Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp
Week 13: Chapter 12 — How to Correct with the Gospel
Read Chapter 12 of Shepherding a Child's Heart. Primary Scripture: Galatians 6:1-2; 2 Corinthians 7:10.
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Correction is unavoidable in parenting — but not all correction is equal. This chapter asks what it looks like to correct a child in a way that is genuinely shaped by the gospel rather than by shame, anger, or mere behavioral pressure.
Discussion Questions
6 questions1.Tripp distinguishes between correction that produces 'worldly sorrow' (shame, self-protection, behavior management) and correction that produces 'godly sorrow' (2 Corinthians 7:10) — genuine repentance and movement toward God. What does each type of correction look like in practice?
2.He argues that gospel-shaped correction always includes both the bad news (this sin is serious, it grieves God, it has consequences) and the good news (there is forgiveness, there is grace, there is a Savior). How do you hold both together without either minimizing sin or crushing the child's spirit?
3.Galatians 6:1 says that those who are 'spiritual' should restore the one who is caught in sin — gently, and with self-awareness that they too could fall. What does it look like for a parent to come to a child's sin with that kind of gentleness and self-awareness?
a.What stands in the way of that gentleness for you most often?
b.How does remembering your own sin and need for grace change the atmosphere of correction?
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