What Would You Say to the Parent of a Wayward Teen?

This week, as we continue our marriage and family series, Pastor J.D. answers another question about how to parent teenagers. This time he’s joined by his wife, Veronica.

Show Notes:

A wandering child does not mean failure: God played the parent role for two humans and they both rebelled. Cain and Abel were parented exactly the same. One became a man of God, the other a murderer.

  • When a kid is in rebellion, you can’t be prophet and dad at the same time.
    • Think more like a farmer than a mechanic. Worst thing to do is dig up seed! You give rain and sun. In the analogy, rain and sun are the quality of the relationship not quantity of devotion.
  • Wait on God: All the defining moments in my life came from somewhere else.
    • Psalm 136: Israel’s history with “steadfast love of Lord endures forever.” I did this an exercise with our staff team. We wrote out key moments where the Lord worked in our lives, and I had this realization: my mom and dad wrote none of the key moments in my life.
    • Psalm 127
    • Psalm 37:39-40
  • The role of prayer:
    • Abraham prays for Lot and angels grab his hand.
    • Man lowered through roof: their faith. your faith subs for the man in the stretcher.

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