Invite Your Kids into a Relationship with God

In this episode of the Parenting Pathway Podcast, Family Ministries Pastor Dave Carl and High School Ministry Pastor Nathan Kocurek dig into the topic of inviting our kids into a relationship with God. How do we inspire our kids to love God? It can’t be something we push, demand, or discipline to achieve. This is a heart condition, so how do we encourage our kids to open their hearts to God?

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Episode Notes

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”

Matthew 13:44-46

This parable is about the kingdom of Heaven and its vast value. Sometimes, we Christians make this life with God sound like something that is no fun, not worth the effort, and not something to get excited about. But we should be wildly excited about it! And when our kids see our genuine excitement about our relationship with God, they may begin to want their own relationship with Him.

A few reasons why a relationship with God is so valuable:

1. It defines a purpose for your soul and life.

To be an apprentice of Jesus is to be more like Him. The question is, with all that I have been given, how am I going to uniquely point to God and draw others to Him?

“Doing the thing that you were uniquely made to do!”

2. We get to know the God who spoke all things into existence.

There is an innate, deep longing in our souls to know and be known by our Creator. God wants to be involved in your life, and your kids’ lives, personally. Yet it is hard for our kids (and us, as well) to reconcile with that sometimes. Are we worthy? Most of us would say we are not, and that is where Jesus comes in.

3. The Holy Spirit lives within us.

We have a desire to rescue and protect those we care for. So many of the kids we know disconnect themselves from God’s healing and mercy, yet the Holy Spirit has the power to protect people from self-loathing and self-harming.

The concept of loving Jesus starts now. We don’t have wait until we arrive in Heaven to live a full life in the arms of Jesus.

You can read more about the pursuit of intimacy with God from Pastor Dave here on Parenting Pathway:

The Singular Purpose of Christianity

Authors

Dave Carl

Dave Carl is the Family Ministries Pastor at Stonebriar Community Church and is responsible for the ministry focusing on children birth through high school graduation and the parents who love them. With a ministry philosophy based on Luke 10:27, his primary focus is to give parents the skills to raise kids who truly love Jesus and want to serve others. Dave has a passion for ministering to families in crisis in our community. He has spent several years pouring into fathers and husbands and helping them learn that they need community, were designed to guard and protect, and that they really can be the spiritual leaders of their family.

Dave and his wife of 30 plus years, Cathy, have two adult children and one in college and grandparents to three amazing children. They are completely in love with these new member of their family. Dave is an avid woodworker and loves to write. He sees all stories in the form of pictures, and he would love to connect with you!
Nathan Kocurek

Emerging from the depths of the late 1970s, Nathan Kocurek spent his formative years under the influence of Hall & Oates, Duran Duran, and other notables while listening to KRBE in Houston on the clock radio beside his bed. Nathan was influenced to love Jesus by the example of his young single mom, and he grew up with a love for God but an incomplete understanding of discipleship. As a result, as a teenager, he indulged in a relentless and, at times, reckless pursuit of social and athletic achievements, seeking to assuage an innermost feeling of emptiness that he could not escape. Finally, by God’s grace, the Spirit of the Lord made it clear to him that none but Jesus could satisfy what he was lacking. The answer had been there all along. Later, Nathan married the girl of his dreams and they ran off to California, had two sons, and returned to Texas where they adopted their sweet daughter. Having served as a Student Minister at two previous churches over the past 18 years, Nathan and his wife, Marie, are now thrilled to follow the calling of Christ at Stonebriar Community Church.