• Old Testament

  • Chazaq: חָזַק (ḥāz__ǎq) – to make strong, make to stand, cause to be firm
  • Deuteronomy 1:38; 3:28
  • Used twelve times, always this word (Isaiah 41:7)

• New Testament

  • Verb
    • Protrepo: προτρέπω (protrep__ō)
      • To urge forward, persuade
      • Acts 18:27
    • Paramutheomai: παραμυθέομαι (paramytheomai)
      • Literally with (para) counsel or advise (muthos)
      • Stimulate forward; give comfort
      • I Thessalonians 2:11
  • Noun
    • Paraklesis: παράκλησις (parakl__ēsis)
      • Calling to one’s aid
      • With or beside (para) to call (kaleo)
      • A call to one’s aid
      • Beseechment or exhortation
      • Comfort or advocate
      • Hebrews 6:18

• Christians will have troubles

  • Jesus: the world will hate you
    • John 15:18-21
    • Matthew 10:22-23
  • Jesus encourages: John 16:33; Revelation 1:17

• Elijah discouraged

  • God encouraged him
  • I Kings 19:11-18

• The Father and His Son actively encouraged

  • We are to emulate them
  • Encourage one another

• WHY?

  • We’re told to
    • Isaiah 35:3
    • I Thessalonians 5:11
  • To counter Satan
    • I Peter 5:8
    • James 4:7
    • Hebrews 3:13
  • Coming difficult times
    • Hebrews 10:23-25
      • What day was coming?
      • Why would they need encouragement?
        • Temple and Jerusalem soon to pass away
        • Jerusalem was the center of everything to a Jew
        • Psalms 137:5-6
      • Can this idea apply to us today?
        • Did other difficult times come to other Christians?
        • Could they come again?
  • Second law of thermodynamics
    • People grow old
      • And are gone all too soon
      • I Peter 1:24
  • The end of time
    • Don’t know when
      • I Thessalonians 4:18; 5:2
      • Time of physical death is just as unknown to us

• HOW?

  • Words
    • Spoken – Proverbs 12:25; Ephesians 4:29; Acts 15:32
    • Written – Colossians 3:16
  • Togetherness – Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; Proverbs 27:17; Hebrews 10:23-25; Psalms 133:1
  • Example – Colossians 2:1-3
  • Love – I Thessalonians 5:11-13
  • Worship – Colossians 3:16

• How do you encourage?

• II Corinthians 4:1-15
• II Corinthians 4:1 – See Ephesians 3:4-9; 6:12. Heavenly places is referring to places of power (rulers on earth) – not Heaven itself.
• II Corinthians 4:3-4 – The gospel was veiled to those who chose not to understand it. A parallel to this idea is Jesus speaking in parables.
• II Corinthians 4:5 – “We” here could be used in the editorial sense, meaning only Paul, or it could be used to mean all the apostles.
• II Corinthians 4:7 – The apostles were the only ones who had the treasure (the gospel) in earthen vessels (their bodies) to share with others. Paul is contrasting the greatness of the gospel with the relative lack of value of the vessel used to distribute it.
• II Corinthians 4:8 – See II Corinthians 11:24-28. They were hard-pressed with persecution.
• II Corinthians 4:12 – Paul was facing death daily to spread the gospel.

• Exodus 20:24 – It is very important where God has recorded His name.
• Places where God has recorded His name
  • One ark
    • Genesis 6-7
    • II Peter 1:5
    • Everyone outside the ark perished.
    • Only those in the ark were acceptable to God.
  • One tabernacle
    • Leviticus 17:1-9
    • This was where men had to worship for God to bless them.
    • This shows the respect God demands for the place of worship He chooses.
  • One house for Rahab’s family
    • Joshua 6
  • One temple
    • I Kings 9:1-3
    • Deuteronomy 12:5-14
    • Deuteronomy 14:24-26
  • One church
    • Matthew 16:18
    • II Samuel 7:12
    • Ephesians 1:22-23; 4:6 – There is one
    • Acts 20:28 – The church belongs to the Lord.
    • Ephesians 5:23
    • Hebrews 8:6
  • In Christ, His body, His church, there is:
    • Triumph
    • Reconciliation – Ephesians 2:14-16
    • John 1:1-4 – Life and light
    • Completeness
    • Sonship
    • Ephesians 1:3 – all spiritual blessings
  • Exodus 20:24

• I Timothy 6:6-19
• The love of money is the root of all sorts of evil.
  • Luke 12:13-21 – Warning against greed.
  • Luke 8:14 – The love of money chokes out spiritual pursuits.
  • Philippians 4:11
• Be rich in good works.
  • I Timothy 6:17-19
  • Am I being rich in good works?
    • Am I taking care of my family? I Timothy 5:4, 8, 16; II Thessalonians 3:7-12
    • Am I helping those in need? Luke 10:30-37
    • Am I contributing to the Lord’s work? Philippians 4:10-19

• (Grand)parenting applications: train children to develop moral excellence (continued)

Specific Goal

Passage(s) to discuss & guide

Ways (grand)parents can exemplify and teach

Temptations and hindrances

Behaviors to correct

Live with humility

Numbers 12:3; Matthew 18:1-4; I Peter 5:5-6

Humility is not weakness (Jesus, Moses). Train to think “what can I learn?” not “I’m perfect”

False idea: good parenting = constant praise

Pride, bragging. Feelings often hurt because view of self is too high.

• Families in a world of technology
  • It’s very difficult to cut technology out completely. We should instead ask how we can use it properly.
  • I Peter 1:14
  • Helpful websites:
    • http://ProtectYoungEyes.com
    • http://CommonSenseMedia.org, http://PluggedIn.com, http://Kids-in-Mind.com
    • http://CovenantEyes.com, http://InternetSafety.com, http://NetNanny.com
      • Proverbs 7:6-10; Matthew 5:27-29
    • http://ClearPlay.com