26 Aug Fridays Are For Family – Secrets To Raising Sexually Pure Kids
This Sunday morning I will complete a short series of sermons on marriage. As I prayed about how to end this series I really struggled with exactly how to approach the last sermon subject – sex. Should I address those who have never been married and share how to stay pure until marriage or simply deal with the subject of sex within the confines of marriage? Since I have spent the past three weeks dealing with what might be considered the burdens of marriage – wives submitting to their husbands and husbands living with their wives with understanding – I decided to end with a blessing of marriage, what the writer of Hebrews calls “the marriage bed.”
It really was a difficult decision because in my 15 years as a local church pastor one of the things that I have observed is that many couples who come to me with marital problems are really dealing with the repercussions of intimacy before unity. In other words, there is a tremendous amount of guilt that people carry into the marriage as a result of premarital or extramarital sexual activity. This guilt manifests itself in a variety of ways – anger, lust, trust issues, lack of interest in intimacy, etc.
So, as I contemplated the sermon that I will not preach this weekend, I began to pray about my two young children and ask the Lord to help me to help them live a pure life both before their marriage and beyond. So, I want to simply pass along some suggestions – some might call them secrets – for raising sexually pure kids.
How To Raise Sexually Pure Kids
* First and foremost – love them and show that you love them.
* Display love in front of them as parents.
* Teach them who they are and why that is special.
* Teach them right and wrong and why.
* Keep them active and connected in church.
* Help them select and develop positive friendships.
* Warn them about the dangers of sex outside marriage.
* Teach them about the joys of sex within marriage.
* Provide clear guidelines for dating – and enforce them.
* Teach them moral boundaries.
* Help them to make a formal commitment to purity.
* Teach them how to resist temptation.
* Teach them how to purify their minds.
* Teach them how and when to say NO!
* Watch for signs of sexual activity.
* Provide positive reading material that reinforces your values.
* Bathe them in prayer.
“How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. 10 With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! 11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You! Psalm 119:9-11
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