Collection: Learning Christ: Counseling/ Teaching Series

Putting off the Old, Putting on the New

...put off your old self...to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.—Ephesians 4:22a, 23-24

Are you a parent or counselor working with a child who struggles with sin? How can you help children to act in godly ways? How can you influence not just behavior but the heart and will? True behavior change comes through the heart-transforming work of regeneration through faith in Christ and the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s instructions in Ephesians 4:17-24 give hope to us, to the children in our homes, and to the children we teach and counsel. We can lead our children to put their confidence in Christ, trusting Him for the forgiveness of their sins and the fulfillment of all His promises to them—including the promise to change their hearts and to be their strength in weakness. We can model and instruct our children in putting off the “old self” and putting on the “new self,” and help them “be renewed in the spirit of [their] minds” as we train them in righteousness and encourage them to trust in the power of God, deny the temptations of the enemy, and practice walking in the truth.

These booklets are resources for parents, grandparents, teachers, pastors, and counselors who desire not only to change behavior, but to approach the problem of deceit from a biblical perspective of heart transformation through “the renewing of the mind” and the power of Christ at work in the heart. Each chapter leads the child to dependency on Christ through instruction, discussion, and application, and includes a follow-up assignment focusing on the mind, heart, and will of the child. Written not only for children with a habitual sin problem in a particular area, these booklets can also be used to instruct children regarding particular expressions of sin and how to avoid falling into sinful patterns by trusting Christ.

May the instructions and activities in these booklets help you lead the next generation in walking “after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” as an expression of a transformed heart and the desire to obey and please Christ.