HomeChurch Blog2014October

Posts from October 2014

Rule of Love or Desire?

 

 

 Encouragement for Parents of Teenagers 695x181

Rule of Love or Desire?

Teenagers need their identities to be firmly rooted in Christian community. This should be accomplished through the family.

 

 

Rule of Love

 

 

The Rule of Love or the Rule of Desire
Your teenagers’ responses to situations will be shaped by the rule or love or the rule of desire. The family is the proving ground where hearts are consistently exposed in the reactions to relationships. It provides a clear and honest view into the hearts of our children and ourselves. What do you see consistently and what are you doing about it?

Rule of Love
“Do to others what you would have them do to you” Matthew 7:12

Rule of Desire
“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight” James 4:1-2

Sound Familiar?

  • Fights over the last drops of milk at breakfast
  • Shoves in response to an accidental bump in the hallway
  • Arguments over too much time in the bathroom
  • Debates as to who gets the car
  • Discussions over borrowed clothes that weren’t returned
  • Joining in put-down “humor”
  • Demands for assistance coupled with an unwillingness to help others
  • Lack of spontaneous or at least quick help around the house
  • Duels of cutting and cruel words

Opportunities
These are the moments when God is calling Christian parents to something greater than our own comfort and ease. These are the times when God calls us to love our children unconditionally and take time to correct and disciple their hearts. It is so much easier to find quick solutions to end the noise or stop the arguing, but we miss the opportunities to shepherd them to learn to love each other.

I’m praying for you. Let me know how I can help or better serve you and your family.

in HIS service,

Pastor Mark

P.S. The themes and main ideas come from Paul David Tripp’s book “Age of Opportunity”. I’m summarizing what I read, adding my own thoughts and Scripture too.

You can read past posts on our church website HERE.

Family is Community

Encouragement for Parents of Teenagers 695x181

Just as our teenagers need to anchor their identity in the existence and character of God, they also need their identities to be firmly rooted in community. This is another key function of the family.

A Club You Don’t Choose

communitySinners naturally want to please themselves and will do pretty much whatever it takes to get their way.

Trust & Obey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Encouragement for Parents of Teenagers 695x181

Trust & Obey

Wrapping up the discussion of how theology should impact our parenting.

Living to glorify God
Teaching and living out our beliefs and understanding of God (theology) needs to be super practical on a daily basis. We shouldn’t reserve discussions about faith and God for Sunday afternoons or the occasional family get together where we share what we are thankful for. Most of us will not invent a cure, write a hit song, or even become famous. Even if we do, most of our lives are spent in the mundane, day-to-day moments of making breakfast, driving around town, or walking the dog. These are the times where character is developed. Parents who want to teach their children how to love God and live for Him, need to make the most of these unspectacular moments at home, school, playing fields, church, or with friends. We want our teens to come to understand that their lives (all parts of it) were made to glorify God.

  “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” 1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV)

Glorifying God means we please Him and show others what He is like through our actions, words, and our hearts. By asking two simple questions, we can train our teens to ask themselves these questions and learn to live for Him.

TrustTrust
The first question is “What, in this situation, are the things I need to entrust into God’s capable and loving hands?” Our teens need to recognize that they have limitations and not everything in their lives is within their control to change. These are the things they need to turn over to a sovereign (possessing supreme or absolute power) God and trust Him for the results. So often, we try to do the things that are God’s instead of leaving them to Him. We try to change people; we try to make things happen and ultimately we are frustrated at the results.

Obey
Obey Grey The second question is “What, in this situation, are the things that God calls me to do that I cannot pass on to anyone else?” This requires us to be concrete and specific in the way we think about our calling from God. When we see what our responsibilities are according to the Bible, the only proper response is to obey. Our teens need to understand what God wants them to do and to obey HIM with loving, grateful hearts. It’s not all about obeying parents. Yes, that is one of the things God says to do, but getting their hearts on track to obey God is our primary goal.

Help your teenager see that every moment is God’s moment and that in every situation they are called to trust and obey God. I’m praying for you. Let me know how I can help or better serve you and your family.

in HIS service,

Pastor Mark

Age of OpportunityP.S. The themes and main ideas come from Paul David Tripp’s book “Age of Opportunity”. I’m summarizing what I read, adding my own thoughts and Scripture too.

You can read past posts on our church website HERE.

Their Story is God’s Story

Their Story is God’s Story Continuing the discussion of how theology should impact our parenting. Bible is a Storybook not an Encyclopedia We often describe the Bible as our manual for living. This is a good description, but sometimes we then treat it as an encyclopedia where we look up references for any given topic or problem.…