Planted

INTRO

Summer Sunrise - Running w/ The Giants - Promo Video - Running w/ The Giants - Planted Slide

Let me tell you about the time I decided to build Grayson’s bookshelf without looking at the directions.

I had confidence, tools, and the wrong parts in all the wrong places. Halfway through, the thing was leaning like the Tower of Pisa, and I had extra screws leftover—which is never a good sign when it’s supposed to hold books.

Moral of the story: direction matters.

And not just with furniture.

It matters when you’re raising a child, leading a student, mentoring a young adult, or influencing the next generation.

Proverbs 22:6 gives us a clear and sobering truth:

Proverbs 22:6 NLT

Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.

The verse isn’t a formula, it’s a foundation.

MAIN POINT

You don’t determine their future, you plant their path.

1. DIRECTION BEATS INTENTION.

A. HOPING THEY TURN OUT RIGHT IS NOT THE SAME AS TRAINING THEM.

YOU CAN’T DELEGATE DISCIPLESHIP TO CULTURE.

YOU CAN’T OUTSOURCE IDENTITY TO ENTERTAINMENT.

YOU CAN’T WISH YOUR WAY INTO GODLY OUTCOMES.

James 1:22 NLT

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

B. TRAINING REQUIRES REPETITION, NOT PERFECTION.

YOU DON’T RAISE HEALTHY KIDS BY DOING IT PERFECTLY, YOU RAISE THEM BY DOING IT INTENTIONALLY.

TRAINING MEANS SHOWING UP, CORRECTING, PRAYING, AND REPEATING—OVER AND OVER.

DISCIPLINE ISN’T PUNISHMENT—IT’S DISCIPLESHIP.

Deuteronomy 6:7 NLT

Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.

C. THE PATH IS SHAPED BEFORE THE PACE EVER BEGINS.

BEFORE THEY RUN THEIR RACE, YOU’RE CALLED TO HELP BUILD THE TRACK.

KIDS DON’T DRIFT TOWARD WISDOM—THEY’RE DIRECTED TOWARD IT.

YOU’RE NOT CONTROLLING THEIR OUTCOME—YOU’RE PLANTING THEIR ROUTE.

2. WHAT YOU MODEL, THEY MIRROR.

A. YOUR FAITH ISN’T TAUGHT, IT’S CAUGHT.

KIDS WILL REPLICATE WHAT THEY SEE LONG BEFORE THEY REPEAT WHAT THEY HEAR.

IF CHURCH IS OPTIONAL FOR YOU, FAITH WILL BE DISPOSABLE TO THEM.

THEY WILL FOLLOW WHAT YOU’RE PASSIONATE ABOUT, EVEN IF THAT PASSION ISN’T GOD.

Philippians 4:9 NLT

Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

B. THE ATMOSPHERE YOU CREATE SHAPES THE HEART THEY CARRY.

A PEACEFUL HOME TEACHES THEM HOW TO PROCESS CHAOS.

A PRAYERFUL HOME TEACHES THEM WHERE TO RUN WHEN LIFE BREAKS.

THE SPIRITUAL CLIMATE YOU ALLOW BECOMES THE COMPASS THEY USE.

C. YOU CAN’T LEAD THEM WHERE YOU HAVEN’T BEEN WILLING TO GO.

IF YOU’RE ASKING THEM TO PRAY, THEY NEED TO SEE YOU PRAY.

IF YOU WANT THEM IN SCRIPTURE, LET THEM CATCH YOU IN THE WORD.

IF YOU WANT THEM TO TRUST GOD, LET THEM SEE YOU DO IT WHEN IT’S HARD.

3. YOU’RE PLANTING SEEDS, NOT FINISHED TREES.

A. RESULTS AREN’T IMMEDIATE, BUT THE ROOTS ARE GROWING.

DON’T GET DISCOURAGED WHEN YOU DON’T SEE THE FRUIT YET.

GOD IS WORKING IN THE DARK WHERE YOU CAN’T SEE.

SEEDS PLANTED IN PRAYER BLOOM IN GOD’S TIMING, NOT YOURS.

Galatians 6:9 NLT

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

B. SOME OF THE GREATEST RETURNS COME AFTER YOUR SEASON OF INFLUENCE.

YOUR VOICE MAY BE QUIET NOT, BUT IT WILL ECHO WHEN THEY’RE OLDER.

SOME LESSONS WON’T MAKE SENSE UNTIL THEY’RE PARENTS THEMSELVES.

DON’T PULL UP WHAT YOU’VE PLANTED JUST BECAUSE IT HASN’T BLOOMED YET.

4. DIRECTION NEEDS DEPTH.

A. SHALLOW FAITH WON’T SURVIVE REAL STORMS.

YOU CAN’T CONTROL THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT YOU CAN PREPARE THEIR ROOTS.

DON’T JUST RAISE GOOD KIDS, RAISE GROUNDED ONES.

WHEN LIFE SHAKES THEM, WHAT IN THEM WILL SHOW.

Matthew 7:24–25 NLT

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.

B. THE CHURCH ISN’T A BACKUP—IT’S A BUILDER.

THIS IS WHY SHOWING UP MATTERS.

THIS IS WHY KIDS MINISTRY IS REALLY NOT OPTIONAL.

YOU’RE NOT DRAGGING THEM TO CHURCH, YOU’RE PLANTING THEIR FUTURE.

C. YOU’RE NOT JUST POINTING THEM TOWARD THE RIGHT PATH, YOU HELPING ANCHOR THEM TO IT.

DISCIPLESHIP ISN’T JUST ABOUT DIRECTION, IT’S ABOUT DEPTH.

YOU’RE SHAPING HOW THEY PROCESS, PAIN, AND PRESSURE.

DEEP ROOTS DON’T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT, BUT THEY DO HOLD DURING THE STORM.

CALL TO ACTION

WHAT ARE YOU PLANTING?

WHAT KIND OF CONVERSATIONS ARE YOU HAVING IN YOUR HOME?

WHAT DOES YOUR EXAMPLE SAY ABOUT YOUR VALUES?

ARE YOU PRAYING FOR THEM, OR JUST PARENTING THEM?

YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING, BUT YOU DO HAVE TO BE INTENTIONAL.

PERSONAL REFLECTION

CHALLENGE: PERSONAL CHALLENGE

CONCLUSION/CLOSE

Remember the IKEA bookshelf?

All the pieces were there. The potential was there.

But without the right direction, it started leaning the wrong way.

You’re not responsible for building your child’s future all on your own.

But you are called to plant the path.

And when they are older… God’s Word says they will not depart from it.

You may not see the results today.

You may still be praying through a prodigal season.

But don’t stop planting. Don’t stop watering. Don’t stop believing.