Sermon Intro

• Final week of Legacy Families.
• We’ve talking about Mentalities of legacy families, how to stay together a lifetime, and how to be saved and single. This week we are concluding with TNT Parenting. 

Passage

• 2 Timothy 1:5–7 (ESV) — 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

TNT Parenting

1. TRAIN - 
   1. Passage - “a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.”
   2. Your top disciples - ALL of their training is up to you! You are choosing with whom to partner to train your children. 
   3. “The training of your children is 100% your responsibility”
   4. Proverbs 22:6 (ESV) — 6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
   5. The two TRAINING WHEELS of Discipline and Affirmation
   6. Discipline - 
      1. The human need for discipline. The ability to be in control and operate in submission to God, ourselves, and others. 
      2. Goal for parents that discipline - “the cultivation of self-discipline”
      3. Discipline to STOP doing
         1. Chastisement - Proverbs 13:24 (ESV) — 24 Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.
         2. Discipline is an act of love. If you truly love your child, you will provide the loving correction they need.
      4. Discipline to START doing
         1. The fundamental mode of our lives is comfort, discipline breaks in order to choose what is wise. Without external discipline, we default to comfort. This self-focus leads to easy paths and short-term pleasures but ultimately causes self-destruction.
      5. Discipline to KEEP doing
         1. You become what you repeat. Discipline is about the daily commitments and habits that shape who you are.
   7. Affirmation - 
      1. The human need for affirmation
         1. We seek the praise, validation, and affirmation of the people we care about. 
         2. Affirmation can become the ground on which we walk. 
         3. Your young person sees you as the premiere personality in their world and so your praise, affirmation, and validation carry immense weight. 
      2. Affirm their identity, who they are without even doing a thing! 
      3. Affirm their behavior if it’s something you want to see repeated. 
      4. This is not flattery. Flattery is a false compliment given to obtain favor. Affirmation is the encouragement and strengthening of a person's identity and behavior. 
   8. The bonsai tree
      1. When caring for a bonsai, it is an act of subtraction and support. You subtract the things that suck life, crowd up, make ugly, and you support the things that have potential to beautify. 
2. NAVIGATE - 
   1. Passage - “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands,”
   2. Much of parenting is helping to navigate a person through life
   3. The key areas you need to navigate
      1. Their environment - 
         1. We are all creatures of the environment. Wherever you put us will heavily influence the outcome. You are solely responsible for the environment of your children. 
         2. Make sure that the environment they have at your house is a positive environment of order, peace, and joy. 
      2. Their relationships
         1. Before 10, kids mirror the behavior of the kids they are with. They will laugh like them, say the same phrases, and be highly influenced by them.
         2. After 10, friends replace parents as the greatest influence. 
         3. Put them in environments where good friends are easily found.
         4. Help them learn how to select good friends.
         5. Be up in the mix. 
      3. Their uniqueness 
         1. We are all born with gifts and aptitudes. 
         2. You are the captain of your child’s shipt to help steer their aptitudes and gifts into a proper fulfillment. 
      4. Their opportunities
         1. Their gifts will open doors for them, you are their to help navigate them through these waters. Not all doors are positive doors or from the Lord.
3. TIME - Philippians 2:22 (ESV) — 22 But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.
   1. You have 936 weeks from the moment they are born. 
      1. Weeks happen FAST
      2. Before 5 it moves slowly, but then accelerates to light speed.
      3. PEW Research shows that most parents spend 2-3 hours a week with their children. That’s 2% of their time. That’s 18 weeks of time before they leave the house. Not enough! 
   2. Time is the “roadway” for growth. Affection, discipleship, understanding, memories, and shared philosophies all travel along this “road.”
      1. Your influence on them will only take place down the road of time. Build a good road!
   3. Love is spelled T.I.M.E
   4. Make presence a priority - You're going to have to sacrifice to have this time you need. You will have to say NO to a lot of things in order to say YES to time. 
      1. TIME for osmosis
      2. TIME for home culture
      3. TIME for conversations
      4. TIME for leisure
      5. TIME for moments
   5. The greatest thief of your time with kids is overwork
      1. It’s better to spend time with your kids and live in an apartment than to live in a mansion but never spend time with them. 

Ending the series:

• We desire LEGACY FAMILIES that stand long in the earth
  • You will only have a legacy if you raise your children right.
  • Often, we ask God to do miracles for us in areas we didn’t steward well.