A Bundle of Myrrh

Read Bible Stories to your children, sing hymns and pray with them.
Ever since I have attended college I have observed children of pastors, church workers, and Lutheran school graduates that weren’t interested in talking theology. Indeed, I observed they didn’t know much theology. Quite often the children would know the church politics and gossip more than they did about what the Bible taught. This is nothing new. Laache: Book of Family Prayer was published 1884. The first week of Epiphany, Laache urges parents to pray for their children. He points out it is so sad when we observe children of Christian parents leave the faith. Laache asserts that the parents did not faithfully pray for them. This is one reason I am so keen in talking theology with my children. So I urge parents as well to teach and sing hymns and pray with their children. This is also talking theology.
God rewards parents who read and teach their children to treasure God’s Word. Your children learn to talk theology, especially with you. This gives them confidence in God’s Word. God wants all His children to turn to Him in everyway. When children see their parents humble themselves under God’s Word and tender care, the reward is great. . Only God’s Word and the Sacraments can give this confidence. The Marks of the Church. The B-I-B-L-E. The Preached Word. Holy Baptism. The Lord’s Supper. That is all we have to offer our children and it is our duty to do it and be confident that God will be faithful in what He has offered for us to give to our children. Hymns are prayers to God. These hymns keep us mindful of what God has done for us in Jesus and we pray with thankfulness and for strength. Pray for your children.

Preserving a Christian Home by Dorothy Preus

God gave these children to mothers and fathers to care and nurture. It is not anybody else’s responsibility. It is so easy in this world to think that somebody else is going to teach skills, religion, and anything else that needs to be for the children. There is an expert for everything and for everyone!!! The church has unwittingly failed to respect and encourage parents in their role for their children. We have Sunday schools to teach Bible stories to the children. This is good. Are the parents teaching Bible stories to them at home? Are the parents attending Bible class while the children are in Sunday school? In everything parents do and say, they are teaching their children.

Parents should not abdicate their responsibilities in teaching their children the Word of God. Our culture is suffering from a couple of generations or more where parents have abdicated their responsibilities for their children to the state, church, and school, public or private. Our churches should be bursting at the seams and busy setting up mission churches all over the world because the children have been taught the way of salvation. But sadly, the children have not always learned the Law and the Gospel. The children have not had impressed upon them that the church is there to provide the forgiveness of sins in the Word and Sacraments. So they have left the church, or have gone to a “feel good” church. After all they sing those fun songs too. It makes them feel good. What have they been taught? Self-esteem or humility? Were they taught sin, repentance, and Jesus’ blood on the cross for sinners?

Preserving a Christian Home by Dorothy Preus