Monthly Archives: May 2013

Blessing His Children

May 31, 2013

Earlier Jill highlighted the resource, A Father's Guide to Blessing His Children. Here is a short video of Gary Steward (David & Sally's son-in-law) blessing his two daughters before bedtime: You can win a free copy of the booklet that inspired these blessings by entering today's contest!

Teaching

Involving Parents in the Classroom

May 29, 2013

In her seminar, “Involving Parents in the Classroom,” Connie Oman (Coordinator for Training and Classroom Support at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis) offered some very practical ideas for encouraging parents to become more acquainted and involved in their child's classroom experience.

The Importance of Family Ministry

May 28, 2013

The following are some very wise words from an article by Dr. Timothy Jones.

Devotional

Reflections on Memorial Day

May 27, 2013

Today is Memorial Day in the USA. For many, it is simply a day off, the start of the summer vacation season, or a day to start on the long-awaited garden. But for me, this "holiday" took on a whole new meaning three years ago. Memorial Day 2010 was a time to say goodbye to our son before he left for Afghanistan where he would be serving with the Army for a year.

Is This Book on Your Shelf?

May 24, 2013

One of the books that we HIGHLY recommend at Children Desiring God is the very practical (and short—only 160 pages) Teach Them Diligently: How to Use the Scriptures in Child Training by Lou Priolo Here is Pastor John MacArthur's endorsement on the back cover of the book:

There is far more to teaching your children the Bible than merely telling them Bible stories. Unfortunately, many parents feel ill-equipped for the task, so they neglect this vital aspect of Christian parenting. In doing so, they forfeit many of the greatest blessings of parenthood. Here's a valuable aid

Teaching

The Importance of a Biblical View of Friendships for Our Children and Youth

May 23, 2013

Summer is almost upon us, and for many children and students that means more time to spend with friends. As any adult knows and has experienced, these friendships offer great potential as well as great dangers for our children and youth. Therefore, it is important for us to make sure that our children have a biblical view of friendship...

a view that recognizes friendships are a wonderful gift from God and are also intended to help and encourage us to better know and trust in Jesus and walk in His truth.
a view that warns us against friendships that may hinder our growth in godliness.

Consider the following verses from Proverbs that illustrate both the gift of friendship and the warnings against unwise friendships:

13:20—Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. 17:17a—A friend loves at all times, 18:24—A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there

God's Good Design for Our Children

May 22, 2013

As many of you know, Children Desiring God is located in Minneapolis Minnesota. This month, Minnesota will become the 12th state in the nation to officially recognize same-sex "marriage." In one of his final sermons at Bethlehem Baptist Church, John Piper made the following observation, ...as I hand off my leadership role at Bethlehem to Jason Meyer, the world he and you will face is very different than when I came almost 33 years ago. It would have been unthinkable to suggest that anyone would seriously propose defining marriage as between two men or two women; and it would have been even more unthinkable that in a mere thirty years America would have lost its soul so profoundly that most American’s would approve of a definition of marriage that no society in the history of the world has ever embraced. (“Life Together at the End of the Age,” February

Training Children to Be Healthy Church Members

May 21, 2013

At Children Desiring God, we like to talk about "vision-driven" ministry for children, youth, and families. A vision-driven ministry keeps the end goal in sight, and then carefully and thoughtfully steers a course toward that end goal. Have you ever considered that one of the end goals should be that our children and students grow up to become healthy church members? What might that look like? In his very helpful and practical book, What Is a Healthy Church Member?, Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile identifies 10 "marks" of healthy church member. A healthy church member...

Is an expositional

Encouragement

Encouraging Your Ministry Team

May 20, 2013

“Most of the great transforming work in our lives happens in the routine, the regular rhythms of life.

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him,” (1 John 5:1). A leader who loves Jesus will look for ways to express love to his team. It is his joy to do so. This is a Spirit-filled leader who is being transformed into the image of God. God is supreme in love, and His children are becoming like Him, like His Son. In short, they love to love others in Jesus’ name. An excellent way for a leader to express love to a team is to point out evidences of grace in them. He looks for God among his people, what I like to call “God sightings.” It is his joy to train his eyes to look for God. How does he do this? First, he becomes familiar with passages of Scripture such as Galatians 5:22-23 on the fruit of

Encouragement

From the Mouths of Children—Holy, Holy, Holy

May 17, 2013

Back on March 12, I shared a special moment from our 1st grade Sunday school class. Here it is with video added. Enjoy!