Hope, Help, and Grace for Gradparenting

Well, a couple of weeks ago, I had a déjà vu kind of experience.

You know what I'm talking about. Something you experience, it takes you back and you think you're reliving something. Carly and I had our two grandchildren in our home for a five-day visit. Ralyn will be 12 in September and very Jean, she turned eight in March. What was unusual about this visit was that we had them without their parents.

So we planned and filled their days with activities and making good memories and just enjoying them. Meal times were entertaining as they rated the meals on a scale of one to ten. And they could be brutally honest. So on that particular meal, number one, I'd give it a five. Well, why did you give it a five?

And then they would give their reasons. Well, the déjà vu moment was at bedtime. I hope I can communicate this without getting overly emotional. They slept in the same room and in the same bed our daughter Abigail slept in as she grew up in our home. We would tuck them in and talk about the day, giving thanks to God for His blessings and pray to Almighty God for them. Gabriel and Abigail honored us last December with a 45th anniversary party. Abigail wrote a tribute and read it that day. If you were there, you heard it. And the title of her tribute was The House That Love Built.

And I only want to read a sentence out of it. She had four chapters in this tribute she wrote. And chapter three, she talked about our home. She says, yes, this was also the home where I worked out my salvation in fear and trembling throughout many sleepless nights, talking to mom and dad and the Lord. In these four walls, mercy abounded. Yes, this was the house that love built. So it was a déjà vu moment because Abigail was about the same age as these two granddaughters were, sleeping in the same bed. And there we were, by their bedside, talking to God about the day and praying with them.

Oh, how I prayed. God, would you invade their hearts? Would you break in on them? Would you birth them into your kingdom? Would you make them children of yours? They're sweet girls. They prayed the prayer. And yet, you know, they're 12 and they're eight years old, so we don't know.

But it was, again, a déjà vu moment. Many of you could tell stories in your own prayerful dealings with your children as you became a tool and an eyewitness of God working His supernatural, regenerating grace in their young hearts. We have lived in that home now for 27 plus years. And like some of you our age, we've given thought to downsizing. It's a big property.

I've got 11, 12 acres to maintain. I've suggested that to the kids, and they both resounded with, you can't do that! That's where we grew up! Coming home wouldn't be like coming home if you moved somewhere else.

And I think part of that is the kind of memories that I'm speaking of. They've witnessed the grace of God in their hearts and lives. They've seen God move in other hearts and lives in our homes and the things that we have engaged in for God. Well God established the home, the family, as the primary means to evangelize and disciple the next generation. Parents and grandparents are gospel partners to be disciple makers of the next generation. Parents and grandparents, they have the same goal. You heard the heart of brother Johnny Faust here tonight.

His heart is the same as Brook's heart. Parents and grandparents have the same goal, but they have different roles. And a lot has been said and written about the parent's role and the salvation of their children, but my experience tells me very little has been said and written concerning the role of grandparents in the gospel saving of their grandchildren.

That's my concern tonight. I want to bring you a message entitled, Hope, Help, and Grace for Grandparenting. I didn't say for grandparents, but for grandparenting. I put that in a verse of verbal context because it's something we do. Because we haven't studied the Scriptures sufficiently enough, we are a bit at a loss to know where to go in the Bible to find instructions to help in grandparenting. And in that vacuum, I'm afraid we've let the culture and perhaps maybe tradition and our own experience in our upbringing to influence us more than what the Scriptures have.

You know some of the things that our culture says. The best thing about being a grandparent is that you can spoil the grandkids and then send them home to their parents. Well, we laugh about that, but my question or response to that is, really? That's it? That's the best thing about being a grandparent?

Hmm, I hope not. Who wants spoiled children running around? There's got to be something better. So what's the best part of being a grandparent? Or, if I had realized having grandchildren would be this much fun, I'd have had them first.

You're like, that's a possibility. Don't get me wrong, Carla and I love our grandchildren. We just spent a week at the beach with Abigail and Dan and our two and a half year old grandson, Webster, and just thoroughly enjoyed our time. It was more relaxing than it usually is because, now don't misunderstand what I'm getting ready to say. Normally when we vacation at the beach, there's nine of us.

This time there were only five of us. Just one grandchild, not three, not a twelve and an eight year old. Because in that environment, I just get tired and weary watching and running around, doing this, doing that, from one thing to the next. So this was very enjoyable and relaxing. And it's caused me to give a good bit of thought to my role, my responsibility as a grandparent.

So let me ask you this question. How much training have you received in seeking to understand God's calling on your life as a grandparent? How proactive have you been in exploring the Bible to find out what God calls you to do as a grandparent? Now I know it's Father's Day, but I've never heard a message directed to grandparents. But as I sat in the pew this morning and took note of who was on the platform, our musicians and our choir and the pastor, there were 20 on the platform, 18 of the 20 are a grandparent.

Only two exceptions, two young men who aren't fathers yet. So I thought, you know what? Maybe this is a timely message.

What else? Let me give you my purpose statement. I think in my preparation, I've found it helpful to have a purpose statement that you run all your study through. And if it doesn't serve the purpose statement, then although it might be good information, it might be helpful information, it's not necessarily useful for that particular sermon. So this is my purpose statement for this sermon tonight. Grandparents, I want you to find clarity in God's call on your life as a grandparent. And for you to find hope and help by applying the Word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ to those situations that arise in your quest to impact your grandchildren for the glory of God. Now, that's a big subject.

I have read, I have studied, I have searched the scriptures on this subject with the thought of considering this subject as one of our adult Sunday school elective classes this summer. And I thought to myself, self, you're being very ambitious. I'm not sure you're ready for a 13-week study on grandparenting. So wisdom dictated that we chose the four subjects that we are offering this summer.

But that being said, I still think there's merit in this subject and perhaps we will have this as an elective some summer. So this evening, let me give you five headings that we're going to try and follow in this sermon as it develops. Number one, I want you to think with me about the blessing of grandparenting. Number two, the stewardship of grandparenting, the kind providence of God in grandparenting, the goal of grandparenting, and then finally instructions for grandparenting. Number one, the blessing of grandparenting. Being a grandparent is not a given. You have to be a parent first. God has to bless your children with a spouse and God has to bless that union with children. And all of that can be true and you not be around to experience it.

You have to live long enough for that process to work its way out. So I am mindful that not everyone falls into the category this evening. But that would be true if I was preaching a Father's Day message. I'm thankful for the rhythm of church life. I'm thankful for the rhythm of a church calendar that affords opportunities to speak on subjects like this.

It just happened that we were recognizing babies on Father's Day. And I'd far, far, far, far rather do preventative counseling from the pulpit than do crisis counseling with you in my office. So it affords an opportunity to speak truth and to equip you and to help you avoid pitfalls and to learn how to navigate the Christian life, how to navigate parenting, how to, tonight, navigate grandparenting in a God-honoring way. But there are a lot of variables, aren't there, in becoming a grandparent?

There are no guarantees. But I begin tonight with the thought that being a grandparent is a blessing from the Lord. Listen to Proverbs 17, 6. Grandchildren are the crown of the aged. Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, even if that crown can feel a little heavy sometimes. So the blessing of grandparenting. Number two, the stewardship of grandparenting.

The stewardship of grandparenting. If God has blessed you and you are enjoying that role and that privilege, understand that it is a stewardship, a stewardship to be exercised as unto the Lord in faithfulness. Listen to these scriptures. We read this evening from Psalm 78. Here is verse four and verse seven again. We will tell the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord and His might and the wonders that He has done so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God but keep His commandments. There's a stewardship there that God is going to speak to us about in some day whether we were faithful in that stewardship.

Psalm 145 verse four. One generation shall commend your works to another and shall declare your mighty works. That's God's purpose.

That's God's design. That's God's intention of multiplying the faith generationally. Listen to Deuteronomy chapter four and verse nine. This is instructions to the children of Israel.

Only take care and keep your soul diligently lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen unless they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children. Too often we think our parenting ends with our children but if God has made you a grandparent you have a role to play in the lives of your grandchildren. Some folks get under the delusion that their parenting ends at a certain age. Well I'll be done parenting when my children leave the home or when they graduate from college or when they get married. Listen I've got two married children, a son who's 39 and a daughter who's 37 and I am still parenting them.

Now it's different but my role as a father hasn't come to an end because they're middle age. In God's providence the torch of faith is to be carried by those who preceded us and have now been placed in our hands and God wants us to be faithful in passing that torch to the coming generations. Now we can get perspective on what it takes to be intentional in our grandparenting. We must not default to the culture. We must not default to the idea well my job as a grandparent is to have fun with them and enjoy them.

Well again I'm not opposed to that. I think there's something God honoring about having fun and enjoyable things with your grandchildren and making memories. It's funny if you were to talk to my children and ask them what are some of their favorite memories it would be I know one of my children would say this it was when we were in Bible college and you got all those pictures from Uncle Ben. God just directed me to call him one day. I hadn't talked to Uncle Ben for a long long time. Called him and asked him what he was doing. He says well I'm just getting ready to go out the door and take all of our photographs from all of our trips down to this place.

I don't even know where it was like Goodwill or something. I said well you mean you mean all the family trips all the family pictures? He said yeah. I said you mean pictures of mom and dad?

Yeah. Why? Well I'm downsizing and your aunt has died and I don't have any place for this. I said well listen would you be willing to send all that to me?

I'll pay for the shipping on it. God was just kind to allow me to call him because in a matter of hours it was gone. So a projector came, a big screen came, boxes and boxes of pictures came and we set up a tent in the yard one night and it was dark and we projected on the tent screen and we were just looking through pictures. And if you were asking what was one of your favorite memories?

They would point to that. Now what did that cost? You know I paid the shipping for all this, these memories that my uncle and aunt had made. If they made one trip to Niagara Falls they made ten. How many pictures do you need of the falls?

I must have had 150 of them. They belong to a camera club and they got together and compared pictures and awards were given to the best pictures so you know. Anyway, we're talking about intentional grandparenting and we can get some perspective on what it takes to be intentional by remembering God's directive to the people of Israel. What did God say to them? He said in Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 2 that they were to pass on from one generation to the next.

It was for you and your son and your son's son. Deuteronomy chapter 6-2. How was God's truth to be passed from one generation to the next? The transfer of God's word was not a one-time event. The passing of God's truth was to be an intentional, ongoing commitment as one generation interacted with the coming generation in daily life. Sometimes we forget that because we run to Deuteronomy 6 verse 6 and 7 that describes this intentional transfer of God's truth from one generation to the next.

When you rise up, when you lie down, when you rise. It's a matter of intentionally making daily life interactions with our grandchildren and making those opportunities for passing along truths about God. So, the stewardship of grandparenting. Number three, I call the kind providence of God in grandparenting. The kind providence of God in grandparenting. It is a kind providence that God has made you a grandparent if you are one. That many of you live close to your children and therefore your grandchildren. You have them nearby. You have not only occasional interaction with them, but weekly if not daily. That is a kind providence of God. My two granddaughters are seven or eight hours away from us in Columbus, Ohio.

Little Webster's 150 miles to the east. But we don't see them every week. We don't see them every day and we have to be creative to be interacting with them and we live in a day of technology and video chats and phone calls and you understand. The kind providence of God in grandparenting. I can't tell you how encouraging it is for me to see grandparents bringing their children, influencing their real children, bringing them to church, to Sunday school. Grandparents that bring their children or their grandchildren to our Wednesday night children's clubs. That's being intentional about your grandparenting.

That's believing in the means of grace and trusting God to do a work in their hearts. But how good of God to extend our influence beyond our children but to give us opportunity to interact with our grandchildren. Number four, I want to talk to you about the goal of grandparenting. The goal of grandparenting.

And what would that be? Well, Psalm 78 verse 7 says, well verse 6 says that the generation to come might know them, what is them? The glorious works of God.

The history of God's working. The children who would be born that they may arise and declare them to their children. That or so that they may set their hope in God and not forget the works of God. What is the goal of grandparenting? It is to see our grandchildren setting their hope in God. That's it. Not their hope in worldly success, not their hope of a comfortable, prosperous life, not their hope of a pain-free, easy life free of suffering and heartache.

So the question is, what is your goal as a grandparent? Carter and I both laughed at the beach as Dan was retelling stories about Webster. And again, he's two and a half years old. Dan loves the sport of golf. He's a good golfer. So Webster's got plastic golf club and plastic balls. So Dan says, I said to Webster, you want to go out back and hit some golf balls? Webster says, I don't. I don't.

And I saw Dan went, oh, man. That's humorous. Well, boy, I see parents investing untold hours in their children to see them develop this skill or that skill, catch a ball and so on and so forth. I'm not opposed to athletics. I'm not opposed to those kinds of things.

But really, is that where you want to invest your time and your effort? So how careful we need to be about the goal of grandparenting. I'll tell you, I became convicted when I began to think at how often I have been asleep at the switch about my role as a grandparent around my grandchildren, how I could just become self-absorbed. Boy, I'm enjoying them. It's wonderful to have my grandchildren here. Oh, isn't that cute? Isn't that funny? Oh, come here.

Let me love on you and all this and that. And really have no intentional mindset of what my role is as a grandparent. Now, I'm not saying that it's never crossed my mind, but it hasn't crossed my mind near as much as it ought to. And I'm a pastor. OK? You say, well, if you're struggling like that, maybe it's not wrong for me to admit that I've struggled like that. Our children are not going to come to Christ by osmosis.

All right? There's got to be some intentional, deliberate effort on our part that's consistent with what God has said our goal ought to be. We want our children to set their hope in God. And the world is dangling all kinds of other things in front of them, saying, follow this, give your life for that.

How careful we need to be. We can become very passive in our parenting and our grandparenting. It's dicey, isn't it, grandparenting? It's a whole lot easier grandparenting your grandchildren when their parents aren't around. All right?

You get to drift. How many of us have bit our lip when we've been in the presence of our grandchildren and their parents and something goes on and we think to ourself, you better deal with that. I would deal with that.

Don't you remember when? And you've got to bite your lip. And how many times I've had to say to Carly in private, and she's had to say to me, we're the grandparent. We're not their parents. But if we're not careful with that, we use that as our excuse. Oh, well the spiritual upbringing of our grandchildren, they're our children's responsibility. That's not ours.

That's not what the Bible's telling us. Who is to pass this information on? Who is to be engaged in this oral communication of the mighty works of God? Parents and grandparents. We have a responsibility.

So don't become a passive parent out of fear of you're going to create tension with your children because your philosophy of parenting or their philosophy of parenting isn't your philosophy of parenting. Pastor Barkman and I agree on one thing. Well, a lot of things. But one thing that he said to, yeah, many, many things. But one thing he said this morning about talking your kids to death, really? God has given the rod of correction and we must use it.

And I've had parents say, well, if you hit your child, you'd just teach them to hit you back. You're smarter than God. Is that what you're telling me? Is that what you're telling me? You're not going to do what God said because you think doing what God said is going to be counterproductive. Well, who are you listening to? Are you listening to God? Are you listening to the Word of God? Are you listening to philosophy? Are you listening to the world?

Are you listening to the culture? This is bound up in the heart of a child and the rod of correction will drive it far from them. I grew up with a father who was not a Christian man. He was angry. He was either angry most of the time or he was intoxicated. So when I became a parent, the only discipline I had ever seen was in anger.

I was reluctant to obey the instructions of using the rod. And I remember, I think it was Gabriel, taking him over my knee and tears streaming down my face because I was obeying God, trying to communicate that to him without being angry and trusting God's going to use that. It's not easy doing what God has commanded us to do. But if God has told us to do something, let's not think we're wiser than he is. My role, your role as a grandparent is not to be their friend and make their lives a bit more enjoyable and memorable. As I've already said, I want to have fun with my grandchildren when I'm with them, maybe even spoil them a bit. But is that God's design for grandparents? Does God want grandparents to limit their grandparenting and their role to spending their time on fun activities and their money on gifts and trips? Is that God's agenda? Is that God's design?

And I must say, I am convinced that it's not. So, that brings me to instructions, instructions for grandparenting. Number one, honor biblical boundaries. Honor generational boundaries.

I've already spoke to that. We're not our grandchildren's parents. We must support our children's efforts and their parenting of our grandchildren.

Look for every opportunity to encourage them in what they're doing. I had a conversation with both of my children today on Father's Day. I'd like to think I would have said something to them about what I'm getting ready to tell you without having been my pump primed by preparing this message. But I said what I said probably because of the investment of time I spent preparing for this message.

But I commended them both. I cannot tell you how thankful I am that God has saved you, given you a Christian spouse, that you are serious-minded about your parenting, you are bringing your children up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. I pray for you daily. I'm so encouraged by what I see going on in your lives. Look for opportunities to say those kinds of things.

The world won't say it. We ought to say it. We ought to encourage them in what they're doing. But honor biblical boundaries. Honor generational boundaries. And you want to create tension with your parents.

It's easy to do it over grandchildren. When you step in and say, I've been watching this way too long. You better this. You better that.

Oh boy. You've drawn a line in the sand. Now I'm not saying there's never a time to speak truth. But be careful with that. Be very careful with that because you can create conflict and create tension and bring disharmony and your efforts can be counterproductive. We must respect and defer to that boundary that God has given. We're not these children's parents. We're their grandparents. So instructions for grandparenting, honor biblical boundaries. Number two, affirm our children in their God-honoring parenting. You know that often repeated phrase and counsel that's given to dads. One of the best things you can do for your children is to love their mother. Well, let me tweak that a little bit for our purposes tonight and apply it to grandparenting. One of the best things you can do for your grandchildren is to love their parents.

One of the best things you can do for your grandparents is to love their children. One of the easiest things in the world to find is fault, right? Because we live in a broken world. We live in a sinful world. We're all sinners ourselves.

We're given to selfishness. If you're looking for fault, you're going to find it. Look for evidence of grace. Look for evidence to encourage. Speak encouraging words into the lives of your children is what I'm admonishing you about this evening. Number three, in terms of instruction for grandparenting, be intentional in your unique role as a grandparent. Be intentional in your unique role as a grandparent. Remember Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 9?

Make them, what is them? The stories of the mighty things God has done for his people. Make them known to your children and your children's children. Now that sounds to me like God wants us as grandparents to be actively involved in their lives in a spiritual way. You remember 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 5? Paul is commending Timothy for the sincere faith, the genuine faith that he saw in him. But in verse 5, I want you to note where Paul traces that back to. Where did that come from? Where did it spring from? He says, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice.

This sincere, unhypocritical faith that Timothy had. It was passed on to him. Now God used those means of grace, but it was passed on to him through two generations, his mother and his grandmother.

That's God's design. Number four, work at establishing and maintaining healthy, growing relationships with the parents of your grandchildren. Now, it's easy to say those things and in the context of healthy relationships that aren't fractured and broken and where there's been all kinds of sinful things that have happened and fractured relationships and hurt has gone on, I fully understand that. That's why this subject needs a whole summer and not just a message on a Sunday night, right?

Because there's a lot of nuances to this. Larry McCall has written a fine book entitled, Grandparenting with Grace. Living the Gospel with the Next Generation is the subtitle of the book.

And listen to what he says in this book. He's talking about, under this heading of establishing and maintaining healthy, growing relationships with the parents of your grandchildren. He says, quote, mark your calendar with their birthdays and anniversaries, sending cards that include thoughtful handwritten notes expressing your love, your appreciation, and your commitment to pray for them in the coming year. Make sure you are doing this not only for your own son or daughter, but your son-in-law or daughter-in-law too. This might be challenging if you don't particularly like your child's spouse, but in God's providence, you have become family together.

Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God. Even if our relationship with our children or their spouses has had rocky moments, let us take the high road as mature believers, initiating love and acceptance and not waiting cross-armed for our children to first reach out to us. That's good counsel. Work at establishing and maintaining healthy, growing relationships with the parents of your grandchildren. We may have to admit some failures that we made in our parenting with our own children. Don't be afraid to admit to your children your failures. Don't deem it beneath you to ask their forgiveness. I've had to go to my children and say, you know, Dad would like to rewind the clock.

Dad would like a redo to go back and undo some mistakes he's made. But I can't do that. We parented the best we knew with the knowledge we had and we were sinful and we made mistakes and I remember this, I remember that. Would you forgive me? I don't want that to be a barrier between us. I'm going to tell you what, that kind of a conversation will mend fences, will mend relationships. None of us are perfect.

We've all made mistakes. I'm embarrassed when people say, well your kids turned out so wonderful. What's your secret to parenting? Please.

Please. What's my secret to parenting? The grace of God. God blessed us.

God blessed our efforts in spite of us. So, but I'll tell you what, that advice right there might go a long way. So instructions for grandparenting. Honor biblical or generational boundaries. Affirm our children in their God honoring parenting. Be intentional in your unique role as a grandparent. Work at establishing and maintaining healthy, growing relationships with the parents of your grandchildren.

Number five, intentionally affirm your grandchildren. Do your grandchildren know that you love them? Do they know that you love them? Is it beneath you to call your grandchild over and say, I just want you to know Papa loves you.

I think the world of you. Come here a minute, I want to give you a hug and love on you. It did my heart good to see my son-in-law having fun with his son. Running with him, picking him up, loving on him, kissing on him, hugging on him. I have no memory of that with my father. But to see that, it thrilled my heart to say, that boy's going to grow up with an affirmation, my daddy loves me. Even if I won't go out and hit golf balls with him in the backyard. Listen, nothing substitutes for honest, heartfelt words of I love you.

Why is that so hard for us to say? One more instruction, there's plenty of instructions here, but pray for our grandchildren. Regularly pray for our grandchildren and their parents. And if we limit most of our prayers for our grandchildren to their health and happiness, I think we're asking too little of God for them. If our goal and desire for them is spiritual, we might pray, Lord, please work in my grandchild's heart, so that he would not put his hope in his own abilities or accomplishments or in the deceptive empty promises of this fallen world, but let him put his hope in you. Those kinds of prayers. Have you prayed that kind of a prayer for your grandchildren? I brought a book with me. I probably have thirty books on my shelf for parenting. This is one by Marty Makowski, Parenting First Aid, Hope for the Discouraged.

You say, that sounds like what I need. Well, listen to what he says. Maybe you can relate to his admission here. He's making reference to a man by the name of Paul Miller, who wrote a book called A Praying Life.

And this is what Paul Miller says in his book. It took me seventeen years to realize I could not parent on my own. It was not a great spiritual insight, just a realistic observation.

If I didn't pray deliberately and reflectively for members of my family by name every morning, they'd probably kill one another. I was incapable of getting inside their hearts. I was desperate. But even more, I couldn't change my self-confident heart. My prayer journal reflects both my inability to change my kids and my inability to change my self-confidence. God answered my prayer. As I began to pray regularly for the children, he began to work in their hearts. For example, I began to pray for more humility in my eldest son, John. About six months later, he came to me and said, Dad, I've been thinking a lot about humility lately and my lack of it. He says, I began to speak less to the kids and more to God, and it was actually quite relaxing. Again, I'm a pastor. But God knowing my heart and God knowing my prayer habits, I am woefully lacking in my praying for my grandparents. It's convicting. Knowing what we know. That you and I and any parent, the best parent, have no ability to change the hearts of their children ought that not create a desperation in us to beseech the only one who can.

Right? It shouldn't make us prayerless. It should make us more prayerful. And because I need help in terms of how to become more spiritual, more biblical, and praying for my grandchildren, I needed to think through this.

So perhaps you need the help of this as well. So here are 12 just prayers to pray for your grandchildren. Number one, pray that they would honor and obey their parents as well as those in authority over them.

Listen to me. Not Paul David Drip, but his brother who wrote the book Shepherding a Child's Heart. He says the first five years of parenting, your number one role and responsibility is to get your children under authority. Parental authority, he says, is like an umbrella. As long as you've got your children under that umbrella of authority, there's protection there. Well, once they decide and bow up and get out from underneath that umbrella of protection, there's danger.

And that's not only true of a young child. I've been preaching through the book of Jonah on Wednesday nights for the last few months. Jonah was a prophet of God. Did Jonah get out from underneath God's authority?

Absolutely. God told him to do something and he says, I'm not going to do it. He bucked God's authority.

He got out of God's umbrella of authority and, well, you know what happened. Pray that they would honor and obey their parents as well as those in authority over them. Number two, pray that they would have a lifelong love for the Word of God. Number three, pray that the Lord would surround them with godly friends and role models.

These are specific prayers. Pray, number four, that the Lord would plant in their hearts a hunger and a thirst for Him. Pray that they would flee temptation. Pray that they would lean on God's grace in saying no to ungodliness and yes to godly living. Pray that they would be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Pray that they would use their gifts and talents to honor the Lord. Pray that they would learn to be content with what they have. Pray that they would acknowledge God and depend on His direction in life. Pray that they would learn to do their best for the glory of God and pray that the Lord would bring godly spouses into their lives. There's just a dozen we could add more and more and more, but just that exercise of thinking through how to pray what to pray and writing that down is convicting to me.

I thought, well, where have you been? Why haven't you been praying prayers like this for your grandchildren? We have these kind of generic prayers that kind of feel like we're covering our bases. God knows the intentions of our hearts, and that's a good thing, but we need help. I need help, and I trust that this message tonight has been helpful to you.

Let's pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for its challenge. We thank You for the way in which You have revealed how the gospel is going to impact and influence this generation and the next. It's going to be through parents.

It's going to be through grandparents. And Lord, I pray that You will work in our hearts and cause us to take seriously our role as a grandparent if indeed we are one here this evening. And Father, would You encourage us and strengthen us and motivate us and move us to action, God-honoring action that will pave the way for the gospel to invade the hearts of our children and grandchildren. Lord, again, we thank You for Your Word. Thank You for its help and instruction. Give us by Your Spirit a heart to receive that which You have for us this evening, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.