At Home with God

My children clean their teeth most days now without us having to ask (though they do still need the odd reminder).   This is the fruit of some very intentional work on our part as parents. We saw personal as an essential part of their preparation for future life so built in a routine of brushing their teeth from when they were very little.  Supporting the more when they were younger, then encouraging them and now leaving them to it.  In the same way we should encourage our children to develop their own times of reading the Bible.  In our home this is encouraged from when they have the skills to be able to read the simplest Bibles and are older than five so able to take some measure of responsibility for it.  Set a target Set a target of reading for your children, perhaps by guiding them to a particular book. For children in primary school a few verses or a short story is a good starting point, for children in secondary school a chapter a day is very achiev...

It can be daunting to know where to start when it comes to reading the Bible as a family.  I’m not thinking so much about the  how  we can read the Bible together – there are hundreds of amazing resources and suggestions out there that address this. Rather, I am seeking to reflect on  what  we should be reading.  Where should we start? Here are 8 ideas of places to begin your Bible reading journey as a family. These have come from history, personal experience and from speaking with the oldest members of our congregations to hear what their parents used to do for them when they were children.   1. T he core stories.  When children are young you can simply open a Bible story book, snuggle up on the sofa and start to read. Stories of Jonah, Adam and Eve, David & Goliath and the miracles of Jesus are all the more gripping when hearing them for the first time and enjoyable when they become well known. They help lay a foundation of Bible knowle...

In this series of three blogs, I want to reflect on the importance of exposing our children to the Bible in the home.  This first article we look at the importance of reading the Bible together. In the next article we consider places where we can start to read the Bible. Finally, we will look at how we can encourage a regular habit of Bible reading and personal devotion.  Why? But first a quick comment on  why  we should prioritize reading the Bible together. In times past, reading the Bible together as a family was consider the normal daily thing to do. With increased time pressures of modern living and decreased communication across the generations, family Bible reading times are not as common as they should be.    That’s not to pile guilt on parents, but it is a statement that we should seek to read the Bible together regularly as a family, even if it is only a verse a day on the way out of the door or in the car on the school run.    The ...

In this second article on the senior members of church we are going to focus in on this issue from the perspective of grandparents (and surrogate grandparents) in the church. There is no greater privilege than seeing the next generation rise up around you. Having a sense of the legacy that God has given to you brings its own reward. As the famous saying goes, ‘No one ever said on their death bed I wish I’d spent more time at work.’ While the value of family is seen more clearly that does not mean that it comes without significant challenges for many. The obstacles of time and location may be one thing, but harder still can be the obstacles of past issues and changing values. The former can be overcome with technology and will power, the latter require much more effort.  So here are few thoughts: 1. Don’t live in guilt and regret. Live in faith and effective prayer. You cannot change the past. You may look back and see things that you wish you’d done differently. To be honest, it wo...

One of my friends stood in front of the church to share his testimony. As he began to share a few of us were sat together and our jaws were hitting the floor. We had known our friend for a few years but had never known anything about his history (just how little we knew soon became clear). When you met him, he struck you as one of those clean-cut people. You know, one of those who had had a happy childhood, never went off the rails and who even kept off the grass if the sign told him too.   But that was not the testimony he was sharing with us now. It seemed like every evil I could imagine (and some that I couldn’t) had been his history. From drugs to prostitution, from abuse to academic failure. With each new revelation we, his friends, were more shocked. As he started each new episode with the simple phrase, ‘God saved me from a life of …’ we had to agree, God had truly redeemed him from that life, he was definitely free.   I’m not sure how long his testimony went on for. It...

So recently I have been thinking about the things we should be intentional about sharing with our children. If you were to choose four things to encourage personal hygiene it might look like this: Brush your teeth twice a day Wash your hands Shower regularly Put your clothes to the wash Parents of teenagers will appreciate how important these four are and what a difference it makes to the whole house. If we were to choose four things to do with time management it might be we say: Do what you have to do before you do what you want to do. Make a task list. There are seasons to work and seasons to play. Always make space for people. So, all this made me wonder what would be the top four things I would want my children to know about the things of God. I have to say the list surprised me and spurred me to action. So here is my current top four, with a few comments. (Subject to change of course).      1. The Gospel This seems like the most basic thing our children should kn...

  The rule of 6 Imagine life if we could only mix with 6 friends. Here in the UK, this doesn’t require much imagination with current Coronavirus restrictions, but it certainly gets you thinking. How intentional would you be about those 6 friendships? What would be your mix of non-Christian to Christian friends? Imagine telling the children of your church to pair up with two other children in the church, meeting and praying together. Each child could then reach out to three of their friends to share the gospel. Imagine the impact we could have in the schools at this time. When we lived in London we led a children’s ministry that had an extensive schools ministry. With over 200 full time evangelists that we had trained up and sent out into different schools across the city. It was amazing to see the fruit: These evangelists were bold to preach the Gospel and saw many children turn to Christ, yet not once were they uninvited from the school. Imagine that! At the moment it is challengi...