Purposed Parent Connected Child Podcast Episode 115 - How to Teach Your Child to Turn From Sin and to God's Grace
Welcome to the Purposed Parent/Connected Child podcast – Episode 115 – How to Teach Your Child to Turn From Sin and to God's Grace
Thank you for sharing your day with me. I pray this podcast gives you the awareness and tools you need to STOP being a GOOD mom and BECOME the GODLY mom God entrusts you to be. Then you will be the SET-APART woman PURPOSELY raising children to chase CHRIST over culture.
Just a quick reminder as we start, if you enjoy Purposed Parent Connected Child podcast episodes, would you please share this episode or others with a friend or family member? When you graciously take a moment to do that, and leave a rating or review at Apple Podcast, you are ensuring that others will find the podcast. When you do, you’re helping affect generations for Jesus.
Now on to this episode about how to teach your child to turn from sin and to God’s grace.
Have you ever done something in your life that you knew was direct disobedience to God? Or maybe you didn’t know it at the time, but later your heart was pierced with grief at the way you sinned against God.
Perhaps you knew at the time that you were sinning against God, but rebelled as you chose to walk in your way.
Repentance goes beyond simply being sorry. Repentance drives us to our knees before God and leads to changed heart and actions.
2 Corinthians 7:10 says, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”
Acts 3:19 says, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”
In the Old Testament God demands that people turn away from their sin and wickedness, and in the New Testament we read about repentance in the stories of specific people such as John the Baptist, Peter, the disciples, Paul, and Jesus.
When we consider biblical characters who sinned and repented, we can think of King David or Paul. Both of them show mighty examples of how a person can sin greatly against God and others, yet find true, life-changing repentance. In order to find such a move of conscience that leads to change bringing a deeper relationship with God, there are a few requirements.
1. We must experience godly sorrow for our sin. This isn’t simply being sorry we got caught, but a sorrow that pierces our heart with the realization that we have sinned greatly against God Almighty.
2. Next, we must confess our sin. When we have sinned against someone it is always wise to ask them for forgiveness, which sets us on the right path to come before God.
3. We must also confess before God, asking Him for forgiveness. This is the most important step in repentance. We must learn to come before our Heavenly Father with a heart for forgiveness and change.
4. As we realize we have sinned before God, and ask Him for forgiveness, we also ask Him to keep us from repeating that sin or others, we receive deeper fellowship and humble obedience.
5. In order to continue to deepen our walk with God, we must also continue seeking Him daily. He knows our weaknesses and as we step into His arms and ask Him to keep us obedient to Him, He hears our cries.
Psalm 51:1-6 says, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.”
Teach your child that God is merciful in little ways daily. He doesn’t wait for us to mess up so He can punish us. Instead, He waits for us to turn to Him with sincere repentance. We are all sinners, but God doesn’t leave us in that state. In His loving righteous care for us, He has given us the ability to be cleansed.
Psalm 51:10-12 show us how God delights as we desire a pure heart. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
Psalm 51:17finishes with a plea we desire our child to utter before God. It’s also what we should be doing moment by moment. “My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”
Now that we’ve discussed repentance and what it is, how do you teach your child to have a heart for seeking God and living with a repentant heart?
As you build the foundation of faith for your child in all the ways we’ve discussed in previous episodes, help him or her to build faith and trust on God's Word and truths. Remind your children to turn to Scripture in every circumstance of life. Help them do that by sharing Scripture early in your time with them.
Refer to God’s Word when you lovingly disciple them in their disobedience. Yes, you discipline your child, but do so with the heart of discipleship, not punishment. They will suffer consequences of their actions, but you never want to discipline for the sake of punishment. You aren’t trying to beat your child down, but are attempting to lift them up in the Lord and mold their heart for Him.
Help your children direct desires and actions according to God's Word.
As you teach day by day, look up passages that have to do with sin, character, integrity, and so on. Show your children how to use biblical truths and commands to guide their morals and integrity. Let your child see you do the same each day. Talk to them about how you use God’s Word to guide your daily life, choices, and actions.
Show your children how you repent and ask God for forgiveness in your daily life - apologize to them and others when needed.
Teach them how God deals with sin and repentance in the Bible and show them how to apply those teachings in their life.
God's grace is greater than our sin, but He requires us to repent and turn away from sin through His strength. Remember, we are always parenting the hearts of our children and with the desire to help them shape character and behavior that is Christlike and pleasing to God. Everything can be used for His glory and as ways to teach for Him.
Dear Heavenly Father, we are humbled to come before You and thankful for Your mighty presence in our life. Thank you for the freedom to make choices, and for the grace You offer when we make mistakes, yet come to You with a heart of repentance. Help us change to be more pleasing in Your sight. Help us to teach the qualities You desire to our children and to show them Your heart and truths. Help us teach them by our actions, desires, and through Your Holy Word. May we use Your truths as the way to their heart. May our life be godly examples they can see and may we lead them straight into Your arms. Please keep them from sinning against You. In the precious name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
This is the part of the episode that you usually hear me talk about the Set-Apart Collective. Today I want to share about my new mini program called “Establish Identity.”
Why? Your identity is a major force behind what you do. Who you believe yourself to be, and who you find your identity through affects the way you live, parent, love, serve, and discipline. Your identity is one of the lifelines, a pulse point of your home.
Do you ever stop to think that you are the first Jesus your child will see? Even if they are grown, your identity affects your child. The way you think, speak, and react is rooted in your identity.
Send me a message at info@terrihitt.com if you’d like details or go to terrihitt.com and join my email list. You’ll get updates before anyone else and hear a little about what makes this so important. If you join the email list you’ll also be able to access free resources such as my new Good to Godly: A 31 Day Scripture and Prayer Guide for Moms.
One last thing to remember - if you’re not purposed in knowing Jesus and showing Him to the next generation, the world will sway your children away from Christ. I pray that what you hear on this podcast enables you to stop being a good mom and focus on being a godly parent. Until next week, keep looking Up while focusing on new ways to parent with eternal purpose and connection with your children and Christ.