Night 1 of our Parenting series at church was focused on Time. You can check out the entire message here. Here is the outline from that message:
- The IMPORTANCE of Time
We must see that relationships are created and formed by time together. We cannot emphasize enough the value of spending time with our kids. As we spend good quality time with our kids, God creates lasting love and trust in those relationships. There are 24 hours in a day and 168 hours in a week. That is a lot of hours, And yet we need to find the time to be with our children. Our time raising our children moves quickly, and they will be grown and moving out before you know it. Now is the time, to value time with our children. - The INTENTIONAL Time
We cannot wait for opportunities to come up for us to develop relationships with our kids. We must be intentional to create that time. Time in the car. Time at meals. Quanity time as well as Quality time.
I recently saw a family with 3 children that have been walking to church. They only live about 1 mile away. The drive would only take a few minutes, but the walk takes about 15 minutes. So I asked the dad about this. Here is what he said: “My girls are growing up fast. And I am trying to slow our lives down. Walking is a good way to slow life down. So we walk to church together, and that gives us good quality time together.” That is being intentional with time, and I am certain will prove to be a good strong relationship builder for that family. - The INFLUENCE of Time
The influence of time spent together built up over the years will prove to be so massive. God uses parents to shape kids. And it is the time spent with parents (for better and for worse) that influences the children.
Parents need to understand just how influential they are in the lives of their children. For the glory of God and for the sake of Christian discipleship, may God use the influence of parents to make faithful followers of Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:15-16 says “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time …”
It is our desire to make the best use of our time as we invest in our children.