TLP 514: Biblical Parenting Essentials, Introduction

The next 12 episodes are going to take the most important truths we've studied over the past six years and distill them down. Parenting isn't about us. In fact, parenting isn't even about our kids. Parenting is just one way Christian dads and moms are to worship God.

The Purpose of the Biblical Parenting Essentials Series

So welcome to the Truth Love Parent podcast, where we train dads and moms to give God the preeminence in their parenting. I'm your host A .M. Brewster, and as of today, Truth Love Parent has 514 podcast episodes.

Now, for the people who've been listening since 2016, it's no big deal. You've heard them all, and sometimes you even go back to relisten to your favorites or restudy a series or episode that's relevant to your current family need.

And you do that because you know our content is evergreen. But if you're just learning about Truth Love Parent, staring in the face of hundreds of episodes can be extremely daunting. But that's no big deal, as long as you simply subscribe and just listen to the new episodes as they come out.

You may even be a little wild one day when you find that you have some extra time, and you may even check out an older episode or series if I reference it on the show. But the idea of starting at the beginning and working your way all the way through...

Well, probably not. You're not an extremist, for crying out loud. But let's be honest, there are so many eternal, practical, biblical truths we've studied over the years. Wouldn't it be nice to at least get a little summary?

Perhaps read the CliffsNotes? So that's why I've decided to do a 12-part series called Biblical Parenting Essentials. The next 12 episodes are going to take the most important truths we've studied over the past six years and distill them down.

If you are a longtime listener, this will be a very helpful refresher. I don't know about you, but I'm so forgetful. And it's when I forget about God's awesome character and deeds, when I forget about his expectations for me, and when I forget that my way is not a good way, I resort back to fleshly parenting.

And that is guaranteed to hurt everyone in my family, from myself, to my kids, to my wife, and to my God. So this series will be a wonderful way to reorient yourself, because whenever you listen to it, whether in the new year or in the mid-year, you probably need it.

And of course, for you newcomers, this series will recap the most important truths we've been learning so far. But it will also provide you a carefully curated list of parenting resources so that you can continue your study as your schedule allows.

Listen, my friend, God created us to be eternal students. If we're doing something important, you know, like parenting, then it's extremely important for us to continue studying and growing in God's expectations for our parenting.

That's why we're all here, and I want to give you as many resources as you can handle. So even if you can't listen to all of the past episodes, you can have a current guide map to those episodes that will help you sharpen whichever element God shows you need some work.

But before I prep you some more for this series, which starts next week, I want to ask you to consider something very important. Those of you who have been with us for years now know the quality of these resources and their fidelity to the scriptures.

And I pray that, if you're new, it won't take long for you to recognize that as well. And anyone can simply read our reviews or recognize that God has been glorified to use this show to help so many families across the globe.

And we want to continue doing just that. But we need your help. After four great years as a popular podcast, we created the non-profit TruthLoveFamily in 2020. This 501c3 was created so that I could quit my previous job and dedicate myself full-time to creating biblical parenting resources so that you can become the parent God has called and created you to be.

And though I praise God for the faithful donors we've had since 2020, the reality is that TruthLoveFamily does not make enough money to support me and my family. At the time of this recording, TruthLoveFamily can only afford to pay me $500 a month.

Yeah, it's pretty impossible to support a family of four on that salary. And that's why I praise God for using my parents in particular to provide us housing in order for me to dedicate myself full-time to getting TruthLoveFamily off the ground.

They are passionate about this ministry and want to see it succeed. And though they would never see it this way, they have sacrificed much over the years. So I just want to say, if you've been benefited and blessed by TruthLoveFamily, you really do have my parents to thank for it in a very big way.

But if things don't change soon, then, to put it bluntly, I'm going to have to get another job. And I don't know to what degree, if any, that new job will allow me to continue creating resources for TruthLoveFamily.

But if all of our listeners donated monthly, $10, $20, $50, $100, or whatever you can afford, I believe that TruthLoveFamily could pay me a living wage, which would enable me to continue ministering to families all over the world through this podcast, my biblical counseling, and my speaking ministry.

So will you please pray and consider how the Lord would use you to support this ministry? And be sure to visit TruthLoveParent .com forward slash donate to learn more. You can also go to TruthLoveFamily .com and click on the donate tab at the top.

And thank you so much for what you will do. And while you're on our website, be sure to access the free episode notes, transcript, and related resource for this series. I'm going to make sure all the links and resources you need to grow as a biblical parent are all listed on the biblical parenting essentials page.

The Series Roadmap for Biblical Parenting Essentials

Now, with all that said, let's lay a very important groundwork for the biblical parenting essentials we're going to study over the next few months. Let's start with number one, an overview of the biblical parenting essentials.

As I combed through our previous episodes, I was quickly able to identify the most important concepts. They're things we've touched on numerous times in various ways, and each time we broadened and deepened our understanding of the topic.

So, as we already mentioned, this series is going to have 12 episodes. Those episodes are going to break biblical parenting down into two parts. The first episode will deal with the first part and, dare I say, most important part of our parenting.

The second episode will then move into the second part of biblical parenting. What's interesting, though, is that the second part is really just the fruit of whether or not we're doing the first part the right way.

From there on out, the rest of the episodes are going to break the second part of our biblical parenting into four unique phases. During phase one, we'll take two episodes to discuss various methods, as well as the main content that needs to consume this phase.

Then we'll move to phase two. During those three episodes, we'll look at important methods, the reinforcement of those methods, and a careful evaluation of how you're doing with phase two. Phase three will also be spread out over three episodes, and we'll look at phase three methods, as well as have an important conversation about applying phase three, and then we'll talk about a way to evaluate how you're doing with phase three.

And then the final two episodes of the series will deal with phase four methods and evaluation. That's one eternally important job, biblical parenting, broken into two parts. The second part will be separated into four unique phases, and all of that will encompass 12 episodes of biblical parenting essentials.

The Prerequisite of a Relationship with God

And now as we move into the second point of today's shorter than usual show, let's consider number two, the prerequisite of biblical parenting essentials. I believe the vast majority of parents, saved and unsaved, in one form or another, wants to be good parents.

But what does it take to be a good parent? Well, the answer to that is the essentials we're going to study. But what most people don't realize is that there's actually a pretty significant barrier for entry when it comes to being a truly good parent.

Let's consider it this way. If awesome parenting can be illustrated by a house, then being an amazing parent requires that you be inside that house. But how do you get in? Is the door hanging wide open, and as long as you enter the house carrying a baby, that's all you need to do?

And the answer is no. Believe it or not, not only is there a door on this house that you need to open and walk through, there is a lock on that door. And unfortunately, neither you nor I have the key.

It doesn't matter if we have a baby in our arms. It doesn't matter if we see the house and walk up to the porch steps. It doesn't matter how badly we want to get into the house. We have to have the door opened for us.

We can't kick the door down or get in through any windows. So what does it take to enter this house? It takes God himself opening the door and inviting us in. And then we need to walk through that door.

My friends, what I'm illustrating here is that we will never be the best parents we can be without a personal relationship with God. That is the prerequisite to biblical parenting. Yes, we knock on the door, but it's Jesus who unlocks the door and invites us in.

And as we are born again into Christ, we have the ability to glorify him in our parenting. But without a relationship with God, without being born again, there is no hope of ever being able to be a truly good parent.

Yes, the world offers some cheap knockoffs and lookalikes, but all of those systems and methods are doomed to ultimate failure, no matter how nice the Instagram account, how popular the book, or how quote-unquote decent the kids turn out.

Parenting God's way is the only way that we can glorify him in our families. So that is the prerequisite you need to carefully consider before jumping into this biblical parenting essentials series. Do you have a relationship with God?

Are you a born-again Christian? Are you a disciple of Christ? If the answer is yes, then let me ask you this. How do you know you're those things? How do you know if you have a relationship with God?

How can you take the Bible and prove to me that you are born again? I'll have two resources linked for you in the description of today's episode. The first will be a link to a special page at TruthLoveParent .com called The First Step to Being a Good Parent.

The second is a link to a podcast episode I did called The Second Most Important Question You Need to Ask Your Kids. If you have questions about your relationship with God, that episode should also be able to provide some clarity for you, not just your kids.

Either way, we must all come to grips with the fact that none of us can be the parent God wants us to be unless we are his child. And this leads to our final point for the day. Number three, the goal of the biblical parenting essentials.

The Goal of Biblical Parenting Is God’s Glory

Listen, my friends, I have not dedicated thousands of hours to creating parenting podcasts, parenting conferences, and parental counseling so that anyone's kids would change. Neither I nor that child's parents can change them.

And I can't change you either. For me, this series is all about what I said at the beginning of the episode. Parenting isn't about us. In fact, parenting isn't even about our kids. Parenting is just one way Christian dads and moms are to worship God.

I want to train dads and moms to give God the preeminence in their parenting, because that's what he deserves. That's my goal. So what should your goal be? Should you listen to these episodes so that your kids will change?

No, you need to have the same goal that I have. You need to pursue God's glory in your personal life. And here's what I can promise you will happen.

For sure.

I can promise you that if you strive to worship God by parenting the way he wants you to parent, you will change. Your kids may not change, but you will. And as you change, God does desire to use you to make it easier for your kids to do right and harder to do wrong.

Might your kids change as you change and your parenting conforms to God's glory? Yes, they may. But whether they do or not, you will have changed because you can't glorify God without growing and maturing yourself.

And that will make this series everything it needs to be for you. Because you're the only person you have any control over. I hope you're excited about this series. I know I am. I need to grow. I need some reminders.

And God needs the preeminence in my parenting. So I can't wait. Now, in addition to seriously praying about whether or not the Lord would be pleased by you supporting this ministry, please share this series with your friends so that they too can be equipped to glorify God in their parenting as they learn about the biblical parenting essentials.

And if you need any specialized help for you and your family, never hesitate to email us at counselor at truthloveparent .com or call 828 -423 -0894. As always, I hope you'll join us next time as we once again open God's word to discover how to best worship God with our parenting.

To that end, we'll be discussing biblical parenting essentials, part one, the content of your parenting. Truth Love Parent is part of the Evermind Ministries family and is dedicated to helping you worship God through your parenting.

So join us next time as we study God's word to learn how to parent our children for life and godliness. And remember that TLP is a listener-supported ministry. You can visit truthloveparent .com forward slash donate to learn more.