DEEP // WIDE // LIGHT

“There is no such thing as a perfect parent.”  Whew! That felt good to get off my chest. Our children and students mean the world to us. As we parent them, their entire future feels at stake. It feels like life or death sometimes, does it not? I have good news for you.  You will NOT do it right.  I know, I know… you are wondering how this is good news. But the Bible gives us almost no examples of perfect parents (I am not convinced that Mary and Joseph count, either!). Adam and Eve, after having the distinction of being the first on earth to disobey God, raised a son who would murder his brother. Isaac’s son, Jacob, swindled his brother for the inheritance and fooled dad into giving him the family blessing. This same Jacob would love one of his sons more than the others, leading to jealousy and the sale of his son into slavery. King David’s sin led to the death of one of his children. King Solomon’s family fell apart completely, leading to the divi...

(This talk was delivered to a children's art show audience on July 22, 2013. The children were instructed to put up their hands to form binoculars around their eyes every time I said, "look.") LOOK! “In thebeginning God created…” And so the best-selling book of all time begins. Out of nothingness, God speaks, and things begin. First, He created light and darkness. Second, He created sky and earth. Third, He created dry land between seas and plants and trees, and he looked . He saw that it was good. Fourth, He created sun and moon and stars, and he looked . He saw that it was good. Fifth, He created fish of all shapes in the oceans and birds of all colors in the sky, and he looked . He saw that it was good. Sixth, He created animals of shapes and sizes and noises, and he looked . He saw that it was good. He also said, “Let’s make people of all shapes and sizes and noises.” So He “created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself...

Prayer is a private practice, but not one we should keep for ourselves.  Jesus said in Matthew 6:9 , “Therefore, you should pray like this…” Adults, may I ask a difficult question of us? If I am charged with making followers ( Matthew28:19-20 ), and if I am charged with passing on my faith to the next generation ( Deuteronomy 6:4-7 ), then am I passing on my thoughts on prayer? If Jesus taught his followers, am I not to teach others as well?  Most of our young people learn prayer from sermons and lessons they only partially listen to, and from the public prayers they hear in worship. I believe that is insufficient. You might believe you do not know enough to teach. I would suggest not that you teach necessarily, but that you  pray with them.  Educators understand the principle of teaching by doing. I encourage you to use the recommendations of Deuteronomy 6:7 . Pray with them at home, on the road, at nighttime, and in the morning. Turn off the radio while drivi...

Graduation.  Softball and baseball.  I have been thinking about both of them a lot lately. There are few things more fun to watch than 4 and 5 year olds playing tee ball. But those young children grow up before our very eyes. I see this most clearly when I think about our upcoming milestone of high school graduation, remember that those young adults were once young children, enjoying sports and dance recitals and school ceremonies. Our student ministry at FBC Philly is a ministry of milestones. We celebrate the growth of a child from their Parent/Child Dedication (when we commit to support the parents as they spiritually guide their growing child) to Baptism (when they commit to following Christ) to Youth Group rites of initiation (when they become a young man / young woman) to True Love Waits ceremonies (when they commit to purely follow a pure God) to Graduate Recognition (when we celebrate their passage to adulthood). At each milestone, we pause ...

Have you ever f elt blah?   The Christmas holidays are ove r .  School and work routines are back in full swing.  The holiday food left behind an extra pound or two.  Your new ye ar's resolutions are already broken - multiple times over.  Eli jah also felt something akin to this post-h oliday drudgery. In 1 Kings 18 , h e was on top of the world as he watched God answer his prayers and rain down fire . He saw God bring rain to end a dry spel l, too .  However, immediately after this, in 1 Kings 19, he recei ved a death threat , and all of his recent t riumph ant feelings left in a hurry, taking with them his will to live . Yet even in these moments of depression, he found that God was just as ever-present in the problems as He had been in the triu mphs . God fed him, rested h im, an d spoke to him .  Is your faith only fair-weather ? Do you stop believing in God or do you get angry with Him when t hings don't happen as...

God says, "For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me - the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!"   Jeremiah 2:13 Can we just cut through the lies? We have lied to ourselves about our God. We have believed that God is loving, while disbelieving that God judges and punishes. This picture of God allows us to sin, and find joy in sinning. Do you think I'm too harsh? Have you read the lyrics of the most popular songs our students sing while riding down the road? Have you listened to the unholy things adults and students say? Have you noticed the cravings for sex and drunkenness and money at Christmas time, and how intently we seem to chase those cravings? This world is in worse trouble than some fiscal cliff might bring.  Jeremiah points out two sins: turning our back on God and filling our lives with unfulfilling things. Both of these things leave us guilty.  God is our o...

My brother in Christ Daniel Howard preached for us recently, and God challenged me in several ways. I wanted to share about this. The main points are from Daniel. The discussion that follows is my interactions with it. Colossians 3:1-4 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. This quote begins with "If." There are some who are Christian, and some who are not. These words are for the Christian. Christians then are encouraged to look up, to make our life about God's things, not the things of this world. We need such constant reminders to make our lives about the life of Christ. We often become too bogged down in earthly things to remember the Christ who now owns our...