Good News for Parenting | Good News for Every Family | Pastor Zach Weihrauch

As we begin our Good News for Every Family series, Pastor Zach draws from Deuteronomy 6 to remind us that God’s design for families starts with loving him fully. He emphasizes that faith is meant to be woven into the everyday rhythms of life—at home, on the go, morning and night. No matter the shape or season of your family, this passage offers a powerful foundation for passing down God’s truth. It’s a call to intentional, consistent discipleship within our closest relationships.

What is Christ Community Chapel?

Christ Community Chapel is a church in Hudson, OH, that invites people to reimagine life because of Jesus. Learn more about us at ccchapel.com.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9.

Hear, O Israel,
the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart,

and with all your soul,
and with all your might.

And these words that I command
you today shall be on your heart.

You shall teach him
diligently to your children,

and you shall talk of them when you sit
in your house, when you walk by the way,

when you lie down,
and when you rise. You shall bind them

as a sign on your hand, and they shall be
as frontlets between your eyes.

You shall write them on a doorpost
of your house, and on your gates.

We are beginning a new sermon series

this week to carry us
through the month of August.

We're calling it Good News
for Every Family.

We're taking four weeks to look at
what the Bible says about family.

Because the truth is, we're
all part of a family in some way.

And whether your family is big or small,

whether it includes
marriage or children or not,

whether it's broken or in great shape,
the Bible has a lot to say about

how we live life as family,

so we want to dive into that over
the next four weeks.

This week, we're looking at one particular
aspect of family,

and it's appropriate following Kids Care,
that we're looking at

what the Bible has to say about parenting.

Now, I do want to say that I recognize not
everyone here this weekend is a parent.

Some of you have raised children.

They've moved out of the house.

Others are still hoping for children.

Others
maybe don't have plans to have children.

I promise towards the end of this message,
there will be something for everyone,

regardless of whether you brought a child
with you this morning or not.

But parenting is such an important part

of the fabric of society

and of the fabric of a church,
of a culture.

The Bible actually
has a lot to say about it,

and it feels appropriate
to spend a week on it.

I'll just say this
if you're new to the whole church thing,

maybe you've
come on the heels of kids camp.

I just want you to know how eminently
practical the Bible is,

because God's desire
is for us to live a life

of meaning and purpose,
that God wants that for you.

He wants that for
your family, wants that for your children.

And really, what we do each week
is gather around the Bible to learn

what God has said about
how life works best.

If you have a Bible,
you can open it to Deuteronomy six or use

your phone to get there.

You don't have to have one.

It was just read to us
and I'll reference that as we go.

But there are three points
I want to use to think about the passage

that was just read from Deuteronomy six.

Very simple. Three points.

They go like this
I want to talk about reverse engineering

responsibility and resources, reverse

engineering responsibility and resources.

Let's start
first with reverse engineering.

Of course, reverse
engineering is the concept

of knowing where you want to get

and working backwards through the steps
it will take to get there.

For instance, if you set a goal
that you want to lose weight,

you would pick a target weight
and then you would work backwards

from what
it would take the calorie deficit

that would be necessary,
the exercise that you'd have to do.

Same thing financially
if you say, hey, ten years from now,

we need to be ready to pay
for the kids college or we want to retire.

You would begin with the amount
you need, work backwards

and know what you would need to say
yes to or no to in your budget

in order to make that outcome a reality.

I don't know if there is anywhere
that we understand this better

then with our children.

Most people who are

raising children have a vision of who
they want their children

to be, of the life
that they want them to have.

And much of our parenting,
at least in our most intentional

and strategic moments,
is built around that vision,

achieving that outcome.

So if we want our children, for example,

to learn the lessons that come from sports

or to get a Division one scholarship

so that we can learn
how great it is not to pay for college,

then we reverse engineer back

and we get them in as many sports
as we can.

Private instruction, travel teams.

Same if you want your children
to learn the value of music

or to be a good student.

Many of the conversations
we have with our kids, the rules

we put in place,
are not about the short term.

They're about the long term vision of life
we have for our kids.

I don't know
if you've ever thought about this,

but the Bible tells us
that God also has a vision for your kids.

He has a purpose for them.

He has a particular life in mind
for your children.

You can read about it in Deuteronomy six
when God says this in verse four, he says,

here, O Israel,

the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart,

and with all your soul,
and with all your might.

God's vision for our children

is that they would know him,

that they would love him.

That's what he wants to be

in relationship with our children.

Let me reinforce this.

You know, over here
is this awesome outdoor playground

that we built a couple of years ago,
and we have more coming to this space.

You're going to love it.

And by the way, whether this is your
church or not, that's your playground.

Okay? Come any time. Enjoy.

When I bring my daughter Ella
to play on it, she's six.

One of the things I've noticed
is that she will run around

and play with the same kid for an hour,
have a great time.

Then when we go to get in the car,
I'll say, who was that

you were playing with?

And she'll say, I don't know.

I said, you, you didn't learn their name?

Nope, nope.

And so then we have a talk
because I have to teach her that.

Ella, we ask names because that kid is
not just they don't just exist.

Round out your tag game or to make sure
you're not bored on the playground.

We want that kid to know
that they matter to us.

We want them to know
that we care about them.

And the way we do
that is by learning their name.

By sharing our name.

When I tell you that God
wants a relationship with your children,

it's a learn
your name kind of relationship.

Do you see in these verses

that God has shared with them who he is,

what he's doing?

What do you want

if you're not familiar with the Bible?

In fact, the Bible is in many ways
God on the playground

sharing his name.

God doesn't want us to guess who he is.

He doesn't want us to wonder how he feels
to wonder what he's up to.

He is a communicative God.

He's not just looking for people
to round out his game of tag.

He's sharing his name.

He wants to know
the names of your children, your name.

God wants relationship with your kids.

My guess is you want that for your kids.

That's a lot of people's

starting point, by the way,
for coming to church in the first place.

They get out of the habit
or maybe were never in the habit.

They have a few kids
and they start to say,

my kids should really be in church.

My kids should really know who God is.

Well, I want you to know that not only is
that true, that's what God wants,

but that means reverse engineering.

It means that just like we map out

a future for our kids academically

or athletically or musically,

we also must work backwards spiritually

if God wants our kids to know him.

If God wants our kids to know
he loves them, if God wants to share

his name, his mission, his purpose,

then how do we
get there with our children?

That actually leads me

to my second point,
which is not just reverse

engineering a relationship
with God for our kids,

but also asking the question,
who's responsibility is that?

It's not just a question of how.

How do we get our kids
to have a relationship with God?

It's a question of who

whose job is that?

Look, in our culture, we outsource a lot
as it relates to parenting.

I mean, we have to I mean, about the time
my kids hit third grade when they asked

for math help and their homework,
I send them to their mother

or anymore to ChatGPT

because I don't know how to do it right.

And as they pursue hobbies
that I don't have interest

in or skills,
and it can be tough to help them.

They're inclined to ask me, but I don't
want them to realize how dumb I really am.

So I look for someone to do it for me,

and that works for some things,
but it doesn't work for everything.

This passage
clearly teaches that not only does

God want to have relationship
with your children,

he wants you parents

to take the lead in getting them there.

Look.

Listen to what it says here
as he tells them who he is.

He says this and these words that I
command you today shall be on your heart.

You shall

teach them diligently to your children

shall talk of them
when you sit in your house,

when you walk, by the way,
when you lie down, and when you rise,

you shall bind them
as a sign on your hand,

and they shall be as front
lights on your eyes.

You shall write them on the doorposts
of your house and on your gates.

God isn't telling the pastor

or the priest,

or the YouTuber,

or the author, or the podcaster

that their job is to lead

their children to the God who loves them.

He says, it's our job.

Now. Why is that?

Let me give you two analogies
that I'll drive at home.

I want to talk about tying
a tie and cooking chicken in a crockpot

first tying a tie.

I was a sophomore or junior in college
before I realized

I did not know how to tie a tie,
and that was a problem

no one had ever taught me,
and I guess I never needed one.

I don't know if I got through high school
without having to go to funerals

or weddings, or if maybe the dress code
just didn't apply to me, I don't know,

but I remember I was getting ready
for a dance with my girlfriend, who's

now my wife, and I had to have her
dad teach me because I didn't know.

I didn't know how to tie a tie.

You know, the truth is,
over the course of my life,

I had a lot of adults who poured into me
a great teachers,

great coaches, mentors.

I had people who were shift
managers at places that I've worked.

There were a lot of people
who would help me grow up.

A lot of people who had helped me develop,
but none of them had ever thought

to teach me how to tie a tie,
because it wasn't their responsibility.

They were specialists.

My football
coach talked to me about football.

My math teacher talked to me about math.

My shift
manager talked to me about work ethic.

The truth is, I needed

my parents to teach me how to tie a tie.

Now, this is not a comment on my parents
parenting.

They might say they did try to teach me
and I'm just dumb.

I already said that.

My point is, parents,

for most of us, we've built
lives for our children where there are

a number of people who can teach them
how to block and tackle,

or how to read sheet music,

or how to get good grades in algebra,
maybe even how to work hard.

But none of those people
wake up in the morning

saying, your kids need to know
that God loves them.

Who will do that?

If not for us?

Who will do that if not for you?

But the

second analogy I want you to think about
is cooking chicken in a crock pot.

It's always dangerous when I use
cooking metaphors because I don't cook.

But here's how I understand a crock pot
and my wife is over in this area,

so I'm going to try
not to make eye contact in case I'm wrong.

My understanding is when you put chicken

in a crock pot, you just kind of set it on
and you let it cook.

You put in some water
or some marinade or whatever,

and it soaks in that
and it cooks slowly over time.

And the thing about cooking
chicken in a crock pot is it gets tender,

it gets soft, and it really absorbs
the flavor that you put in with it.

Of course, the downside to
that is if you don't like the flavor,

there's not much
you can do about it afterwards.

It's soaked too long.

I want you to understand something.

Some of us have built lives for our kids,
whether they're

in Christian schools
or they're in churches.

And you think, well, there's lots of
people who will teach them about God.

There's a lot of people who will add
spiritual seasoning to their lives.

But what this passage describes
is a simple truth

that everyone who works with kids knows

the environment of home.

The crock pot a kid marinates in

who you show them God to be,

who you show them, or what you show them.

Values to be, priorities to be will

ultimately be the flavor
they leave your home with.

Other people might try to add seasoning,

but I can tell you,
after 20 years of ministry

where 7 or 8 years of coaching
youth football or in any environment I'm

in where
I'm working with children or teenagers,

a few minutes a week, a couple hours

a week will not overcome

the marinating they do in your home.

Your children are meant to know God.

They are meant
to enjoy relationship with them

and no one will be as effective

at teaching them that of pushing them

to that of leading them in that direction.

As you.

Or no one

short of

a miraculous activity or event

will be able to overcome

the lack of that as they've crock
prodded in it.

Now, I just want to say that

as I prepared to say that to you
this week, I.

I was worried that some of you might feel
a little shamed by that,

because if you're sitting here
with a 13 year old and you're thinking,

well, I haven't taught them to tie a tie,
I haven't crock

potted them in an environment
where they would learn about God.

We're not talking about God in our home.

We're not forming our kids spiritually.

So what does that mean? Have I blown it?

I want you to

know that few things in life
get anyone's attention,

like a sudden change.

I have friends who are in great shape.

They've never not been in great shape.

I never ask them for diet or fitness tips

because they are discipline freaks.

We're not similar.

There's nothing
they can say that will help me.

But when a friend around me goes

from not caring about that
to caring about that, I start to ask.

I start to wonder

what happened, what changed?

What are you doing that's different?

If you feel as though reading Deuteronomy
six is convicting, let me invite you

to consider that God is calling you today

to a sudden change of priorities,
and that perhaps

that sudden change
will capture the heart of your child.

But I also want to tell

you this it is God's vision for your kids
to know him.

It is your responsibility
according to him.

But you're not alone.

That's actually my third point.

There are resources for you.

In fact, I want to hold out five resources

that we offer here at the church to you

because our desire is to come alongside
you as parents

and empower you to do the work
that God has called you to do.

So here are five ways that we can help,
and I want you to focus

less on the individual thing
and more on the wave of this.

There are a lot of ways we want to help.

Help is available. Here's the first.

You must first experience
God's love for yourself.

You know,
this passage is God speaking to Israel

after they've experienced
some pretty incredible things,

and he's telling a generation
that he's rescued from Egypt.

He's telling them,
your kids didn't live these stories.

So you have to pass them down.

Don't lose the miracles of what I've done.

You see,
God is telling us the same principle.

They tell us on an airplane,
before you put the oxygen

mask on your child,
you must first put it on yourself.

God wants to know your name.

He wants you to know he loves you.

In fact, he wants that so badly.

He sent his own son, Jesus,

to live righteously in your place, to die

sacrificially on the cross for your sin
and for mine

to do away with God's judgment,
God's anger

that was righteously on us to die,
and three days later

to rise from the dead
in order that you and I might be forgiven

you and I might begin
a relationship with God.

Don't start with your kids.

Start with yourself.

God doesn't want to run around
on the playground for an hour

with you.

He wants relationship experience that.

That's what we preach about.

Sing about, read about every week
here at Christ Community Chapel.

Come.

Not not for your kids, not first.

Come for yourself.

The second way we can help
is not just in helping

you experience, but in educating you.

Much of our teaching,
our our Bible studies,

our podcast, every thing we do here
at the church is to help you

not only meet Jesus,
but to grow in your understanding of him.

I know some people are out there going,
I'd love to teach my kids about God,

but Zach,
that's like you teaching your kids math.

I don't know enough, but you can.

But you can. Listen. We know life is busy.

That's why we have a Thursday
night service.

We know we don't want you to stop going

to the lake on the weekend
or take your kids out of sports.

You can both end it.

You don't need to either. Or it.

We know you're busy.

Too busy to come here
multiple times in a week, which is why

we have podcasts and videos
and things designed to help

you take laundry time
and turn it into spiritual growth.

Time. We want you to meet Jesus.

We want you to grow in Jesus experience
and educate.

Here's a third one example.

There are

moms and dads in this crowd
who have raised children

and taught them
who God is, and to love him well.

Learn from them.

One of the best things that happens
at a church is you're around

people that are a generation
ahead, two generations ahead.

Ask them questions. Learn from them.

I can tell you that in our family,
we've learned so much.

Here's an example.

We do our Bible study after dinner
every night, right before dessert.

And you say you do dessert every night.

Listen, all questions
about our dietary, plan.

Go to my wife, Amy.

I'll give you her email after the service.

But the reason we do that

is because while the kids are eating,
they're in a mood to listen.

And we go through with our five children's
stories of what God has done.

And then we ask a question,

and you have to get a question
right before you get dessert.

You've never seen greater motivation.

And that's just Amy.

Does it work?

Well every night?

No, but an older brother in
Christ told me this.

Zach, trust the aggregate.

Not the moment.

Examples.

Examples.

Here's the fourth one.

Excitement.

One of the greatest ways to form children
and their love for God

is to bring them
into spiritual environments that are fun.

Did your kids have fun at kids camp?

I can't hear if you're clapping.

I hope you are.

And the reason why we want them

to have fun is because you can't convince
kids God loves them.

If he's boring, you can't convince kids
that God loves them.

If he doesn't understand their childlike
wonder, their childlike enthusiasm.

Listen, we turf fields and put in walking
tracks and playgrounds and

and environments in the building because
we understand a God who loves kids.

Once them to enjoy the time
they spend around his people.

And then here's the fifth one.

We want to empower
you to join God's mission.

This in God's doing amazing things
at this church.

He's reaching people,
putting families back together.

We want to invite you and your children
not just to receive, but, to give.

I was actually out of town for most of
this week dealing with a family emergency,

but when I came back Thursday afternoon,
my family was exhausted.

That's because my wife and my 17 year old
and my 15 year old

and my 13 year old were serving at kids
camp.

Not because we make them,

but because they're learning
how exciting it is to join with God

in what he's doing to convince children
he loves them

to join with God in his mission
to restore families.

Listen, here's what I'm telling you
God has a vision for your children.

God has a vision for your family.

He wants you to lead.

He wants you to bring your children
into his story.

And we know that's scary to you,

hard for you, challenging and daunting.

And we want to help

and all the things that

we do
and all the things that we have going on.

Our desire is to point you to Jesus,
to help you grow in him,

and to help your family discover
their incredible

and unique role in what he's doing.

I hope you'll come check it out.

Let me pray for us.

Father God, thank you so much
for the incredible task of parenting.

The truth is,
none of us are really up to the task.

Every day presents new challenges,
many of them bigger than us.

Thank you then for the church,

for men and women who come alongside
us, who serve in ministries,

who pour in to families,
whether it's in the parking lot or kids

camp, or ushering or passing out
bottles of water, all part of the design

to say, maybe it isn't my kids,
maybe they're not my grandkids.

But God cares about children.

And so, so do we.

God cares about families and so do we.

God, thank you for giving this church
the privilege of partnering with you

and your mission to help parents
lead their children to faith in you.

In Jesus name we pray. Amen.