The role of father as historian for his family is a constant lifegiving theme in scripture.
David knew it well.
We have heard with our ears, O God,
Our fathers have told us,
The deeds You did in their days,
In days of old
Psalm 44:1
February 23, 2006
Hope for the Church - A Special Eye Upon Families
Richard Baxter cast a powerful vision of hope for the church:
“We must have a special eye upon families,
to see that they are well ordered,
and the duties of each relation performed.
The life of religion, and the welfare and glory
of both the Church and the State,
depend much on family government and duty.
If we suffer the neglect of this, we shall undo all.
I beseech you, therefore,
if you desire the reformation and welfare of your people,
do all you can to promote family religion.”
Reformed Pastor, Richard Baxter, Take Heed to Thy Flocks
“We must have a special eye upon families,
to see that they are well ordered,
and the duties of each relation performed.
The life of religion, and the welfare and glory
of both the Church and the State,
depend much on family government and duty.
If we suffer the neglect of this, we shall undo all.
I beseech you, therefore,
if you desire the reformation and welfare of your people,
do all you can to promote family religion.”
Reformed Pastor, Richard Baxter, Take Heed to Thy Flocks
February 13, 2006
Little Girl Arise - Prayer for Candace Walsh
Candace Walsh and her family need our prayers right now. I can't help thinking of the Lord Jesus when Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."Mr 5:41
For updated information please click on the following link http://www.candacejoy.org/
Her parents, Pat and Cathy and the rest of the family are in Florida fighting for her life.
For updated information please click on the following link http://www.candacejoy.org/
Her parents, Pat and Cathy and the rest of the family are in Florida fighting for her life.
February 01, 2006
The Entertainment Father
Because "in your presence is fulness of joy and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Ps 16:11) my spirit is stirred for fathers that we would engage ourselves and our families in meaningful time investment for the Kingdom of God for the joy of the next generation.
I am concerned about this because I see christian fathers engaging their families in many amusements, passive entertainments and mindless time investments.
John Piper says it better than I ever could:
I feel such a burden for us as a church to swim against the tide of almost every current in our culture. More and more and more, America is a nation given over to play. The industries of play are huge! Houses are built today with entertainment centers. Computers and videos and television and stereo all coordinate to give us ever more stimulating and captivating distractions from the realities of the world. When we need to be dreaming, for the glory of Christ, about how to spend our lives alleviating ignorance and sickness and misery and lostness, we are becoming more and more addicted to amusement. From a Sermon by John Piper delivered on November 29, 1998, Romans 2:6-10 - Eternal Divide – Eternal life or Eternal wrath
And, we often end up taking our children with us into addiction to amusement. We have a whole generation of children whose fondest memories with their families are their "fun" times. If you know the Brown family, you know that I am all for family fun time. But the reality is that if we slake their thirst on entertainment, it gives our children a powerful taste for it, and their fondest memories will be forged by the entertainment.
Is it possible that this is one of the tragedies of the modern church in the age of entertainment? I hope for a day when fathers live in such a way that their children's fondest memories are forged on their times in prayer, in mission, in the fellowship of the saints, in worship in evangelism in scritpure... for the pleasure of millions before the throne of God forever.
I am concerned about this because I see christian fathers engaging their families in many amusements, passive entertainments and mindless time investments.
John Piper says it better than I ever could:
I feel such a burden for us as a church to swim against the tide of almost every current in our culture. More and more and more, America is a nation given over to play. The industries of play are huge! Houses are built today with entertainment centers. Computers and videos and television and stereo all coordinate to give us ever more stimulating and captivating distractions from the realities of the world. When we need to be dreaming, for the glory of Christ, about how to spend our lives alleviating ignorance and sickness and misery and lostness, we are becoming more and more addicted to amusement. From a Sermon by John Piper delivered on November 29, 1998, Romans 2:6-10 - Eternal Divide – Eternal life or Eternal wrath
And, we often end up taking our children with us into addiction to amusement. We have a whole generation of children whose fondest memories with their families are their "fun" times. If you know the Brown family, you know that I am all for family fun time. But the reality is that if we slake their thirst on entertainment, it gives our children a powerful taste for it, and their fondest memories will be forged by the entertainment.
Is it possible that this is one of the tragedies of the modern church in the age of entertainment? I hope for a day when fathers live in such a way that their children's fondest memories are forged on their times in prayer, in mission, in the fellowship of the saints, in worship in evangelism in scritpure... for the pleasure of millions before the throne of God forever.
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