to be poured out on us in our day. It's clear we need God to do a work in our midst, and I hope again you go to family life to.com and get a copy of David's article and pray through it this weekend and with that we got wrap things up for this week. Thanks for being with us. Hope you have a great weekend.

Hope you and your family are able to worship together with your local church one way or another this weekend and I hope you can join us back on Monday will introduce you to a couple who had at one point in their marriage realize they had to deal with what had been a hidden, a wife who'd experienced sexual abuse and never told anyone finally came to light a pretty dramatic way to build be here for that thinker engineer today links along with our entire action team on behalf of our hosts Dave and Ann Wilson about having a wonderful weekend. See you Monday for another edition. Family life, family life, to a is a production of family life of Little Rock, Arkansas. A crew ministry help for today hope for tomorrow