A. Parents should teach children in love:

EPH 6:4. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

COL 3:21. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

B. They should teach them God's Word:

DEU 6:7. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

DEU 4:9. Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;

DEU 11:18. Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.

DEU 11:19. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

DEU 31:12. Gather the people together, men and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:

DEU 31:13. And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

PSA 78:5. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:

PRO 22:6. Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

JOH 21:15. So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

C. The father should provide their needs:

2COR 12:14. Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not your's but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

1TIM 5:8. But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

ACT 20:35. I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

EPH 4:28. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

D. The father should govern his children with authority:

1TIM 3:4. One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;

1TIM 3:12. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

E. Parents should chastise children when necessary:

PRO 13:24. He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

PRO 19:18. Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.

PRO 22:15. Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

PRO 23:13. Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.

F. The bad fruit of being an indulgent parent:

1SA 3:13. For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.

1KI 1:1. Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.

1KI 1:5. Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.

1KI 1:6. And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom.

1KI 1:16. And Bathsheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou?

1KI 1:17. And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by the LORD thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.

1KI 1:18. And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not:

1KI 1:19. And he hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host: but Solomon thy servant hath he not called.

1KI 1:20. And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

1KI 1:21. Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.

PRO 29:15. The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.

LUK 15:12. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.

LUK 15:13. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

G. The misguided family structure of permissive societies:

ISA 3:4. And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

ISA 3:5. And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.

ISA 3:12. As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

H. Beware of partiality:

GEN 25:28. And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

GEN 27:6. And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,

GEN 27:7. Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death.

GEN 27:8. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.

GEN 27:9. Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:

GEN 27:10. And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.

GEN 27:11. And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:

GEN 27:12. My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.

GEN 27:13. And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.

GEN 27:14. And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.

GEN 27:15. And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:

GEN 27:16. And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:

GEN 27:17. And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

GEN 37:3. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.

GEN 37:4. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

GEN 48:21. And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.

GEN 48:22. Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

GEN 42:4. But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.

1TIM 5:21. I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.

I. Examples of parental concern for children:

GEN 37:14. And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

2SA 18:29. And the king said, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king's servant, and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was.

J. Examples of motherly love:

GEN 21:15. And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

GEN 21:16. And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.

EXO 1:22. And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

EXO 2:1. And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.

EXO 2:2. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.

HEB 11:23. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.

1SA 1:22. But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide for ever.

1SA 1:23. And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only the LORD establish his word. So the woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him.

1SA 1:24. And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young.

1SA 1:25. And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli.

1SA 1:26. And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD.

1SA 1:27. For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:

1SA 1:28. Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.

1SA 2:18. But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.

1SA 2:19. Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

1KI 3:23. Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.

1KI 3:24. And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.

1KI 3:25. And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

1KI 3:26. Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.

1KI 3:27. Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.

2KI 4:17. And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.

2KI 4:18. And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.

2KI 4:19. And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.

2KI 4:20. And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.

2KI 4:27. And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.

ISA 49:15. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

MAT 15:22. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.

MAT 15:23. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.

MAT 15:24. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

MAT 15:25. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.

MAT 15:26. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.

MAT 15:27. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.

MAT 15:28. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

JOH 19:17. And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:

JOH 19:18. Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.

JOH 19:25. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

K. Examples of fatherly love:

GEN 37:33. And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.

GEN 37:34. And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

GEN 37:35. And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

2SA 12:15. And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.

2SA 12:16. David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.

2SA 12:17. And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.

2SA 12:18. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?

MAR 5:22. And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet,

MAR 5:23. And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.

LUK 15:20. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

LUK 15:21. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

LUK 15:22. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

LUK 15:23. And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: