Spiritual Parenting - Restore the Home

 PARTIAL TRUTH: To most Christians the term “Discipleship”simply equates to “Presenting Biblical Truth”. MORE ACCURATELY: We believe the concept of“Spiritual Parenting”more accurately reflects the Biblical meaning. A Biblical Model for "Spiritual Parenting" (Personal Discipleship) 1. A. The apostle Paul describes his heart attitude towards those he was discipling. 1 Thessalonians 2:3-13 (from Paul, with Silas and Timothy) 1. THEY WERE SINGLE-MINDED IN PURPOSE :3-6 ...we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed - God is witness - nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority. 2. THEY CARED FOR THE BELIEVERS AS A MOTHER CARES FOR HER CHILDREN :7-8 We proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing MOTHER tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. 3. THEY BECAME "ROLE MODELS" TO THE NEW BELIEVERS :9-10 You recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; 4. THEY GAVE INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION AND INSTRUCTION AS A FATHER :11- 12 just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring EACH ONE of you as a FATHER would his own children, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. 5. THE WORD OF GOD WAS AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF DISCIPLESHIP :13 For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the Word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.