Building a Family Legacy

Transcription

1 Building a Family Legacy Bringing Up Girls Session 1 ATTRIBUTION/CREDITS Bringing Up Girls Bible Study Shaping the Next Generation of Women Written by: Dr James Dobson, developed w/nic Allen Copyright: 2014 by LifeWay Press 1

2 It s no surprise that girls are different than boys However, for years now liberal activists have done their best to convince the world that boys and girls are the same, attributing any differences to the paternalistic biases used in raising them As parents of girls, it s our responsibility to guide and develop our girls into Christhonoring women How do we do that? We start with God s Word 2

3 Gen 1:27 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them Eve was essential to God s creation from the very beginning This first chapter of the Bible includes creation of woman as an integral and unique part of God s image reflected in humanity 3

4 Gen 2:18 18 The Lord God said, It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. In Gen 1, God declared all he created good Here, in Gen 2, He recognized something was missing; the man was alone God created woman, and in her His creation became complete Adam was created from the dust; Eve was created from Adam From the very beginning, this special relationship between man and woman has defined God s intention for His creation 4

5 So how did we get to boys and girls are the same? The results of the sin of Adam and Eve still affect us today Read Gen 3:16 16 To the woman He said, I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you. A woman longs for a human connection that makes her feel valued and delighted in The curse of sin (Gen 3:16) damaged the trusting partnership and relationship between women and men that hasn t been replaced 5

6 Add to that the influence of a culture, a media, and advertising that bombards your daughter with messages to see herself as the world sees her, and you have a recipe for misery and dysfunction Girls have a core need to know they are loved and lovely Your daughter needs to get that foundation of self-worth and appreciation at home (from YOU mom and dad!) If she doesn t, she ll look elsewhere, trying to find it from other, less healthy sources 6

7 Parents your consistent and persistent message to your girls needs to be that they are beautiful inside and out, both to you and to her Creator Without her parents to protect, defend, and guide her in the way of the Lord, girls are on their own against formidable forces that tug at her from all sides Build her confidence by giving her your time and attention 7

8 Hug her Compliment her admirable traits Always let her know that she has a place in your heart and in the heart of her Creator So what is our culture calling our girls to? What does modern culture value? Here some titles of articles found in magazines in the checkout line (and I m not making these up ) 8

9 30 Things to Do With a Naked Man (Cosmo, 2012) 4 Questions About Emergency Contraception (Self, 2012) 13 Signs You re Ready to Move in Together (Glamour, 2012) Nice Butt! 21 Tricks for a Bikini- Ready Booty (Allure, 2012) Television, music, movies, advertising, the internet, social media, peer pressure -- they re all sending this same, morally decaying message to our girls 9

10 Before we look at God s answer to combatting the effects of culture (and sin), let s look at some specific statistics that may (or may not) surprise you Half of all first marriages end in divorce 40% of children born in the U.S. go to bed each night with no biological father in the home 30% of Americans say drinking is a problem in their homes Sex is the number one searched for term on the internet today Two out of every three shows on TV (and I think it s higher today) contain sexual content The number one wish for girls ages is to be Thinner 10

11 Nationwide, 46% of students in grades 9-12 have had sex 14% of all 13-year olds have had sex Nearly 35% of all young women become pregnant at least once before reaching age 20 that s 850,000 each year Approximately 1.5 million U.S. women with unwanted pregnancies choose abortion every year 83% of teens say that moral truth depends on the situation 1 1 Vickie Courtney, Your Girl: Raising a Godly Daughter in an Ungodly World (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2012), Which of those statistics is most alarming to you? What are some ways you try to protect your girls from the destructive influence of the culture? 11

12 Let s face it, even as believers we often times want the things the world says are important Too often we ourselves are motivated by things that are far from God how do we keep our girls from the same? We need to continually look to scripture to ground us in what God says about the influence of culture Heb 2:1: 1 We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. This is a warning we need to focus, and help our girls focus, on what we ve heard, which is Christ crucified for us on a cross If we can keep them focused on the message of Jesus, they can more easily resist focusing on what the culture says matters 12

13 Psalm 73:16-17: 16 When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me 17 till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. This is the transition point in the Psalm In the first half of the chapter, a godly man admits his envy over the way evil people always seem to prosper despite their wickedness The latter half reveals the godly man who remembers what it s like to truly be in God s presence and recalls the true destiny God has ordained for the wicked To have God s perspective, we need to teach our girls to seek and remain in God s presence It is there that she will find the strength to resist the call of the culture Parents are you modeling this for your girls? Are you regularly and conspicuously seeking God s presence? 13

14 Your girls don t need more willpower to stand up to the culture They need an understanding of the power of the resurrection, repentance and restoration They need to know there is a God who loves them and wants the best for them They are much more open and receptive to that message when mom and dad love them and demonstrate that they want the best for them QUESTIONS? 14

15 Next Week More Bringing Up Girls The Three Ts Generational Impact 15