Without the history of Israel, we have no conceptual tools with which to grasp the meaning of the incarnate Son of God and His work. One cannot truly understand Christ and His salvation without some grasp of the whole Levitical system, the story of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and the prophets and wisdom literature. Without the Levitical system, one could not understand the cross of Christ. Without the Old Testament the New Testament would be bodiless; without the New Testament the Old Testament would be headless.

If [the church] is nothing more than a social organization, children will take it or leave it based on their interest in the social opportunities it offers. How ‘cool’ the youth director is or how ‘hip’ the kids are at church will determine your child’s interest. If you are critical and offended by the church family, they will be too, but they will take it a step further and leave.
If the worship and praise of God warm your heart and you find relationships with God’s people satisfying and refreshing, and you love nothing more than to use your energy, time, resources, and creativity to benefit the body of Christ — then your children will have a perspective from which to admire and appreciate God’s family. You cannot secure their membership in this family through yours, but your recruitment skills will be a primary tool in the Spirit’s work in their heart.

God designed the means of safely delivering our children gradually from the primary community of the family to a broader family that supports the worldview of the family. That is the church. Family life and church life are intended to run parallel over our child’s developmental years.