At Home with God

One generation ago, the value system for children was, generally speaking, consistent in a child’s life. School, church and home all shared common Christian values (though not necessarily beliefs) and spoke openly about them. This is no longer the case for most of our children. The world they are growing up in is now vastly different. As Christian parents, raising our children, there may be times when the value system of the school not only fails to support, but actively opposes the values we are seeking to instil in our children. Many parents have approached us on how to handle this conflict, so here are our thoughts: 1. Earn influence Support the teachers.  If the first time you speak to your child’s teacher is when you have an issue, it is easier for them to dismiss your concerns because they do not know you. From the start of the school year, or from tomorrow, become the teacher’s greatest supporter. Most teachers are overworked, and underthanked! Even if a teacher is to...

Halloween conjures up all sorts of thoughts feelings and fears for people. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has sat at home, willing my doorbell not to ring on 31st October. Every year children of all age groups are dressed up in costumes which are scary even for adults, and then knock on the doors of total strangers and ask for sweets or a trick will be played on them. My concern as a mum was that my children would see these graphic masks and struggle to sleep with these images in their mind. I would usher my children away from the door and tell them not to look out of the window so they didn't see the costumes people were wearing. Then God stopped me in my tracks..... 'These people are coming to your door, wanting something from you, why don't you give them Me?' Of course, I realised, I was missing out on the best evangelism opportunity of the year. All these children and families who were innocently coming to my door not really understanding what they...

Christmas has been commercialized: decorations, lights and cards that have little to do with the real meaning of Christmas and can all serve as a distraction from Jesus. Deuteronomy 11:18-20 says that we are to constantly teach children and talk to them about Jesus throughout the whole year and it instructs us to write these things on door frames of your houses. Our homes should be the centre piece of faith development. Christmas time is a time when we should be more intentional so faith is not buried under the wrapping of Christmas. So here are seven thoughts, in no particular order, about how to do this.   1.  Be intentional about keeping Jesus centre. The main thing is to keep the main thing as the main thing. Build into your Christmas routine things that intentionally keep Jesus at the centre. Plan both in the time of advent and on Christmas day itself to keep definite signposts to Jesus. You would not have a birthday party where the celebrant is ignored by all, inst...

How to Not Die Last year, while I was in the middle east, a lady from Iraq came and spoke with me. We have helped our children to learn how to pray, and many of them are becoming intercessors. Now we want to help them to evangelize. I have one question for you: How can we help our children to evangelize without being killed? This is not a problem that we often face in the West, indeed it was humbling to learn so much from her zeal and focus for the kingdom. Yet even as she spoke the Holy Spirit whispered the answer: We must teach our children to be Spirit-led. Many of us have shown our children how to lay hands on the sick. We may even have taught them and prayed for them so that they can hear the Holy Spirit speaking to them. But in both these cases, although the children have connected to the Holy Spirit, they have not been led by the Spirit. Instead they have chosen to listen and to pray in response to our instructions. These are great first steps in their journey with God, but now...

It’s Biblical Young children can connect with God. Jesus used a small child as a visual aid to show that the kingdom of God belongs to people who can be like the children. John the Baptist in the womb responded to the presence of Jesus in the womb (Luke 1). God points out to Jeremiah, the prophet, that before God formed him, He knew his future destiny (Jeremiah 1:6). When we work with the youngest of children we can have the great impact on their future lives. Moses and Samuel both grew up in less than perfect places, yet both had godly mothers who nurtured them in the first few years of their lives in preparation for their future destiny. When we work with children in our toddler groups, any opportunity we have to allow them to connect with God is a potential life-changing opportunity. So how can we help them to connect with God? The Word of God One Easter we taught some toddlers about how Jesus swapped everything at the cross. One person came on with a naughty sign around their neck....

Half man, half child, the teenager struggles through life, seeking to prove to the world (and themselves) that they have reached maturity. In the Western world graduation into adulthood often involves getting drunk and losing their virginity. These are the modern rituals that many teens pass through. What does the Bible have to say about this? Where are the teenagers of the Bible? The first thing to notice is the complete lack of the word 'teenager' in the Bible. The Bible people are divided into two age groups: childhood and adulthood. There is no mention of the no-mans-land that is the modern teenager. Of course a teenager is not the same as a person in their 60s. That’s why adulthood in the Bible is often subdivided into young adults and old adults, but the teenagers are still counted as adults! Take a look at these references where young and old men are separated out: Psalm 148:2, Proverbs 20:29, Jeremiah 31:13, Lamentations 2:21, Ezekiel 9:6, Joel 2:28, Acts 2:...

Make Disciples! God says: “Go and make disciples.” This is he something he expects us to  do . Discipleship should be the main focus of all of our activity and ministry. What is a disciple? A disciple is a mini-Jesus (that’s why they were called Christians in Acts 11:26). Someone who thinks, acts, speaks and lives like Jesus (Luke 6:40). What can we do to help disciple children at different ages in their walk with Christ? I want to suggest three separate stages of development that we can provide for our children to help them grow like Christ. Spiritual Exposure Moses and Samuel both had godly parents. Both were raised by other people once they had been weaned (around the age of 3 or 4). Those who raised them were not godly examples – Pharaoh’s household was against God and Eli, the priest who could not discern between a drunk woman and a desperate woman, had succeeded in raising two children who had no respect for the things of God. Even though Moses and Samuel grew up in an ungodl...