Category: Family

Worship is for the entire family

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I love to go to church. We only have one service at our church, and it happens to be on Sunday morning. But it is a special time for me to be there with my spiritual family and worship my heavenly father.

But I know that not everyone shares that passion. And, usually, those people are the youngest among us. Being at church is something that, in our society, is becoming an increasingly unique experience. After all, we are not prone to gather and stay in one place for that long. Thus, it becomes hard for children to appreciate, let alone adults.

That is why I found this article to be so useful in helping my children — and other children, I hope — learn to appreciate being in the service from a young age. We don’t give them enough credit for what they can understand. If we really believe that our children can grasp enough to be saved at an early age — and I really believe that — then we should also encourage our children to be a part of the service, as best they can, as fellow worshippers.

HT: Desiring God

All that jazz is a lot of fun

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This is something that has become a big event on our calendar: Big Band Night. Last night we had the thrill of seeing Liz perform a solo on one of the songs. For your enjoyment, here is a clip.

AWANA awards night

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Last night was Awards Night at our church’s AWANA program. AWANA? What is it, you say? AWANA is a program for children that, according to its Web site, “helps parents and churches worldwide raise children and youth to know, love and serve Christ.” Go follow the link to find out more about it, it’s quite the program.

Because I work evenings, I don’t help out there. My son is involved as a clubber (like in a member of the club) and my daughter volunteers. Every Wednesday, dozens of kids show up at church to play games, listen to an adult tell them how to live as a Christian and learn verses from the Bible. If they learn enough verses or complete enough assignments from their workbook, they earn things. Not that learning the precious word of God is a bad thing, but AWANA is there to make Bible memory a fun thing. And these kids have fun.

Maybe I worry too much, but I pray the verses these children are learning are sinking into their hearts and making them tender for God. I think it does happen because every year there are children who will come to Christ. It is a beautiful thing. But, like anything, there are those whose hearts remain hard. The fun and games keep their minds from the hard truth that they are sinners in desperate need of a savior. After all, how much fun is it to know that you are doomed to hell unless you come to Christ?

It is a delicate job trying to keep 20-30 children happy while also getting them to learn what God says about who He is and what that means for them. I am thankful for the adults who volunteer their time to listen to children recite verses or give them counsel. It’s important because there are many kids whose only relationships with Christians occurs on Wednesday nights.

So I sat and watched all these children receive awards for their work (or lack of work, in some cases) during the year. My prayer for these children, my own included, would be that these years in AWANA aren’t pushed aside when they are too old to be clubbers but that they are treasured as a time when their thirst for God and his word increased and they turned to the Bible.

Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! — Psalm 119:1

Appreciating and thinking deeply

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The small things made by a big God
Because of personal connections, I have been made aware that this is National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week. While I appreciate people who turn a keen eye on small things and handle things (bodily fluids) that would make most of us squirm, the main reason I’m bringing this up is because my wife is a lab professional. I deeply appreciate her ability to keep a calm perspective when others (like me) might not be thinking as clearly. It takes all types to get things done and she is the kind of person who — and this is often a great burden for her — pays heed to the details without letting her emotions overcome her judgment.

Thinking about my wife, it makes me thank God that he gives us minds to think deeply on things. As with her work, we can think deeply on the tiny, small things God has made us with and be amazed at the way we are designed. Even as I sit here, I can look out my window and see the purple flowers budding from the trees in the front yard, swaying gently in the breeze while birds sing and bees hover from blossom to blossom, doing the work God intended for them. Those things, small and big, obvious and hidden, are there even though we often don’t give them a second thought. Why not? Well, there are countless thoughts that shove them out of the way — where am I supposed to be in the next half hour, what am going to have for supper, what is the next thing on my list of things that I need to do.

That’s not shallow thinking, but it doesn’t often lend itself to a sense of wonder either. So, while I’m appreciating those who look at the small things and think deeply about them, I will force myself to think deeply about how great God is and how wonderfully he has formed the world around me.

The guy watching my back

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This is usually what’s going on behind me as I type. Kind of threatening, but I’m glad he’s on my side.

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When is abortion racism

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I am one of many, I suppose, who have received a forwarded e-mail saying that Barack Obama is a Muslim who was sworn into office on the Koran and talked in hysterical tones about what he will do if he becomes president. And then, I have received a followup e-mail from someone else on that list who has pointed out that Obama points to ‘affirming his Christian faith’ at the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago and that he has been attending the same church for 20 years. He talks about his faith in this interview with Christianity Today.

I wouldn’t say the man is a wild-eyed Muslim trying to take over the United States in the name of Allah. Rather, he is a Christian like many others in that he believes in a gospel that, in his words, is about “prioritizing the least of these over the powerful.” In other words, he is about a social gospel that makes Jesus the great equalizer and defender of the poor. There’s nothing wrong with that, except that his gospel stops when it comes to defending the most vulnerable — the unborn. While he carefully crafts his words in the CT interview, there is no doubt about his position concerning the rights of those who are unborn.

Obama is absolutely right that we should encourage adoption and really care for the women who are going through pregnancy. Obviously, there is a need to strengthen families and we all need to look for ways to build up families in our communities. Yet his talk about unwanted pregnancies belies his real beliefs concerning the issue and puts him at odds with what he says he’s all about — looking out for all people.
Barack Obama

The celebration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision coincide during this month. If we think about the struggles for civil rights for blacks and the struggles for life for these tiny people, we see that there is a great evil that is being perpetuated daily in our country.

Consider this from John Piper:

My aim is that just as once even though the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case of 1857 held that Black slaves were property without rights as free persons, yet today we view that as unthinkable; so also even though the Supreme Court in the Roe v. Wade case of 1973 did not give the unborn the rights of free persons, nevertheless the day may come when that too is viewed as unthinkable. Racism might—and often did—result in the killing of innocent humans; in our history, it often did. But abortion always results in the killing of innocent humans. Between 1882 and 1968, 3,446 Black people were lynched in America. Today more Black babies are killed by white abortionists every three days than all who were lynched in those years (Life Education and Resource Network).

This is a tragedy of huge proportions. I would suggest looking at the link below to challenge your thinking as a Christian.

When Is Abortion Racism

Be a Voice for Life

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   The week of Jan. 20-27 is Sanctity of Human Life Week, marking the 35th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions that legalized abortion in the United States.

   In that time, millions of babies have been murdered in our country in what has been one of the greatest tragedies in history. This year, when we will elect a leader in the United States, there will be much talk about abortions and politics. How much of an issue should it be? Perhaps the best way to answer that is to ask yourself another question: How much do you know about abortion? Those wanting more education can go here for more information.
   And if you say, “Well, that’s just one issue, should it dictate who I vote for?” then I’d suggest reading this, especially if you call yourself a Christian.
   Here is just one excerpt from that article that I’ll share with you:

No endorsement of any single issue qualifies a person to hold public office. Being pro-life does not make a person a good governor, mayor, or president. But there are numerous single issues that disqualify a person from public office. For example, any candidate who endorsed bribery as a form of government efficiency would be disqualified, no matter what his party or platform was. Or a person who endorsed corporate fraud (say under $50 million) would be disqualified no matter what else he endorsed. Or a person who said that no black people could hold office—on that single issue alone he would be unfit for office. Or a person who said that rape is only a misdemeanor—that single issue would end his political career. These examples could go on and on. Everybody knows a single issue that for them would disqualify a candidate for office.

   This isn’t just a once-a-year kind of issue. This is something that happens every day in our society. It’s too big to ignore. Make your voice heard. There is no middle ground.

It’s good to be one of God’s people

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This afternoon and early this evening, my family and I had a chance to gather together with our church family for a hayride. It was a beautiful, sunny, windy afternoon and just the right kind of fall weather for such an activity.

While it was a purely social activity, I couldn’t help come away feeling blessed by being together with people who love God and, because they do, love to encourage others. It has been a hard week at my house and there was some consideration given to not going at all. After all, the reasoning went, we could use the rest and time together as a family. This kind of thinking is not unusual, I think, in circles among Christians. There is a real danger, I think, of almost worshiping the immediate family and turning it into some kind of idol.

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Back at it

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My birthday was last week and I’ve noticed that I haven’t blogged in months. Shame on me. Here is the birthday boy at 41.

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How not to lose your faith at college

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It has been a blessing to attend the same church for more than 12 years. I love my church family, and it has been wonderful to have grown closer to them by growing closer to our Heavenly Father during that time. And like all families, we have children, teach them and then send them off to the world. It is a great privilege and huge responsibility.

Each year, we have children who’ve grown up in our church who, hopefully, have heard the gospel message and God has changed their hearts. Many of those kids head off to college where, sad to say, the attitude toward people who believe in God is less than kind. It does us no good if we raise children whose faith can only survive in an incubator of the local church but shrivels when they head off to college.

That’s why I was pleased to come across an article on Focus on the Family’s e-zine (Web magazine, for those who wonder) Boundless entitled “How Not to Lose Your Faith in College.” The author shares some basic steps a youngster can take to make sure their faith is nurtured rather than hindered when they go away from home. If you have a child that is nearing the end of their high school career and will be heading away to college this fall, I’d encourage you both to read the article and talk about it together.