Raising Planet Shakers - Discipling Your Kids
Raising Planet Shakers
Raising Planet Shakers
How to raise up kingdom hearted, gospel centered planet shakers one day at a time.
“These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” Acts 17:6
It is no surprise to most of us that we live in a broken and fallen world.. Anyone watching the evening news is well aware of this truth, but how can we raise our children in such a way that they are moved with compassion for the lost, the lonely, the sick and the hurting?
How can we help our children become kingdom hearted planet shakers?
Raising planet shakers begins with our hearts and our understanding of God’s heart for the world. If we believe the simple truth at the heart of the gospel message that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Then we as parents will be intentional about leading our children to Jesus that they may believe in Him and love Him. Then as they grow in their relationship with Jesus we get to help them learn to love the world that Jesus died to redeem.
Raising planet shakers begins with a Biblical understanding of God’s plan of redemption.
It begins with us believing and teaching our littles that Jesus is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” It begins with us understanding that the only way for us as sinful rebellious humans to enjoy a relationship with the True and the Living God is through the gracious sacrifice of Jesus, who died in our place, paying the redemption price for our souls with His precious blood. If we believe that Jesus is the way that God has provided to give us access to Himself, if we understand even in part the height and width and depth of His lavish love for mankind, if we know that He has charged us with taking the gospel message to our families, friends, neighbors, and to the ends of the earth... then we will seek to be His hands and feet. We will seek to “go therefore,” we will boldly share the word of God and explain the good news of Jesus Christ to those around us and we will equip our children to do the same.
Prayer is at the heart of becoming people that God can use to turn “the world upside down” for His glory.
The good news for us is that prayer is simply talking to God. We don’t always have to know exactly what or how to pray, because as Romans 8 says the Holy Spirit intercedes for us and teaches us what to pray. As parents the best thing we can do for our children is to pray for them and to be an example of a prayerful life. We’ve all heard that “ passion is caught not taught” passion is like a fire that spreads. Thus if we are a people zealous for the things of the Lord and passionate, fervent, in prayer our children will follow our example. May we be parents who are faithful to lift up our families, our cities and our world in prayer. Prayer is powerful because it aligns our hearts with the heart of God. It teaches us to decrease that He may increase. It helps us grow in compassion for the hurting, the lost, and the broken. Prayer softens our proud and hard hearts, that they may be moved with compassion so we will gladly walk in the good works that have been prepared for us.
Encourage your children to develop a well rounded world view.
It is easy for little and big people alike to view the world only from our own limited perspective. We process everything through the “me” lens and expect everyone else to share our view of how things work and to enjoy the same advantages that we do. But there is a big wild world out there. One of the best gifts we can give our children is a “bigger than us” world view.
Creative ways to help your children become gospel centered global citizens:
Watch child friendly documentaries and travel shows.
Read multicultural books.
Learn about different religions and how they differ from a biblical understanding of God’s plan of redemption.
As a family brain storm ways to share the gospel with people who have a different world view and look for common ground.
Read missionary biographies as a family.
Sponsor a child in a developing country and write letters to them.
“Adopt” a missionary family, send them notes of encouragement and small gifts or items that are hard for them to get where they live.
Cultivate a love for and understanding of geography by including maps and globes in your home decor.
Note: As parents we can struggle with the seeming tension between our desire to insulate and protect our children from the negative realities that exist because we live in a fallen world and the desire to help them grown in compassion for and understanding of all nations, tribes and tongues. As the mom of a little man who is continually asking questions I’m learning that there is a precious balance that can be found. This balance often looks like an invitation to pray. Prayer reminds us that even when we feel powerless in the face of pain and suffering, our Good Father is still at work redeeming it all. It helps to shift our perspective from circumstances to the Good Shepherd of our souls. Prayer replaces despair with hope and anxiety with peace. Prayer is such a sweet blessing. While we don’t watch the news together as a family we do often discuss current events and pray for the people impacted by them. When there is a earthquake, hurricane or shooting we simply tell our little guy “there was a earthquake in such and such part of the world” and invite him to pray with us for the people impacted by it. Sometimes he wants to look at the world map to see where it took place, other times he wants to know how or why there are earthquakes, in this way prayer time and learning time naturally flow into each other allowing. By being honest with our little man, we present him with faith building moments as we bow before the Lord together incapable of doing anything on our own but recognizing that the full resources of Heaven are at His command.
Memorize scripture that teaches about God’s rich love and His plan of redemption.
When we see His love and understand it at a heart level, we grow in our compassion for others. A natural outworking and overflow from our love for God will come a desire to partake in the work He is doing. As we grow in our love for Him and begin to understand the height and depth of His love for us we will desire to share the message of His lavish love with our families, neighborhood, community and unto the ends of the earth. Below you will find printable memory verses that highlight the love and grace of God and His beautiful plan of redemption.
Below You Will Find Two Great Resources.
The teaching by Chuck Smith is really sweet! If you want some encouragement to pray give it a listen. Prayer allows us to “touch a world for God” it allows us to serve the body of Christ all around the world without ever leaving home.
Printable Memory Verses
Characteristics of a Servant - Chuck Smith - Great Teaching On Prayer and Ministry
