Raising Christ-Like Kids
Providing Biblical insights into parenting and discipling children.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
We Have Moved to Raising-Christ-Like-Kids.com
The articles and studies I have posted here for the last year have all been moved to my new website. Visit raising-christ-like-kids.com for family Bible studies, theology for kids, book reviews, and much more.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Theology Thursday: God's Omniscience
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Background
for Parents:
God’s attributes can
be understood from an early age. This lesson focuses on the omniscience of God.
This is the second of the three attributes of God that commonly begin with the
prefix “omni” meaning all. The scriptures are clear God is all knowing! (Psalm 139:1-6;
147:4-5, Isaiah 40:28, 1 John 3:20 and many others).
This lesson includes
an object. You can use binoculars, a telescope, magnifying glass or a
microscope. Other objects used to observe things could be substituted as
available.
The introduction below can be changed to fit the object(s) you use.
Memory
Verse:
Great is our Lord,
and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure. Psalm 147:5
Introduction:
What do a telescope
and microscope have in common? (They are both used to learn more about
something.) Think about a telescope first. A telescope is used to make large
objects like planets and stars appear smaller so we can study them. Think about
the moon and how with a telescope you can see each of the craters in detail. Even
though the craters are much larger, the telescope allows us to view them and
observe the details of the craters that are miles long and deep in a single
image. (The South Pole-Aitken basin on the far side of the moon, not visible
from earth, is over 1,500 miles in diameter and five to eight miles deep.)
What about a
microscope? What is it used for? We use microscopes to study objects so small
we can’t even see them without magnifying them. It is only with the help of a
microscope that we can observe the cells of our bodies, animals, and plants.
When we examine these cells we can see the tremendous complexity with which God
created each one of us.
We use both
telescopes and microscopes to learn more about the world and universe we live
in. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 1:7, The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and
instruction. So all true knowledge comes from God, He knows everything!
Lesson:
Today I have a total
truth for you. God is omniscient; He knows everything that has happened,
everything happening now, and everything that will happen in the future.
Read 1 Samuel 2:3, Psalm
147:5, Isaiah 46:9-10, 1 John 3:19-20 together as a family.
What do these verses
tell us about God? (God declares the end from the beginning. He could only do
this if He knows everything since the end comes after the beginning. God’s
understanding is unlimited.)
Read Psalm 147:4,
Proverbs 15:3, Matthew 10:29
What do these verses
tell us about God? (God sees everything that happens in His creation. He knows
the name of every star and what happens to every animal.) These verses tell us
God knows every detail of His creation!
Read Exodus 3:7, 1
Kings 8:39, 1 Chronicles 28:9, Psalm 139:1-4, Jeremiah 29:11, Matthew 10:29-30
What do these verses
teach us? (God has a plan for each one of us! He knows our hearts and what we are
going to say, before we say it. He knows what we are doing all the time, He cares
about every detail of our lives, even the number of hairs on our heads, and
knows our sorrows.) He knows us better than we know ourselves.
Total
Truth:
I have a Total Truth
for you today. Are you ready for the truth? Remember the world is full of big
lies, but we can always learn the truth from the Bible! Today’s Total Truth is:
God is omniscient; He knows everything
that has happened, everything happening now, and everything that will happen in
the future.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry
of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
History Lives: Chronicles of the Church Book Review
Series Title: History Lives: Chronicles of the Church
Titles: Peril
& Peace, Monks & Mystics, Courage & Conviction, Hearts & Hands,
and Rescue & Redeem.
Author: Mindy & Brandon Withrow
Publisher: Christian Focus Publications
Ages: 9-14
This five volume series provides children nine
to fourteen with a clear and comprehensive history of the church through those
people who followed Christ. It is written in a modern style and brings to life
both the struggles of the church as well as the many ways it has glorified God.
The series covers 3B.C. through today, and concludes with a look to the future.
Each volume provides the reader with a clear
understanding of the major historical events of the time period covered. In
addition, the series contains numerous special sections providing the reader
with background explanations and additional information to help them understand
and appreciate the times the events were occurring in. I would highly recommend
this series for families with children in later elementary and middle school.
Below is a brief summary of each book in the series.
Peril
and Peace: Chronicles of the Ancient Church Vol. 1
Beginning with the Apostle Paul and ending with
Benedict this volume covers the first 550 years of the church. In addition, to
describing the historical events through the lives of Christ’s followers the
reader will learn about persecution, worship, creeds, and church councils.
Monks
and Mystics: Chronicles of the Medieval Church Vol. 2
This volume begins with Gregory the Great and
continues through 950 years to John Hus. The biographical information presented
through the narratives brings church history to life for the reader. This
volume includes an examination of Isalam, division in the church, the Crusades,
the first university, creeds and councils, and the Renaissance.
Courage
and Conviction: Chronicles of the Reformation Church Vol. 3
The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were a
time of tremendous changes to the church. From Erasmus to John Eliot this was a
time of action as the Scriptures were studied and the church faced many
challenges.
Hearts
and Hands: Chronicles of the Awakening Church Vol. 4
Jonathan Edwards to David Livingstone this
volume examines the time the gospel exploded around the world. During this time
period there were revivals from Europe to the Americas. It was during this time
the need and urgency of world missions came to the forefront of many
Christians.
Rescue
and Redeem: Chronicles of the Modern Church Vol. 5
This volume continues examining world missions
with Hudson Taylor and looks at the last 150 years of church history. Special
sections focus on modern missions and Bible translations.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
The Flood and Heaven Are For Real
In recent weeks there have been several movies released with the Christian audience in mind. Rather than discussing each specific movie and its strengths or weaknesses, as followers of Christ we need to remember the Biblical principles and calling that God has placed on each of our lives. The Bible is clear we are not of this world, but we are in the world and we must practice Biblical wisdom and discernment if we are to avoid the prevalent traps of the world.
How should a Believer decide what movies to see or not to
see? What books to read? What music to listen too? The test should be the same
for everything we expose ourselves and our children too. I Thessalonians
5:21-22 instructs us to … test
everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of
evil. This is not always as obvious as it may seem. If a movie is marketed
as Biblically based or intended for a Christian audience does that mean
Christians should lower their guard and automatically hold fast to it?
Whether something is marketed as Christian or not we need to
ask ourselves several questions. First,
is what I am going to see, read, or hear glorifying to God? God’s desire is for
all His followers to glorify Him.[1]
The Bible tells us among the many ways we can glorify Him we should rely on
Him, praise Him, and do everything to His glory.[2]
He desires our obedience and love which should be the outflow of our hearts
desire for Him. Are we glorifying Him when we are being entertained by the
sinful actions of others whether real or imagined? Can He be glorified when we
are watching His Truth changed to glorify someone else? We must ask ourselves,
does what we are watching glorify God?
The majority of the people living in the world today do not
believe absolute truth exists. Yet, for Christians we are told to test and
discern what is true.[3]
We know absolute truth exists and God is the source of all Truth. Therefore we
must ask ourselves this question. What does the Bible tell us about the subject
and content of the media we are considering to view? We must be cautious since we know there are
false prophets and teachers who will try to take us captive.[4]
When we examine the previews of a movie or read a summary of a book we need to
avoid focusing on the accuracy between the media and the Bible. Rather we must
look for the inaccuracies whether large or small!
We must also ask ourselves why we desire to watch, read, or
listen to this specific media. Often
times we can convince ourselves the inaccuracies don’t really matter. We might
justify our choice by thinking it could open a dialogue about spiritual things,
even if much of the content is clearly inaccurate and falsely portrays the Truth.
There might only be a little bit of inappropriate language or gratuitous
violence, in our opinion. They might portray God, just a little, inconsistent
with the Scriptures or make Jesus a little inept and forgetful in certain
circumstances. They may share part of the gospel or use words from the Bible like
heaven and ark.
I have often told the families and children I minister to
the following story to illustrate this point. If I am baking brownies for the
church bake sale I always follow my mother’s recipe since it makes brownies
people talk about for years to come. I can’t give you the whole recipe because
there are some secret combinations of ingredients. However, what sets these
brownies apart is one ingredient. Each batch of the brownies must contain a
single tablespoon of fresh dog poop. Now there is less dog poop than any other
ingredient in the recipe. Really it is just a small percentage of the
ingredients, but it just makes the brownies unforgettable.
There are well made, Biblically solid movies, unfortunately
there numbers are few. The majority of the movies marketed to the Christian
audience today do much more harm than telling only part of the story of God’s
redemptive plan for man. Instead they take truths like the worldwide flood,
angels, and Heaven and distort them in ways that can only be described as heretical.
Believers today must be on guard so they are not led astray or taken prisoner
by the philosophies and empty deceit of this world.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Theology Thursday: God's Omnipresence
Can a man hide himself in secret places
so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth?
declares the Lord. Jeremiah
23:24
Background
for Parents:
God’s attributes can
be understood from an early age. This lesson focuses on the omnipresence of
God. This is the first of the three attributes of God that commonly begin with
the prefix “omni” meaning all. The scriptures are clear God is present
everywhere (Jeremiah 23:24, Proverbs 15:3, Psalm 139:7-10, Job 24:21, Matthew
18:20, Romans 8:38-39, and many others).
This lesson includes
an object lesson using a kitchen sponge, scissors, and water. You will want to
gather these materials prior to sharing this lesson.
Memory
Verse:
Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where
shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I
make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and
dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me. Psalm 139:7-10
Introduction:
Have you ever wanted
to hide from God? Are there people in the Bible who have tried to hide from
Him? (Yes, in Genesis 3:8-10 we see Adam and Eve trying to hide from God
because they had sinned.) Though sometimes people want to hide from God when
they feel guilty about their sin, the Scriptures make it clear it is impossible
to hide from Him. Since we cannot hide from God there is an amazing truth about
Him we will learn today!
Lesson:
Today I have a total
truth for you. God is omnipresent; He is everywhere, when we believe in Jesus
He is always with us no matter where we are!
The prefix “omni”
means “all” and “present” can mean being in attendance. So omnipresence means
all attendant. This tell us God is present everywhere at the same time. There
are many verses in the Bible that describe God’s omnipresence.
(Show your children
the sponge.) What is this? (Yes, it is a sponge.) (Take the sponge and submerge it in a bowl of
water.) Remove the sponge and gently wring out excess water.) Ask if the water
is everywhere or all present depending on the age of your children. Take a pair
of scissors and cut the sponge. Is it wet on the inside where the cut reveals
more of the sponge? Keep cutting the sponge; is there any part of the sponge
that is dry? No the entire sponge is wet. We can think of God like the water
covering the sponge and the earth as the sponge. God is present everywhere just
like the water.
Read Psalm 139:1-10.
O Lord, you have
searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
This Psalm presents
us with a view of God’s omnipresence. What does this Psalm tell us the Lord
knows? (Yes, when we sit, stand, what we are thinking, our words, etc.) This
Psalm teaches us God is everywhere and knows each one of us!
Read Jeremiah 23:24,
Proverbs 15:3, Psalm 139:7-10, Job 24:21, Matthew 18:20, Romans 8:38-39
What do these verses
teach us about God?
Total
Truth:
I have a Total Truth
for you today. Are you ready for the truth? Remember the world is full of big
lies, but we can always learn the truth from the Bible! Today’s Total Truth is:
God is omnipresent; He is everywhere,
when we believe in Jesus He is always with us no matter where we are!
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry
of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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