Parenting Like God Parents Us

Icebreaker

Describe your parents’ parenting style.  How are you (or do you want to be) similar or different? 

God’s Example of a Good Father

Read Psalm 32:7-8 (but don’t feel tied to this passage alone to answer the question). 

1. What is God like as a parent to us? Describe His character.

Aligning Our Will with God’s 

Read 1 Timothy 2:1-4.

1. What is God’s will for us? 
2. What things are you tempted to desire more for your children (their success? their protection? their happiness?) 
3. How would our parenting look different if our primary goal was to see our children deeply loving & obeying Jesus?  

Incorporating God into Everything

Read Deuteronomy 6:5-9 (NIV and/or the Message).

1. What do you think it looks like to love the Lord with all you’ve got?
2. What does it look like to be diligently teaching God’s Word to our children when we “rise, sit, walk, and lie down?”  Share your successes & challenges in integrating faith into your day-to-day life.
3. Kids are more likely to do what they see their parents doing than what they are told.  Are there new habits you can form that you can intentionally let your kids see you doing (or invite them to do with you) to help them learn how to be a disciple of Christ? For example:
   1. Make prayer an ongoing conversation. Thank God out loud when things go well. Ask him for his help before starting an activity or when struggling with something. 
   2. Practice a verse together over breakfast every morning until you memorize it.
   3. Read the Bible & pray together.  Listen to the Bible or a Bible podcast in the car.  
4. What kinds of things do your kids see in you that you don’t want them to mimic?  

God’s Guidance Through Trials & Discipline

Read James 1:2-4 & Psalm 46:1.

1. How does God respond when we endure trials? Does he try to rescue us out of it?  
2. How can we learn from God’s loving help, presence, and perspective in the midst of suffering and apply it to how we respond when our kids face hard circumstances? 

Read Proverbs 3:11-12, Ephesians 6:4 & Proverbs 29:15.

1. How does discipline reflect God's character? 
2. How have you seen God use discipline in your life for your good? 
3. What are some ways we may provoke our kids to anger that Ephesians warns against?
4. What does it look like to discipline as a means of imparting wisdom rather than punishment?

Bonus:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Growing up, did your parents train you on how to use money? What do you think they did well, and what do you wish they did differently?

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 What kind of jobs do your kids do around the house? And/or what were your jobs around the house growing up?

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 What are some good opportunities in a kid’s life to teach them good money habits?

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 What are some cultural norms that could be teaching our kids the opposite values of money than we want them to have? And what can we do to give them a different perspective intentionally?