We have two different readings from scripture this morning in Genesis and then in Deuteronomy. Genesis 2 and then Deuteronomy 6. So the themes that we're going to look at from Scripture this morning are going to be marriage and parenting. Genesis 2, well I'll tell you the text in a minute, but just keep your Bibles open to Genesis 2 and Deuteronomy 6. And just let me briefly recap the first couple sermons that we did on this Christian Home Series. Just very briefly, what we learned already from Scripture is that God has made the family a foundational institution of society. So that's what we learned earlier from Genesis, that God has made the family a foundational institution of society. We also learned that from scripture that the family plays a major part in God's covenant plan of redemption. And we learned that the church family is actually more important than the biological family. The church family is our first family because our union with Christ is stronger than natural family ties even. So those are some things that we've already learned. So before we read the word, let's pray for God's blessing upon it. Father, again, we turn to your word for truth, for guidance, and for your teaching today. Would you please bless the reading and preaching this morning, and would you open our hearts and minds to receive this great truth that your word proclaims? We ask these things in Christ's name, amen. So first, the first text we're going to read is Genesis 2, verses 23 and 24. God's word, Genesis 2, verses 23 and 24. This is right after God created Eve. Then the man said, this at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife and they shall become one flesh. So that's our Genesis 2 reading. And then you can turn to Deuteronomy 6. And we're just going to read versus, Let's just go four through seven. There's more to these texts, and of course I can't do everything in one sermon, but these are the things we're going to look at, at least in some detail. Deuteronomy 6, verses 4 through 7. So the first text had to do with marriage, and this one has to do with parenting. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. you shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise. So again, we'll look at that. You shall teach them diligently to your children. Those are our two texts this morning then from God's word. If you hear someone say, uh, that hits home, do you know that what that figure of speech means? Well, it means somebody made a good point that affected you, that touched you. For example, if you would watch kind of a sad movie about grief and loss, and you said, that hit home, we would understand that it made you think and that it touched you. It hit home to your situation. Now, often when the Bible talks about marriage and family, almost always, it hits home, literally and figuratively. Now today what we're going to do is just briefly look at what the Bible says about marriage and parenting. And again, these are huge topics. You could do a Bible teaching series, maybe a Bible study on this. But today we're just going to learn about the basics, the biblical basics of marriage and parenting as we go through these Christian home series. So yes, I know that this sermon mostly applies to married people and parents with children in the home. But for teens and kids, you can't really tune out because at some point, most likely you're going to be married and you're going to have children in the home. So this also applies to kids and teens. And for those who aren't married or who aren't parents, you can still listen so you can grow in your understanding about what the Bible teaches about these things. And when you learn more about marriage and parenting, even if you're single or even if your kids are out of the house or whatever, you'll better know how to pray for and support others in the Christian family who are married and have children. So in some ways, this will benefit us all or teach us all. So first of all, we're going to talk about this topic of marriage in the Christian home. Now, already we learned that marriage between man and woman was established before the fall by God, right? That's just a basic truth from Genesis. We've talked about that before. In Genesis 2, God said that it's not good for the man to be alone. So God made a helper for the man and it was the woman. And then we read, a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife and become one flesh. And Jesus basically said amen to this in Matthew 19. So a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and become one flesh. That's a very rich and thick statement about marriage, isn't it? So marriage is a man and a woman leaving their parents and becoming one flesh, clinging to each other. Now, becoming one flesh, maybe you've probably thought about that one before. And right away, probably a lot of us think it has to do with, well, sexual intimacy. It does, but not primarily. Actually, when it talks about becoming one flesh, in this context, it means something like family unit. They shall become one family unit. Now, why would I say that? Well, because there's other places in the Old Testament where bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh is used, which Adam said earlier, and that's used in the Old Testament to show family relationship. So I think there's maybe four or five examples. One of them is in 2 Samuel 19, where David said to his nephew, Amasa, you are bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. meaning you're in the family. So becoming one flesh, being bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh, has to do with family. When a man and a woman get married, they become a new family unit, which of course, you know, in a marriage does include intimacy. And this is one reason why marriage overrides the parent-child relationship. When a man and a woman get married, it's the start of a new family, and their relationship to their parents change. They've left, And now they're clinging to each other and their own family unit of one flesh. That's why our Westminster Confession says, marriage was ordained for the mutual help of husband and wife, together. One family, one flesh. So already there's some application here in this text of leaving parents, cleaving to one another and becoming one flesh. Husbands and wives in marriage need to remember that they've left their parents and now they must stick to each other and cling to each other. Think that way and live that way. Let go of your dad and your mom and hold on to your husband and wife. That's a scripture's teaching. I like how Timothy Keller put it. Tim Keller said, God did not put a parent and a child in the garden, but a husband and a wife. And so Keller said, when you marry your spouse, that must supersede all other human relationships, even the parental relationship. So leaving your parents and cleaving to your spouse. Now I know that sometimes when people get married, they don't really let go of their parents and they continue to hold on to one or both of their parents. Maybe the wife confides in her mom a ton when she should be confiding in her husband all the time. Or maybe the husband is closer to his mom than he is his wife. Or maybe the mom and dad's opinion is more important than the spouse's opinion. And these kind of things weaken the marriage and they don't build it up. So husbands and wives need to remember this truth in their own homes, that they've left their parents, they're cleaving to one another in one new family. But there's also application for parents when their children get married. You know, parents, when your children get married, your son or daughter who has just gotten married has his or her own family now. They're no longer under your roof and your authority, so you need to let them go. Your daughter has a husband now, so don't do things that might weaken their relationship. Your son has a wife now, so let him lead his wife. Let them be a family unit. Give them space and let them be a family. I know that's hard sometimes for parents to let go and not be parents anymore, as it were, when their children get married. But sometimes, I guess parents, just to put it bluntly, just have to butt out and back off when their children get married because their children are a new family unit now, husband and wife. So that's one text to think about for marriage, just a basic foundation. You leave your parents, you cleave together, you become one family unit, one flesh. Now there's another important text for marriage. Some of you could probably guess this one. Ephesians 5. We're not gonna read the whole thing right now, but Ephesians 5 is that chapter, or part of that chapter talks about the husbands loving their wives and their wives submitting to their husbands. And so first of all, let me just speak to the wives here. In Ephesians 5.22, it says, wives are to submit to husbands in a way like the church submits to Christ. So wives are to submit to their husbands like the church submits to Christ. 1 Peter 3 teaches the same thing. And of course, this is a huge topic. I can't unpack everything about what it means for wives to submit to their own husbands. But one thing that I will say is we want to avoid extremes in this area. You know what I mean. There is an extreme, probably a lot of people in our society say, well, never submit. Women should never submit because it's archaic, it's repressive, and it's the cause of so many social problems when women submit. That's one extreme we certainly want to avoid because the Bible does say wives are to submit to their husbands. It's very clear. But the other extreme we also want to avoid is maybe what you want to call hyper-submission, where the husbands are the boss, period, and the wife has no say and she should not speak ever. So there's both extremes we really want to avoid when we talk about submission. And in the larger context, when it talks about wives submitting to their husbands, it means something like, lovingly follow the lead of your husband and be a good help to him. Don't try to be the leader of the home, and don't prevent him from leading, but follow in a loving and good Christian way. So wives in a marriage are to submit. Ephesians 5 verse 33 also talks about respecting your husbands, so wives need to respect their husbands. Titus 2 talks about wives loving their husband. Proverbs 31 can even teach a wife how to be an industrious worker in the home. And of course, Proverbs 31 has to do with that woman, that wise woman working diligently, but just as a reminder to the women that your first and highest calling in marriage isn't to be a worker in the home. Your first and highest calling is towards Christ, and then your husband and children, and then work somewhere down there, but it is part of being a wife. So those are just a few things that the Bible teaches for wives in a marriage. Again, very basic. Submit to your husbands, respect them, love them, and do work as Proverbs 31 woman leads. And now for husbands. And I didn't plan it. I guess it's Father's Day today. I didn't plan this, but it worked out. In Ephesians 5, husbands are called to love your wives. Actually, that's kind of one of the main emphases of Ephesians 5. And of course, the gospel is central there. Jesus loving his bride, the church, and giving his life, that's the central aspect. But the leading call is for husbands to love their wives. Six times that word love is used in that passage. So husbands, love your wives like Christ loves the church. In a sacrificial, unselfish, love-that-keeps-on-giving kind of way. That's how you're called to love your wife, like Jesus loves the church. Jesus loved his bride, the church, so much that he died to save her. Right? That's gospel. And so husbands, love your wives like that. If you even have to, if the time would happen to come, you'd give up your life to preserve hers. It's a self-giving kind of love. Now, a couple things that this means for husbands when there's this clear biblical call to love your wives is you must not hurt your wife in any way. You must never harm your wife. You should not verbally abuse your wife by calling her names or yelling, and you should certainly not physically abuse your wife. That's a deep and dark sin when husbands physically abuse their wives. That's the opposite of love. It's hate. So husbands loving your wives means never, never hurting your wives. Young men, boys, teens, you have to remember that too. When you grow up, you never hurt your wife. But positively, then Ephesians 5 talks about how husbands should nourish and cherish their wives. It's almost like there's one imagery we can think of here or illustration is your wife is like a beautiful flower and you need to take care of her in such a way that she grows and flourishes in life. You want to cultivate the home soil in such a way that she can grow and flourish, nourish and cherish your wife. Now there's another aspect of being a husband. It's also leading. So it's loving and leading. 1 Corinthians 11 teaches that the head of a wife is her husband, which again has to do with Christ being the head of the church. In a way, there's an illustration. And this even goes back to Genesis when the husband is called to lead and be the head in the home because man was created first. And that's what Paul wrestles with in 1 Corinthians 11. And so that's a biblical teaching that the man is, the husband is the father and leader of the home. That's a biblical reality. A husband is the head of the home. A husband is the one who is in charge to lead the way in decision-making, guiding. The husband is the one to manage the home and direct the family. The husband is at the helm of the ship, so to speak. That's headship and leading. And we also have to remember that it's Christ-like leadership. It's a serving and loving kind of leadership, not dictatorship, but this kind of humble, firm, and strong leadership like Christ leads. And we have to remember that we, as a Reformed and Presbyterian church, we believe that the Bible teaches that men should be leading in the church as pastors and elders. And we have to take that same thought into the home, because that's another biblical teaching. That teaching needs to permeate our thoughts and practices in the home where man is the head. So love your wives, lead in the home. Another one is respect your wife in 1 Peter 3. That means honor and value your wife. And one other thing to think about for husbands is provide for your family. This is from 1 Timothy 5, where Paul tells Timothy that a man must especially provide for his own household. So those are some things that the Bible teaches about being a husband. Love your wives. That's the top. And lead in the home. Respect your wife, which means honor and value her, and provide for her and for the family. And so when we think about these biblical basics of marriage, it helps us diagnose problems in the home sometimes. There are different ways, many ways, that the wheels can fall off of marriage, so to speak. And when we don't follow these biblical directions, it weakens the home life and the marriage. So those are some things to think about. Now just one other topic here. Again, I just only can touch on these things. There are biblical reasons for divorce. The Westminster Confession talks about adultery or willful desertion. You can read about that in Matthew 5 or 1 Corinthians 7. And although divorce is not the unpardonable sin, even if it's wrong, it's not the unpardonable sin. But biblically, marriage is meant for a lifetime. Marriage is meant for a lifetime. And it's a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman. That's a Bible teaching. And so we should all think about that way if you're married. We've made these vows, right, that we're going to stick with our spouse through thick and thin, as it were, because it's for life. And once again, kids, as you grow up and think about being married, as you think about marriage, you think immediately it's for life. When you marry someone, you're going to, with God's help, stick with that person for life. There's this song by Show Baraka called Fathers. It's a great song. And he talks to young men. And one of the lines in there, talking about this commitment, I love two of the lines in there. He writes to young men, he says, don't marry her if you don't plan to bury her. If you sweep her off her feet, then learn how to carry her. That's a good way to put it. So you can even pray now about this, kids. As you think about your future husband or wife, Lord, lead me to a good man or a woman to spend the rest of my life with. Think about it like that. And one more point of application for husbands and wives. Again, this is very basic and just a summary. But really, for husbands and wives, the better the Christian life that you live, the better your marriage will be. Do you know what I mean by that? The better that you follow Jesus and obey Jesus' commands, the better your home will be. If you're a serious Christian, you're going to want to imitate Christ, whether you're a husband or a wife. And when you imitate Christ and follow his commands, it's a blessing to be around you. One example to think about this, so you're a good Christian and you're in a home and in a marriage with another, you know, with a man or a woman. When you exhibit the fruits of the Spirit, it will be awesome for your spouse. So, you know, some of the fruits of the Spirit, love, of course, joy, self-control, peace, goodness, kindness, Do you see what I mean? So all of these Christian principles, if you as a husband or a wife put these into practice in the home, it will be a blessed marriage and it will be a strong marriage. And so the last application is for everyone, of course, pray for marriages here. If you're not married or if you're single or whatever, or a widow, pray for those who are married here because it is a big calling from God. Okay, so that's, again, biblical basics of Christian marriage. Now let's look at the second topic then, parenting in the Christian home. Now again, this is another huge topic, but we know that parenting is a high calling from God, and parenting takes up a big part of our lives. Not just five or 10 years, but sometimes 15, 20, maybe 25 years of our lives. And it's not always easy. We know sometimes that parenting brings some of life's most painful heartbreaks. But parenting can also bring some of life's greatest blessings. So parenting is a high calling from God. So let's think about the biblical basics of parenting. Again, we'll just get some points on this from scripture. First of all, parents have authority in the home. This is very much implied in the fifth commandment because children in the fifth commandment are called to what? Their father and their mother? Honor them, which means parents are authority figures in the home. There are other verses too, but we need to think of it this way. Parents are the bosses in the home. They're like the supervisors of the home. And there's this biblical chain of command to remember in parenting. God and his word are the highest authority in life, in our Christian life and in the home. And then the dad, and then the mom. That's how we think of his parents. Dad is kind of like the illustration. Dad is the president of the home, And mom is the vice president, and God is over both. Something like that. I know for most of you, you're saying, yep, I get that. But it's super backwards in our society today, isn't it? When I say parents are the authority in the home, many of you would just say, yeah, of course. But a lot of people in our society don't practice this. Even around 100 years ago, The Duke of Windsor from England said this, the thing that impresses me most about America is the way parents obey their children. That was one of his takeaways from coming to America. Parents obey their children. And that's kind of true in America. Children run the show and parents never say no. We recently saw that movie, Yes Day. It's average, whatever. But I was thinking after, Yes Day is a movie when the parents are supposed to say yes for one day to any of their reasonable kids' requests. And after I got done watching, and it was average, whatever, but I got done watching it and I thought, do parents really need encouragement to say yes more? They need a No Day movie to teach parents, I would say. But we are a yes kids' society. A 10-year-old would say, you know, my friends all have an iPhone. Mom, can I get an iPhone and put Snapchat on it? Yes, dear, even if a 10-year-old asks. Or a 13-year-old would say, can I put our PlayStation and TV next to my bed in my room? And can you upgrade the Wi-Fi speed while you're at it and put a fridge in my room? Yes, of course. You know, we're a yes society when it comes to our kids. And I was wrestling with this this week. What happened? How come in many homes in this country, parents say yes and kids seem to run the show? Well, I was talking about this with a friend of mine and a couple of reasons why parents often fail to have authority in the home. First of all, it's easier to say yes than no. When we say no, our kids will whine and argue and fight and it's a pain. So if we say yes, well, it's just so easy. And our kids are smart enough to know this. They can manipulate us to say yes. So that's one reason why people say yes and parents say yes instead of no, just because it's easy. Another reason why parents often fail to have authority in the home, I would say, is that sometimes parents get mixed up about their role. Some parents think they're more of an adult friend than an authority figure in their kid's life. And so Tim Keller again said, children are children. They shouldn't be expected to give you the friendship and love that a spouse can. So, some parents think of their kids as friends and that's why they can't say no. Another reason is many parents just don't have the guts to say no. They lack the moral fiber just to put their foot down and say no. Another reason why some parents say no is because they naively trust their... I'm sorry, another reason why parents fail to say no is because they naively trust their kids. Again, my friend said, this is based on a true story, not around here, but something like this. Sammy would never Snapchat inappropriate pictures. She's only 12 years old. So they naively say yes to everything. Of course, there are plenty of other excuses why parents always say yes and never no. I don't want to be too strict. My parents never let me do anything. Other parents let their kids do that. So I just want you to wrestle about this, especially as parents. We live in a yes society when it comes to parenting. Yes, we say everything to our kids when they ask, yes. But we want to think of it from a biblical perspective. Parents have the authority in the home. And parents must exercise authority in the home. We're not parenting right if we fail to exercise authority and let our kids walk all over us. And dads have to lead the way in this, in parenting and being the authority. Moms too. God calls you to be leaders in the home. And if you want a good, solid Christian home, you need to exercise authority even when it's tough. You need to pray for courage and strength to say no in our yes culture. And remember that first and foremost, you're not called to be your kid's friend, but their parent, their authority figure. So parents have authority in the home. That's a biblical teaching. Now, another biblical teaching is parents should teach their children the things of God and other realities in life. And that's what we read from Deuteronomy 6. These words that I command you shall be on your heart, et cetera, and you shall teach them diligently to your children. It's a command for parents to teach the things of God to your children. Proverbs 1 also talks about moms and dads instructing and teaching children. Dads and moms in a Christian home are Christian teachers. That's one of your main roles, is to be a Christian teacher to your children. And again, dads should lead the way in this. Ephesians 6 says, fathers, don't provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Dad, one of your big roles as a dad is to teach your children the things of God. And moms too. Moms are called to teach. Remember, Timothy's mom, Eunice, and even his grandmother, Lois, taught Timothy the scriptures at a young age, and he was acquainted with them, even when he was young, because his mom and grandmother were teaching him the things of the faith. So again, if I can just press this a little bit and be blunt, you know, dads, if you're not seriously teaching your kids about the Christian faith and reading the scriptures to them and teaching them about grace and forgiveness, if you're not doing those things, you're failing in a big area of being a dad. Because it's one of those high callings in scripture of a father to teach your children the things of God. And the same goes for moms. So dads and moms, if you're not teaching your kids the truths of the faith, please start now. I know you might have to rearrange your schedules and give up some me time or even vacations or whatever, but I know that you love your children and that should help you want to teach them the faith because you don't want them to grow up and just turn away from the church and walk in darkness. You love them enough, so do the hard work of teaching them the things of God. You can teach them the Ten Commandments when they're young, the Lord's Prayer. You can tell your kids about God who made everything. You can tell them about the love of Jesus when he laid down his life for us. And you can teach them what it means to follow Jesus in this world that we live in now. And you can model the faith for them too. Okay, so parents are the authority in the home. They need to teach their children. Another biblical reality of parenting is discipline. Parents are called to discipline their children when they do wrong. So where would, if I would ask you, one place in the Bible at least that talks about parents disciplining children, can you think of one? Well, one book of the Bible would be Proverbs, right? That's basically what half the, or maybe the whole book is about. Proverbs 13, you maybe know this text, whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves his children is careful to discipline them. Disciplining your children for doing wrong is a sign of love in the home. That's a very biblical teaching. Or Proverbs 29 says this, a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. If you leave your child to him or herself and never discipline, he or she will bring shame to the mom, Proverbs 29 says. So we know that biblical church discipline must be practiced in a biblical church because the Bible calls us. Same in a biblical home. There has to be discipline in a Christian home. One man said once, parents who are afraid to put their foot down usually have kids who step on their toes. We need to be disciplining our children. When they lie, discipline your kids to teach them not to lie. If your kids cheat or steal, discipline them so they learn that cheating and stealing is wrong and it will bring ruin to their lives in the future. If your kids disobey your house rules or talk back to you or argue with you, discipline them and teach them lovingly and patiently how to respect authority because that's a Bible teaching. And once again, fathers should lead the way in disciplining their children as the head of the home. Fathers and mothers should work together, dad leading the way, mom also enforcing discipline following the dad. And actually, if you're not disciplining your kids when they're doing wrong, You're dropping the ball. And it's a big mistake and you need to fix it. In fact, if you're not obeying God's call to discipline your children, I mean, it's sinful because God has called you to discipline them and you're failing to do something God has called. So thankfully, if you're not disciplined or you're working with us and struggling with us, of course, there's forgiveness and you can start working on disciplining your kids. Talk to me or someone else about that. And one thing to think about Christian discipline, or a few things to think about is, it's loving. I just mentioned this. You have to read Hebrews 12 because it says there that the Lord disciplines the one he loves. So we know in our own Christian life, when God disciplines you for sinning, it's because he loves you and wants you to do what's right. Doing wrong will end up hurting you and hurting others and dishonoring God. So when we discipline our kids, it's because we love them and we don't want them to go down the wrong path. Proverbs 13, he who loves his son is diligent to discipline him. So if you're failing to discipline your kids, maybe you don't love your kids as much as you think you do because you're letting them get by with sin and disobedience. Another thing to think about discipline, first of all, it's loving, but secondly, the Bible teaches that it's good for kids when we discipline them. Hebrews 12 says, discipline is painful, but it yields peaceable fruit. Proverbs 22 says, discipline drives foolishness away from the child. So when you discipline your child, you're driving foolishness away from him or her. It's good for them. And this means, actually, and kids might want to argue, discipline in the home is actually a blessing. It's a blessing when parents discipline their children, just like it's a blessing when God disciplines us in our Christian life, because we want to get back on the path of following God. And Psalm 94 said, blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord. So parents, don't feel guilty when you discipline your kids for doing wrong. I know that many of your friends and other people might not discipline your kids, but Scripture calls you to. Don't feel guilty when you lovingly discipline your children. It's good for them, and it's a blessing. I don't have time to go into it, but there's one epic failure in Scripture where a dad did not discipline his son. You know what story I'm thinking of? Eli and his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, in 1 Samuel 2 and 3. You can read that story, and Hophni and Phinehas died. So parents, so those are just some basic teachings from scripture. Parents are the authority in the home, parents are to teach their children the ways of God, and parents are to discipline their kids when they do wrong. And so, once again, in the Christian home, then, for parenting, parents, if you want to be good parents, biblically speaking, follow the teachings of scripture. It goes the same with marriage. The more serious you are in the Christian faith and following Jesus, the better your marriage will be because you're putting the principles of Jesus to practice in your marriage. And the same goes with parenting. That the better follower you are of Christ, the better parent you'll be because you'll show them what patience means and mercy and forgiveness. telling the truth and peacemaking. That's the kind of parents that our children need. These parents who display the fruit of the Spirit, not just in public, but in the privacy of home. When the fruits of the Spirit are on display, that's the best place that our kids can be raised in. So pray for your kids, pray for their minds, their hearts, pray for your kids' choices, their schooling, their future spouses, and all that. And once again, we've talked about this before, but for all of us, if you don't have children or if your children have moved out, pray for the other kids here, pray for your own kids. We can think about this all the time. So finally then, let's wrap this up again, very basic today. But our call to be husbands and wives and parents, they're high callings, and we should take these callings to be husbands, wives, and parents seriously. but we never want to make our marriage or our children into idols. That's another common problem, even in the church, where a spouse becomes an idol or children become an idol. We need to make sure that our spouses and our kids never become the center of our lives that give us meaning and purpose in life. You have to remember that parenting and marriage are both temporary. They're just for this life, but not life to come. And so for Christians, our highest and most important calling, whether you're a dad or a mom or a husband or a wife, or even if you're single and not married, our highest and most important calling is to follow and obey Christ, who died for us and rose for us. And we have to remember that His church, in a real way, is our first family. We're brothers and sisters in Christ here as a family. And as I said, the more diligence we give to following Christ and being a healthy member of a good Christian church family, the better spouses and parents we'll be, which is good for the home, for the church, and it's glorifying to God. Amen. Let's pray. Thank you, Father, again for these teachings of scripture. We know that your scripture teaches us about so many different areas of life, that everything we need for life and godliness is found in your word. So we do pray for the marriages here. We pray for the husbands that they would lead and love and be good Christian husbands and exemplify the fruits of the Spirit. We pray for wives, too, that they would submit, that they would respect, and that they would follow the teachings of Scripture in all areas of life and be a godly wife. And we pray for parents here, too, that you would give us patience and wisdom, help us in life every day to consistently put the practice or the teachings of Scripture into practice, where we could be the authority in the home in a loving way, where we could teach our children, and where we could discipline them, O Lord, in a biblical way as well. So we need your grace to do these things, we need your help, and we need the power of your Holy Spirit and the guidance of your Word, Lord. So help us to do these things in a way that honors you and is a blessing for others. We ask these things in Jesus' name, amen.