Teach Them Diligently:
The High Calling of Christian Parenting
Diligence 2012 — Palos Heights, Illinois
Main Addresses
Not One Hoof: Focus on Christian Fathers
For every Christian man who is married, life's primary call is at home. A wise man is a faithful companion to his wife and a diligent mentor to his children.
From Devotions to Discipleship
Even as family devotions is too often a waning practice among Christian families, parents need to hear the call of God to disciple their children. By a renewal of “family devotions” and a transition to “family worship” and even “catechism” in the home, parents can answer the call with a great sense of purpose and privilege. The use of Reformed Confessions in the home will be explored, with a particular focus on Ephphatha’s publication, *The Young Heidelberg* (Ephphatha Reformation Ministries, Inc. 2011).
Call Her Blessed: Focus on Christian Mothers
The pattern of self-sacrifice inherent in mothering is profoundly significant and ironically yields the richest harvest of lasting satisfaction. A wise woman builds her home, knowing it yields eternal blessings for herself and her family.
Seminars
It Takes a Church: Covenant Responsibilities in Raising Children
Parents are called to take the lead in the faith education and formation of their children, but the challenge must be met in the context of the church and with the partnership of the covenant community. Thus, the church must be affirmed and parents can be encouraged to know that they are not alone.
Music in Family Worship
Family devotions are an invaluable tool in developing spiritual maturity in our children. However, the content of the Scripture passages read or the lessons taught are often quickly lost. Incorporating singing into our Family worship is one way in which the Word of Christ dwells in us richly. (Col. 3:16) In this session, we will discuss the nature and purpose of singing Psalms and hymns in Family Worship along with the Biblical rationale for doing so. Additionally, we will discuss the potential benefits of establishing a regular practice of singing in Family worship. Moreover, we will discuss what and how to sing in Family worship as well as how to address questions that your children may raise concerning various musical practices in corporate worship and how they relate to our Reformed doctrine and world view.
Parenting on Your Knees
God’s call to parents is to “teach them diligently,” but not without continual prayer. Prayer is the believer’s admission of weakness and even helplessness before God. For parents that means continually entrusting themselves and their children to their heavenly Father “who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,” thus preparing them to recognize the blessing of God when they see faith and repentance in their children after years of instruction.
Diligence 2011 — Sioux Center, Iowa
Main Addresses
Not One Hoof: Focus on Christian Fathers
For every Christian man who is married, life's primary call is at home. A wise man is a faithful companion to his wife and a diligent mentor to his children.
The Ephphatha Vision: Disciples Making Disciples
The dual emphases of Ephphatha Reformation Ministries is Reformed Christian parenting and Reformed discipleship to Christ. Parents must first follow Christ in their own life, then lead their children to be His disciples as well.
Call Her Blessed: Focus on Christian Mothers
The pattern of self-sacrifice inherent in mothering is profoundly significant and ironically yields the richest harvest of lasting satisfaction. A wise woman builds her home, knowing it yields eternal blessings for herself and her family.
Seminars
It Takes a Church: Covenant Responsibilities in Raising Children
Parents are called to take the lead in the faith education and formation of their children, but the challenge must be met in the context of the church and with the partnership of the covenant community. Thus, the church must be affirmed and parents can be encouraged to know that they are not alone.
The Lost Generation: Stolen or Forfeited?
Sociological research led by Christian Smith, composing the largest religious survey of American youth ever, and reported in his book *Soul Searching,* describes the most common religion among youth in America—and it is not Christianity. How did we lose a generation? Was it stolen, or did well-meaning parents and churches forfeit it? And how can we bring it back?
Parenting on Your Knees
God’s call to parents is to “teach them diligently,” but not without continual prayer. Prayer is the believer’s admission of weakness and even helplessness before God. For parents that means continually entrusting themselves and their children to their heavenly Father “who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,” thus preparing them to recognize the blessing of God when they see faith and repentance in their children after years of instruction.
Shepherding Hearts: Discipline and Our Covenant Youth
Discipline is often misunderstood in our day as means for merely modifying behavior. God wants more than outward conformity from us and our children; He wants our hearts and obedience that flows forth through the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This session examines how we can shepherd our children’s hearts to live genuinely out of the grace of the Gospel, using the two primary means with which God has equipped parents: communication and the rod.