Video - Much of the "Church" Still Needs to Be Saved

Here is an inspiring video with various preachers (Piper, Ravenhill, Washer, etc) speaking on the lost condition of many people who think they are true Christians but are lost.

• Many church "members" are not members of the kingdom of the Heaven
  
• Many people who asked Jesus in their heart never experienced the New Birth and never truly believed and repented
  
• Many people who say that Jesus is their LORD, contradict their profession with their life of disobedience
• Many trust in a prayer or decision and not in Christ
• Many have no idea what true repentance and faith looks like in a life
  
• Many people who sincerely believe they are going to heaven will go to hell

May God reveal the truth to their souls and bring them true repentance and faith in Christ Jesus!

Matthew 7:13-23 "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. (14) For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (15) "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. (16) You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? (17) So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. (18) A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. (19) Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (20) Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. (21) "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (22) On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' (23) And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'

Fear and Evangelism

Last Sunday I preached on evangelism and fear.
Here is the audio of my sermon -- "Fear and Discipleship".

I really like what Pastor Dave said at the end of the evangelism seminar on fear and evangelism:

It can be very easy to submit to (and even seek to justify) the fear that we all experience to some degree; especially in light of the institutionalization of our fear. However, despite the ease of doing so, we must fight against it by clinging to the promises of God and choosing, by the power of the Spirit that lives in us, to obey rather than to disobey. We must recognize the need to pray for ourselves and each other. We must avoid any guilt-based methods of spurring one another on toward obedience in evangelism; but we must create a culture of evangelistic expectation at Grace by our words and actions.

Here is the outline of my sermon. You can read the sermon manuscript at www.gracewyomingmedia.com

1. DISCIPLES FOLLOW JESUS

2. FOLLOWING JESUS INCLUDES EVANGELISM

3. EVANGELISM MEANS SHARING OR PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL WITH OTHERS.

4. THE GOSPEL IS A SPECIFIC TRUTH THAT IS HELPFULLY EXPLAINED WITH SIX POINTS

God - There is a God who is infinitely glorious.

Obligation - We were created by God for His glory.

Sin – We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.

Penalty – The cost of our sin—of failing to live for the glory of God—is death.

Exoneration – In order to show His love, uphold His justice, forgive sinners, and display His glory,

Life Change – The forgiveness of sins and the everlasting life bought by Jesus death belongs to all who repent, believe, and love Jesus.


5. THE GOSPEL PROCLAIMED IS GOD’S APPOINTED MEANS TO BRING THE POWER OF SALVATION. – Or – The Gospel is Powerful

6. TWO NEGATIVE (SINFUL) EMOTIONS ATTACK DISCIPLES IN EVANGELISM

Apathy
Fear

7. WE MUST LET THE GOSPEL SHAPE OUR EMOTIONS –
SIX POTENTIAL FEARS FACING YOU REGARDING EVANGELISM

1. They might harm me…

2. They might ridicule and dislike me…

3. They might expose my ignorance…

4. They might be turned off to Christ by my method or manner…

5. They might expose my sin…

6. They might disown me…

Sermon - "The Obedience of Discipleship"

Last Sunday I preached on the obedience of discipleship.

6.7.09

The Obedience of Discipleship

Matthew 7:21-27

Read

Listen

Those who are followers of Jesus obey Jesus. They don't obey so that they can become disciples, they obey because they are disciples.

Obedience is not a virtue we do well in - especially obedience to the things that are hard (it's easy to be obedient to the command not to have more than one wife - it is entirely different to abstain from looking at a woman with lustful intent).

Here are some questions I asked - Are you obedient?:

Do you read and meditate on the Word of God?

Is prayer a powerful and intentional element of your life?

Do you have sins that you make excuses for but care little to fight against?

Do you still view pornography? Are you fighting against it with accountability and counsel?

Husbands, do you lead and love your wife? Are you spiritually leading?

Wives, do you respect and submit to your husband?

Fathers, do you lead spiritually your children?

Mothers, are you gentle and loving as well as firm and wise? Do you let your husband lead?

Singles, are you seeking GOD’s will for a spouse? Does He call the shots in how you think about dating?

Fathers, are you harsh with your children?

Children, are you obedient to your parents?

Do you gossip? Do you regularly use critical speech?

How important is the body of Christ? Did you plan your vacation with any thought towards the impact it may have on the body of Christ?

Are you a member of your church?

Baptism? Have you been baptized as a believer? What holds you back?

Why are you not in a discipleship group when your spiritual leaders have formed these groups with the purpose of helping your grow in Christ as a disciple?

How do you spend your money? Do you give significantly as an act of worship and an expression that your money is really God’s?

Do you make the worship of God a priority? Do you prepare yourself to receive the Word of God?

Do you have friends that are in sin but you have not lovingly confronted them though you know that you should (because you are afraid you might lose their friendship)?

Are you obedient as a witness for Jesus Christ?

Do you have neighbors or friends that you have known for years but you have never shared the Gospel with them or have not invited them to church?

Have you reached out to people in this church that are not in your comfort zone?

Tozer on the Obedience of True Disciples

I am reading A. W. Tozer's book on 1 Peter called "I Call It Heresy." It takes only a page or two to remind myself why I like Tozer so much. His use of words turns almost every paragraph into notable quote (Paul David Tripp's books are like that too).

I am particularly looking at what he has to say about obedience and being a disciple. Here are a few quotes:

Brethren, I would point out that obedience is taught throughout the entire Bible and that true obedience is one of the toughest requirements of the Christian life. Apart from obedience, there can be no salvation, for salvation without obedience is a self-contradictory impossibility. The essence of sin is rebellion against divine authority.

I am satisfied that when man believes on Jesus Christ he must believe on the whole Lord Jesus Christ - not making any reservation! I am satisfied that it is wrong to look upon Jesus as a kind of divine nurse to whom we can go when sin has made us sick, and after He has helped us, to say "Goodbye" - and go on our own way.

I thank God that heaven is the world of God's obedient children. Whatever else we may say of its pearly gates, its golden streets and its jasper walls, heaven is heaven because children of the Most High God find they are in their normal sphere as obedient moral beings.

You can read the entire book online. Here are the chapters with the links to the texts.

I have been posting some thoughts or quotes from my reading on Twitter here.

		I Call It Heresy! - A.W. TOZER Twelve Timely Themes From 1st Peter CONTENTS 1 - I Call It Heresy! 2 - The Bible Is Not Dead! 3 - You Can Have the Trappings! 4 - Never Apologize for God's Mercy! 5 - Holiness Is Not an Option! 6 - God Names Me His Beneficiary! 7 - Qualities of a Divine Inheritance! 8 - Was Your Humility Showing Today? 9 - Husband and Wife: A Partnership! 10 - Trust God with Your Emotions! 11 - The Christian Has a Right to Grin! 12 - Where Will the "Experts" Be When Jesus Comes?

Sermon - The Joy of Discipleship

The result of regeneration (or the new birth) is that a person sees real things with new eyes. The things that he sees were always there but his old eyes couldn't see them. The new birth gives us the sight to see the kingdom of heaven (John 3:3). Fundamentally, the person sees Jesus Christ as a Treasure and Pearl of Great Price. So great is the valuing of Christ that a person JOYFULLY gives up everything to gain Him.

My sermon last Sunday looked at these two parables -- Matthew 13:44-46.

Here is my sermon audio from May 31, 2009.

Video - That's My King

It is a video day. That's My King!
May we see and savor the King of Kings - Jesus Christ!

True Glory in Beijing

Here is a good article by Mark Altrogge on the Olympics, Beijing, glory, and the persecuted church in China. Read the whole article here.

He states:

Last week I caught part of the opening ceremony of the Olympics, reportedly planned and rehearsed for 5 years, and costing $300 million to stage.

It featured 15,000 Chinese performers. 33,866 fireworks were fired off – almost as many as our local Indiana County Fair on July 4th. It was probably the largest and most expensive show ever produced. Especially cool was the performance of 2000 drummers in playing in perfect synchronization. Obviously, China wanted to impress.

But China’s government is not impressive.

“They hung me up across an iron gate, then they yanked open the gate and my whole body lifted until my chest nearly split in two. I hung like that for four hours.” (read on here)

New Book by Pastor Dave - Debtors of Grace

Pastor Dave has published a new booklet for several of the Discipleship Groups called "Debtors of Grace - A Biblical and Practical Look at Evangelism."

If you would like a copy of the book email (or talk) Dave (his email is davidjvanacker@hotmail.com).

Here is a pdf version of the book for you to download and read on your computer or print.

Dave's intro gives an overview of what he covers in the booklet:

When it comes to evangelism (sharing the Gospel
with non-Christians or making grace payments),
there are four very important—indeed, necessary—
elements: communicating the Gospel to
non-Christians 1) is part of following Jesus, 2) is
usually most efficacious, and always most pleasing
to God, when it springs from deep, personal
satisfaction in God, 3) requires a clear, Biblical
understanding of the Gospel, and 4) involves intentionality,
purpose, and practice. While we will
briefly address the first three elements, the primary
purpose of this booklet is to look at element
4 (the intentionality, purpose, and practice of
evangelism). However, please do not think that
because, in the context of this booklet, we are not
spending a great deal of time on elements 1-3
they are not important. As I said above, they are
absolutely essential. No biblical evangelism can
take place without them. Again, please do not
gloss over them. Do not minimize or marginalize
them. We must begin there. It is only after we
have them in place that we have any hope of engaging
in Biblical evangelism.

Pray at the Pump?

[HT - Lucas Pehoski]
According to the Associated Press:

ST. LOUIS - Two prayer services will be held at St. Louis gas stations to thank God for lower fuel prices
and to ask that they continue to drop. Darrell Alexander, Midwest co-chair of the Pray at the Pump movement, says prayer gatherings will be held Monday afternoon and evening at a Mobil station west of downtown St. Louis.

Participants say they plan to buy gas, pray and then sing "We Shall Overcome" with a new verse, "We'll have lower gas prices."

An activist from the Washington D.C. area, Rocky Twyman, started the effort, saying if politicians couldn't lower gas prices, it was time to ask God to intervene.

The group thinks the prayer is helping, saying prices are starting to fall below $4 a gallon.

I thought Michael Spencer had some good thoughts on this approach:

For example, one evangelical has taken his particular view of rising gas prices and started a movement called “Pray at the Pump.” Somehow, the rise of gas prices is a sign of the end times and praying at the pump for God to lower prices will apparently prove that he’s in charge.

Of course, one wonders if it ever occurred to anyone that the inconvenience to the American lifestyle of mobility and affluence isn’t really something that God would respond to as an act of mercy. Most Americans are inconvenienced by gas prices because of the value they place on mobility and the decisions they’ve made about the kind of life they want to live, decisions made with the assumption of cheap gas in the background.

So somewhere a homeless man or a family struggling to put food on the table will see a group of middle class suburban Christians gathered around a gas pump, praying that God will have mercy and get things back to where we can all go about our business.

I don’t have to spend much time asking if Jesus would join such a prayer meeting.

This is the imagination and mindset of American Christians: God is committed to our lives as we imagine them. He is committed to the gas, the SUVs, the economics, the houses, the conveniences, the investments, the stability, the politics, the military and the religion that maintain the lives we lead.

And if you question this, you risk going down a hole labelled “Fanaticism.”

Retirement and the Christian - Part 1

How should Christians think about "retirement"? My mid sixties seem so far away, but each year seems to go faster than the one before. Many of you are closer to "retirement" or have already entered that status. How does one think Christianly rather than culturally about the recent invention of retirement? Bob Rayburn says:

It is certainly fair to say that it is not obvious in the Bible that it is our Heavenly Father’s intention that we should work until we are 62 or 65 years of age and spend the remainder of our years touring the United States in our RV (that is, if we had a defined benefit retirement plan that has not gone bankrupt and we can afford the gasoline!).

Here is a challenging video clip by John Piper on retirement -- "DON'T WASTE YOUR RETIREMENT.

Finishing Well

When I was in seminary, I listened to a series of sermons by John Piper that he preached and a conference for those who are entering (or have entered it a while ago) the second half of their life. He made a call to them to be counter-cultural in their thinking and to FINISH WELL. I like that concept! I am 32 years and I may have 1 day, 1 month, 1 year, 1 decade or 5 decades left to live--but I want to finish well. I want to be faithful. I want to say with Paul - "I finished my course and fought the good fight of faith."

Whether you are young or old, if you are a disciple of Jesus it is important to think on these things. Here is a sermon by Jerry Bridges (author of The Practice of Godliness) called "Four Essentials to Finishing Well."

You can listen to it, watch or download it.

You can also purchase the series by Piper I mentioned above called "Finishing Well" here.

Greeks, Barbarians and Grace Payments - Sermon

Pastor Dave VanAcker's sermon audio and notes are now online here.

I love how Dave unpacked the Gospel for us in this sermon.

The Title of the sermon is "Greeks, Barbarians and Grace Payments" from Romans 1:1-17.

Becoming a Suffering-Servant -- Sermon

Here is my sermon manuscript that I preached on Sunday, June 1st. I continued the series "Following Jesus" and preached on the topic of "Becoming a Suffering-Servant."
I looked at Mark 10:35-45 where James and John come to Jesus asked for status and privilege when He sets up the kingdom. Jesus does not categorically condemn the desire to be great, but he attacks the disciples wrong definition of greatness and redefines it in terms of humble service.

My sermon outline:

1. The Definition of Biblical Greatness -- "Serving others to the glory of God" (from Mahaney)
2. The Practice of Biblical Greatness -- Seen in Jesus and Paul -- to the extent of suffering and death
   
3. The Power of Biblical Greatness -- An eternal perspective
   

This Sunday I focused more on servitude rather than suffering.

I recommend the helpful little book that I referred to and quote by C. J. Mahaney called Humility: True Greatness.

Mahaney preached a sermon called "True Greatness" that I heard a few years ago and I highly recommend downloading.

Looking to Moses to Follow Jesus - Sermon

Here are my sermon notes for Sunday, May 25, 2008. In the sermon I gave the challenge to look to Moses' example of faith in his decision to forsake the status, privilege and sinful pleasures of Egypt to embrace reproach with Christ and the reward that is found in God.

Here is the passage.

Hebrews 11:24-26 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, (25) choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. (26) He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

Here is the the sermon manuscript -- "Looking to Moses to Follow Jesus"

The Rebelution -- Alex and Brett Harris

If you are a teenager or care about them, please consider this:
I recently heard about a newer Christian youth ministry by two 19 year olds called "The Rebelution." There website can be found here. Alex and Brett Harris, who are younger brothers of Joshua Harris, started this ministry to challenge teenagers to "rebel" against the western youth culture of low expectations and teenagers. This low expectation for teenagers is just is prevalent in the church and Christian homes. The Harris brothers have just released a book that they wrote called "Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations." In it they begin:

Most people don't expect you to understand what we're going to tell you in this book. And even if you understand, they don't expect you to care. And even if you care, they don't expect you to do anything about it. And even if you do something about it, they don't expect it to last.

Well, we do.

This is a different kind of teen book. Check online or walk through your local bookstore. You'll find plenty of books written by fortysomethings who, like, totally understand what it's like being a teenager. You'll find a lot of cheap, throwaway books for teens, because young people today aren't supposed to care much about books, or see any reason to keep them around. And you'll find a wide selection of books where you never have to read anything twice--because it's been dumbed down. Like, just for you.

What you're holding in your hands right now is a challenging, hardcover book for teens by two teens who believe our generation is ready for a change. Ready for something that doesn't promise a whole new life if you'll just buy the right pair of jeans or use the right kind of deodorant. We believe our generation is ready to rethink what teens are capable of doing and becoming. And we've noticed that once wrong ideas are debunked and cleared away, our generation is quick to choose a better way, even if it's also more difficult.

We're nineteen-year-old twin brothers, born and raised in Oregon, taught at home by our parents, and striving to follow Christ as best we can. We've made more than our share of mistakes. And although we don't think "average teenagers" exist, there is nothing all that extraordinary about us personally.

Here is a great video by John Piper mentioning this ministry:




Here is a preview of "The Rebelution Tour":

Functioning as a Part of the Body of Christ - Sermon

In our "Following Jesus" series at Grace Church I preached this weekend on "Functioning as a Part of the Body of Christ. Here is the sermon manuscript and her is the sermon audio (right click and then click on "save link as").

Here is an excerpt from the sermon:

...Suppose God said to forgiven man that his plan was to create a new humanity of all the people who trust in His crucified and Risen Son and that they will form one organism called “The Body of Christ” or the Church and will be united together in Christ in a special way that by being united together the Son will restore them to the likeness of God that was intended for them in the original Creation. This God and His Son will use this united people, the church—the body of Christ, to show the world the glory, the wisdom, the love, the patience and the mercy of God and His Son—Jesus Christ. Now suppose many people who have been saved by this God say with their thoughts and their actions – “no thank you God. I don’t need to be a functioning and closely knit part of the body that you have formed. I know I need to be made like you originally intended and I need to glorify you but I can and will do it without the encumbering body and restrictive organism called the church.” How ungrateful, foolish, and arrogant would we be to say that to God! Yet so many Christians by their lives and attitudes do this very thing. Oh, they may admit that they are part of the big C Church but they do not submit themselves to real people in a local church with their time, money, energy, gifts and commitment...

The Gospel When You Discipline Your Child

Far too often, it is easy to think that the "discipline of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4) is getting them to conform and to do what they need to do (or, rather what you want them to do). You reward good and punish bad--simple. However, if this is all that we do, we are teaching them about God but in a dangerous and distorted way. We can never make God happy by doing good enough—we never could--that is why He sent His Son. God is not happy with us because we did enough things right on our own, but on account of the work of His Son on the Cross who makes us clean and helps us fight against sin. This is our only hope as well as our kids -- do we teach them this?

I want to read a scenario from a book and recommend it to you. It is called Everyday Talk: Talking Freely and Naturally about God with Your Children by John A. Younts. You can read the enter chapter here.

Here is an example of how you can lead your children to the power of the gospel. For the purpose of this discussion we will look only at Sarah's response, although Brandon also needs attention.

You hear a loud cry coming from the children's room. You walk into the room and discover that Sarah, your four-year-old daughter, has just hit Brandon, your three-year-old son, because he wouldn't give her the toy she wanted. You take Sarah into your room and administer the appropriate discipline. Sarah sadly tells you she knows that she should not have hit Brandon, but she just was so angry with him that she did it anyway. She tells you that she just can't do it, she can't obey and be good.

What do you say as a parent?

Response # 1 —Mom replies with an even but stern voice, "Well, Sarah, that is what discipline is for. Eventually, you will learn that it is wrong to hit when you're angry. If Mommy disciplines you enough times you will get the message. Please don't hit Brandon any more. We don't solve problems by hitting."

Response # 2 —Mom replies with a tone of exasperation. "I know Sarah, you always say that. But, you just have to learn to be good. How many times must mommy spank you? You shouldn't do something you know is wrong. Maybe someday you will change."

Response # 3 —Mom replies in anger, "Sarah, if you wanted to be good and stop hitting Brandon, you would. Mommy is really losing patience with you. Your father and I are going to have a long talk when he gets home. This has got to stop. This is the fourth time this week."

Response # 4 —Mom responds in dejected frustration, "Sarah, I don't know what to do with you. Mommy has tried and tried to teach you what is right. I just don't know what to do. I can't seem to make you change. I just don't know what to do."

All of these responses are performance-based. They result in broken relationships, not healthy ones. Mom is treating Sarah as if she could solve her problem with sin by responding in her own strength, simply by doing what Mommy says. "Just do it," she says, in effect. The problem is that Sarah, like everyone else on planet Earth, can't do good in her own strength. All of these first four responses might produce a fine Pharisee, but they will not lead to new life in Christ for your child.

Contrast the first four responses with this next one.

Response # 5 —Mom replies with warmth and understanding, "Sarah, I know you can't obey by yourself. I know that. But that is why Jesus died on the cross, because we can't do it ourselves. Remember the Bible says that Jesus died so that we would have new life. You can't obey in your own strength, but you can obey in Jesus' strength. Let's pray right now and ask Jesus to help."

"Dear God, please help me to obey you and love you. I just can't do it by myself. Please forgive me for hitting Brandon. Please help me to trust you. I know that you are the only one who can help me be different and turn my heart to you. Please help me to obey Mommy and to obey you. In Jesus' name, Amen."

This simple little prayer addresses the issues at hand. Sarah needs Jesus to help her to obey. Sarah acknowledges that she must change. She turns to Christ for help.

At this point I can imagine someone thinking, "What four-year-old child is going to come up with that prayer? Are you kidding me?!?"

Your four-year-old can "come up with this prayer" the same way the disciples came up with the Lord's Prayer. You teach it to her, just as Jesus taught the Lord's Prayer to the disciples. Luke 11 records that Jesus taught His disciples His prayer word for word. This is how you start with your children. Help them pray by teaching them word for word what to say to God. Teach your children to pray phrase by phrase, by repeating each phrase after you say it. Jesus didn't wait for His disciples to become spiritual enough to know what to pray and how to pray. He told them what to say and how to pray, word for word. Spirituality doesn't come by waiting for it to appear. Spirituality comes by teach­ing what the Holy Spirit has written at the time it is needed. When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, He taught them word for word—in the middle of their everyday lives. Jesus taught his disciples everyday prayer.

As a parent you must exercise patience as you pray this prayer and others like it over and over again with your children. By doing this you are teaching your children that you can't be a good parent in your own strength either. As your children repeat this prayer, you also pray that God would honor His word and hear the plea of this child who is in deep need of God's love and mercy and power to obey. After they learn to follow the pattern of prayer you provide, they will eventually begin to formulate their own prayers, following that example. This is the power of the gospel. It is the greatest gift that you can give to your child.

The Human Machine Was Meant to Run on God

As I was studying this week's discipleship group chapter on "Recognizing Our Dependence on God" I was reminded of this quote by C. S. Lewis from Mere Christianity that also fits the topic of "Wholly Satisfied."

God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on gasoline, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.

Recognizing Our Dependence -- Sermon Notes

Here is the manuscript for my sermon today -- May 4, 2008 on "Recognizing Our Dependence on God."

I have a lot more verses quoted on this manuscript than what I shared during the sermon (Lord willing -- it is my guess - because I haven't preached it yet).

Here is the Sermon -- Click Here.

Parents -- "See God and His Word Rightly"

Disciples of Jesus (those who Follow Him) are in the essential process of seeing God and His Word rightly. As a parent of young children, I was challenged by the words of John Piper in his blog from April 26th on a book he is writing on the family. You can check out the Desiring God Blog here.

Piper writes [emphasis mine]:

The most fundamental task of a mother and father is to show God to the children. Children know their parents before they know God. This is a huge responsibility and should cause every parent to be desperate for God-like transformation. The children will have years of exposure to what the universe is like before they know there is a universe. They will experience the kind of authority there is in the universe and the kind of justice there is in the universe and the kind of love there is in the universe before they meet the God of authority and justice and love who created and rules of the universe. Children are absorbing from dad his strength and leadership and protection and justice and love; and they are absorbing from mother her care and nurture and warmth and intimacy and justice and love—and, of course, all these overlap.

And all this is happening before the child knows anything about God, but it is profoundly all about God. Will the child be able to recognize God for who he really is in his authority and love and justice because mom and dad have together shown the child what God is like. The chief task of parenting is to know God for who he is in his many attributes, and then to live in such a way with our children that we help them see and know this multi-faceted God. And, of course, that will involve directing them always to the infallible portrait of God in the Bible.

Grace, Paul, Elijah and ? -- May God grant your mom and dad grace to know Him and show Him to you!