Thursday, December 29, 2016

3 Really Important Talks You Must Have With Children

You may be thinking "I was nervous enough about the ONE 'talk' I needed to have.  Now you tell me there are THREE!!"

Yes, three talks but here is something really important to remember about these talks.
They are not "one and done" types of talks.   They are ongoing talks and we want to provide resources for you to have each of these conversations with your children.  

We are going to take part of our next three parenting classes to go through each of these topics.  We will provide you with some great resources and talking points each week.

These topics are for any one who wants to help their child or children grow in their relationship with God and Jesus Christ.
  • Talk about Salvation, which we will be talking about on January 8th in our parenting class.
Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart by J.D. Grearr
How to Lead Your Child to Christ by Nancy Machowski
  • Talk about Worship, which we will be talking about January 15th in our parenting class.
Ten Unexpected Man-Centered Causes of Family Tension by Sam Crabtree
Family Worship by Donald S. Whitney
  • Talk about Relationships and Sexuality, which we will be talking about on January 22nd in our parenting class.
Time for the Talk by Zollos

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Bless the LORD, O my soul - Heart Check-Up

Use January for a heart check-up.

This month's lesson focus on the heart
January 1st lesson is Israel rejects God as king.
January 8th lesson is Saul disobeys God.
January 15th lesson is God sees David's heart.
January 22nd lesson is David fights for God's honor.
January 29th lesson is God gives David a friend.

Israel's heart was not right.  
They desired what the nations around them had.

Saul's heart was not right.
This was evidenced in many different half-hearted decisions he made.

God sees David's heart.
God unlikely choice for king was based on the heart not the externals.

David fights for God's honor.
David's heart for God was evidenced in what battles he fought and how he fought them.

God gives David a friend.
God provided David a friend who encouraged his heart.



This month's Fighter verse for the 2 year olds through


Israel Rejects God as King - 01.01

Passage:  1 Samuel 8-12
Fighter Verse:
  2 years - Kinder:  Psalm 103:2
  1st - 5th grade:    Isaiah 40:8
Isaiah 40:8
Missionary:  The Reiners
Ministry:  Seniors and Shut-ins


2015-07-26 CM Preview from Faith Church on Vimeo.

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Call Him Jesus - Christmas 2016

For Teachers and Parents,

This weekend's services are going to be unique.  Here are a couple of things to help you, your family and your class worship the LORD.
  1. Like every week, kids third grade and under will begin by CHECKING IN at the kiosk.  This is a reminder for kids and teachers.
  2. After CHECKING IN....  
    1. All 1st through 3rd graders are going into the service WITH PARENTS for the first two Christmas songs and Pastor Dave's reading of the Christmas story.
    2. Kindergarten and younger will have their classes in their assigned rooms OR they can go into the auditorium WITH PARENTS for the first two Christmas songs and the Christmas story.
  3. After LISTENING TO PASTOR DAVE read from the Jesus Storybook Bible, all the children 3rd grade and younger will be dismissed to children's area for their lesson time.
  4. TEACHERS CLICK HERE for more about the special schedule for this weekend's class times.
This Sunday's lesson is "The Son of Man is identified in the Temple."
It is a great reminder that Jesus did not stay in the manger.

Jesus grew.  "Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man" (Luke 5:52).

Jesus died for our sins.  "You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin."  1 John 3:5

Jesus rose from the dead.  "And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.   Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life."  1 John 5:11-12.

Jesus is with God and is returning one day!!


Here is a Christmas breakdown of this week's verses
2 years old through Kindergarten's verse is 1 John 1:8

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Christmas truths:
  Jesus came because we have a sin problem.
  Jesus came to share, show and be the truth the world needs.

1st through 5th grade verse is 1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Christmas truth
  Jesus came as THE solution for our sin problem.  

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Christmas is for... Pt 2

Yesterday "Christmas is for..." post based on Sunday's bulletin flap stated that "Christmas is for Children and anyone who needs a Savior."
Christmas is for those who need a savior.

Even more so, Christmas is for the glory of God and Jesus Christ.  
This holiday is meant to make us look up. 
Not to see a Christmas star or a beautiful snowfall.
We lift up our eyes knowing that our help comes from God.  And this help came to earth in the form of a baby who grew up and died on the cross for God's glory and our good.





Emmanuel Baptist Church's pastors want to help everyone, including families, that the lives are to be lived for God's glory.
And through Godly people, He has provided many different resources to help us live for His Glory!
He provided Jesus Christ for our salvation.
He provided the Holy Spirit so we would have God's wisdom and power.
He provided the Bible so we can know God and grow in wisdom.
He provided His Church so we can encourage one another to grow into the image of Christ.
He provided Bible focused writers and book, like the ones listed above.

Parents, we want to help you disciple your children, which is why we our during our current Parenting class!  We are using Tedd Tripp's DVD series Shepherding a Child's Heart and Paul Tripp's Parenting book in this class.  If you have already done this study the new, updated video along with the set up of the class are different enough to make it worth doing again.  You can find out more about the class HERE

We also want to help families connect with other families which is why we are having a Family Fun Night on Sunday, January 22 from 6 to 8 at Emmanuel Christian School.  Be on the look out for more details coming soon.

Friday, December 16, 2016

Christmas is for... Pt. 1

This is the first of two "Christmas is for..." posts based on Sunday's bulletin flap!
 The second post will be here tomorrow.

Part of this Sunday's bulletin flap reminds us that "Christmas is for Children and anyone who needs a Savior."



Here is the hard truth this Christmas time.
Anyone = Everyone.
Everyone is a sinner who needs a savior.

Christmas is not about the goodness in the hearts of people.
Christmas is about our sinfulness and God's grace.

Everyone needs a Savior.  Everyone needs the one and only Jesus who is Savior and King!!!

This week's email asks "Who needs saved?  Who needs hope?  Who needs true joy?  EVERYONE!!"

Families, don't allow Christmas in your house to be high jacked by a man-centered or kid-centered agenda.  




Thursday, December 8, 2016

The Son of Man is born in Bethlehem! 12/10/16

No video from Trey this week or the next two weeks.

I post some thoughts and ideas on Thursdays and Fridays. 

The Central Truth is Jesus was born to save people like us.

Look at your Christmas tree different.
http://www.paultripp.com/articles/posts/look-at-your-christmas-tree-differently

Look at your Christmas manger scene differently.
http://www.emmanuelbaptist.com/why-christmas-happened-1252016/
Tomorrow's (12.09.16) advent reading ties the memory verse and this lesson include the title together.
Here is the reading.
December 9th 
Why the Son of Man?  
Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. JOHN 1: 51  
Why is Jesus called the Son of Man in verse 51 and elsewhere in the Gospels?  It has everything to do with Advent.
It’s not simply because he is human. It’s because the figure of a “son of man” in Daniel 7: 13 is both human and far more than human. This was Jesus’s favorite designation for himself— Son of Man. It’s used over eighty times in the Gospels, and only Jesus uses it to refer to himself.  
He got the title “Son of Man” from Daniel 7: 13– 14:  
I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.  
This is the language of kingship and glory and sovereignty (John 3: 13; 5: 27; 6: 62).
But it has a different ring than the titles Son of God and King of Israel. It sounds more lowly and ordinary. So when he used it, his claims to kingship and glory and sovereignty didn’t sound so overt. Only those who had ears to hear broke through to the exalted meaning of the term Son of Man when Jesus used it.  
So this time it was not the Jewish leaders who used the title to bring him to the cross. Jesus himself used it that way. The key verse is John 3: 14– 15: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”  
So you could say that the greatest glory Nathanael, or you and I, would ever see is the glory of the Son of Man, the Lord of heaven, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, lifted up on a cross to die for sinners.  
So when you see him this Advent season as Son of God and as King of Israel and as Son of Man, make sure that you see him dying to give you eternal life and, therefore, see him as glorious.
HERE IS THE KID SUMMARY OF THIS READING TAKEN FROM THE READING ITSELF:
Make sure you see Jesus dying to give you eternal life and therefore, see him as glorious. 
Here is this week's verse
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  1 John 1:8
Christmas is not because we are such good little boys and girls and we all deserve gifts.
Jesus came because because all are such sinful, undeserving children.

God sent Jesus because we needed a savior from our sin.

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Grace!!

Grace - A Gospel Principle for Parents, by Paul Tripp from Paul David Tripp on Vimeo.

1st Session of Parenting class

First Day of Parenting Class

At the bottom of this post is the first session of the Shepherding a Child's Heart study online.

PDF of the class introduction sheet
PDF of the weekly notes sheets \
PDF of all the video session notes

Here is the full video of session 1.



Getting to the Heart of Behavior from shepherdpress on Vimeo.

Saturday, December 3, 2016

So Many Resources

There are so many different parenting and family resources out there.
Here a some that I have in my office.
These are some really good ones.  


Safe in the Arms of God - A great, Biblical book on dealing with the loss of a child
Parenting:  Ready or Not
The Beginner's Bible
Jesus Story Book Bible DVD
The Story for Little Kids
I Believe in Jesus -  A picture that shares the Gospel 



The Jesus Storybook Bible
Ten Boys Who Made a Difference - Short biographies for boys
The Story for Kids
Future Men
Heaven for Kids - An explanation of heaven from a Biblical perspective



The New Answers Book Vol. 1
The New Answers Book Vol. 2
The Richard Wurmbrand Story (Torchlighter's series) - one video in a series of videos
The Old Story New - a family devotional book.
Already Gone



Get Outta My Face - a book for parents of teenagers
Biblical Manhood - for fathers and teenage boys
Welcome to the Family - 
Sticky Faith - Family resource
Already Compromised
The Gospel for Children



Teach Your Family the Truth
Give Them Grace
Visionary Parenting
A Checklist for Parents
When Sinners Say "I Do"



The Shepherd Leader at Home
Gospel Powered Parenting
Lead Your Family in Worship
Just Do Something - Determining God's will for your life, written in way that teens would uunderstand
Teach Them Diligently
Peacemaking for Families
Listen Up - How to listen to sermons
Family Shepherd



When People are Big and God Is Small
Family Ministry Field Guide - This book has been very influential in working through family ministry at Emmanuel Baptist Church.
Christian Living in the Home - Great Biblical Counseling/Family resource
These are the two books we will be using in this class
Parenting 
Shepherding a Child's Home.

THE REASON WHY I RECOMMEND THE ABOVE RESOURCES IS 
BECAUSE THEY ARE BIBLICALLY FOCUSED RESOURCES.
Before read any of the above books make sure you are consistently in God's Word.

God's Word, the Bible

Some good advice and I would add
"Whatever you read, 
read the Bible first.  
Beware of good books.  
Don't allow them to keep you from reading the Bible."