MISSIONAL COMMUNITY QUESTIONS

1. Reread Ephesians 6:1-4 If possible, listen to the sermon again.

• What does this passage teach or reveal about God?
• What does this passage teach or reveal about human beings and the world? What does this passage teach or reveal about Jesus & the gospel?
• What does this passage teach or reveal about the hope Christ gives now – and the restoration promised in the future?

2. In looking over your notes from this weeks sermon what was the most important truth from God's Word? Was there anything that particularly caught your attention, challenged or confused you? Any questions?

3.  The most crucial mark of gospel-centered parenting is "modeling."  Why is it important for parents to model a pursuit of Christ and a gospel-centered marriage?  

4.  How are you encouraged or challenged by these quotes:

• "Healthy marriages are typically the soil that healthy children spring forth from."
• "We can often find glory in being a great parent while being an unbiblical spouse.  However, in the long run, this often will sabotage the health and development of the children."
• "A chaotic marriage leads to chaotic children."
• "Some parents work so hard to protect their kids from the influences of the world...only to have a home that is a wreck." 
• "To give children good instructions, and a bads example is but beckoning to them with the head to show them the way to heaven, while we take them by the hand and lead them in the way to hell." Archbishop Tillostson)
• "An exasperated child is one who has a right to be provoked because of the incongruities between a parent's stated beliefs and the parent's actual behaviors." Bryan Chapell 

5. Briefly describe your idea of the ideal family. What do the kids look/act like? What do the parents look/act like? How does scripture inform us on what should be our ideal?

6. How can raising children Biblically turn even the toughest moments into worship and joy? Is this the norm in your household?

7. How can we as fathers and mothers better practice verse 4? How can we as a community encourage and empower all of the fathers and mothers in our midst to practice verse 4 on a consistent basis?

8. What are some ways you have exasperated your children? Have you confessed and repented of this sin? Why is this command so important to us as a church, a society, and a culture?

**All of us have ways in which we saw our parents succeed and fail in parenting. Let us show honor and grace in our remembrances. All the while let us ask Jesus to reveal to us and strengthen us through His Spirit to mirror the ways in which they mirrored Christ and reject the ways in which they did not. May we look to the perfect parent for how to better do this ourselves.**