# The Duties of Parents Over Thier Children



## C. Matthew McMahon (Dec 4, 2005)

In dealing with the Reformation, and how it impacts the various roles in the Family, this series continues with:

Family Reformation Part 4, The Duties of Parents Over Their Children, Ephesians 6:1-4, by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon

http://www.christcovenantrpc.org/AudioSermons.htm

Blessings.


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## blhowes (Dec 4, 2005)

Matthew,
Are you trying to indirectly teach me patience by sending us to the website that contains the sermon titles for the next three weeks in addition to today's sermon? It reminds me of shows I use to watch when I was a kid. When it got to the most exciting part..."Tune in next week for..." 

I look forward to listening to today's sermon and the upcoming ones as well.

Bob


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## C. Matthew McMahon (Dec 4, 2005)

Bob, I'm following TV's cliffhanging "get them to come back next week and tune into the same Bat time and same bat channel" marketing ploys!

I'm going to finish up with the Religious Tradesman and Master and Slaves with this next sermon on the family, and then complete the Reformation series with a sermon on Redeeming the Time, and then Keeping the Heart. All this talk about Reformation would be useless if we did not continue it.


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## BJClark (Dec 5, 2005)

blhowes,




> Matthew, Are you trying to indirectly teach me patience by sending us to the website that contains the sermon titles for the next three weeks in addition to today's sermon? It reminds me of shows I use to watch when I was a kid. When it got to the most exciting part..."Tune in next week for..."



I laughed when I read this,   

This morning while getting ready for church I had the TV on, listening to a local Preacher that I've known since High School, about half way through the sermon the program ended. My son who had been sitting on the couch listening says "IT'S OVER ALL READY?" 

I asked what he meant, He said "I was just getting into what he was saying and it ended, and it just seems like it was too short." 

I said, "well that was the Churches intent with a 30 minute time slot, to give you just enough to wet your appetite and leave you hungering for more." He looked at me  

I explained, "They don't want people sitting in front of their TV sets on Sunday mornings, they want them to get up and go to Church, so they can hear the entire sermon." He was like OHHHH.


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## blhowes (Dec 5, 2005)

> _Originally posted by BJClark_
> I explained, "They don't want people sitting in front of their TV sets on Sunday mornings, they want them to get up and go to Church, so they can hear the entire sermon." He was like OHHHH.


Yeah, these preachers certainly have a *purpose* for what they do. I admire how *driven* they are.

[Edited on 12-5-2005 by blhowes]


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## blhowes (Dec 5, 2005)

Very good sermon. What particularly hit home with me was the importance of living godly lives before our children. Our children will be like us in many ways. Do we want them to reflect the image of God or our own image? 

That motivates me, but how do I use that motivation to make personal reform so that more of God's image shines through. We all (I do, anyway) have areas of my life, or personal traits, that don't reflect God's image that I'd like to change. Some I attribute to "that's just who I am" and others I attribute to a lack of discipline. When we hold our lives up to the mirror of God's word and see considerable contrast, where and how to we begin to the reformation "process"?

Bob


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## BJClark (Dec 5, 2005)

Your wanting to open another  aren't you? 

But ya know, I believe this is a tool Pastors have used for Generations so it's really not a 'new' method of presenting the Gospel. 

How many Pastors teach book by book, verse by verse chapter by chapter through the bible? and people go back every week because they want to hear the rest, sure we could read it on our own but that's not always the same.

To me it's like listening to a song the radio and midway through the song and we lose the station and then finish singing the song anyway, so that we get the closure we need.

[Edited on 12-5-2005 by BJClark]


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## BJClark (Dec 5, 2005)

Bob,

I think it starts with acknowledging the behavior and then asking God to change us.

Before I got married, My pastor gave us a book to read called "Blended Families" the author gave some awsome insights into what she considered some 'generational sins' that are past down. I'm not sure they could all be considered sins, but then if we really look at the motivations behind the actions they very well could be. 

Like you mentioned in your post about saying "that's just who I am", she found she and her husband did the same thing, and is partly what causes many problems within marriages.

for example:

A man wanting to get his point across slams his fist on the table, the children learn slamming their fist on the table gets attention. Is it a sin to slam your fist on the table, not in and of itself, no, but the motivation behind slamming their fist on the table could be. So that is what they need to look at, "why do they feel the need to slam their fist on the table?" "Well, it's what my father always did." 

not good enough if your a Born Again Christian, God doesn't slam his fist on a table to get attention. So what is another option? If we can't come up with other options on our own, then we need to seek Godly counsel on how to effectively communicate our point without causing fear. 

So if we really look at where some of our habits come from and the motivations behind them, then we compare that to what God's word says and see if it lines up, if not, we pray asking God to help us to change those areas in our lives.

[Edited on 12-5-2005 by BJClark]


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