Just as your kids go in and out of different development phases, you as a parent must transition through different parenting phases to reach these goals.
Different Phases of Parenthood
• Discipline Phase: Consequences
• Training Phase: Model
• Coaching Phase: Transfer
• Friendship Phase: Counsel
What if me and my adult child are not currently in the friendship phase?
Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (ESV)
Biblical parenting does not guarantee Jesus-following adult children, but it is the
What do I do if my adult child is far from me and God?
Luke 15:11-12 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.”
Luke 15:17-20 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”
What did the father do that brought his adult child back to him and God?
The father didn’t resist but
The son returned to the father because he had witnessed a pattern of
Closing Thoughts
You are not the only one looking for your child to
Live a life of grace that will
Pray for them to come to their