We want our kids to become 3D followers of Jesus. We want them to connect UP with God, IN with God’s people, and OUT to serve the world. This (little?) “Little Disciples” series has been all about how we help our kids to connect UP with God. So far, we’ve explored Bible reading (Little Disciples #2), praying (Little Disciples #3) and singing (Little Disciples #4). … Continue reading Little Disciples #5 – Children and the Holy Spirit
Question: What is the chief end of man? Answer: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. Hear me out before clicking away. The “Westminster Catechism” was written by the Church of England and Scotland a few hundred years ago to say what they believed. With great imaginative flair, they then shortened it to the “Westminster Shorter Catechism” (WSC). Thanks, guys. … Continue reading Little Disciples #4 – Children and Worship
An American writer called E.M. Bounds wrote this about a 100 years ago: “To men who think praying their main business and devote time to it according to this high estimate of its importance does God commit the keys of his kingdom, and by them does he work his spiritual wonders in this world.” Obviously, as 21st century Westerners we’d want to change the “To … Continue reading Little Disciples #3 – Children and Prayer
I wish that I could start this post as eloquently as the following quote. But I can’t. So here it is. Tony Reinke, writer (and notorious introductory voice to the Ask Pastor John podcast) says this: “To live an abundant life in this insatiable consumer society, we must plead in prayer for God-given power to turn our eyes away from the gigs of digital garbage … Continue reading Little Disciples #2 – Children and the Bible
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Freddos, action songs and “the floor is made of lava” aren’t mentioned in the Bible. Perhaps surprisingly, neither is “kids work”. I wonder how you’d feel if we shut down “Everyday Kids” entirely? Reactions would likely range from “how inconvenient!” to “how dare you!” with every flavour in between. Why am I asking this? Because in the Bible, families are seen as the … Continue reading Little Disciples #1 – Families, Where Children Become Christians
This series is all about the attributes of Scripture, and, finally, the Bible has authority. This feature is probably the simplest to understand. Grudem, the author of the door-wedging Systematic Theology, puts it like this: “All the words in Scripture are God’s words in such a way that to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God.” We don’t really … Continue reading The Attributes of Scripture: #5 The Bible is Authoritative
This series is all about the attributes of Scripture, and the Bible is clear. Hang on. That’s not true, is it? What about 1st Corinthians 11:10: “It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own head, because of the angels.” Touché. Let’s unpack what I mean by “clear”. The Church of England does this really well in the following: … Continue reading The Attributes of Scripture: #4 The Bible is Clear
This series is all about the attributes of Scripture, and the Bible is all that we need. Grudem, in his brilliant Systematic Theology, summarises this in the following: “…[Scripture] contains all the words of God we need for salvation, for trusting him perfectly, and for obeying him perfectly.” The sufficiency of the Bible is probably the fiddliest doctrine in this series of blog posts. It’s … Continue reading The Attributes of Scripture: #3 The Bible is Sufficient
This series is all about the attributes of Scripture, and we need the Bible to know God. It’s that simple. True, we can catch glimpses of who God is without the Bible. For example, in Psalm 19:1-4, David says: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after … Continue reading The Attributes of Scripture: #2 The Bible is Necessary
This series is all about the attributes of Scripture, and in this series God will speak to you. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV), Paul says the following: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Over-familiarity with words like “God-breathed” from verse 16, or … Continue reading The Attributes of Scripture 1; The Bible is God Speaking
