“It is the presence of God that makes all things sweet and comfortable.” - Richard Sibbes The Puritans wrote a lot about comfort. But their idea of comfort is not the American ideal of “ease of life” or “freedom from pain”, rather they were describing the solely Christian experience of assurance. Christian assurance is the …
Winter Retreat is one of the youth ministry’s highlights of the year. Jam packed with fun, fellowship, and food. The apex of the weekend is our time in God’s Word together and the discussion groups that follow. We pray that each student would not just know what is being taught but respond in faith to …
Church is a blessing. It nourishes the Christian through fellowship; a community devoted to loving God and loving others. The activity of the church’s loving fellowship is compelling. This is just as true for adults as it is for teens (and younger). As families and a church body, one of our goals in raising up …
Continue reading Raising Teens into Church Life pt. 1: Sunday Worship
Resources for family discipleship can extremely useful in the making and maturing of your children into disciples of Jesus Christ. It is tough to find reliable and engaging resources that remain, above all, Christ and Bible centered. In an effort to help us all disciple our own family well (or prepare to disciple your future …
Continue reading An Ongoing List of Resources for Family Discipleship
In the book of Lamentations, Jeremiah describes how God’s holiness interacts with Israel’s unfaithfulness. For God, judging Israel is the perfect exercise of His covenant faithfulness. For Israel, receiving God’s judgment for their unfaithfulness is devastating. Jeremiah tries to capture this holy devastation from God in his writings. His hope is to alert Israel to …
Continue reading God’s Arrows, Your Kidneys (A Devotional on Lamentations 3:13)
God’s Created Order God has designed relationships with order and purpose for his glory. God has created marriage and sovereignly ordains marriage. God sovereignly blesses some with the gift of singleness. No status is more important than the other and one’s value is not tied to their relationship status. God calls us to be faithful …
Continue reading Designed for Purity 3 – Marriage and Singleness (Notes)
God’s Created Order God has created order in the world (gravity, math, light, sound, seasons) and in our families God has created men and women for different roles, especially inside of the family (Gen 1:26-27) As image-bearers, we honor God and represent God by obeying our roles (Eph 5:22-6:4) As image-bearers, we have different roles …
Continue reading Designed for Purity 2 – Biblical Roles for Husbands, Wives, and Children (Notes)
We had a great time learning from God’s Word at Winter Retreat! Spencer led us through the book of Ruth and called us to be surprised by God’s work in everyday life and in Christ his son. Faith in God leads us to risk things that we cherish for God’s glory and kingdom. Here are …
Parenting is full of rough seas, from stress-filled dinners to the backlash from a teen to joylessness to a child's habitual, embarrassing disobedience. Parents can feel overwhelmed by it all, as if they are trapped in an ever-shifting, unsolvable puzzle and the only other sentient beings alongside them are their rebellious children. It is in these difficult or perplexing times parents turn to what they truly believe will offer them help, thus these are the times that parents are tempted to turn to their idols for help in raising their kids.
As long as I can remember, and at as many churches as I can remember, there has been one staple youth event each and every year: a youth retreat during the winter. Call it what you will but it seems that every church with a youth program takes time during the winter months to bring …
Familyhood 