Archive for May, 2011


May 11

Sermon Follow-up: “A Home Pleasing to The Lord”

2011 | by Trent Hunter | Category: Sermon Follow-Up

In Sunday’s sermon, “A Home Pleasing to The Lord,” Ryan preached from Colossians 3:20-21, where Paul gives these instructions to children and to parents: “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.”

At the conclusion of the service, Ryan referenced an article by Matt Schmucker, “39 Lessons, 20 Tips and 10 ‘Dont’s’ For Parenting.” Print, read, and hand this article around. Here are a few of Schmucker’s lessons, tips, and don’ts, to whet your appetite for this wise counsel.

Lessons About Ourselves:

  1. To be a faithful steward of your children you must abide in Christ (John 15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”).
  2. “Trickle down theory” – Mom’s daily devotion naturally trickles down to encouragement and instruction in the Lord for the children.
  3. Not listening to your children causes you to misjudge them (James 1:19-20: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires”).

20 More Tips for Raising God-honoring Children

  1. The saying goes, “When mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” We believe daddy is actually the problem. From a complementarian’s viewpoint one needs to conclude the above saying with, “And if daddy ain’t happy in the Lord, ain’t nobody happy.”
  2. In a stay-at-home-mom scenario, dad tends to back away from discipline when mom has been with the children all day. In one sense this is wise as he has not observed the rhythm and rhyme of the day. However, dad needs to catch up and jump in.
  3. Talk to both good and not-so-good parents; you’ll learn lessons from both.

Ways To (Wrongly) Provoke Your Children

  1. Make it a habit to discipline your child while angry.
  2. Make it a point to scold your child – especially in public. Mockery and ridicule work well.
  3. Deliberately embarrass your child in front of his/her friends. Name calling really gets their attention.

Of course, our text in Colossians lined up nicely with Mother’s Day. We’re grateful for God’s wise design for the family and for mothers. For the very reason that motherhood is honorable, motherhood can also be a difficult subject. For some women who have lost children, or long to be mothers, Mother’s Day is a reminder of loss and unfulfilled longings. This is a reality in a fallen world, and one Christians mean to address with the comfort of the gospel. On this subject, Wendy Alsup has a helpful post for all us us, “For Moms, Former Moms, and Wannabe Moms.”

Finally, here are a number of helpful resources on parenting, many of them available at the Resource Center:

May 9

Clarus ’11 Recap – “Scripture: God Speaks”

2011 | by Trent Hunter | Category: Clarus 11

Clarus is Latin for clear, bright, or radiant. From April 29-May 1, believers from Albuquerque, NM, and the surrounding Southwest region gathered at Desert Springs Church for Clarus ’11, a Regional Conference of The Gospel Coalition.

This year’s theme, “Scripture: God Speaks,” focused our attention on the subject of the Bible, God’s Word written. Our speakers, G.K. Beale and Carl Trueman, both professors at Westminster Theological Seminary, approached this theme from a variety of angles: what Scripture says about itself, how Christians have understood the nature of Scripture throughout history, the effects of meditating on Scripture, the need to defend Scripture, how the Scriptures persevere us in suffering, how Jesus fulfilled Scripture, why and how Scripture is meant to be preached, and how Scripture shapes Christian marriage.

In addition to a panel discussion led by Ryan Kelly, both men spoke a total of four times. For those who couldn’t join us, video will be available in the weeks to come, and audio is available now:

G.K. Beale

Carl Trueman

We look forward to having D.A. Carson and Fred Zaspel with us for Clarus ’12, March 9-11. Save the date now and visit the Clarus site for more details in the months ahead.

While the heart of Clarus are these sessions, conference attendees interacted with a number of organizations and went home with books gifted from five publishers. We’re thankful for their partnership and commend these Scripture-grounded ministries to you.

Finally, some pictures. The following photos represent something of the rich weekend we shared together:

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May 5

Sermon Preview: Colossians 3:20-21

2011 | by Trent Hunter | Category: Sermon Preview

In Colossians 3:18-21, Paul gives a number of specific commands to Christians concerning their various roles in the context of the home. Ryan’s last sermon in our series through Colossians, “Restoring Marriage,” addressed the relationship and responsibilities of husbands and wives from Colossians 3:18-19.

After a month break from our series, this Sunday we return to Colossians with Colossians 3:20-21, where Paul writes concerning the relationship and responsibilities of parents and children: “Children, obey your parents  in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.”

Given that this Sunday is also Mother’s Day, in addition to considering the biblical relationship between parents and children, we will acknowledge God’s good gift of mothers and the privilege of motherhood.

Visit the Messages portion of this site for additional sermons on the roles of parents and of children.

May 1

Clarus ’11: Saturday Recap and Photos

2011 | by Trent Hunter | Category: Clarus 11

Yesterday we enjoyed four sessions and an afternoon panel discussion for our second day of Clarus ’11. Saturday’s sessions on the theme of Scripture were varied. Dr. Trueman worked from church history to show us the demonstrated authority and clarity of Scripture. Dr. Beale clarified the importance of defending the gospel against the ever-present threat of false teaching and showed us the centrality of Scripture in marriage from Genesis 2 where God spoke to the first human couple with words. Audio for Clarus ’11 will be available in the coming week at the messages portion of this site.

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