Sermon Intro:

• Last week - Stay TOGETHER, Stay TRUE, Stay TENDER
• This week we’re going to talk about training champions

Passage:

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.

Psalm 127:3–4 (NLT) — 3 Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him. 4 Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands.

Train - Initiate, Begin, Start off

• PLANT - When a plant is young, you can structure it growth while it is soft and tender
  • A little pressure now can accomplish more than a ton of pressure in maturity
• ROAD - Start on the right road
• TARGET - Put your sights on the target

The urgency of it

• Culture is training kids
• You think you have a ton of time, but time is short

Three mechanisms of training:

1. Training mechanism #1 - MODEL
   1. They are becoming what they are watching in you
   2. Kids are mimickers! In a bad and good way
      1. Faces
      2. Phrases
      3. Habits
   3. John 5:19 (NLT) — 19 So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.
   4. Model Character
      1. Examples:
      2. Do you tell the truth
      3. Do you work hard
      4. Do you show up on time
      5. Do you have self control
   5. Model Spirituality 
      1. How do we worship God
      2. How do we seek Him
      3. How do we prioritize Him
   6. Model Passions
      1. They will be into what you are into
      2. Buddy who’s into fitness - His kids are wild!
      3. Buddy who’s into outdoors - His kids are even wilder!
   7. Action - Be the person you wish them to be
      
2. Training mechanism #2 - ENVIRONMENTS
   1. We all know the power of environments:
      1. Intellectual - Coffee shop
      2. Physical - Gym
      3. Relaxed - Creek
      4. Energizing - LSU game
   2. Matthew 4:1–2 (NLT) — 1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.
   3. Environment 1 - People
      1. There are so many interpersonal influences on your kid
         1. Parent > Teacher > Peers > Siblings > Extended Family
      2. Action - Position them with the right people
   4. Environment 2 - Content
      1. They are becoming what they are consuming
      2. Connecting your sewage pipe to your shower, would you take a shower?
         1. Shows
         2. Games
         3. Social
   5. Environment 3 - Geography
      1. Paw-paw’s house is different than the mall or movie theatre
3. Training mechanism #3 - LOGOS
   1. Matthew 3:16–17 (NLT) — 16 After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”
   2. Word 1 - NO
      1. This word is the most powerful of them all when they are young, it is the resistance that actually trains them. 
      2. When NO is good
         1. No to bad behavior
         2. No to bad attitudes
         3. No to their will 
   3. Word 2 - WOW
      1. This is the word of affirmation.
      2. Children seek affirmation because God wired them so. It helps us know that we are doing well and to continue doing what we were just praised for. 
      3. Action - Don’t rob your child of your WOW
   4. Word 3 - TELL
      1. “Tell me” “I’m listening”
      2. Three tips to listening better
         1. Fully present
         2. Reflective listening
         3. Avoid interrupting 

I know that you will raise champions, it can be scary, but you’ve got this! 

I gave you 3 Super Important mechanisms for training, but the most important I could ever give you is the word TIME!