Opening
The bottom line of the Scripture passage is that children need parental attachment for character, relationship, and spiritual development, just like Jesus. Consider opening your group by leading them through a series of prayer prompts, asking for the Holy Spirit to move and speak through these questions.
-Did you experience healthy parental attachment growing up?
-if yes, should you thank your parents or elders?
-if no, ask God how you can extend forgiveness and move forward.
-If you have children, have you allowed them to attach to you in healthy ways? If you do not, what children are in your life and how should you attach to them?
-Ask God to reveal what should be shifted in your life for the good of the upcoming generations.
Overview
The predominant model that our culture offers our child is that of peer attachment. Instead of spending time with their parents and being attached to them, they are attached to peers. There are dangers in this model. Peers are harmful parents substitutes. Peers are false teachers. Peers lack the necessary competence to help each other mature. Peer-attached children grow up with low levels of character and maturity and high levels of depression.
The story of God offers a different model. As parents and elders, we want to disciple our children to recognize and follow the Spirit’s voice. We need to provide children with various spiritual influences from multiple generations. We need to align parental attachment and aspirations for our children with God’s purposes. We must also commit to sharing the gospel consistently throughout our children’s lives.
Discussion Questions
- Do you feel that you are doing any of those suggestions well? If so, which ones?
- What are common goals you have for your children that perhaps aren’t aligned with God’s purposes for them?
Practice
Luke 2 41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. 42 When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual. 43 After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t miss him at first, 44 because they assumed he was among the other travelers. But when he didn’t show up that evening, they started looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they couldn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there. 46 Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions. 47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 His parents didn’t know what to think. “Son,” his mother said to him, “why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere.” 49 “But why did you need to search?” he asked. “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they didn’t understand what he meant. 51 Then he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. And his mother stored all these things in her heart. 52 Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.
Prayerfully read the Scripture passage out loud. Pray and ask for the Spirit to reveal where aims in parenting and influencing the upcoming generations have been misguided. Leave space for quiet listening and out-loud responses as people are comfortable. Confess together. Pray over one another.
Share ideas for how we can reshape our own lives to continually consider what it means to follow Jesus and then to do that out loud and in front of the younger generation. It takes a full commitment from the elders to pass along the faith.
Closing
Pray for a deep, abiding faith for the people in your group. May we become a people who deepen and multiply as disciples of Jesus and are willing to live in counter-cultural ways.
