Preserving Christianity in your Home

THE PRESENCE OF GOD CHURCH

Marriage Summit

Speaker:     Oluwaseun Oluwadamilare

Date:                   23rd September, 2017

Theme:       Make it work in your Marriage

Topic:         Preserving Christianity in your Home

Text :          Jer 35:1-10,Joshua 24:31,Gen 18:19,ll Tim 1:1-5,Deut 6:7,17

Introduction

There is an ongoing silent migration away from the church of an estimated 3,500 individuals each and every day. A 2014 study indicated that over 1.2 million people will leave the church in the next year. Several factors are contributing to this trend, but the majority of individuals who are leaving the church report that they no longer feel connected. Can this be reversed? Can the church connect with these people before it is too late?

This movement away from the church has been ongoing for several decades. The number of churches that are closing their doors every year is leading to an overall decline in church attendance. In 2015, it is estimated that over 10,000 churches will close their doors. This has lead to a growing host of Christians who no longer have a place to connect with other believers. In fact, The Barna Group reports that the average size of a church congregation in America is just 89 adults. That means for each church door that closes, almost 100 people are left without a spiritual home.

One of the problems stirring us as a family is how to preserve Christianity in our homes. Observations have shown that why parents are alive, Christianity is fading away. Some family while alive, see their children departing from faith. There are some churches that are not encouraging people to be Christians and hold up to Christian faith because of their character and desire for worldliness and materialism. The devil is trying hard on children in Christian homes to disallow their salvation and genuine faith .There is always a question in the heart of children. Why? Why this, Why that –Bible study ,Sunday early  service ,wakening early for devotion, holding evening devotion before sleeping .You must find answer (Deut 6:20-25)

Parents Responsibilities

Responsibility comes from the root word “respond”. It is duty of the parent to show the children the way to know God and serve him with all truth in their lifetime, (the Bible mention children 1803 times) Every child wants to learn new things in their life.    And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. (Col 3:23-24).To be successful in the family the parent must have the welfare of each family at heart, his/her decisions and plans must based on what is best for them “Parent teaching will retain in the life of children, if the parent invest time and prayer for their success in life and in Christ “Moses was able to fulfill God’s purpose for his life, he was taught and also obedient. He did not forget his parents teaching and lifestyles Prov 22:6  

The following are the parent’s duties over the children for preserving faith for the children  

1.    Be a model parents: Let them see you as a Parent transformed in faith (Rom 12:2,II cor 5 :17) fighting, gossip, headiness, lack of faith, spending too much on film, T.V, Video can ruin the life of the children instead of prayer and Bible reading.

2.    Take care of your children: Spiritual life, academic, health, good food, forms good relationship and terror at home. No indulgence, partiality, give them guided freedom, a liberty with limit .It is really hard to bring children up for God. God will help as we play our part.  (Isa 54:13) 

3.    Do not neglect your family at the expense of church work, give them attention.

4.    Build your family altar very strong celebrated in the morning and evening as when celebrating Sunday worship in the church .It is one of the means to bring them up

5.    Do not allow worldliness: Dressing, attachment, burning head in the oven, bleaching of body. When worldliness enters, it attracts and expands. Do not allow deviation from any forms of life. (Icor 3:11, 2 Cor 6:14-17)

6.    Encourage your children to invest in God’s work. (Ezra 3:9,IChro 25:5-8)

7.    Be Prayerful: Let prayer be the most important and power of the family to break the strong hold of devil in your home. Pray also for long life in your family ,so that your children can stand on their own for God. (Ps91:16,Job1:5,42:16)

8.    Show an agape love: The level of love will show how your children will help you and to win  them in every areas of life for God .(Matt22:39,Rom10:12,1Cor 13 :13)

9.    Be diligent: diligent in business, patience and consistent in home teaching. (Deut 6:7,Rom 12:11,Prov 12:27,13:4)

10. Show reality of God’s goodness in the family Set good information on a need in the family, and let children pray about it, when answer comes, tell them and praise the LORD together. Do not complain or blame God even in the presence of children

11. Teach them the art of obedience in every areas of life to the glory of God (Deut 4:9-10,  1 sam 12:23-24, Prov 3:1-5)    

    Let study two families from United states of America it help us to stand for the LORD Jesus Christ

Jonathan Edwards vs Max Jukes

He entered Yale College at age 13 and graduated with honors. He became a pastor, and his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God,” started the Great Awakening, a revival involving numerous preachers which swept America, uniting the colonies prior to the Revolution. His name was Jonathan Edwards and he was born OCTOBER 5, 1703. Jonathan Edwards’ wife, Sarah Pierrepont Edwards, wrote to her brother in New Haven of the effect of Great Awakening preacher George Whitefield: It is wonderful to see what a spell he casts over an audience by proclaiming the simplest truths of the Bible….Our mechanics shut up their shops, and the day laborers throw down their tools to go and hear him preach, and few return unaffected. Jonathan Edwards became President of Princeton College.

In A History of the Work of Redemption, 1739, Jonathan Edwards wrote: Those mighty kingdoms of Antichrist and Mohammed…have trampled the world under foot..(and) swallowed up the Ancient Roman Empire…Satan’s Mohometan kingdom swallowing up the Eastern Empire. Jonathan Edwards resolved: Never to do anything which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life. Illustrating the priority Jonathan and Sarah Edwards placed on training their children, A.E. Winship’s A Study in Education and Heredity (1900), revealed the Edwards’ descendants included:

1 U.S. Vice-President,
3 U.S. Senators,
3 governors,
3 mayors,
13 college presidents,
30 judges,
65 professors,
80 public office holders,
100 lawyers and
100 missionaries.

This same study examined a family known as “Jukes.” In 1877, while visiting New York’s prisons, Richard Dugdale found inmates with 42 different last names all descending from one man, called “Max.” Born around 1720 of Dutch stock, Max was a hard drinker, idle, irreverent and uneducated. Max’s descendants included:

7 murderers,
60 thieves,
50 women of debauchery,
130 other convicts.
310 paupers, who, combined spent 2,300 years in poor houses, and
400 physically wrecked by indulgent living. The “Jukes” descendants cost the state more than $1,250,000.

  Conclusion

But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel (Phil 1:17). The timeless truth we want to hear is to have life. Jesus is calling you .He wants you to throw off gray face .your children need you to live in a way that makes them not only want to be alive themselves but to be alive in Jesus. Your kids will be grateful ,and you will be free to jump up and go to Jesus with energy and life. As will have learn in this seminar that Lord Jesus Christ his expecting us to do all our best to see that Christianity is great in the life of our children with the help of prayer and biblical teaching, it will not end in our family in Jesus Christ amen.

  

References’

Modern Parents, Vintage values by Melissa Trevathan & Sissy Goff  

sAll quotes are from King James Bible

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Edwards_(theologian)

http://selfeducatedamerican.com/2011/10/04/jonathan-edwards-v-max-jukes/

Preserving Christintiy in your Home by ‘Dayo Banjo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jukes_family