This Week in Faith 1-23-20

Faith MMO Fun Run, 5K and 10K- Just a reminder that the annual racing event to support MMO and their scholarship program is coming up on February 8 at Oconee Veterans Park. You can register online HERE. I hope you can join us!

The Mix- This event for middle and high school students is coming up February 28-March 1 but registration is open now. It is a great weekend that your student will not want to miss. The price of registration goes up tomorrow so today is a great time to sign up your student or encourage a student they have invited to sign up. You can register online HERE.

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The Case for Getting Married Young

With all of the research that exists about extended adolescence and the milestones being achieved later in life by the next generations, it could be easy to assume that our kids should just naturally fall into this pattern. I thought this article was an interesting look at the benefits of marrying earlier [not later] and a healthy push-back on the current cultural trends. 

Now, there are some obvious caveats: marriage is not God’s plan for everyone which means we also need to help our kids understand the value of singleness so, if it is what God chooses for them, they don’t see it as his Plan B for their lives; there is a certain level of maturity and readiness required for marriage that not everyone gets to early on; and I’m probably a little biased because I was married at 20 [as Kelly loves to remind me that I wasn’t old enough to drink champagne at our wedding :)]. But, we are in our 21st year of marriage and I really believe much of who I am is because of our marriage, not in spite of it. While I definitely didn’t feel ready for marriage [and maybe I wasn’t] I think this quote from the article is true: 

Marriage actually works best as a formative institution, not an institution you enter once you think you're fully formed. We learn marriage, just as we learn language, and to the teachable, some lessons just come easier earlier in life.

While she is definitely not advocating this for every person, I think there are some good things to consider in this article as we think about what we prioritize and how we help our kids think about marriage.

Click here to read the article by Karen Swallow Prior.

How to Teach Your Teen to Study the Bible

Knowing how to study the Bible with your kids can always be challenging. Especially as they get older, it’s important for us to transition from teaching them what to think about the Bible to teaching them how to think about and study the Bible for themselves. There are some great tips in here for how to do this. Even if you don’t implement all of it, she offers some good places to start.

Click here to read the article by Jen Wilkin.

PODCAST: Restoring the Justice System: Bryan Stevenson

The new movie Just Mercy is based on the book by Bryan Stevenson with the same name. The movie and the book tell stories of clients he has worked with through the Equal Justice Initiative. Many of these clients are on death row, and he works to right decisions for some who have been convicted and/or sentenced unjustly. Just Mercy mainly follows the case of Walter McMillan who was convicted and put on death row for a crime he didn’t commit. It also includes the story of Anthony Ray Hinton, who tells his own story in his book The Sun Does Shine, about his experience on death row for over 20 years for a crime he didn’t commit, before Bryan Stevenson was able to get his case reopened and ultimately prove his innocence. I would highly recommend the books and the movie. This talk gives you an understanding of how Bryan Stevenson’s faith informs his understanding of these issues and motivates him to do the work he does. Even if you don’t agree with everything he says, I think it’s important to give our kids examples of people whose lives and careers are being shaped by the gospel so they can respond to the callings God has given them.

Click here to listen to the talk by Bryan Stevenson.

RESOURCES: Helping Young Kids Understand Gender and Human Dignity  

Gender and human dignity are big issues in our current culture. But they are also important concepts in Scripture. Helping or kids understand what God has to say about these things from a young age can help shape their view of the world for a lifetime. It can help them to appreciate that God has good things to say about the issues we face and the things that matter to us. The two books below are aimed at kids 3-5 years old but can help us begin these conversations with kids at a wide range of ages. I have a  few extra copies of each of them in my office that I’d be happy to give to anyone interested in them. I think they are also available in the church library.

God Made Boys and Girls: Helping Children Understand the Gift of Gender

God Made Me Unique: Helping Children See Value in Every Person