As you know from the last post I have developed a fond appreciation for Paul Tripp’s latest book – Broken-Down House. In this post I am going to include the most recent article I did for the Shepherd Press Newsletter. There is another application I want to especially emphasize for parents. The world is not a pleasant place. It is broken, and it is groaning for the day of consummation. It is a mistake to teach our children that the world is wonderful and not also tell them of ifs brokenness. I hope you enjoy the article.
Monthly Archives: June 2009
17 posts
Just a reminder that I will be talking about Paul Tripp’s new book, Broken-Down House today from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. EST. The program is the national call in talk show Calling for Truth, hosted by Paul Dean. If you would like to join the conversation you can call 1-888-660-9535. You can listen live at the station’s website. The link is here. We will return to the series on Philippians and your family in the next post.
All of us have this experience in varying degrees–your life feels like a broken-down house. Your life has not gone the way you planned. Your life has not gone the way you planned even in the last day. Your plans often lie in shattered, broken pieces around you. No matter what outward veneer we choose for others to see, internally, that sense of brokenness is never far away. There can be brokenness in relationships, in personal failure, in missed opportunities, in the ravages of sin in our life and the lives of those close to us. Evidence of brokenness is also in the world around us–the specter of terrorism is always with us. Our governments appear to be truly broken […]
We have been looking at Philippians 1:27-2:5 the last few posts. This passage is often used to encourage Christians toward godly relationships within the church community, and as we have seen, it is a wonderful principle for relationships in families. In this post, though, I want to look specifically at the admonition in verse 3 to avoid selfishness. In a relational conflict, the default mode is to blame the other person. This becomes more pointed when authority is involved–for example, parental authority. A parent gives a directive or command and a child does not follow this command or chooses to dispute it. Especially if the child is a teenager, this scenario raises the tension level. The parent is committed to […]
The book of Philippians teaches the church how to relate to one another. These same principles for godly relationships must also be applied to family life in general and to families with teenagers in particular. For example, just the first four verses of Philippians 2 offer powerful guidelines for relationships. Paul is counseling the church to be encouraged with one another by focusing on the love of Christ for them. Many relational problems between parents and teenagers exist because the life-changing message of the gospel has been submerged and lost in the turmoil of everyday life. Here is what Paul says to the Philippians in these four verses: If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any […]
The apostle Paul urges those in the Philippian church to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel (1:27). The phrase whatever happens is one of those wonderful statements in Scripture that should bring rich encouragement to you every day of your life. The Spirit of God is so confident of the power of his Word (Hebrews 4:12) that he says whatever happens in your life, you have an opportunity to honor Christ by living in a manner worthy of the gospel. While this charge from the apostle applies to all the many challenges church members face, if you are the parent of a teenager, or are soon to be one, this phrase should have a special meaning to […]
Importance is a big deal to teenagers. Teenagers are “importance conscious.” I know the phrase is awkward, but it fits. Teenagers are concerned about the brand of shoes they wear, the music they listen to, the friends they hang out with, and more. For many teenagers, life is a continual process of ranking what is important. Conflict with parents often arises over deciding what is important. Parents will consider something to be unimportant that is very important to their teenager, and whether the resulting dispute is calm or volatile, each side is astounded that the other side can’t see their point of view.