In only 10 short days FamilyCamp 2010 will be here! Our team is working hard to bring all of the last minute details together.  We pray and trust, by God’s grace, that people will be changed, marriages will be strengthened, parents will be challenged, and families will be restored.  In these final days leading up to camp, we have 7 things that we’d encourage you to do:

1.  Continue praying for God to move at camp.  If you are registered for FamilyCamp and have an email account, you should be receiving daily email reminders on ways you can pray.  If you haven’t been receiving these emails and would like to, contact us here.

2.  Familiarize yourself with the preachers that will be joining us at camp.  If you haven’t had a chance to read the preacher bios, click here.   Also, check out the website of Seeds Family Worship.  Phillip Morlan from Seeds will be joining us at camp.  We’d encourage you to download some of their music and start learning the songs together as a family.

3.  Finalize any last minute lodging details with Windermere.  If you need to purchase meal tickets or have any remaining questions on lodging, you can call Windereme at 1.800.346.2215.  To see a helpful list of guest information click here.

4.  If you have children that will be utilizing the FamilyCamp kids programming, please email jasonz@stlfamilycamp.com and provide us with their names & ages.  We will provide activities and teaching for children ages 0-12.  If you have kids older than this, they are welcome to participate in the main / breakout sessions or to help serve the younger children.

5.  Consider bringing some extra spending money to camp.  Windermere has several activities you can participate in during free time.  To see a full list, click here.  Also, the FamilyCamp team will provide a resource library covering several tables with hundreds of books you can purchase that we highly recommend.  These books will be provided at a discount for all FamilyCamp participants!

6.  Start planning your trip down to the beautiful Roach, MO (hometown of Windermere) by clicking here.  Registration at camp will begin at 1pm and end at 5pm on Friday, July 16th.  If you arrive at Windermere later than 5pm, connect with anyone wearing a FamilyCamp staff t-shirt and they will help complete your registration.

7.  Keep praying for Christ to be the center of FamilyCamp10!  Pray for our preachers, pray for our musical worship leaders, pray for our camp staff, and pray for God to work in your family and the families joining us.

See you next Friday at FC10!

The FamilyCamp Team

In his autobiography, John Paton, Scottish missionary to the New Hebrides, reflects on how his father so effectively responded his children’s disobedience:

If anything really serious required to be punished, he retired first to his “closet” for prayer, and we boys got to understand that he was laying the whole matter before God; and that was the severest part of the punishment for me to bear! I could have defied any amount of mere penalty, but this spoke to my conscience as a message from God.

We loved him all the more, when we saw how much it cost him to punish us; and, in truth, he had never very much of that kind of work to do upon any one of all the eleven—we were ruled by love far more than by fear. (John G. Paton: Missionary to the New Hebrides, p.17, paragraphing added)

(RT: Tyler Kenney at Desiring God)

My two and a half year old loves to sing.  Absolutely loves it.  However, he doesn’t always get the words right; or does he?

As we’ve been singing songs of praise and worship to God during our family worship times at night, one of the songs we have been teaching our boys is, “Happy Day”, by Tim Hughes.  The chorus goes like this,

“Oh, happy day, happy day

You washed my sin away

Oh, happy day, happy day

I’ll never be the same

Forever I am changed.”

Well, my son got mixed up a few times and starting singing, “Oh, happy change, happy change.”  This made me think about all of the people who say that they are saved, but who have no evidence of truly being changed or changing because of Jesus’ life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and imminent return.  The initial change: the conversion (the transfer from death to life and from darkness to light (Colossians 1:13-14)) is indeed something to celebrate and praise Jesus for.  However, we should also celebrate and praise our Savior for the change He is working in us everyday by His Spirit.  Jesus purchased our entire salvation, including both justification and our progressive sanctification (Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 5:25-27; etc…).  Therefore, everyday can and should be a happy day for the true Christian, both because of the everlasting benefits of the wonderful initial change of conversion and because of the ongoing change of sanctification that He is working in us everyday (I Thessalonians 5:23-24). 

Oh, happy day, oh, happy change!

Here is a new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation on the online lives of children and teenagers, finding stunning statistics like this: “Eight-to-eighteen-year-olds spend more time with media than in any other activity besides (maybe) sleeping—an average of more than 7 1/2 hours a day, seven days a week.” The report goes on to say that due to multi-tasking, the average kid actually consumes 11 hours of media in that 7.5 hour time frame.

Albert Mohler has a summary and some reflections. Here is his conclusion:

We cannot simply accept that constant media saturation is now a fact of nature and a matter of constant need. These technologies and devices have their places, but the role of parents is to establish rules that protect children and teenagers from being dominated by technology and an army of digital devices. At the end of the day, parents must find the courage and wisdom to know when to disconnect.

(RT: JT)

In his recent sermons on Jude, C.J. spoke about the tendency of Christians to have an inaccurate view of God the Father and to have “hard thoughts about God.” In the first message C.J. said, “I have interacted with many Christians over the years who are not certain of God’s love for them. They can be reluctant to admit it, but they aren’t convinced in their heart and mind that God loves them. In light of their sin and the holiness of God they wonder whether God does indeed love them.” After the message C.J. received an email from a father who fears that he is unintentionally introducing to his children these hard thoughts about God. He wants to know what to do to model the grace and love of God to his children.

 Here is the email exchange between C.J. and John (not his real name).

Hi, C.J.— Thanks for your message from Jude on Sunday. It is always a privilege to hear God’s Word through you. I am reminded of His grace to me through the truths preached by you over decades now. When you noted how we often have hard thoughts of God and fail to appreciate His initiating love, I immediately thought of my example and communication about God to my kids. And when you asked at the end, “What are you most worried about?”, I think it is that I will hinder my children from knowing that God not only rightly expects their obedience and submission—a bar they cannot possibly reach—but also that he loves them as a Father so deeply that He sent His son for them. I am afraid they do have hard thoughts of God and that’s largely because of my own sinfulness (anger, impatience, anxiety), which I am eager to continue killing by the Spirit. But apart from that, the question I have is, how do we as parents insist that our children obey us in the Lord without cultivating hard thoughts of Him? Grateful for any thoughts you would have on this.

John

John, This a great question that I can’t possibly cover fully in one email. But here are a few thoughts that I hope are helpful.

1. You have the privilege of introducing them to God the Father and describing the ways in which he is different from you, different from all sinful fathers, and how in any way you are like him it’s only because of grace that you reflect him. See Luke 11:11–13.
2. Your honest confession of your sin to your children will protect them from having hard thoughts about you or God.
3. Communicating your affection for them—and joy when you are with them—promotes both good and accurate thoughts about God. Initiate time with them at both planned and spontaneous times.
4. Don’t leave them with the impression that they get most of your attention when they disobey. Let them know you are so grateful for them and love being with them as much as possible.
5. Bless your children with many gifts in many forms! See Luke 11 again. Study your children in order to discern what gifts would genuinely bless them and then purpose to surprise them as often as possible.
6. Requiring appropriate obedience does not promote hard thoughts about God. This only happens when we do so in self-righteousness or anger. See point 2 again.
7. Frequently preach the gospel to them (and not at them). Reveal to your children just how far God has gone to show his love for sinners like us.

My friend, if you follow the example of our gracious God, your children will not have hard thoughts about him. They will have accurate thoughts about him—and a deep love for you. I hope these brief thoughts help, John.

C.J.

(RT: Tony Reinke)

We hope you will join us this year for our 2nd annual Saint Louis FamilyCamp on July 16th – 19th at the Windermere Conference Center. The theme of this year’s camp is: The Christ Centered Family.   Main session speakers and topics for this year will include…

Friday Night: The Christ Centered Life – Bryan Chapell

Saturday Night: The Christ Centered Marriage – Bryan Chapell

Sunday Night: Christ Centered Parenting – John Ryan

Monday Morning: The Christ Centered Family – Andy Chambers

We will also have several breakout sessions equipping both adults and children. This year, we’ve added another exciting element to camp.  We have partnered with our friends at Seeds Family Worship to engage the entire family during our morning worship sessions.

If you register before the end of April, you will receive a $5 discount for every person registering.  Space is limited for camp, so please register today to make certain your spot is secure.  For additional questions, you can message us through the contact page.

Register today!

Little Johnny hits little Billy right in the eye. (SMACK!)  Billy says, “Ouch!  What did you do that for?!?”  Johnny uncaringly says, “Cuz I wanted to.”  Billy says, “But it’s just plain mean and wrong to hit someone for no reason.”  Johnny flipantly replies, “I don’t care.”  What’s Johnny’s problem?  You might say that immorality is his problem.  He just needs his parents to discipline him and teach him some manners (i.e., morality).  But that is not entirely correct (or precise enough).

Later on that same day Billy and Tommy (one of Billy’s friends) see Johnny at the little league ballpark concession stand where he (unknowingly) drops a ten dollar bill.  Billy starts to alert Johnny about the money he dropped when Tommy stops him by saying, “What are you doing?  Don’t say anything about it.  Let’s let him walk away and then we can take it.”  Billy says, “No,… I don’t think that’d be right.”  Tommy reminds Billy that this is the same kid who, for no apprarent reason, gave him a black eye just hours ago.  ”Let’s take the money and buy some candy for ourselves.  Finders keepers.  Besides, he deserves it.”, says Tommy.  To which Billy responds, “No, Tommy.  That would be stealing.”  Tommy says, “But this is your chance to ’hit’ him back.”  Then Billy resolutely says, “Look, Tommy.  I don’t know about you, but taking that money would be wrong, and I ain’t gonna do it.  Besides, my mom and dad always told me to turn the other cheek.  So,… I’d rather do the right thing and not ‘hit’ him back.”  What’s Billy’s problem?  On the outside it looks like Billy is very moral, even Christ-like.  But perhaps, just perhaps there is something else besides Christ-like morality in Billy’s heart.  I haven’t given enough information here to discern Billy’s motivation and goal, but too many of us would be contentedly proud of both Billy and his parents merely for his moral behavior.  So let’s dig a little deeper. Read More »

God gives parents the privilege of being the primary shapers of their children¹s attitude to racial differences. According to Ephesians 6:1-4, both mom and dad are to be honored and obeyed by their children. This is God’s good plan for our great good, and where this breaks down, everything begins to break down.

Fathers are named specifically in Ephesians 6:4 and have an especially prominent role in shaping the minds and hearts of their children in accord with the Lord¹s instruction. And part of that instruction is the Lord’s truth about racial differences and how we should think and feel and act about them.

Here are 8 ways (among other possible ways) for moms and dads to help their children to love people who are different from them:

1.Help the children believe in God¹s sovereign wisdom and goodness in creating them with the body that they have.

2.Help the children believe in God’s sovereign wisdom and goodness in making other people with the body that they have.

3.Help the children believe that they and all other children and adults are made in God’s image.

4.Teach the children that God tells us to do to others as we would like others to do to us.

5.Teach the children and model for them that their own sin is uglier than anybody they think is physically unattractive.

6.Teach the children that God loves them in spite of the ugliness of their sin and that he proved this by sending his Son to die for our sins and give forgiveness to all who would trust him.

7.Teach the children that because Jesus died for them and rose again, he becomes for them an all-satisfying Friend and Treasure.

8.Teach the children to love others who are different from them, not in order to be accepted by God, but because they already are accepted by God because of Jesus.
It is the power of God in the gospel that is the power to love people different from ourselves. This is the key we give to our children, and the key to daily life as parents.

(RT: Desiring God)

Taking the easy way out is often not the best way.  In fact, I think it is safe to say that the easiest way out is often not the Christian way.

Consider with me that Christ has called us out of the world to live differently from the world.  Our sinful flesh says to lie, cheat, steal, kill, manipulate, control, worry, doubt, and fight to always avoid painful things and to gain pleasant things.  Following the nagging voices of the world, the flesh, and the devil will always be much easier than doing that which is best and right and Christ-exalting. Read More »

Carolyn Mahaney wrote “Homemaking Internship ” especially for moms with daughters. It’s about how to pass on to the next generation of young women some of the most important things in life. She says,

But the truth is that homemaking involves so much more than just cleaning a house. The commands in Scripture to love, follow, and help a husband; to raise children for the glory of God; and to manage a home encompass a vast responsibility. Homemaking requires an extremely diverse array of skills—everything from management abilities, to knowledge of health and nutrition, to interior decorating capabilities, to childhood development expertise. If you are to become an effective homemaker, then you must study these subjects and many more.

It turns out that, in God’s plan, the home is the University and mom is the Professor of this all-encompassing subject. The whole article is wise and helpful.

(HT: John Piper at Desiring God)