Covenant Children

We spent two weeks talking about covenant children, and the blessings to covenant households. Since Pastor Chris is up to bat for the two Sundays following this week, I thought it would be good to take this Sunday to summarize some of the themes from the previous two weeks, as well as introduce some of the very related themes that we will encounter in Second Peter. And to do this, we'll be in the possibly-surprising place of the book of Judges. There is a theme of "remembering" that flows through all of this. Some of the best application of these passages is simply to remember - remember who God is and what He has done. Teach our children to remember our God, and to remember His call on their lives. Encourage things in the worship and work of our church that encourage us to remember the Lord. And as with so many of these things, the foundations are small, but powerful! We should pray regularly that our homes are places where God is remembered.

This week we will hopefully be wrapping up "part 2" of a two-part sermon about covenant children. The aim in this has not been to teach a systematic theology class, per se (though if you're interested, Louis Berkhof gives an excellent summary here). The goal for these sermons is to lead us to recognize that God is doing something fundamental and foundational through our households, because Christ has claimed our households. This should be an encouragement, whether you are old or young, single or grandparents – Christ has laid a claim on Christian homes! I pray this will be a time that leads us to adore Christ for what He has done through His covenant promises.

Having wrapped up our series in 1 Peter, we will be beginning 2 Peter shortly – but first, we'll take a brief detour to consider the place of our "covenant children." I planned this out several months back, because the standing of our covenant children is so foundational to our church and households. It is also a major reason I came over to the Presbyterian side of the isle! I had originally planned to cover this in one sermon, but it would be wiser to divide it into two over the next two weeks. The way I plan to approach this is by looking at the "warning passages" in the New Testament, starting this week with Hebrews 6:4-9. These passages are stark warnings to those who are in the covenant, calling them to receive and rest upon Christ through faith. These passages would make very little sense if we did not understand that our offspring are brought up in covenant, and yet they must respond with faith (with hearts regenerated by the Spirit). It is the difference between David and Saul: both were in covenant (and even kings!), but one was a man after God's own heart, while the other's heart was never truly changed. Along the way, those passages also tell us a great deal about what our children experience as members of the covenant, which is our focus. There is a tremendous blessing to being raised in the church, and we should be thankful for that!