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On May 8, 1999, Dana Plato died of an overdose of prescription drugs. You might remember her as "KimberlyDrummond" on the hit television show "Different Strokes" that ran during the late seventies and early eighties. Her co-stars, Gary Coleman, who played "Arnold," and Todd Bridges, who played "Willis," have also had brushes with the law. (Diff'rent Strokes' Actress Dies Of Apparent Overdose 02:53 p.m May 10, 1999 Eastern LOS ANGELES Reuters News Service)

Some people think there is an inherent danger for "child stars." They believe the system pushes the children into moral failure. Danny Bonaduci, a radio talk show host, who played Danny on the Partridge Family, appeared on the TodayShow May 10^th to talk about Plato's death. He said the remedy for the problem is "Stronger parents who teach their children right from wrong." He may be on to something.

Proverbs 22:6 KJV says, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."But how do we train our children to make right choices? With the influence of the media, video games, and secular society, how do we teach to our children about our faith?

God gave us instruction in Deut. 6:1-9 NLT

"These are all the commands, laws, and regulations that the Lord your God told me to teach you so you may obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, [2] and so you and your children and grandchildren might fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his laws and commands, you will enjoy a long life. [3] Listen closely, Israel, to everything I say. Be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. 

[4] "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. [5] And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. [6] And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today. [7] Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again. [8] Tie them to your hands as a reminder, and wear them on your forehead. [9] Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. 

• •Teaching our faith and values to our children begins with knowing what we believe.

To Moses, love was not a sentimental affection, it was unconditional loyalty (Broadman, v.2 p. 215). The formula, heart, soul and strength is to say, will all your mental energy, (the heart was the center of the intellect, not the emotions in Biblical thought), with all your spiritual energy (soul) and all your physical energy (strength).

In verses 6 to 9 Moses shows how to teach our children about our faith. Look closely and you'll see how they learn.

• •Our children learn when they see a "wholehearted" observance. 

• •Our children learn by what they hear. 

Tell your children your "faith stories."

Deut. 4:9 NLT "But watch out! Be very careful never to forget what you have seen the Lord do for you. Do not let these things escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren."

We often talk about how God protected our family the time a burglar broke into our home at 3:00 in the morning. Just a few hours before the break in a man from the church connected a phone in our bedroom. Susan used the phone to call for help while I ran down the hall to confront the intruder. By God's grace, the burglar went into the bathroom and gave me an opportunity to bring the children into our room and barricade the door. Our family knows a God that protects.

We also know a God who provides. He provided for us when we were newly married and unemployed. He provided for us through cancer and when I lost my voice. These real life dramas provide us with living proof that our God cares for us.

• •Our children learn by our faith symbols. 

Today, our children need to know about our faith symbols. 

• The cross-it is not mere jewelry, it represents the forgiveness of our sin by the shed blood of Jesus. 
• The butterfly-a first century celebration of Jesus' resurrection from the dead! 
• The fish-a Greek acronym for "Jesus Christ, God's Son Savior." The early Christians used it as a greeting while under persecution. One would draw the top half in the sand, the other would draw the bottom half. 
• The open Bible-symbolic that God's word is a central part of worship and the home.

Moses kept manna to remind the nation that God provided for them in the wilderness and that He delivered them from Egypt.

Exodus 16:32 NLT Then Moses gave them this command from the Lord: "Take two quarts of manna and keep it forever as a treasured memorial of the Lord's provision. By doing this, later generations will be able to see the bread that the Lord provided in the wilderness when he brought you out of Egypt." Joshua took stones from the Jordan River to use as a visual aid to teach children about God's intervention in parting the river so they could transport the Ark of the covenant in safety.

Joshua 4:6-7 NLT We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future, your children will ask, 'What do these stones mean to you?' [7] Then you can tell them, 'They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord's covenant went across.' These stones will stand as a permanent memorial among the people of Israel." 

Your children will observe your faith as you live blamelessly before the Lord, hear your faith and you constantly talk about it and observe your faith as you explain symbols that you hold dear.

What are your children learning from you about your faith? How would they describe your faith? What do your actions say?

Is the Lord's Day important to you? What about His word? Do you read it? Do you talk to your children about your faith? Do they know what you believe and why you believe it? Do the symbols around your home communicate your love for the Lord?