He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" - Romans 8:32

Thursday, January 31, 2008 

The Bible According to Google Earth

My dad sent this on to me the other day - really incredible!

 

Impersonal Evangelism Trends

~ by Chuck Lawless


- Evangelism in many churches is about believers responding to a guest who first visited the church rather than their proactively sharing Christ. If the non-believer (whom we may not know personally) makes the first move, we are then ready to respond with the gospel.

- Evangelism is sometimes reduced to “invite others to church, where someone else (the preacher) will tell them about Jesus” — and even then more corporately than individually. In that case, nobody does personal evangelism.

- In some congregations, evangelizing takes place more on the international mission field — as essential as that task is — than in a church member’s neighborhood. The same believer who travels overseas to speak of Christ through a translator often leapfrogs his own unbelieving neighbors who speak the same language.

- Despite the New Testament emphasis on laity, many churches still relegate evangelism to hired clergy. As one church member told me, “We pay them to do that because they’re the ones trained for it.” Personal involvement in evangelism is thus equated with putting a check in the offering plate on Sunday.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008 

Persistent Persecution




Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Romans 8:35-39

 

George Bush's Univeralism

Republican does not equal revival. Put your hope in Christ.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008 

Prayer for Expecting Parents


We were reading through Luke 1 last night where the birth of John the Baptist was being announced to Zechariah in the temple. I had never read this text through the eyes of an expectant father before since my wife is pregnant with our first. Though by no means the main point of the text, I realized that Gabriel's descriptive words about the life of the baby was a helpful platform for all expectant parents to pray for their children.



  • As parents, you can pray for that you would be righteous before God & your children, walking blamelessly in all the commandments like Zechariah & Elizabeth (Luke 1:6)

  • If you find yourself without child after trying & desiring, you can call on the Lord, & He will hear you...He may choose to grant your request (Luke 1:7, 13)

  • Pray that there will be joy & gladness at the child's coming, not the fear & anxiety that can fall when you don't know what to expect or when you don't know how you'll provide. Pray that many would rejoice at his birth (Luke 1:14)

  • Pray that he would be great before the Lord (Luke 1:15)

  • Pray that he would be filled with the Spirit from the earliest age possible (Luke 1:15)

  • Pray that the Lord would use him to turn the hearts of unbelievers to God (Luke 1:16)

  • Pray that God would go before your child in spirit & in power that your child would be used, exemplifying wisdom & justice to prepare a people for the Lord (Luke 1:17)

And then keep in mind that if your baby grown into a man or a woman who does all these things, he will still be desperately in need of redemption & atonement by the Christ that the baby above came to prepare the way for.

 

Third Culture Kids

Monday, January 28, 2008 

Extreme Sacrifice



Quick facts about the Jula

Location: Burkina Faso, Mali

Also Known As: Kong Jula, Dioula, Dyula

Status: Engaged by IMB

Population: 1,200,000

Primary Religion: Islam

Number of Christians: less than 500

Language: Jula

- Jula are credited with bringing Islam to this part of West Africa.

- They are primarily traders when living in cities and towns, and subsistance farmers out in the villages.

- In some areas, they live among evangelical Christians but they have not responded to the gospel.

- Only the New Testament and Genesis have been translated into Jula.

Please pray that the handful of Jula believers would grow strong in their new faith and go spread the Gospel as their ancestors spread Islam in this part of West Africa.

Sunday, January 27, 2008 

Pacific Rim Promo


THE PACIFIC RIM

- Five of the world's largest urban centers are in Pacific Rim - Tokyo, Osaka, Manila, Jakarta and Bangkok

- The largest Muslim country in the world is in Pacific Rim. Indonesia has a population of 242 million

-Total Population of 800 million - 500 million which are in unreached people groups

-There are 350 unreached people groups with a population over 100,000

- Phillipines: the only Roman Catholic country in all of Asia

Saturday, January 26, 2008 

Guilty as Charged

Many think they repent when it is not the offense but the penalty that troubles them.

- from Thomas Watson's sermon on Philippians 2:12, The One Thing Necessary

Friday, January 25, 2008 

Let All the Nations Give God Glory!

Psalm 96


I. God desires that the nations praise Him 96:1-3

1) We should sing a new song 96:1
2) We should proclaim His salvation 96:2
3) We should declare His glory 96:3

II. God desires that the nations fear Him 96:4-6

1) We should fear Him because He is a great God 96:4-5
2) We should fear Him because He is a glorious God 96:6

III. God desires that the nations worship Him 96:7-9

1) Give Him honor 96:7-8
2) Acknowledge His holiness 96:9

IV. God desires that the nations enjoy Him 96:10-13

1) Enjoy Him because He is a sovereign King 96:10-12
2) Enjoy Him because He is a righteous King 96:13

- outline by Danny Akin

Wednesday, January 23, 2008 

On Why We're Not Emergent

Mostly I love this book for its clear-headed critique of the distinctive of the emergent theology. One excerpt really makes this point. In light of the postmodern revel for all things relative, DeYoung uses the Hindu story of the blind men and the elephant to make a critical point of contrast.

We may all be, by nature, like blind men touching the elephant without knowing whether what we are feeling is a trunk, tail, or ear. But what if the elephant spoke and said ‘Quit calling me crocodile, or peacock, or paradox. I’m an
elephant for crying out loud! That long thing is my trunk. That little frayed thing is my tail. That big floppy thing is my ear.’ And what if the elephant gave us ears to hear his voice and a mind to understand his message (cf. 1 Cor. 2:14-15)? Would our professed ignorance about the elephant and our unwillingness to make any confident assertions about his nature mean we were especially humble, or just deaf?

Because of the emerging church’s implied doctrine of God’s unknowability, the word ‘mystery,’ a perfectly good word in its own right, has become downright annoying. Let me be very clear: I don’t understand everything about God or the Bible. I don’t fully understand how God can be three in one. I don’t completely grasp how divine sovereignty works alongside human responsibility. The Christian faith is mysterious. But when we talk about Christianity, we don’t start with mystery. It’s some combination of pious confusion and intellectual laziness to claim that living in mystery is at the heart of Christianity (37-38).


- from the Shepherd's Srapbook

Tuesday, January 22, 2008 

The Anatomy of Unbelief

The Anatomy of Unbelief (Part 1)

Text: John 5:39-47

Four Underlying Reasons Why People Reject Jesus Christ:

A Lack of Willingness: They are simply unwilling to come to Him (39-40).
A Lack of Love: They have no love for God in their hearts (41-42).
A Lack of Humility: They are blinded by their own pride (43-44).
A Lack of Faith: They do not believe what God has said (45-47).

The Anatomy of Unbelief (Part 2)

Text: John 6:1-66

Three Steps on the Path to Apostasy:

An Initial Desire to Enjoy the Temporal Pleasures of What Jesus Provides (1-26)
An Underlying Failure to Embrace the True Significance of Who Jesus Is (27-52)
An Eventual Unwillingness to Accept the Harder Truths of What Jesus Teaches (53-66)

- by Matt Waymeyer

 

Quoteworthy

Good is good, but it is not enough; it must be God. - Mary Slessor, Scottish Missionary to Nigeria.

Friday, January 18, 2008 

Give Me the Preacher


Give me the preacher who opens the folds of my heart; who accuses me, convicts me, and condemns me before God; who loves my soul too well to suffer me to go on in sin, unreproved, through fear of giving me offense; who draws the line with accuracy, between the delusions of fancy, and the impressions of grace; who pursues me from one hiding place to another, until I am driven from every refuge of lies; who gives me no rest until he sees me, with unfeigned enitence, trembling at the feet of Jesus; and then, and not till then, sooths my anguish, wipes away my tears, and comforts me with the cordials of grace. Give me the preacher ‘who constantly affirms that they who have believed, be careful to maintain good works;’ who insists, that a life of peace and communion with God, is utterly abhorrent to the practice of iniquity; and faithfully reminds me, that ‘if I sin, that grace may abound, my damnation is just.’ Give me the preacher who pants not for my safety only, but also for my increase in grace; who cautions me, ‘reproves me, rebukes me, exhorts me with all longsuffering and doctrine;’ who charges me ‘to give all diligence to add to my faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity.’ Brethren, if Christ have given you such a man as this, receive him as an angel from heaven; and prize such a pastor as one of the most valuable gifts that can be imparted to the church.



- quote by Samuel Pearce - buy his lifestory here

Thursday, January 17, 2008 

Biblical Family

- by Pastor James MacDonald

I) While individualism has become one of the attributes of the modern man, God designed man to be relational:

1) The first, and most fundamental institution created by God, was that of the family–society’s basic unit (Genesis 1:27-28).

2) God designed two other key organizations for the benefit of man: the church (Ephesians 2:19-22) and the state (Romans 13:1).

3) All three of these organizations must work together until such time as all Christ’s enemies have surrendered to His Lordship (Psalm 110:1). When the family decays the church is wounded and eventually, society crumbles.

II) In order for the family to succeed, a husband and wife must both submit to God’s order in the home. If we believe the Bible to be the inerrant Word of God, then we should strive to follow its precepts for life (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:3). To properly understand God’s creative order in the family, we must realize the following:

1) Both man and woman are created in God’s image and are of the same worth and value (Genesis 1:28, Galatians 3:28).

2) Yet, men and women have distinct and crucial roles within God’s economy—roles that were established for them at Creation, before sin entered into the world (Genesis 2:18, 21-24; 1 Corinthians 11:7-9; 1 Timothy 2:12-14).

3) By God’s own decree, He ordained the husband as the head of the home (1 Corinthians 11:8-9). The man was to love his wife as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25-33). He was to love his family as a servant-leader who rules well his own house. This is an act of submission to God and is the highest achievement of a biblical husband (Colossians 3:19; 1 Peter 3:7). It is also one of the marks of a godly leader (1 Timothy 3:4, 12; Titus 1:6).

4) God has ordained the wife to be her husband’s helper (Genesis 2:18) and to bear and nurture their children (Titus 2:4). She is to keep the home and productively manage her husband’s affairs with wisdom (Proverbs 31). As she submits to her own husband, she submits to God (Genesis 3:16; Ephesians 5:22-24; 1 Peter 3:1-6). Together they are to take dominion and bring life to a lost and dying world for the glory of God!

III) Children, as they are given from God, are considered blessings from the Lord (Psalm 127:3-5). In addition:

1) Children are to be brought up with the expectation that they will be Christians (Genesis 18:19; Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:4).

2) Teaching children to honor their parents (Exodus 20:12) will help them to comprehend the Fifth Commandment, “Honor thy father and thy mother” and to understand their responsibility to honor God and those He has placed in authority over them (Hebrews 13:17). We have a world full of adults who were never trained to obey their authorities; therefore they are in bondage to the lusts of the flesh (2 Peter 2:8-10; 1 Peter 2:18).

3) Our Sovereign God controls the womb (Genesis 29:31; Genesis 30:22) and we should accept God’s blessing of children wholeheartedly and with gratefulness. Christian children are the heritage of the Lord (Psalm 127:3)–they are the godly seed (Malachi 2:15) of the Kingdom. The use of abortion and abortifacient birth control are grievous and murderous sins (Exodus 20:13); they are a curse on our land (Leviticus 18:21; Jeremiah 32:35). Our covenant children are like arrows in the hand of a warrior (Psalm 127:4); and when properly sharpened and aimed, they are to be shot into the world to fight against ungodliness.

4) While the Word of God does not designate a particular method for the education of children, parents are responsible, before God, to insure their children have a thorough Christian worldview (Deuteronomy 4:9; 6:6-9; Romans 13:3-5; Ephesians 6:4; 2 Timothy 3:15). We believe the best way to accomplish this goal is by educating and discipling our children at home.

5) Age-segregated philosophies in both organized schools and in some churches have no basis in Scripture and have actually worked to harm the church (Mark 3:25) and weaken its effectiveness (Luke 11:17; 1 Corinthians 15:33). The biblical training of covenant children is best accomplished within a wholesome, age-integrated setting (Deuteronomy 29:10-11; 2 Chronicles 20:13; Joel 2:16; Matthew 19:14); therefore we encourage a setting that unites the people of God into an age integrated group allowing the older and wiser to disciple and fellowship with younger members of the church.

IV) As there are differences between a husband and wife, there are likewise differences between sons and daughters.

1) Sons are often sent out from the home to learn a trade and to prepare for their future family (Exodus 30:14, Numbers 1:20). Parents are to counsel their older sons, but their protection is limited as they grow up.

2) Fathers have a particular duty to prepare their sons to be successful future leaders, in the home, the church, and society. (1 Kings 2:1-4; Proverbs 3; Titus 2:6-8) Fathers accomplish this task by being examples godliness, gentleness and courage (1 Corinthians 16:13, Philippians 4:8-9).

3) There are no positive examples of daughters leaving the protective oversight of their fathers (Genesis 34, Numbers 30:3-5). We believe it is a biblical model for a daughter to remain under the protection of her father until she is married. This way, his responsibility to protect and guide his daughter into marriage can be properly carried out. In Matthew Henry’s commentary on 1 Corinthians 7:38, he teaches the following on a man giving his virgin daughter in marriage: Children should be at the disposal of their parents, and not dispose of themselves in marriage. Yet, parents should consult their children’s inclinations, both to marriage in general and to the person in particular, and not reckon they have uncontrollable power to do with them, and dictate to them, as they please. It is our duty not only to consider what is lawful, but in many cases, at least, what is fit to be done, before we do it.

4) Young ladies should be educated and equipped to be godly helpers to their future husbands. Since women are called to be keepers at home (Titus 2:5), they should be well trained in domestic skills. However these skills should be augmented in ways that fully complete her education. Her personal giftings should be considered, encouraged, and developed in the expectation that God will use them to enhance the giftings of her future husband, thus completing a one-flesh union that will better glorify God. (Proverbs 31:10-31; Titus 2:4-5).

5) The Christian father should endeavor to see his children married in Christian unions (Jeremiah 29:6. Malachi 2:15, 2 Corinthians 6:14) and produce generations of godly offspring.

V) The family does not supplant the church or the state, but is a unique government that is to work in consort with the others with the goal of the fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).

1) Each person in a family should be a member of a local church (Ephesians 1:22-23; 1 Timothy 3:15; Hebrews 10:24-25; 13:17); should seek to serve the church with their unique abilities and gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1-26); and should obey church leadership, recognizing that it is a gift from God (Heb 13:17).

2) Each family should obey the civil magistrate, unless their dictates prove contrary to the Word of God, and should work for the peace of the society in which God places them (Jeremiah 29:7; Acts 5:29; 25:11; Romans 12:18; 13:1-7).

3) We should recognize that the family is God’s love letter to the world and that as families, we are to live holy and blameless lives before an unbelieving generation (Matthew 5:13-16; Ephesians 5:22-33).

VI) The successful Christian family is one that sees faithfulness passed down from generation to generation; ever expanding the Kingdom of God, and thus fulfilling the mandate to bring His Word to all nations and all tongues (Genesis 1:28; Psalm 78:1-8; Isaiah 59:21; Malachi 4:6; Luke 1:17).

- read entire article here

Tuesday, January 15, 2008 

Message of Movies

Brad Thayer lists ways we can discern the message of movies as Christians.

1) Pay careful attention to scenes with powerful monologues and dialogs.

2) Pay careful attention to minor details and illustrations.

3) Pay careful attention to the story’s perspective.

- read in detail the rest of the article here

Monday, January 14, 2008 

The Heart of the Matter


It may be the most frightening command in all of Scripture. We are told by our Lord to pray, and to pray these words, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” If you fail to pray this way, you invite the judgment of God for your disobedience in prayer. If you succeed in praying this way, you invite the judgment of God for your disobedience in forgiveness. Now you’re stuck between a rock and a hot place.

What we need is some context. This prayer, after all isn’t given universally to the human race. It is given instead to the children of God. We begin with “Our Father, who art in heaven…” Only the redeemed have any business praying this prayer. And only the redeemed can pray this with confidence. The relationship between forgiving and being forgiven, in God’s economy, works backwards. That is, Jesus isn’t teaching a doctrine of justification by forgiving alone. We are not forgiven because we forgive. Instead, we forgive because we are forgiven. If we are His children, we became such because we were, by the sovereign power of His Spirit, made aware of our sins. We confessed our sins. We clung to the cross of Christ. We come out the other side of this process not just forgiven, but changed. We know what we were. We know something of the cost it took that we might be forgiven. Now, how can we do anything else but forgive others? We don’t forgive others out of fear of being not forgiven ourselves. We forgive others out of joy at being forgiven ourselves.

This, in turn, is how the world knows that we are His. Our love one for another is the sweet fruit of forgiveness. Saints and sinners alike not only sin, but sin against each other. The difference is two-fold. Saints repent, and saints forgive. Pray boldly, and keep going back to the heart of the matter. It’s about forgiveness, forgiveness.


Friday, January 04, 2008 

Dealing With Sexual Guilt


INTRODUCTION:

The gospel changes lives. Not only does it do this, but it has this impact on every aspect of our lives, which includes our sexual identity, our sexual lives. This fixes a number of problems, but if we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit it also creates some new problems, some new temptations.

THE TEXT:

"Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit God's kingdom? Do not be deceived: no sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, thieves, greedy people, drunkards, revilers, or swindlers will inherit God's kingdom. Some of you were like this; but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Cor. 6:9-11).

OVERVIEW:

The unrighteous—continuing unrepentant—will not inherit the kingdom of God. This is basic; Paul addresses it in the form of a question. Don’t you know this? It was a good question to raise at Corinth, which was renowned in the ancient world for its immorality, and in the ancient world that was no small achievement. But the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom (v. 9). The entire first half of the illustrative list that he works through consisted of sexual sin in various forms. First was fornication, which was a broad term covering all kinds of sexual uncleanness. Second was idolatry, which was closely identified with sexual sin. Third was adultery. Fourth was passive homosexuality, the sin of being a catamite. Fifth was sodomy (v. 10). The second half of the list branches out—thieves, covetous men, drunks, revilers and extortioners will not inherit the kingdom either (v. 11). Don’t think that sin is only sexual sin. And then comes the word of hope. "And such were some of you" (v. 11). What made the difference? You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Holy Spirit.

SO HERE’S THE PROBLEM:

In the first century, sexual purity (in the Christian sense, with the biblical definitions) was virtually unknown. As a lifestyle, to the average pagan it was beyond comprehension. This meant that the new Corinthian believer, who had been baptized and had joined this new fledgling movement, did not need to be embarrassed about his past. If anything, in terms of peer pressure, he was going to be embarrassed about his future sexual purity, not his past immorality. Our situation is quite different—even with the deterioration of standards since the sexual revolution of the sixties, the unbelieving world still has an active memory of how things used to be. You don’t shake off a millennium or more of Christian civilization in a couple of decades. And within the evangelical subculture, sexual standards are still clearly taught and generally understood (with the problem compounded by biblical standards gone to seed).

Of course, we are not faulting Scripture for doing this, but this does create a new problem for us. Whenever standards of any kind come to a fallen race, it creates the problem of hypocrisy and/or hidden guilt. The more serious the standards are (Heb. 13:4), the greater the temptation. Overt hypocrisy is a problem to address another time. For now, let’s consider the problem of hidden guilt for two kinds of people. The first is the person converted to Christ, or put right with Christ, later in life. But she comes to this point with a good deal of sexual baggage, and whenever she comes to church, all she can see are squeaky clean people who would chase her out of the church "if they only knew." The second kind of person is the person who grew up in the church, with sturdy sexual standards extending in every direction and disappearing over the horizon. But knowing the standard and having the resources to fight temptation are two very different things, and the appearances make it look like no one else you know is struggling with this temptation—whatever it is.

FORGIVENESS IS COMPLETE:

In our text, the apostle Paul says of the Corinthians (a pretty raggedy bunch) that "such were some of you." That past tense was made possible by God’s washing, God’s sanctifying, and God’s justification. This cleansing and the judicial imputation of Christ’s righteousness means that a whore can become a virgin, the pervert can be enabled to stand upright. As far as God is concerned, all your sexual sins are washed away. Nothing is out of His reach. Christ’s blood does not falter before certain sins.

CONSEQUENCES AND ACCOUNTABILITY:

There are two other relevant issues. The first is that complete forgiveness (which really is complete) does not necessarily erase all consequences. A woman can receive total forgiveness for her fornication, and after she has received that forgiveness, still be pregnant. A teacher of small children who is caught with a stash of child porn should be fired, but that does not mean that he is beyond forgiveness. Of course not. And a man can divorce an unfaithful wife without displaying an unforgiving spirit. These are consequences. Forgiveness means liberation from certain consequences, not from every possible consequence.

Accountability is a little different. Our practice of sexual behavior is and ought to be private, but the reality of our sexual expression is not to be private. We are connnected to others. Fathers are responsible for the sexual purity of their daughters (Deut. 22:13-21). Husbands and wives have authority over one another’s bodies (1 Cor. 7: 4). So real accountability is found in the God-given places, and not in a "small accountability group" of drowning swimmers, all clutching each other going down. At the same time, remember what we have emphasized before—no human authority is absolute. For example, if a father has been guilty of sexual abuse, it doesn’t make any sense to demand that his daughter have to confess anything to him.

Another example of necessary confession is when a couple get to the "tipping point" in a courtship. Simply apply the Golden Rule, but don’t kid yourself.

WHY WE NEED TO BE REMINDED:

There is no sin that a human being can commit that Christ cannot forgive, and forgive readily. That is why He came to die. But we struggle with this kind of sin more than with other sins. Why? Part of it is the set of cultural expectations we have developed, and which we should have developed (Heb. 13:4). But the second reason is that sexual sin is like getting pine pitch on your hands (1 Cor. 6:18-19). Just like other dirt, it can be washed off, but you have to know how to do it.

- by Douglas Wilson

Thursday, January 03, 2008 

Family Worship in the New Year

from JD's blog

I am not the kind to make New Year’s resolutions. Maybe I am more cynical than most, but all I see myself doing is making a promise that I am pretty sure I will break in a couple of months. So I console/justify myself by not even traveling that road to save some heartbreak. Yet, every year I still plan out goals (resolutions) I would like to accomplish, don’t call them resolutions, all in the hopes to make me feel better if I don’t end up keeping them. Yes, lame, I know.

Aside from my warped resolution logic, if the beginning of the New Year is good for anything, it is at least good for using the day as an annual marker to look back over the past year to gauge where and how you have been made more into the image of Jesus, and to see if you have grown/changed at all. If you look back and see absolutely no change or no desire to be molded into the image of Christ you have a bigger issue to deal with in your life other than sanctification. For me looking back over the past year provides ample opportunity to see how I have blown it several times (insert being angry over stupid things, being impatient with wife & child & employees, not loving unconditionally, loving other things and prioritizing them over my God, etc. In general not loving God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, every day, all the day).

As I have been looking back over the year and looking forward to the new year coming one thing that I desire to grow in and mature in is the area of Family Worship. My wife and I desire with all our heart to raise Godly children. This desire for our children manifests itself in a fairly-semi regular bible reading, song singing, and prayer time with our child. It is not always easy or convenient. My daughter seems to live in perpetual motion and so getting her to settle down for 5-10 minutes of bible reading, song, and prayer is difficult most of the time. As the husband and spiritual head of my family/home I have walked away from family worship sessions dejected, beaten, down-and-out, and left wondering if this is even doing any good. But as time progresses I am learning by God’s gracious revealation and from other godly men who have traveled this road before me that it isn’t quite necessary for my 2 year old to be able to memorize and understand the doctrine of propitiation and it’s proof texts…at least not yet. However it is important for my 2 year old to see Daddy and Mommy consistently setting aside time during their day to seek their Sovereign and Omnipotent God and wanting to do so with joy and gladness.

For a good article on family worship you can read Joe Thorn’s interview of Tom Ascol on the subject. Here is a snippet from that interview.


Thorn: What advice would you give to those who have/are starting young
families?
Ascol: Make family worship a priority. Don’t let pride keep
you from asking for help. Ask men and women who are doing it to give you
suggestions. Get Don Whitney’s booklet on the subject (now available as a
message on CD, as well) and read it together. Don’t be intimidated with
unrealistic goals or visions of what family worship ought to be. Start simple.
Read the Bible, sing a song or a chorus or a verse of a song, and pray. Then do
it again the next day. Recognize that there will be days that you are not able
to worship together as you like. Recognize that there wiil be days that you are
able and you simply choose not to due to laziness, neglect or blatant sin. When
that happens, repent, believe the Gospel, and start over, and do that the rest
of your life. Once you incorporate family worship into the regular pattern of
your life, don’t let house guests divert you from your schedule. Include them,
or at least invite them to join you. Evangelism happens during such times. So
does discipleship. Your example and testimony can be powerfully used by God in
the lives of others who witness it.
Here is a great gift to give to your
children–a memory of always worshiping God in their home. What a blessing to
bring a child into a worshiping family! His or her earliest memories will be
framed by this God-honoring practice. Children blessed with this gift will never
have a memory of a time where this was not a regular part of your family’s life.

C. Bill has recently posted on the same subject. Very good. Advice for Family Worship.

Also with the new year approaching you are presented with a very good resolution opportunity (if you are into that kind of thing) to start a bible reading plan that will take you through the Bible in one years time. Maybe this guy will post on how he plans to combine reading through the Bible in one year into his family worship time.
Have a happy New Year’s day.

- by Jonathan Davis

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