Ministry to Parents

God has given parent(s) the primary responsibility to raise their children in the Lord but He did not intend for parent(s) to train and instruct their children in isolation. God has provided families with the church to help support, encourage, and equip parent(s) to raise and minister the gospel to their children. This page is dedicated to providing information and resources to help equip parent(s) in their ministry to their children.

For more information on getting starting, contact Phil: [email protected].

PARENTS AT EMMAUS

At Emmaus we believe that God has given parents, especially fathers the authority and responsibility to train and instruct children up in the Lord. In addition, we believe that God has ordained the gathering of all generations, young to old, to worship Him together in one place and at one time. Therefore, each and every Sunday our children worship the Lord alongside their parents and other members of God’s family.

It is important to understand that God has ordained the church to have authority over the teaching and preaching of the word, administering of the sacraments, fulfilling the great commission, and church discipline. God has given parents the authority and responsibility of teaching and guiding children in the way that they should go. God has called the church to equip and support parents in the raising of their children.

The objective of Emmaus’ Parent ministry consists of but is not limited to:

• Providing resources to increase knowledge and practices of biblical parenting.
• Providing weekly household worship guides to encourage daily worship within the home.
• Providing discussion questions for the morning sermon and catechism outlines for the afternoon sermon for use within the home. (See below)
• Providing accountability to the call that God has given parents.

Children In The Worship Service - Parents are encouraged to keep their children in the service with them so that thy can begin to learn to sing, pray, listen to teaching, and also witness the observance of the Lord’s Supper (children may partake of the Supper once they have been baptized upon profession of faith).

Training Room - The morning and afternoon worship services are streamed into the Multi-Purpose at Emmaus so that parents have a place to take their young children if they are having a difficult time in the sanctuary. We encourage parents to use this room to train their children to sit quietly through the service and not as a play room.

Sunday School - Sunday school will be offered for children grades K-5 during Emmaus Essentials (9-9:45 on Sundays). The teaching will center upon the catechism question that was introduced in the worship service on the previous Sunday along with selected scripture texts.

Membership and Rite Of Passage - According to our constitution, when young people under the age of 18 are baptized upon profession of faith they are considered minor members. At age 18 they are encouraged to progress through the membership process and to become full members of the church. In this way, the young person's emergence into adulthood is recognized by the congregation. We encourage parents to also mark this transition within the home so that it is clear that they are considered adults. Marking such a transition is healthy for the child, the parents, the household, the church, and society. Please talk with a pastor to learn more about this "rite of passage" concept and for ideas on how to work towards it.

RESOURCES

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Discussion Questions: Luke 10:30-37
posted on Sunday, April 14th by Joe

1. In the previous sermon and this one, I mentioned three uses of God’s law. The first use of God’s moral law is to restrain evil in the world generally by God’s common grace. Here we may compare the law to a curb or guardrail. What are the other two uses of the law? To what can we compare these?
2. In Luke 10:25-37, how did Christ use the law as a disciplinarian or mirror to show the lawyer his sin? 
3. How is the law used as a light to our feet or as a guide in this same passage?
4. The law commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Who is our neighbor?
5. What does it mean to love our neighbor? What will this look like in practice?
6. How should the Christian view God’s law? How should we read, interpret, and apply it to ourselves? 
7. What is legalism? What is antinomianism? Why are these to be avoided?

Discussion Questions: Baptist Catechism 14
posted on Saturday, April 13th by Joe

1. What is God’s works of providence?
2. What do we mean when we say that God preserves all things?
3. What do we mean when we say that God governs all things?
4. What does God preserve and govern?
5. Why does our catechism say God’s providence is “most holy, wise, and powerful?” What previous Q&A should this remind us of? What is meant by the word “most”?
6. How should we think of God’s relationship to evil, sin, and suffering? (Reminder: You will find a much more thorough statement about God’s providence in Second London Confession, chapter 5. Please read it sometime soon.)
7. How is this truth about God’s providence a comfort to the Christian? 

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