From One Dad, To Another

I am a dad, and I love being one!
My wife and I have raised ... correction: are raising ... three daughters. So far, so good. Oh, don't misunderstand; we do not have perfect kids! But with all three of them bearing the "-teen" suffix to their ages (13, 15, 18), I humbly stand before you and offer thanks to God for His mercy and grace. In spite of me, I can say, "So far, so good."
Looking back, the Lord used a variety of people and resources to guide us. I had never been a dad before; what did I know about raising kids? Books, video series, Sunday School classes and one specific godly couple, Terry and Dee Stick in West Chester, PA ... they were all God's instruments, valuable resources that helped us apply godly principles from His Word in establishing our family, and for me, in particular, in being a dad.
But in addition to all of that, I wish I had had this book, Raising Children God's Way, a series of five sermons that D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached from the book of Ephesians 6: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother (this is the first commandment with a promise), that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land.' Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger; but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."
Basically, in Sermon #1, titled, "Submissive Children," Dr. Lloyd-Jones presents what it means for a child to submit to a parent. In Sermon #2, titled, "Unbelieving Parents," the focus shifts to the parents. What kind of a parent, and under what circumstances does the child have to obey? What about the situation where the child is a believer, yet the parents are not? Come Sermon #3, titled "Discipline and the Modern Mind," Dr. Lloyd-Jones takes on the subject of discipline, the discipline of children and the discipline of the home. On the one hand, we read, "Spare the rod and spoil the child." On the other hand we read, "Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath." Both are beautifully brought together here. Sermon #4, titled, "Balanced Discipline," is where Dr. Lloyd-Jones specifically addresses "the administration of discipline ... how is it to be done?" Says this preacher, "...the trouble today is that people do not believe in discipline at all. There is little need, therefore, to tell them not to exercise discipline in the wrong way. We have to urge the modern man to recognize the need of discipline and to put it into practice." This sermon elaborates on, "Provoke not your children to wrath," while Sermon #5, titled, "Godly Upbringing," directs our attention to, "Bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."
I have enjoyed, on other occasions, reading the written texts of D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' sermons, available from Banner of Truth in various multi-volume sets. But not everyone is prone to take on something as voluminous as 14 volumes. That's why I'm especially excited that these five sermons have been pulled from the set and published separately, in an attractive, short (less than 100 pages) paperback.
Mom? Dad? There truly is gold in these pages!
Grace & peace. Steve
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For more information, or to buy the book, click HERE.