Reaching the Next Generation: God's Purpose for the Home - Deut 6:1-9

James H. Cosentino II

Reaching the Next Generation • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

Deuteronomy 6:1–9

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Introduction

Read Deut. 6:1-9

Deuteronomy 6:1–9 (ESV)

“Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Last week, we looked at the Great Commission, Jesus’ final words to His disciples telling them what purpose He has given them as His disciples. These are men who have come to know and love Jesus, even if they didn’t quite know everything they needed to know about Him.

Matthew 28:16–17 (ESV)

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.

Now, as Jesus is getting ready to ascend back to the Father, He has given them this great commission to make more disciples, to help others learn about Jesus and learn how to love and worship Him.

Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV)

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

His disciples are to go into the world and lead others into a relationship with Christ and to learn what it means to obey and worship Him.

Here in Deuteronomy 6, we see a very similar command. We are told to follow God’s commands, the greatest of which is to love God with our entire being and then to teach others to love and worship God as well.

This passage of Scripture is called the Shema, which means to “hear.” God is calling His people to hear and receive the Word He is giving to them and to respond appropriately through faith, fear, and love. And then they are commanded to take what they have heard and learned and pass it on to others, namely, the next Generations. It is essentially, the Old Testament version of the Great Commission!

Worship - The Grand Purpose of Life

The first thing we need to see is that our primary purpose in life is worship.

The Great Commission is not the end purpose of our life. The Great Commission serves the great purpose of our life, which is to worship.

John Piper writes: “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t.”

The Great Commission was given to those who believe and worship Jesus as supreme so they will go out and invite others to come and worship Jesus too.

God’s Great Commandments -

Here in Deuteronomy 6, as Moses is giving a second run through God’s law for the people, to remind them of what God has commanded them before they enter the promise land, we see the Greatest Commandment that sums up all of the law.

The Great Commandment is found in Deut. 6:4-5

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 (ESV)

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Ultimately, the whole law was pointing God’s people to have a heart for Him alone, that He alone was to be the purpose for which they existed.

We worship whatever it is that we love.

The word “worship” comes from the idea of the worth of whatever we are focused on. We will love and spend our time and affections on those things that are worth it, or the things in which we place value.

So God commands us to Love Him with our entire being because only God is worth all of our attention and affection.

The law then, shows what it looks like to live lives of worship to God.

The whole law was given to us to show us what it means to love God. The law demonstrates what it means to live out a love for God.

For those who are married, let me ask you this. Do you give flowers to your wife or help with the chores, remain faithful to her or even give her a kiss because you have to? Now, there is a sense, in which, these are things we have to do, but not quite in that sense of having to. If you are doing those things simply because it is a duty, you are actually dishonoring your wife and the relationship is on shaky ground. But if you do those things because you are compelled by love, then you are fulfilling the law and duty of love in the way that it brings honor to your wife.

This is why in verse 6 he writes, Deut. 6:6

Deuteronomy 6:6 (ESV)

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

The law is not simply a duty to fulfill, although we are duty bound to obey it. The law is actually how our lives will be ordered as our hearts are drawn to God in love and holy fear. As we love God more, our lives will become more holy because we will be fulfilling the law of love, not a law of duty.

Teach Your Children to Love God

Now, as people who know and love God, who have been saved by the work of Christ on the cross, we are called to pass on what we know to our children.

Deuteronomy 6:7 (ESV)

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

The Great commission of making disciples of all nations starts in our own homes. It doesn’t stop there, but it starts there.

Teach them How to Love God

First, Moses commands the people to teach God’s law to their children. Everything they have learned about God they are to pass on to the next generation.

You and I are called to diligently teach our children about who God is and how to love Him and follow Him in obedience.

How do you and I learn to love God? By getting to know God as revealed to us in His Word. We must learn to study and love His Word. We also learn from the fellowship of others within the church.

In the same way, we will be teaching our children to love God by helping them learn who He is from His Word and what He commands for their lives as well. And we help them love God as we bring them into constant fellowship with His church. We as families must have times spent together looking at God’s Word.

For the last several decades, we’ve begun to hire out the job of teaching our children to professionals. We get them into different sports programs where they have a coach teach them the game. We have swim teachers and private tutors, even those who are trained to teach children how to ride a bike.

These are not necessarily bad as there is only so much that parents know how to teach.

But unfortunately, the practice of hiring teachers for our kids have trickled into the church now too. While I am grateful for all those who feel the call to work with children and youth, too often, as parents, we entrust the spiritual training and teaching of our kids to the spiritual professionals.

So what does this look like? It means that our kids are only getting true biblical and spiritual teaching whenever they are at church.

If children go to church once a week, say on a Sunday morning, then they will get about 1 hour a week of spiritual training. That’s one hour out of 168.

Now, the average regular church going family is making it to church on average only twice a month, because of all the busyness of life and schedules and sports. Which means, children on average, if their only learning times are at church are about 1 hour in 336. I don’t know many piano teachers, coaches, or even school teachers who would be happy about that ratio of time for kids working on their own particular subjects, and yet we seem to be alright with that for our kids spiritual training.

1/168 is not enough. This is why God has designed the home to be the primary place of teaching for children, and parents, He is calling us to be their primary teachers. Now the church is called to be in partnership with you and we will do all we can to help you in your role. But the church alone cannot give your child the training that they absolutely need.

Resources

There might be many here who are asking, “Where do I start?” If you haven’t noticed, the Bible is a big book.

Maybe you’re not sure where to start or maybe you are brand new in learning about God yourself and you’re not even sure how the Bible all fits together or how to properly understand and interpret it.

Of course, as a family, you can start reading right from the beginning and working your way through. I would even recommend that for those with older teens.

However for those with younger children, that might be a bit more of a chore. But there are a range of resources that help families learn God’s Word while also trying to make God’s Word accessible to younger readers and hearers.

I have a very full list of resources that can be used to help both children and parents navigate God’s Word and to grow in your knowledge of and love for God together. And I would love to share this list with you.

Teach them of Their Need for Christ

As parents who are called to teach our children to love and obey God, along with teaching God’s Word, we also need to teach them of their need for Christ. If all we do is teach them how to obey, then we are simply making them well-behaved lost people.

Part of the command to teach God’s law to our children is to help them see their inability to follow His commands.

Because of sin, we are all unable to follow God’s law perfectly because we have hearts that end up worshipping things other than God. Ever since the garden, humanity has been making idols to worship instead of worshipping God.

And this is why Christ has come to die on the cross. His death on the cross paid the penalty our sins deserved. But not only that, Christ’s death has freed us from sin so that we can truly love God and obey His commandments.

So when our kids mess up and break the boundaries we have set, yes, be firm with them and set expectations for discipline. But use those times to show them that as sinners, we are all unable to abide by the rules and boundaries that are set for us. Christ has come to take the penalty of our sin upon the cross so that we can go free. Use those times of discipline to point them to the grace of Christ that was displayed for us on the cross. And use those times to share your love for them and to point them to greater joy we have in loving God.

Teach them wherever You Are

Another thing we see from this passage is that not all teaching times are during a formal time of teaching.

There should be times when we sit down together and read God’s Word and learn what He says to us. However, most of the teaching will happen outside of that time, and this is what will help increase that time from one hour to multiple hours over the 168 hour week.

Look at what is written here:

Talk about them when you sit in your house

(could be at the dinner table or in the living room, maybe something comes up on tv that you need to address and help them see from God’s point of view, or maybe something was discussed at school that needs some further discussion as we look at how God’s Word addresses that situation.),

Talk about them when you walk by the way

(we all have places to go. It might be something that comes up when you’re driving them to school, going shopping or to their next football practice. Many times, the best theological questions we get are in the car when the kids have nothing to do but think through something they heard or experienced. And unfortunately, my wife seems to get the majority of those questions.)

Talk About Them When You Lie Down and When You Rise

Finally, we have special times with our kids when they are lying down for bed and getting up in the morning. These are great times to pray with them as they are getting ready for the day or getting ready to sleep. And another time for questions to come forth is at bed times. The minds of children begin to think through their days and they are learning how to view everything in light of who God is and there will be a chance to talk about the day’s events in light of God’s Word.

Teach your Grandchildren Too

Before we move on, it is important to note that our jobs in teaching our children to know, love and fear the Lord doesn’t stop when they move out of the house.

Look at the focus God has given to the Israelites here in verse 2:

Deuteronomy 6:2 (ESV)

that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long.

God takes it even to the third generation. We need good and godly grandparents pouring into the lives of their grandchildren. Some here are blessed to have their grandchildren physically close to them. Others are separated by some distance.

At the very least pray for your children and grandchildren and find ways to encourage your children in their jobs as they train their children in the love of the Lord. When you are able to visit, let your families see and know that you are still actively growing in your own love for the Lord.

Be A Spiritual Parent/Grandparent to Someone else’s Child

Before I go any further, it is also important to note that we need the whole church partnering with parents in their job to teach their children. While our focus has been primarily on the family, and while the church was not designed to substitute for the parents and grandparents, we do need people willing to step in as spiritual parents, grandparents, and brothers and sisters to help disciple children and students in their love for the Lord. Maybe you’re here and you do not have any children of your own yet. My family has been blessed by others within our church family who have taken time to spend with our children to get to know them and help encourage them in their faith as well. As a father, this is a real blessing to me that others are willing to help partner with me in teaching my children how to love and follow Christ. And we will actually hit on this in more detail next week as we look at God’s role for the church in reaching the next generation.

Demonstrate How to Love God

Discipleship is more Caught than Taught

Finally, God instructs His people to take His commands and to bind them upon their hands and foreheads and even upon the doorposts.

God’s people took this quite literally as they took these boxes called phylacteries and tied them to their hands and foreheads.

The point of this command, however, was not simply to place these commands in a box and tie it to their bodies, but that these commands would become an integral part of their very character. He’s telling them, continue to set these words before them that they become a part of who you are.

If we are to teach our children how to love God, we must be growing in our own love for Him. We cannot lead our children in a path that we ourselves are not going. So we must display and demonstrate what it looks like and what it means to love God.

“Discipleship is caught more than taught.” While we must be verbally teaching children God’s Word and helping them understand who God is through our words, our lives will speak louder than what we say, especially if our lives do not match with what we say.

Kids do pay attention to what we say. In fact they pick up more than we give them credit for. However, kids pick up what we do even more. The old saying, “Monkey see, monkey do,” rings true with children. So let us make sure that what we are teaching them is also being demonstrated before them with our very lives.

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