Come together to pack Shoebox Gifts for Operation Christmas Child!
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Submitted by Jennifer Power
This is the final installment of Raising Kids with a Kind Heart Who Love the Lord. These suggestions have by no means been exhaustive, but I hope they have led to careful thinking on how we are being intentional about our parenting as disciples of Jesus Christ.
I continue now with part two of A Brief Guide to Spiritual Disciplines and pick up where I left off last week with some suggestions on incorporating these disciplines into the life of your family.
WORSHIP: Worship turns us from looking at ourselves to looking to the Lord.
Romans 12:1 “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
CELEBRATION: Celebration gives us the opportunity to celebrate the joy we have in Christ together with other brothers and sisters of the faith. Faith in Christ can be hard. Celebration reminds us of God’s goodness and faithfulness.
1 Corinthians 5:8 “Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
FELLOWSHIP: Christian fellowship ties closely with celebration and worship but is not quite the same. Fellowship involves building one another up in the Lord.
Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.”
SERVICE: Look for ways to serve as a family – here are a few ideas.
Mark 9:35 “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
SACRIFICE: As Christ has deemed us worthy to sacrifice His life for ours, we must follow in His footsteps and live a life of sacrifice for the good of His creation.
Hebrews 13:16 “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
Luke 3:11 “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
SIMPLICITY: Simplicity is ultimately about being of one mind. Our singular focus is Jesus Christ, and everything else flows outward. Our cultural gets so weighed down by money and “stuff”. This can be a huge barrier to authentic discipleship, allowing us to all too easily get caught up in us what we want, what is rightfully ours, and what we think we deserve.
Colossians 3:1-2 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
I hope you have enjoyed this study (on raising kids who have a kind heart and love the Lord) as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I pray God will bring us into more and more obedience and love through His great grace and Holy Spirit. Stay tuned next Wednesday for Nine Reasons to be part of a Children’s Ministry Team.
Books on Spiritual Discipline/Bible Study I have read and recommend:
Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Grown by Richard Foster, The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives by Dallas Willard, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels by Kenneth E. Bailey
Raising Kids who have a Kind Heart and Love the Lord
Raising Kids who have a Kind Heart and Love the Lord – Part Two
Raising Kids who have a Kind Heart and Love the Lord – Part Three
Raising Kids who have a Kind Heart and Love the Lord – A Brief Guide to Spiritual Disciplines
What are you quick to do? What are you slow to do? The Bible tells us exactly what we can be quick and slow to do by the power of the Spirit inside of us. Read about it in James 1:19-21
When we grumble, we reject joy. Grumbling puts us and our own expectations above the purposes of God. Instead, Paul gives us this challenge, “do everything without grumbling or arguing.” How? Read to find out.
Scripture is clear that it is by Jesus’ grace alone that we are redeemed and saved. Our works don’t earn us salvation. So, what exactly is Paul talking about in this passage from Philippians 2? Read more to find out.
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