A Parent’s Most Important Role

Hi, this is Bernie Dake.

And I'm Sarah Nelson. Welcome to the Salvation Army's Wonderful Words of Life. Well, welcome back, everybody. Today is the final episode in our series on parenting. We're so grateful for Terry and Donna Israel sharing their story and this series with us. This series, like a lot of the previous ones, came about by our Soundcast survey, where listeners like you told us what topics you'd like us to cover on the show. So if you've submitted a survey, we thank you for the feedback. And you can find this survey on our site at salvationarmysoundcast.org.

The link to our survey is on the contact page. Next week, we're very excited to bring you a highly requested series on mental health. It's interesting to use the word excited.

Yes, we're excited. But, you know, it's also kind of a heavy topic, admittedly, talking about mental health. The subject of mental health and certainly mental illness is very complex. But the church can compassionately support those who deal with mental health issues. And, you know, I think there are two things come to mind quickly for me in terms of how the church really can be helpful in the realm of mental health. I think, you know, first of all, we need to make sure that our churches are like they provide a safe place for people to struggle, which we do by acknowledging that we all struggle with things in our life.

We all have those broken places about us. And then secondly, I think as best we can, we need to equip ourselves and even learn how to serve people and families who are impacted by mental health issues. So I'm appreciative that this is going to be a subject that we're going to hear more about in the coming weeks. And I think for us here at the Salvation Army, we've been given an incredible opportunity to come alongside people who have all different types of mental health issues, particularly with our adult rehabilitation programs, our social services. There are different aspects of the ministry that we provide well beyond just soup, soap, and salvation in a sense.

It's a fascinating topic. Well, I know that this is certainly going to be a powerful series. It's our prayer that it reaches countless people who need these messages of hope.

So follow us on social media for more information about this series and our next speaker. As we close our series on parenting, today Terry and Donna recap our study by summarizing the greatest role parents have for their kids. And throughout this series, one of the things that's come through loud and clear is that one of our greatest roles and opportunities, quite frankly, is to make sure that our children are directed and led toward Jesus. And on that note, I just want to share this proverb, this word of scripture that is really so well known. Proverbs 22 6 says this, train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it. Proverbs 22 6 says this, train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it. Proverbs 22 6 says this, train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it. Proverbs 22 6 says this, train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it. Proverbs 22 6 says this, train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it. Proverbs 22 6 says this, train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it. Proverbs 22 6 says this, train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it. Proverbs 22 6 says this, train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it. Proverbs 22 6 says this, train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it. Proverbs 22 6 says this, train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22 6 says this, train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it. Have I been listening? Have I even been listening? Have I been listening to your voice? I've chosen you, neon. We welcome you again to our series on parenting.

I'm Terry Israel, here with my wife Donna. We have talked about the importance of the marriage relationship when you focus on parenting. We've looked at disciplining our children and helping them make the right decisions. So as we look at the challenges that we're up against, there are so many things that are different between when we were children and the challenges that our children now face.

I would imagine that people would say those are just taking different forms, but I think as we're forthright in this, there are significant differences because of the way our society and culture express themselves. I often think that it's not so much that difficult things can happen or challenges, but the rate and speed at which they come in life and the consequences are so much greater as they play out much more publicly than what we ever imagined when we were raising children. And as we come to these times, the implications seem to be of greater consequence to get it right and what happens when you don't. When you teach a little Sunday school class of little three- and four-year-olds, any question you ask, they will quickly answer Jesus or God.

That's their immediate answer to any question. Well, that really is the answer and the focus that we need to have in our parenting to look to God, to look to Jesus Christ to help us focus on how to properly care for and love and guide our children. As we look about the changing of society and we think in terms of how the implications are greater, the thing that is timeless, the thing that is ageless, the thing that is constant in all of that is our relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And so the greatest gift that we can give to our children is helping them establish who they are in Jesus Christ and reminding them that they are righteous before Him when they're in that right relationship with Him. Each child is special and chosen and loved by God, and they need to know that when all else in their life seems crumbling, the Lord is there with them. And giving them those values that show them how God sees them, hopefully those are reflected in our parenting skills. Realizing how they are of eternal value because Jesus cares for them and we esteem them to that level as well. Ultimately, we want to point them to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We can share our own faith with them and live out that faith in front of them every day.

But if we don't share with them the gospel message of how they can trust the Lord personally, we will fail them. If you've been with us throughout this series on parenting, you will remember that we took two episodes and spent those on the pain of loss. And we discussed the loss of children who have become lost to the family.

While they're still with us in life, through their own actions and consequences of those, perhaps they've become disenfranchised. And we see that sense of loss each and every day. There's also those who we have lost physically through death.

And as we spoke about that, we shared some things personal. Indeed, we lost a son through an automobile accident. But we found great comfort in the fact that we knew he was in the presence of Jesus because he accepted Christ as his Savior. So we've always been very careful and deliberate to not say we lost a child. Because we realized in that, to the believers in Jesus Christ, in our child, we realized the one thing every parent would want is that they have salvation in Jesus Christ. And that indeed is the most important thing. It was a comfort to know that he had given his heart and life to Jesus Christ.

And therefore, while he was not present with us, he was present with the Lord. In our work with the Salvation Army, I recently saw an interview with a single mother who had come through a transitional housing program in one of our Salvation Army shelters. And as I watched her video and her testimony, as never before it came to me that as different as we are culturally, as different as we are in our life circumstances, her value system as a parent is the exact same thing as mine. She wants her children to grow up safe. She wants her children to grow up in an environment of love. She wants her children to realize their dreams coming true just as I do for mine. And is that not the case for each parent? So as we come to the conclusion of this series and we wrap up with this final episode, we pray that that will be the experience that you have is that your dreams will come true for your children.

And as a parent, you will have something significant of influence in their lives that will lead to that realization. So as we conclude this time together, indeed it's been a privilege to be with you. If you have missed any of the episodes in this series or want to refer back to those, you may go to our website at salvationarmysoundcast.org. Again, we thank you for being with us. We pray that something we have said or done or covered will be used by God to encourage you, to inspire you, and to help you become the parent that you truly desire to be.

May God bless you. Thank you for joining us. The Salvation Army's mission, Doing the Most Good, means helping people with material and spiritual needs. You become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army. Visit salvationarmyusa.org to offer your support.

And we would love to hear from you. Email us at radio at uss.salvationarmy.org. Call 1-800-229-9965 or write us at P.O.

Box 29972, Atlanta, Georgia, 30359. When you contact us, we'll send you our gift for this series. It's totally free for listeners like you, one per household while supplies last. You can also subscribe to our show on iTunes or your favorite podcast store and be sure to give us a rating. Just search for Wonderful Words of Life. Follow us on social media for the latest episodes, extended interviews, and more. And if you don't have a church home, we invite you to visit your local Salvation Army worship center. They'll be glad to see you. This is Bernie Dake inviting you to join us next time for the Salvation Army's Wonderful Words of Life. 🎵