1. 27 years ago, a popular sociologist and author named Alvin Toffler wrote a best-selling book called Future Shock. In that book, he made an amazing prediction. He said the day would come when parents would let experts raise their children.
2. He said the day might come when we would see advertisements like this:

Why let parenthood tie you down? Let us raise your infant into a responsible, successful adult…Regulated diet exceeds government standards. All adults certified in child development and management. Bio-parents permitted frequent visits. Telephone contact allowed…Five year contract, minimum. Write for further details.

3. Another prominent author, Ferdinand Lundberg, published a book in 1963 called The Coming World Transformation made a similar prediction. He wrote that the family as we know it is near the point of extinction. If he could say that over 30 years ago, what about today with our rapidly increasing broken families, babies born out of wedlock, homosexual marriages, and government-sponsored immorality?!
4. The family is under attack. As Christians, we believe that God’s standards are absolute and that the family is essential to the survival of our nation.
5. One way to strengthen the family is by dedicated Christian parents, who put God first in the home. This means sacrificing, this means family prayer, this means discipline – yes spanking – this means being careful who we allow our children to associate with, this means being careful what we allow our children to watch, and read, and listen to.
6. Another important factor is the local church. Every born-again Christian should be a member of a good, fundamental local church. Some say, "There is no perfect church!" Yes, and there is no perfect family either, but we work at making the church as perfect as it possibly can be. If every Christian does his or her part, we can build strong churches for the glory of God.
7. Last and not least is the role of the Christian school. Moms and dads, your children are in the schoolroom at least six hours a day – that’s 30 hours a week; that’s 1,080 hours a year. Starting at kindergarten and going through twelfth grade, that is over 14,000 hours! Who is influencing them? What are they being taught? Evolution? Sex education? Situation ethics? Revisionist history? Multi-culturalism? Left-wing politics? Homosexual propaganda? New-age religion and new-age philosophy? In other words, just about the exact opposite to what conservative, Bible-believing Christians believe. I believe with all my heart that the public school system has been taken over by ungodly, anti-Christian forces and that it is not worth salvaging. As Christians we should expend our efforts in building strong Christian schools.
8. I have chosen my text from the book of Deuteronomy. Here we see that when God gave the law to Moses, He gave special instructions for parents.

I. THE FIRST PRINCIPLE: LOVE GOD’S WORD (6:4,5).

1. A basic principle for all Christians, and especially parents, is to love the Word of God. Parents, if you love the Bible, your children will learn to love the Bible. If you like to read, they will like to read. If you like going to church and hearing good Bible preaching, they too will like to go to church and hear good Bible preaching.
2. Deut.6:5 says that we are to love God with all our heart, and with all our soul and might. That means studying His Word. That is how we learn more about God. That is how we are to grow as Christians.
3. Illustration: a husband has to travel (truck driver, salesman, military, etc.) and his wife gets a letter. Will she read it carefully (and often) or stick it on a shelf somewhere? If she really loves him she will read it often.
4. God says: "And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart" (6:6; cf. Ps.119:11).
5. Our Lord Jesus Christ was asked which is the most important commandment, and He quoted these verses (Mark 12:28-31).
6. It is the most important and the foundation for strong families.
7. Other New Testament examples could be given. Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). And He called this the greatest commandment (cf. John 14:23,24).
8. In his second epistle to Timothy, Paul comments on the strong faith that was handed down to young Timothy from his grandmother Lois, and from his mother Eunice (II Tim.1:5). Then later on, Paul reminds Timothy "that from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures…" (II Tim.3:15). This had a lot to do with Timothy growing up to be a great preacher in the early church.
9. Can children learn the Word of God in the public school? Can a child learn enough Bible in one hour of Sunday school to withstand the 30 hours of humanistic brainwashing he is getting in the public school? Of course not.

II. SECOND PRINCIPLE: TEACH THE WORD (6:7).

1. Notice the word "diligently" (6:7). If parents were as diligent in providing for their children’s education as they are in making money and buying things, and planning on vacations, and so on – we would see much stronger families, and much stronger churches and Christian schools.
2. I am not talking about worldly unsaved parents – we should not expect them to be overly concerned about their children’s education. I am talking about born-again parents who do not make this a priority.
3. Deut.6:7 means that we are to teach our children God’s Word all the time, in every situation – not just for an hour on Sunday morning.
4. We are to teach them Bible principles: that you reap what you sow, that right is always right and wrong is always wrong, that God created this world, that He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross for our sins, that Jesus is God and that He rose from the dead, that He answers prayer, that heaven and hell are real.
5. Do you think that they will learn these things in the public school? An important Bible principle is found in Proverbs 1:7. Even if certain public schools are resisting the new math and the dummy-down "Goals 2000" agenda, and even if they are doing a good job academically – are they teaching children about God?
6. If not, they are just turning out educated heathens. The devil needs an elite group of brilliant and well-educated, but wicked and unprincipled men and women to run the world. And he needs to keep the masses uneducated, docile and pliable. Then his brilliant leaders can steer the uneducated masses down the road to destruction.
7. Before moving on to my final point, let me add that the biggest problem in the NYC schools (and it is spreading like a cancer) is lack of discipline. It has become such a problem that many Protestant parents even send their children to Roman catholic schools!
8. We need to impress upon our children that they are to be respectful to those in authority. Discipline builds Christian character. One of the biggest problems we face today is it is getting harder and harder to find men and women with good Christian character.
9. Parents, don’t be afraid to apply the board of education to the seat of knowledge! (cf. Pro.22:15).

III. THIRD PRINCIPLE: KEEP GOD’S WORD (6:8,9).

1. It is our responsibility as parents to keep God’s Word. God says to "write them upon the posts of thy house" (6:9). The people we purchased our house from are Jewish and had this mezuzah on the front door post.
2. We have Bible verses all over our house, in every room. One former member used to have Bible verses on her walls and then she joined a cult and they told her to take them down and she did! Then she got saved (I think) and joined our church and found out that it was scriptural to have verses on the walls. She wound up leaving anyway!
3. A N.T. verse that corresponds with this principle is Col.3:16.Does the Word of God dwell in you "richly in all wisdom"?
4. Let me repeat that the Christian school alone cannot do the job – first there must be a good Christian home, then there must active involvement in a good local church.
5. Then, finally, there is an important role for a good Christian school that is an extension of the Christian home and the Christian church.

CONCLUSION:

1. If you read the biographies of great men like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and John Wesley, you discover that they all had something in common – they were all products of the training they received in loving, disciplined homes.
2. I mentioned earlier that children spend at least six hours a day in school. They are spending a lot more than that at home.
3. And if we as parents do our part, I am confident that God will bless our efforts in training our children and directing them the right way. The Bible is clear: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Pro.22:6).