The Lost Tools of Learning

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A funny thing happened as the 20th century came to a close. A number of Christians began to form what were being called “classical and Christian” schools. Believers who would have been (or were) involved in their local traditional Christian school or public school were suddenly making the case for Latin, reading the great books [...]

How Do We Pray for Our Children?

Another quote from D.A Carson from A Call To Spiritual Reformation. He is commenting on this prayer of Paul’s from 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12, which reads, “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of [...]

Making the Most of Entertainment

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How much time do your children spend watching TV, reading books, listening to music, and watching movies? How much time do you spend doing those activities with them? The purpose of this post isn’t to advocate for or against any of the above, either in general or in particular. Rather, I hope you will be [...]

Preparing Children for Worship

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This is a great article from John and Noel Piper about preparing children to be with families in the worship service, along with why we should be doing so. “The greatest stumbling block for children in worship is that their parents do not cherish the hour. Children can feel the difference between duty and delight. [...]

Let Them Come Home (John and Abraham Piper)

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In a recent Christianity Today interview, John Piper recounts the painful events surrounding the excommunication of his 19 year old son, Abraham. The night after that excommunication, I called him at 10:00 and said, “Abraham, you knew what was coming.” He said, “That’s what I expected you to do. That has integrity. I respect you [...]

How Eternity Shapes our Mundane

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This is a great article at DesiringGod.org about not missing the big picture when raising our children: Two great quotes: “Second, we forget that our children are more than just potential adults. They are people made in God’s image and they have eternal souls. When the mundane looms larger than eternal life we forget who [...]

How Will Our Children Remember Us?

Bible scholar Don Carson cautions us about parental hypocrisy by recalling the enduring impact of his parents’ prayerful example: My father was a church planter in Québec, in the difficult years when there was strong opposition, some of it brutal. Baptist ministers alone spent a total of eight years in jail between 1950 and 1952. [...]

Spiritual Pretense or Disciplined Performance? (D.A. Carson)

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My father was a church planter in Québec, in the difficult years when there was strong opposition, some of it brutal. Baptist ministers alone spent a total of eight years in jail between 1950 and 1952. Dad’s congregations were not large; they were usually at the lower end of the two-digit range. On Sunday mornings [...]

Family Resources: Training – Desiring God Pastors Conference Q&A

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Pastor Keith just sent me a link to this video from the Desiring God Pastors Conference. It’s a Q&A session with John Piper, Doug Wilson, Darrin Patrick, Crawford Loritts, and Ramez Atallah, . The following topics are all addressed: What is biblical femininity? Does Christianity have a feminine feel? How can fathers best care for [...]

Encouragement for Parents

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In May of 2011, Kevin DeYoung wrote a wonderfully encouraging post for parents. His point isn’t that what we do as parents don’t matter, but that we can make things too complicated at times. His concluding thoughts are worth stating up front: “I want to spend time with my kids, teach them the Bible, take [...]