LOVE AND PARENTING Love And… - Part 5 5/25/2025 "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful..." 1 Corinthians 13:4–7 ESV I. Love Is the Foundation of Godly Parenting "Love is patient and kind..." 1 Corinthians 13:4a ESV Our parenting foundation cannot be perfection or performance—it must be agapē, God's love poured into our hearts. II. Love Models Humility, Not Control “love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way..." 1 Corinthians 13:4b–5a ESV We must be careful not to parent out of our own unmet ambitions. Humble parenting listens. It admits when it's wrong. III. Love Trains, But Does Not Provoke Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4 ESV Create a culture of grace where mistakes are seen as learning opportunities. Use moments of correction to build—not break—the relationship. IV. Love Covers and Corrects "Whoever spares the rod hates his son..." Proverbs 13:24 ESV "The Lord disciplines the one He loves..." Hebrews 12:6 ESV Discipline is not merely about punishment—it is about training toward maturity. V. Love Never Gives Up Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:7 ESV Never stop praying. Never stop loving. Never stop speaking life. Even when children walk away from God, love compels us to remain faithful. VI. Love Is Our Legacy And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. Deuteronomy 6:6–7 ESV The greatest inheritance we can give our children is not money, success, or reputation—but a living, breathing example of God’s love. Parenting with agapē is hard, but you are not alone— God is with you, and He is for you. Talk About It 1. Am I parenting from a place of love or from frustration and fear? 2. Where do I need to grow in patience and kindness with my child? 3. How can I discipline in a way that builds up rather than provokes? 4. What message does my parenting send about God’s love? 5. Am I modeling the kind of faith and love I want my children to imitate?