5-24-22 This Week in Faith
/Sorry it has been awhile. The last month or so has been busy but my hope is to get back to weekly blogs over the summer, including articles and updates about what is going on at Faith. - Steven
The Grove in May
In Sunday school, this week we are talking about the Israelite spies checking out the Promised Land.
Scripture Memory Psalm 128:1
Student Ministry in May
We are done with Sunday and Wednesday nights until our summer schedule starts in June.
CLICK HERE to see the summer calendar and sign up for Wednesday events
Parents in May
Sunday Summer Worship Schedule- Beginning in June, we will move to Sunday school at 9:00AM and worship at 10:00AM. There will be a family class for ages 1st Grade and up where you will be able to study the book of Proverbs together with your family. Some student ministry small groups will also meet Sunday mornings. And there will be Children’s Church for 2nd Grade and under during the service.
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Making Sure My Kids Know a Father’s Love
If you know Benjamin Watson, you probably remember his time playing for the Dawgs or his 16 years in the NFL, but he is also a follower of Jesus and a father of 7. He and his wife do a lot of writing and speaking on marriage and parenting. In this article, he gives dads 5 questions to help them think through the times kids need to be most confident in the love of their father.
Click here to read the article by Benjamin Watson.
Facing Conflict with a Humble Heart
Maybe you have never dealt with conflict in your marriage or relationships. If that’s you, please don’t tell me :) But if it’s not you, if you face small and big conflicts with your spouse, then you know how important both gospel reminders and practical wisdom are to the health of your marriage. This article does a great job of offering both. I’m grateful for the way counseling has helped Kelly and I navigate some of the bigger conflicts we’ve had. But this article gives us some helpful ways forward through the day to day disagreements of life that can strengthen our marriages and push us deeper into the gospel.
Click here to read the article by Jenny Solomon.
How to Prepare Siblings for a New Baby
Transitions can be really tough for kids. And one of the biggest transitions they face is a new addition to the family. Preparing our kids in advance for a new sibling can make a big difference in their excitement about a new brother or sister. This article has some great, practical tips to prepare our kids well for the next kid.
Click here to read the article by PeggySue Wells.
If Roe is Dead
The month of May has increased Pro-Life hopes that Roe v. Wade [and some other abortion precedents] may be reversed by the Supreme Court. It’s an exciting development for those who cling to the Scriptures that point to the sanctity of all life, including those God has known and formed in the womb [Psalm 139:13-16]. But a change in the legal precedent is not the magic pill for cultural change.
The reality is that the amount of actual abortions in our country has decreased since Roe v. Wade. While this doesn’t make a difference for those whose lives were lost, it does show, like the article points out, that persuading the hearts and minds of people about the value of life in the womb [and at every stage of life] is possible, and vital. This is why our church is so grateful to partner with community organizations like Athens Pregnancy Center [serves those who find themselves in a difficult place and with tough decisions due to unplanned pregnancies], Chosen for Life [serves adoptive and foster families], and others. The care these organizations provide for pregnant women and vulnerable children, and our work through and alongside them, is making an impact on individual hearts and minds, as well as the cultural conversation around these subjects. And no matter what happens at the Supreme Court, this work will need to continue.
This is why it’s important to teach our kids the truth of Scripture and what it looks like to advocate for the truth, with grace, to the people around us. The article talks about why this is important. An article from a previous blog had some good topics to start the conversation:
Teach the Prophetic Function of the Church: The church is called to be a loving, just, prophetic voice for our nation and its leaders. The conversation around abortion and the responses to recent news gives Christians the opportunity to point the world to the goodness and justness of what God says is true.
God’s Word Defines Right and Wrong: God’s truth flows from his character, through his word, to us. As we talk with our kids, we need to help them see that God’s Word is the ultimate source for the truths we believe and the ways in which we live that truth out.
Help the Next Generation Find Its Courage in the Gospel: To encourage is to pour courage into someone. We have the opportunity to give the next generation courage to stand up for God’s truth, with wisdom, even when they might suffer for it. Remind them that God’s good plan often involves suffering and that we are able to bear the cost of suffering for the truth because Jesus bought us through suffering, his own blood on the cross.
Aside from the issue itself, there has been a heightened intensity to the dialogue around this issue and the public response [including threats against Supreme Court Justices and heated protests like this]. These types of things constantly in the news and in conversations at school can cause fear and anxiety in our kids. So it provides an opportunity to talk to them and remind them about what is true:
Talk with them about the reality of sin and evil in our world, and why those exist.
Remind them that God is still sovereign over evil, even when it doesn’t feel like it.
Pray with them and give them the hope of the gospel, that Jesus has conquered sin and he will one day fix all that’s been broken by the curse of sin and its effects.
Don’t forget that as you talk about and process these kinds of issues yourself, your kids are watching and learning. And what you do will shape their understanding of what a gospel-motivated response to issues like this looks like.
Click here to read the article by Colin Hansen.
PODCAST: Faith in an Anxious World
Anxiety seems to be one of the things most affecting teenagers these days [and kids even younger]. It’s hard to know how to talk about what’s most weighing on the minds of our teenagers in a way that they actually respond well to our inquiries. This is a podcast series from the Fuller Youth Institute that interviews different mental health professionals on a variety of topics that create anxiety in teenagers. Their goal is to help parents have meaningful conversations with their kids. I haven’t listened to every episode yet but I think it will be really good and I’m looking forward to getting some things I can put into practice with my kids.
Click here to listen to the intro podcast from the Fuller Youth Institute.
