I found this great resource "A Simple Guide to Family Worship" put out by The Church at Brook Hills.  I know my family benefits from the study of God's Word in our home and I know it will grow and work wonders in the lives of all those who lead their family in Christ. 

Deuteronomy 11:19

Proverbs 22:6

What does the Bible say about family worship?

Family worship as we know it is not explicitly commanded in the Bible, but the importance of the home in discipleship is prominent throughout the Scriptures. In the Old Testament, fathers are commanded to teach their children throughout the day, even if that

training is informal: “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deut. 6:6-7). But more formal instruction is evident in passages such as Ps. 78:5-7: “He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.” Clearly, the family is central in passing along the faith. When we turn to the New Testament, fathers are given the command to bring their children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). Timothy, a disciple of Paul, was discipled first by his mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois (2 Tim. 1:5). Their impact went beyond mere example. Paul encouraged Timothy to continue in the faith found in the Scriptures. These Scriptures, Paul said, Timothy had learned from childbirth (2 Tim. 3:15). In summary, family worship in the Bible is rooted in the idea of responsibility. Parents, especially fathers, are primarily responsible for the spiritual instruction and vitality of their families. The task is great and weighty, but God’s grace is greater and the eternal rewards are beyond anything this world can offer. 

Continued here:

http://www.radical.net/pdf/SimpleGuideToFamilyWorship.pdf

"No Two Truths Can Be Inconsistent"

Charles Spurgeon the great preacher and pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, considered the "Prince of Preachers", said the following of the sovereignty of God and man's responsibility.  It is certainly something to take to heart and something that can cause us to increase our trust and faith in God who is our Lord and Savior. 

"I see in one place, God presiding over all in providence; and yet I see and I cannot help seeing, that man acts as he pleases, and that God has left his actions to his own will, in a great measure. Now, if I were to declare that man was so free to act, that there was no precedence of God over his actions, I should be driven very near to Atheism; and if, on the other hand, I declare that God so overrules all things, as that man is not free enough to be responsible, I am driven at once into Antinomianism or fatalism. That God predestines, and that man is responsible, are two things that few can see. They are believed to be inconsistent and contradictory; but they are not. It is just the fault of our weak judgment. Two truths cannot be contradictory to each other. If, then, I find taught in one place that everything is fore-ordained, that is true; and if I find in another place that man is responsible for all his actions, that is true; and it is my folly that leads me to imagine that two truths can ever contradict each other. These two truths, I do not believe, can ever be welded into one upon any human anvil, but one they shall be in eternity: they are two lines that are so nearly parallel, that the mind that shall pursue them farthest, will never discover that they converge; but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth doth spring ....You ask me to reconcile the two. I answer, they do not want any reconcilement; I never tried to reconcile them to myself, because I could never see a discrepancy .... Both are true; no two truths can be inconsistent with each other; and what you have to do is to believe them both."

OREOS IN A FALLEN WORLD

O-R-E-O the delicious and addicting black and white chocolate cream filled cookie is now weighing in on gay rights.  We are a society that receives our ethical, moral and Biblical standards from movie stars, politicians, some pastors who wish they were movie stars and now from a cookie. 

Red and Yellow, Black and White we all have inherited a nature of sin and due to that sinful state we have minds, wills and souls that need rescuing from utter despair.  One theologian said it like this “It may be claimed that the Fall narrative (“In Adam all die” – 1 Cor. 15:22) gives the only convincing explanation of the perversity of human nature that the world has ever seen.  Pascal said that the doctrine of original sin seems an offense to reason, but once accepted it makes total sense of the entire human condition.”  

So in this state of depravity we all must find our only hope in God’s word; “Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.  We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.  For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.  So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.” (Romans 6:8-12) Our sinful nature being our state of missing the mark or rebellion against God’s holy and righteous will, must be crucified with Christ.  This does not mean we must never sin again in order to receive eternal life, it means we must seek repentance from missing the mark, realizing that we are unable to cleanse ourselves from our offenses toward a holy God, we must give our transgressions to Christ who has taken our sins to the cross and paid the penalty in our place.  Then and only then can we be transformed into new creations filled with life, where we are given a new heart that seeks to do the will of God.  The prayer must be that God gives you a new heart and a new life in Christ Jesus that then seeks direction from his Holy Word, not an Oreo cookie. 

Repent Is Not a Four Letter Word

No matter the person, no matter the sin, God calls us to repentance.  Much debate is had within the church and outside the walls of the church regarding what constitutes sinful behavior and then how do we treat and dialogue in a world where truth is relative and sin is a four word.  We must first understand and know God's word which defines what missing the mark is and fully understand and be able to communicate the Gospel which tells of Christ and his work on the cross that saves the repentant one from the eternal consequences of their sin.  


In the book of Acts we see Paul lovingly, unashamedly, no matter the cost live a repentant life and call with the Gospel both friendly and hostile audiences to repentance. "Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus , then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance." Acts 26:19-20  "So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenist. But they were seeking to kill him." Acts 9:28-29


And the result of Acts 9:28-29 in vs 31

"So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied"



I encourage you to boldly and lovingly stand firm on the word of God sharing the Gospel with all kinds of sinners, in which I am one.

Our Hope

We know from 1 Corinthians 15:19 that our hope does not lie in this life, so where does our hope lie and what does it lead us to in this life?

Jesus after rebuking James and John in Luke 9 for wanting to bring immediate judgement on the Samaritan village stated what his purpose was and wasn't in this life: not to settle for this life but to call people to the gospel and future glory. He says "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no where to lay his head" and then "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.", he had unwavering focus set on the task at hand. Jesus then sends out seventy-two people to take the gospel message out "the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few". And finally at the conclusion of the book of Luke Jesus just prior to his ascension says "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father (Holy Spirit ) upon you."

As the life of Christ produced much suffering, as he called people to himself, we also must count the cost being prepared at all time with the gospel. We see here that our hope is tied to our suffering. Paul writes in Romans 5 1-5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been put into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Taking the Gospel to our community, our neighbors, the globe will cost us suffering but we can count that suffering all joy.

In Christ, Matt

Secret Church

If you missed Secret Church with David Platt you can catch the video teaching here.

http://www.disciplemakingintl.org/media/schurch/series_list/?id=293

Healing the Sick

We know that Jesus in his short ministry did many works of healing, John 21: 25 says "Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written".

Today we got word from our team in Honduras who are faithfully sharing the Gospel and running a clinic where hundreds are receiving medical and dental help along with the good news. Yesterday the clinic saw a young baby with a cleft lip and palate who is dyer need of surgery. The team desires to help this young baby receive the surgery and follow up necessary. There is an organization in Honduras that will do the surgery our part would be simply in helping the family with travel expenses.

We will give more details as they are available and more information on how you can help in the process of healing this child as we work as Jesus did in healing and preaching the good news.

"How beautiful upon mountains are the feet of him who brings good news,..." Isaiah 52:7