Jesus' final command: "Go and make disciples." But discipleship starts at HOME. Parents are priests over their households, responsible for their children's spiritual development.

THE WEIGHT ON OVERSEERS:
Hebrews 13:17 - Overseers must give an account for your spiritual wellbeing. 1 Peter 5:1-4 - Shepherd God's flock, not for gain but willingly. Acts 20:28-31 - The church was bought with God's blood (like watching a Ferrari). Savage wolves will come. James 3:1 - Teachers judged more strictly.

BUT YOU'RE A PRIEST TOO:
1 Peter 2:9 - ALL believers are a royal priesthood. Parents are priests over their households. You'll stand before God and give an account for how well you led your children to Christ.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITY:
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 - Impress commands on your children at ALL times (sitting, walking, lying down, rising). Tie on hands (actions), bind on foreheads (thoughts), write on doorframes (house emanates Christ).
Ephesians 6:4 - Bring them up in training and instruction of the Lord.
Genesis 18:18-19 - Abraham chosen to DIRECT his children and household. God entrusts bloodlines to faithful people passing down teachings.
Proverbs 22:6 - Direct children onto right path; when older, they won't leave it.

Luke 6:40 - Student becomes like their teacher. YOU'RE the teacher.

THE PROBLEM:
Parents drop kids at Sunday school—that's the ONLY time they hear about Jesus. When kids ask Bible questions, parents say "Go ask your pastor." YOU are their pastor. Church gets them for 1 hour/week. The world gets them 24/7.

If you're not discipling your kids, the WORLD IS. It's not asking permission. It's raising them in ITS image.
Many talk about "Jesus" on social media, but it's not the biblical Jesus. Kids are left to their own devices, forming conclusions from Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, school, friends.

THE SOLUTION:
Start with YOUR household first, then radiate outward: You → Family → Friends → Workplace → Strangers. Don't jump from A to Z.
Joshua 24:14-15 - "Choose this day whom you will serve... As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

What gods are in YOUR household? TV? Fox News? MSNBC? Podcasts? Nintendo Switch? What do your kids see you doing?
Go ALL IN on Jesus. Start reading the Bible with your kids TODAY. Lay a foundation. When they hit rock bottom later, they'll have something to stand on.

Church won't raise your kids into Christians. YOU will. And if you don't have the grounding yourself, you can't give what you don't possess.

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Jesus commands: "Don't assume." He says it several ways: Don't assume you know what I'm going to say. Don't be surprised by what I say. Don't think like everybody else and assume that's right.

THREE TIMES JESUS SAID "DON'T ASSUME":

1. John 3 - Nicodemus: "Don't be surprised when I say you must be born ANŌTHEN" (from above OR again). Nicodemus heard "again." Jesus meant "from above."
2. Matthew 10: "Don't assume I came to bring peace. I came to bring a sword." Follow Him anyway—even if it brings division.
3. Matthew 5: "Don't misunderstand—I didn't come to abolish the Law. I came to accomplish its purpose."

THREE THINGS WE ASSUME:

1. WHAT WE'VE ALWAYS DONE IS RIGHT Mark 7: Pharisees got mad disciples didn't wash hands before eating. But the OT NEVER commanded this. Pharisees took a priest tradition and applied it to everyone, dividing people into "holy ones" and "sinners." Jesus called them HYPOCRITES. Yesterday's solutions become today's problems.

2. WE KNOW OTHERS' MOTIVATIONS Joshua 22: Two tribes built an altar. Israel prepared for WAR—assuming rebellion. But they TALKED first. Turns out it was a memorial, not for sacrifice. Israel assumed WRONG. Mind reading is NOT a spiritual gift.

3. INTELLIGENT PEOPLE AGREE WITH US Romans 12:2 - We're prone to GROUP THINK. We listen to people who agree until we're convinced everyone agrees. Paul says: Be TRANSFORMED. Let God change the way you think.

HOW TO AVOID ASSUMPTIONS:

1. Recognize mind reading is NOT a spiritual gift
2. Celebrate differences of opinion (Romans 14)
3. Believe the best of others until proven wrong (Romans 12:10)

BOTTOM LINE: Don't assume. TALK. COMMUNICATE.

Conversations may be awkward. Do them anyway.

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Jesus commands us: "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." Then He adds: "If you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matthew 6:14-15).

This is an incredibly dangerous prayer. If you harbor anger, if you choose not to forgive, you're literally saying to God: "I don't want you to forgive me either."

THE PROBLEM: WE'RE GETTING ANGRIER
Road rage is UP. Indiana ranks 3rd in the nation for fatal crashes from road rage. Shootings on roadways jumped from 9 in 2019 to 65 in 2021.
Anger at government: 70% of Americans are frustrated or angry (consistently since 2010).

Social media: "Rage bait" was Oxford's Word of the Year. Content designed to make you angry keeps you on the site longer. Studies show: more social media = more anger.

WHY WE'RE ANGRY: Fundamental Attribution Error
When YOU mess up: "Well, circumstances dictated..." When SOMEONE ELSE messes up: "That idiot! They're fundamentally flawed!"
We cut ourselves slack we're not willing to give others.

HOW TO FORGIVE:
Stop saying "I can't forgive" - That's a lie. You CHOOSE not to forgive. Forgiveness is a choice. So is anger.

Learn the difference between HURT and INJURY - Injury requires treatment. Hurt can be forgiven. Deal with injury appropriately, but recognize most offenses are hurt, not injury.

Forgiveness doesn't eliminate consequences - A thief can apologize, but legal consequences remain. Forgiveness doesn't erase effects.

Forgiveness benefits YOU, not them - If you choose anger, it consumes you. If you forgive, you're FREE from bondage to that offense.

Recognize how God has forgiven YOU - That slap on the cheek doesn't seem so big when you look at Jesus on the cross.

Choose to forgive DAILY - It's not one-time. Every day you can pick that offense back up. So every day, choose to forgive again.

BUT WAIT—Can We Rebuke AND Forgive?
Luke 17: "If another believer sins, rebuke that person. Then if there's repentance, forgive."

"Judge" has two meanings: (1) Come to a right decision, (2) Condemn. Jesus says don't CONDEMN. But DO judge (come to right decision). Rebuke the sin. Help them see what they did. Then FORGIVE.

BOTTOM LINE:
When something bad happens, DON'T choose anger. That's natural—but it's WRONG. When you choose anger, they get angrier, you get angrier, and it snowballs into a car-wrecking disaster.

Choose forgiveness. It's unnatural. It must be learned. But it sets YOU free.

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