For Families: A Sermon, A Podcast, A Blog

A Sermon Recommendation:

How do you cultivate a Christ-centered home? You raise kids who know ONE GREAT TRUTH from the inside out — a truth worth living and dying for. Family devotions at the Carters recently included listening to this sermon by John Piper from the Passion Conference One Day in 2000. It’s a clarion call to “not waste your life” but rather “boast only in the cross”.

I’d recommend Christian families listen to this message with their children (best for ages 10+ and certainly great for teenagers; we listened to the audio around the table). It’s also a great reminder to everyone — young and old — to live your life for the glory of God. As pioneer missionary C.T. Studd once stated, “Only one life, ’twill soon be past; Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

A Recommended Podcast Episode (For the 4th of July Weekend):

Many of our present controversies in America revolve around how we tell the story and meaning of America. Is America — at its core — rooted in injustice and racism? This is how some now prefer to tell the story of America. Others tell the story of America as a Christian nation from its famous Puritan inception, a moral beacon of light in a dark world, “A City on a Hill” to use John Winthrop’s famous expression.

Previous generations (esp. the WWII generation) would have found the question itself repugnant. Why would Americans ever need to take exception to American Exceptionalism? Yet today the question is a clear nexus around which multiple controversies swirl: has America been a champion of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, even despite the horrors of the African slave trade, the Trail of Tears, & the Japanese Internment Camps, a unique modern story of democracy worth celebrating and enjoying?

In our current day, much of our national dialogue is spinning around our history. How do we tell the story and meaning of America?

Let me recommend the “Life and Books and Everything” (hosted by TGC’s Kevin DeYoung) episode entitled “The Meaning of America”.

DeYoung offers some great perspectives on how we tell the story of America (which might also be helpful for parents to pass on the insights to their children).

A Recommended Blog Post:

Finally, let me recommend “Parents, Take Note of the Spiritual Practices Common in Kids who Flourish as Adults” from TGC’s Trevin Wax. The post is a helpful reminder that (1) families and parents shape the spiritual journeys of kids way more than any church, school, or youth group ever could, and (2) be sure your own household is encouraging these spiritual practices of your own children beginning at a young age.

Are we primarily raising kids to be successful in life and thus putting the majority of our time and energy around helping our children with worldly pursuits?

Or, are we primarily concerned for the spiritual flourishing and spiritual nurture of the children that God has given us?

It’s a stark question. As it should be.