'family' Tagged Posts

Home Plate

Home Plate Twenty years ago, in Nashville , Tennessee , during the first week of January, 1996, more than 4,000 baseball coaches descended upon the Opryland Hotel for the 52nd annual ABCA’s convention. While I waited in line to register with the hotel staff, I heard other more veteran coaches rumbling about the lineup of…

Four Practical Ways to Honor Your Parents

This Sunday in Ignite we are starting a new series on Big Issues. The first one is the Family. What is happening to the Family in our culture? How does media portray family? What does God say about the Family? Consider how you can honor your parents with more than just a store-bought card or…

Skipping Church

“The church is losing its young people because the parents never taught their children that it was important.” – Carl Trueman Summer vacations and spending time with your family are really important; so we do occasionally miss church services on a Sunday for special events. But is that the exception or is it normal to schedule all…

Family: A Redemptive Community

Family: A Redemptive Community In the context of family, it is hard to hide reality. We may all “put on a good face” for work, school, even church, but who we really are and what we are going through is revealed at home. The harsh realities of sin and The Fall should make the love…

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.

God’s Purpose for Family

Encouragement for Parents of Teenagers 695x181
God’s Purpose for Family

The Right Question

We can try to answer the question of “What is a family?” based on our culture or society, but that is an ever-moving target. A frustrated parent may ask, “What am I supposed to do with my impossible teenager?” The real question is “What did God intend