PG Sermon Series: Week 4 They're Not Just Kids

They’re Not Just Kids
Parenting Series, Labor Day 2025

Small Group Study: Parenting With Conviction
(60 Minutes)

Opening Icebreaker (5 minutes)

• “What’s the most frustrating thing you’ve ever put together? Did it end up looking like the picture?”
  (Ties into the IKEA/parenting analogy and gets laughter going.)

Section 1 – Parenting Without Instructions (10 minutes)
Read: Deuteronomy 6:5–6

• Discuss:
  • Why do we so often “wing it” in parenting instead of relying on God’s Word?
  • How does our own walk with God affect what we pass down to our children?

Leader Point:

• Parenting is like putting IKEA furniture together without reading the instructions — you end up with missing bolts, extra screws, and a project that doesn’t look like the picture. That’s what happens when we parent without God’s Word. Deuteronomy reminds us that God’s commands must first be on our hearts before they can ever be impressed on our kids. You can’t pass on what you don’t possess. Parenting starts with my walk with God. If I’m not rooted, my kids won’t be either.”

Section 2 – Standing When the World Bows (10 minutes)
Read: Daniel 3:16–18

• Discuss:
  • What convictions do you think Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had instilled in them as kids?
  • How can we instill similar convictions in our children so they can stand firm in their faith?

• Leader Point: 
  • “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t decide on the spot to defy the king — that decision was already made years before. They had convictions planted in their hearts as children. That’s why they could stand when everyone else bowed. Doing the right thing in the hardest moment doesn’t happen by accident — it flows out of deeply impressed values. If we want our kids to have courage when the pressure comes, we must plant convictions in their hearts now.”

Section 3 – The Window of Wet Cement (15 minutes)
Read: Proverbs 22:6

• Object Lesson (optional): Bring a small block of clay/playdough vs. a hard stone.
  • Which one can you shape? Which one resists?
• Discuss:
  • What are some practical ways we can take advantage of the short window of childhood to impress biblical values?
  • Share examples of values you want your children/grandchildren to hold firmly.

• Leader Point: 
  • “A child’s heart is like wet cement. When they’re young, it’s soft, and every impression you make sinks in and stays. As they get older, that cement hardens, and it’s much harder to shape. Psychologists tell us that moral development peaks around age 10 and is mostly set by age 16. The Bible says the same: ‘Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.’ That means this window of time is sacred. If we waste it, we can’t just start over later. What we press into our children now will become the convictions that carry them for life.”

Section 4 – Everyday Discipleship (15 minutes)
Read: Deuteronomy 6:7–9

• Discuss:
• 
  
  • What are some everyday opportunities (car rides, meals, bedtime, morning routines) where we can weave faith naturally into our children’s lives?
  • How does the way we live privately and publicly either reinforce or contradict what we’re teaching our kids?

• Leader Point: 
  • “God didn’t design discipleship to be one big ‘sit down talk.’ He designed it to happen in the ordinary, daily rhythms of life: when you sit at home, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. Faith is meant to be woven into everyday moments — car rides, meal times, bedtime prayers, morning routines. And God tells us to mark His Word visibly:
• Hands = what you do.
• Forehead = what you think.
• Doorposts = the identity of your home.
• Gates = your public witness.
  Our kids need to see that faith marks our lives inside and out. If they see it consistently in us, they’ll believe it matters for them too.”

Wrap-Up & Challenge (5 minutes)

• Summarize:
  • Parenting without God’s Word = confusion.
  • Plant convictions early = courage later.
  • Everyday discipleship = lasting impact.
• Challenge:
  • Identify one intentional change you will make this week in how you disciple your children (or grandchildren).
  • Pray as a group that God would help each parent “train up a child in the way he should go.”

• Leader Point: 
  • “Satan wants us to look at kids and say, ‘They’re just kids.’ Why? Because he knows how critical these years are. Kids are not ‘just kids.’ They are wet cement. They are tomorrow’s Shadrachs, Meshachs, and Abednegos. The impressions we make today will shape how they stand tomorrow. If we take this window seriously and intentionally impress God’s Word into their hearts, they’ll be able to stand when their fire comes. That’s our calling as parents and grandparents.”