Introduction: Ambassadors

1. Calling 
   Principle: Nothing is more important in your life than being one of God’s tools to form a human soul. 
2. Grace
   Principle: God never calls you to a task without giving you what you need to do it. He never sends you without going with you. 
3. Law
   Principle: Your children need God’s law, but you cannot ask the law to do what only grace can accomplish. 
4. Inability
   Principle: Recognizing what you are unable to do is essential to good parenting. 
5. Identity
   Principle: If you are not resting as a parent in your identity in Christ, you will look for identity in your children. 
6. Process
   Principle: You must be committed as a parent to long-view parenting because change is a process and not an event. 
7. Lost
   Principle: As a parent you’re not dealing just with bad behavior, but a condition that causes bad behavior. 
8. Authority
   Principle: One of the foundational heart issues in the life of every child is authority. Teaching and modeling the protective beauty of authority is one of the foundations of good parenting. 
9. Foolishness
   Principle: The foolishness inside your children is more dangerous to them than the temptation outside of them. Only God’s grace has the power to rescue fools. 
10. Character
    Principle: Not all of the wrong your children do is a direct rebellion to authority; much of the wrong is the result of a lack of character. 
11. False Gods 
    Principle: You are parenting a worshiper, so it’s important to remember that what rules your child’s heart will control his behavior. 
12. Control
    Principle: The goal of parenting is not control of behavior, but rather heart and life change.
13. Rest
    Principle: It is only rest in God’s presence and grace that will make you a joyful and patient parent. 
14. Mercy
    Principle: No parent gives mercy better than one who is convinced that he desperately needs it himself. 

General Index
Scripture Index

"Paul Tripp constantly turns us back to the life-giving power of the gospel and God's unfailing grace. Parenting our children is one of life's greatest challenges, and Paul points us to the one thing that can make a difference—a genuine encounter with the living God."
TobyMac, hip-hop recording artist; music producer; songwriter

"Simply put, I read everything that Paul Tripp writes. I can’t afford to miss one word."
Ann Voskamp, New York Times bestselling author, The Broken Way and One Thousand Gifts

"This is the most meaningful book I have read all year. It is both theological and practical, a rare combination for a parenting book. For years, people have asked me to write a book on parenting. After reading this, I am convinced that I could never write one better than this. I’m so glad I read this, but I wish I could have read it twenty years ago. After reading Parenting, I was torn. Part of me wanted to sit, cry, and confess all of my failures as a parent. The other part wanted to scream with excitement for the tremendous insight I now have to be a better parent."
Francis Chan, New York Times bestselling author, Crazy Love and Forgotten God

"I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is simply outstanding. This is Tripp at his best: he shows us the big picture of life with Christ and gets down to the nitty-gritty specifics of walking by grace through faith. Tripp's manifesto is about more than simply our duty as parents—it's about our privilege of being ambassadors of Jesus Christ to our kids. Moms and dads from every culture will benefit from Tripp's call for us to live in light of the grace and hope we have in Jesus."
Gloria Furman, author, Labor with Hope and Missional Motherhood

"This book is so timely for me. My bride and I are raising four children aged five and under, and we need help! It's easy to find books with parenting tips on how to correct our children's behavior, but Paul Tripp's book goes far beyond behavior; he takes the reader to the source of the problem—the heart. If we understand our children at a heart level and have a proper understanding of the gospel, then we can parent them as God intends. Paul Tripp has written a simple yet profound book. Parents, you need to read this now. You will surely be blessed."
Webb Simpson, professional golfer; 2012 US Open Champion

"I am an imperfect parent. You probably are too. Buy this book and soak in it. This is not another '5 Steps to Becoming a Perfect Parent'—instead, Tripp wants us to see our relationship to God and to our children through a big-picture lens. My wife and I are always-go-never-stop parents of young children. If you know the feeling, this book will be both challenging and refreshing, and ultimately it will be a great blessing to your journey. Tripp has made me think in a fresh way about the extremely important and tremendously challenging task that is everyday parenting. To raise up a child is a great responsibility—let us take it up with reverence, joy, and a loving heart!"
Jacob Tamme, former NFL® tight end