Our Imperfect Family
Pastor Erickson and his wife Fallon open the Our Imperfect Family series from Judges 2, where a generation arose that knew not the Lord, and they point out that there is not one perfect family in the Bible. They call parents to let children face consequences, to model their faith instead of living in hypocrisy, and to build homes of prayer so each child has a first generation walk with God.
The message in 6 points
Imperfect parents, strong homes
Opening the new series, Fallon remembers the day she learned as a child that her godly parents were imperfect too, and how they shared their testimony with her. She believes strong homes build powerful churches.
35:37Not one perfect family in the Bible
Pastor Erickson says that from Genesis to Revelation there is not one perfect family. The first family raised a murderer in Cain, and the line of Jesus includes messy family stories, so no matter how dysfunctional our families are, there is hope.
40:51Another generation that knew not the Lord
He reads Judges 2, where after Joshua's generation died another generation arose that did not know the Lord and served false gods. Fallon describes three chairs: a first generation built on commitment, a second built on compromise, and a third built on conflict, and says families must be intentional to avoid generational drift.
44:35Consequences and what children see
He says families drift when parents will not let children face consequences, as with Eli's sons and David's son Amnon. Children learn far more from what parents model than from what they say, so prayer in the home and a life without hypocrisy matter most.
54:52Three common parenting mistakes
He names three things that hinder a child's walk with God: we risk too little, we rescue too quickly, and we model too weakly. Children need to work hard, face struggles and learn to trust God, and parents must fight the spirit of entitlement.
1:10:41Teach them diligently and pray
From Deuteronomy 6:7 they urge parents to talk of God's goodness all through the day and turn hard moments into teaching moments. The greatest legacy is prayer, so every generation needs praying voices, and they close by blessing every imperfect family in the room.
1:19:32
In his words
“So I guess the good news is no matter how dysfunctional our families are, we've got great representation in the Bible and there's a lot of hope for us.”
“There are three things that could hinder our children, our kids growth when it comes to their walk with God. Number one, we risk too little. Number two is we rescue too quickly. And number three, we model too weakly.”
“Man, if 30% of our life is showing our kids how not to live, we're in trouble, because that, that's what they see. That's what they remember.”
Taken word for word from the video, with punctuation added.
Scripture
He reads
Genesis 4:8
8And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
King James Version.
Judges 2:6
6And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.
King James Version.
Judges 2:8-11
8And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. 9And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. 10And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. 11And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:
King James Version.
Deuteronomy 6:7
7And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
King James Version.
He also points to
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