August 2, 2025 – Our Children Respond to Encouragement
Ephesians 4:31-32
Sermon: 2331 Raising Kids That Count, Part 2
Pray Over This
“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:31-32
Ponder This
It can be hard for us to hear the problems of our children. You may think the problems kids have are not big problems compared to your problems. But they’re big to the kid, and that’s what matters. Cry with them when they hurt, when their grade-school romances break up. Be concerned with them when a pet dies. You show them you care about them when you care about their world with them.
Children need encouragement like plants need water. Somebody gave me a houseplant a while back. I put it in my study. It was beautiful for about a week and a half, and then I looked over and it had turned down. I thought, “What happened to my plant?” Well, I hadn’t put a drop of water on it. I poured about three or four cups of water on it. In several hours that plant was back upright and looked healthy. Encouragement is to children what water is to dehydrated plants: They need you to hear them and encourage them in the challenges they face.
- What are some challenges you have faced with being compassionate when listening to someone in the next generation? How can God help you in those areas?
- When did an adult make an impact on you by being there when you had a difficult time as a child? What was special about that? How could you pass that on to someone else?
Practice This
Connect with those in the next generation. Listen to their struggles in life and pray with and for them.
For more from Love Worth Finding and Pastor Adrian Rogers, please visit www.lwf.org.
You can also listen to Adrian Rogers at OnePlace.com.
