At Children Desiring God, we talk a lot about the necessity of teaching our children and youth the whole counsel of God. One measure of how well we have succeeded in doing this is to see whether or not they can answer these crucial questions, with increasing biblical depth, as they age and mature:

• What’s in the Bible?
• How should we read and understand the Bible?
• Who is the Bible about?
• What’s the main message of the Bible? (more…)

Do you ever feel weak and discouraged in your parenting? Have you “lost it” recently in front of your children? Have you treated them harshly or been impatient with them—even over a relatively little offense? Then here are some good words to ponder:

My children’s greatest need is not a parent who pretends to be perfect. Much more important is a parent who senses his need for the Savior to cleanse and the Spirit to empower. The godliest parent is the one who says, “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). (more…)

When I was younger, I was involved in many athletic activities and participated on various sports teams. Overall, it was very beneficial physically, as well as helping to shape and strengthen positive character qualities. But I was completely unaware of the deeper purpose of sports: Athletics are to serve in understanding and growing in the Christian life, and are to be done for the glory of God. For example, consider these words from the Apostle Paul as he points out some of the benefits of athletics and how they can serve the Christian life:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.—1 Corinthians 9:24-27, ESV

(more…)

Back in the days when I taught science classes to homeschooled children, I used to emphasize the importance of careful observation. As an example, I would have each child choose a flower or a single leaf, and have them quietly study it for at least 30 minutes and record everything they could about it—size, shape, colors, texture, fragrance, etc. It’s amazing what comes to light about something when you really stop to ponder it. “Ponder—to think about, give thought to, consider, mull over, contemplate, meditate on…” The word “ponder” is not often used anymore in this fast-paced, sound-bite, digital media culture. So a verse like this is often readily passed over:

I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.
Psalm 77:12, ESV

(more…)

If you have ever listened or watched David and Sally’s Michael’s three-part “Vision for the Next Generation” series, you know that Psalm 78 plays a prominent role in establishing a vision for faith in the next generations. Consider verses 5-7:

He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
so that they should set their hope in God…

Pastor David Michael gives a brief summary based on this Old Testament text: (more…)

Don’t you love summer? Your children can put away the “have to read” books that school demands and the intense schedule of the school year, and have long leisurely hours to…read! The following list of books includes some that your children can read and some that you can read together to not only give them the pleasure of reading, but also to nurture their souls and character. (The list progresses from younger to older readers.)

Hero Tales: A Family Treasury of True Stories from the Lives of Christian Heroes (Vol. 1-4)—Dave and Neta Jackson

Tales of the Kingdom—David and Karen Mains (Also sequels: Tales of the Resistance; Tales of the Restoration)

God Knows My Size! Silvia Tarniceriu—Harvey Yoder

The War for Mansoul—Ethel Barrett and John Bunyan (a contemporary version of Bunyan’s A Holy War). This book is recommended with the Midweek curriculum Fight the Good Fight and is available for a special offer of $8.99, while supplies last. We also recommend this delightful audio version. (more…)

Here is an aspect of parenting and ministry to children that is crucial for a right understanding of the Gospel:

Children need to learn early about their creature-Creator relationship to God. They are under authority and owe God complete obedience to His commandments…

They need to be helped to think theologically about their failures to obey—that is, they need to learn to see their sin in relation to God. So being dishonest is not only an unkindness to others, it is also a violation of the ninth commandment. Taking something that belongs to another child is not simply carelessness or selfishness, it is breaking the eighth commandment. A child’s disobedience to his parent is not simply hurtful or disrespectful, it is disobeying God’s fifth commandment.

By pointing out these connections to children we can help them see their actions in the light of God’s law… (more…)

Here are two quotes I came upon recently that challenge us to think about the purpose and priority of teaching our children and youth the deep things of God:

If we want to love God more, we have to know Him more deeply. And the more we search the Scriptures, and the more we focus our minds’ attention on who God is and what He does, the more we understand just a tiny little bit more about Him and the more our souls break out in flame. We have a greater ardor to honor Him. The more we understand God with our minds, the more we love Him with our minds. (more…)

What comes to mind when you think of “a Christian home”? What does it mean? What does it look like? What would a non-Christian observe that is different from his or her own home?

Recently, Ligonier Ministries posted “A Theology of the Home” by John Tweeddale. Here are two paragraphs that I found especially helpful:

• When thinking through a theology of home, there are two equal but opposite errors that we must avoid. In the first place, we must not give the impression that life at home in a fallen world is everything. When we do, we are guilty of a misappropriated eschatology. Yes, we must tend to the gardens of our homes. But we must also populate the pews of the church and venture onto the highways of the world. The command of Jesus to “go” in the Great Commission pushes those of us who are tempted to withdraw into the quiet habitats of home to see that when we settle for heaven on earth, we domesticate the kingdom according to our tastes and traditions. The reason we strive to make disciples of all nations is because Christ’s kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). Like Abraham, we are “looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10).

(more…)

My children have many wonderful and notable memories with their dad. My husband was actively involved in their lives in so many different ways. But one particular memory stands out as unique and life-giving to both dad and children—the nightly blessing and prayer time. Every night, my husband said a blessing over our children and prayed with and for them. By the time our children reached adulthood, they had received more than 5,000 blessings from their father. A beautiful, lasting legacy!

Soon it will be time for our son to continue this spiritual legacy with his own soon-to-arrive son. At the top of the list of gifts we want to give our son to celebrate this occasion is A Father’s Guide to Blessing His Children by Pastor David Michael. It is the same resource my husband used for our children for all those formative years of their childhood and youth.

So dads, and those who want to bless them this Father’s Day, consider purchasing this inexpensive but valuable tool for encouraging both fathers and children. Here is a brief description of the resource:

A Father’s Guide to Blessing His Children

David Michael is convinced that pronouncing blessings upon our children is a powerful way to plead for God’s grace upon them and to give them a vision for what we hope they will become. Includes blessing cards, each based on a biblical text, with prayers that flow from a father’s heart for his daughters and a pastor’s heart for the children in his church.