As parents, we strive to instill respect and obedience in our children—and rightly so. That’s part of our responsibility. We take pride in training them to sit quietly, listen carefully, speak graciously and obey promptly. And that’s what much of the Christian parenting literature aims at—socially acceptable and morally commendable behavior. Trophy kids.

Sometimes, we’re tempted to think that’s the ultimate goal of parenting—controlling our children’s behavior. But is it? John MacArthur wants to sound a warning: parents who concentrate all of their efforts on controlling their child’s behavior take a considerable risk.

God’s goal for parenting is much loftier than mere behavior reformation. He wants our children’s hearts, and our goals as parents must reflect His. Here’s John MacArthur to explain the ultimate goal of parenting . . .

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Listen to John’s sermon excerpt, then take these questions to the comment thread:

(1) Discuss the dangers of parenting for behavior modification only, rather than aiming at the heart.

(2) How do you see God model the kind of parenting He calls us to in Ephesians 6:4? Be specific.

As parents, we strive to instill respect and obedience in our children—and rightly so. That’s part of our responsibility. We take pride in training them to sit quietly, listen carefully, speak graciously and obey promptly. And that’s what much of the Christian parenting literature aims at—socially acceptable and morally commendable behavior. Trophy kids.

Sometimes, we’re tempted to think that’s the ultimate goal of parenting—controlling our children’s behavior. But is it? John MacArthur wants to sound a warning: parents who concentrate all of their efforts on controlling their child’s behavior take a considerable risk.

God’s goal for parenting is much loftier than mere behavior reformation. He wants our children’s hearts, and our goals as parents must reflect His. Here’s John MacArthur to explain the ultimate goal of parenting . . .

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Listen to John’s sermon excerpt, then take these questions to the comment thread:

(1) Discuss the dangers of parenting for behavior modification only, rather than aiming at the heart.

(2) How do you see God model the kind of parenting He calls us to in Ephesians 6:4? Be specific.