This Week in Faith 2-28-19
/Why Parenting Is About More Than the Pursuit of Happiness
This title is both challenging and encouraging and challenging. It is encouraging because there are many moments in the course of the week when parenting feels hard and I go to bed discouraged by my own failures and the failures of my kids. So if this title is true- those feelings don’t necessarily mean I’m doing anything wrong. They are just the norm for parents. But it’s also challenging because it reminds me that at the heart of following Jesus, he told us we will need to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow him. I rarely experience this more acutely than in parenting when my kids’ needs supersede mine, when homework infringes on my time, and when my anger flares up because my kids’ needs are inconvenient. We all want our kids to grow up selfless and submitted to God. And the number one place they will learn that is from us- both in listening to what we say and watching how we live. This is great article to remind us of God’s purpose for parenting..and it’s not to make us happier.
Click here to read the article by Daryl Crouch.
Are Sundays Good for Babies?
This is a great reminder that the challenges associated with getting our family to church on Sunday mornings is worth the cost. Sunday morning worship is a gift from God for us to enjoy and a means by which he roots us in the gospel. Our ability to prioritize church on Sunday morning will display the value of it to our kids. There’s no denying that it can be hard. I am so thankful for Kelly who gets our 4 kids up and to church every Sunday without me. But there is a grace and mercy that we find in being present with God and his people in worship that we can’t find anywhere else. And as a church family, we should welcome the interruptions that babies and kids introduce into our worship service because it reminds us that God is at work. Those moments become opportunities fro us to fulfill the vow we make at each child’s baptism to assist the parents in the Christian nurture of they children. Offer to sit with a single parent during the service to help with their kids. Volunteer in the nursery. Help your kids sing and participate in the service. And do it all knowing that God is using it for their good, and ours.
Click here to read the article by Megan Hill.
9 Ways to Teach Missions to Kids in Your Church
As a follow-up to our mission’s conference over the last few weeks, I thought this would be a good article for your family to consider. It is written as a list of things churches can do but every one of these things can be practiced by your family at home. Like most lists of this kind, don’t try and do it all! But consider if there are one or two of these things you could introduce into the regular rhythms of your family life. Some of my kids’ favorite books that we have read together have been missionary biographies. And we have tried to remember to pray for the missionaries and church planters that we support as a family. These types of things are a great way to open up your kids’ eyes to how big God is and the ways he is at work in the world.
Click here to read the article by Mike Pettengill.
VIDEO: Melissa Kruger on Discipling Teenagers
Every parent is pointing their kids to something, either intentionally or unintentionally. This 3 minute video has a lot of great insight and practical help for parents trying to purposefully point their kids to Jesus.
