Yearly Archives: 2010

76 posts

Does God Have Your Attention?

A second snowstorm within three days has brought the mid-Atlantic region of the United States to a halt. This region contains the nation’s centers for finance, business, and government. In some instances, even snow plows have been kept off the roads because conditions are too dangerous for plowing. So far, Washington D.C., Baltimore, and Philadelphia have had record amounts snowfalls. The news media have provided extensive coverage of the disruptions caused by the snow. Questions are being asked of politicians and meteorologists about the significance of these back-to-back storms. But one question is not being asked, and that is the most important question of all. Does God have your attention?

Special Blog Offer

This week’s special offer for our blog readers has two parts. The first part is to purchase Hints for Parents by Gardiner Spring. This book is a 19th century classic, republished by Shepherd Press. To help with application to the modern day, Tedd Tripp has written a series of gospel encouragements throughout the book. Glean timeless truths about parenting from Pastor Spring, with Dr. Tripp’s expert commentary to guide you. But this is just the first part of the offer. If you purchase Hints for Parents and enter the coupon code JYHINTS1 before you check out, you will receive 40% off your entire order! What a wonderful opportunity to get the Shepherd Press materials you have been wanting at a […]

The Snowmaker

Snow is blanketing the East Coast this weekend in record amounts. Hundreds of thousands of homes are without power. Work will be disrupted for companies, small businesses, schools, and even the government. Thirty inches of snow simply cannot be ignored. Once again, the power of man quickly pales in comparison to the power of God. The scientific explanation of how snow occurs is not complex. The right combination of moisture, temperature, and a low pressure system will result in snow. However, small deviations in any of these three variables can result in ice or rain instead of snow. The convergence of just the right factors results in major storms like the one occurring now. For some this is a random […]

The Holiest Day of the Year

The Super Bowl is a major cultural event. Today’s post contains thoughts about this year’s game. I’ll also include links to previous posts about this game. It is important to think biblically about this highly visible part of our culture. Take a look at this post and the previous ones and let us know your thoughts! The Super Bowl and Proverbs 4:23 part 1 & part 2 The Super Bowl and Your Heart’s Orientation Greg Doyle is a writer for CBS Sports. He is a good sports reporter and I enjoy his work. I also believe that he represents what many think about the role of sports in our culture. As you may know, Tim Tebow and his mother are […]

Celebrate Sexual Purity

The final point that needs to be covered concerning talking to your children about sex and marriage is the joyous pursuit of sexual purity. Sexual purity is the eager and aggressive commitment to trusting God’s parameters for sexual conduct. This should be a pursuit of joy. Sexual purity must not be defined only as a negative. The pursuit is of sexual purity is not only to avoid what is wrong but to eagerly pursue what is right. In this case, what is right is a passionate commitment to engage in sexual matters as God has instructed in his Word. Such purity leads to an active worship of God in all of life. That is something that you can talk about […]

Talking about Sexual Attraction

Any conversation with your children about sex and marriage would be incomplete without discussing sexual attraction. This topic often lacks biblical clarity for Christians because it is most commonly discussed outside its biblical context. The Bible is clear: sex is reserved for marriage. If one is attracted to sexual activity, that attraction can be pleasing to God only when it is focused on its expression within marriage.

What to Talk About – part 2

In the last post I suggested following an incremental approach when beginning to talk about marriage and sexuality; this approach would then culminate in a series of intentional, more structured discussions. These intentional discussions would be the basis for ongoing conversations about marriage and sexuality throughout the teenage years and beyond. The talk that the father in Proverbs 7 has with his son is example of the incremental approach. He took advantage of a situation when it presented itself. The more formal, intentional discussions have their basis in passages like Genesis 1-2, Psalm 139, Song of Solomon, and Ephesians 5:25-33.

What to Talk About – part 1

This post continues our series on talking to your children about marriage and sex. As we discussed in the previous post, specific topics that need to be addressed should be introduced incrementally. One way to begin this incremental process is to talk about modesty. Granted, each family will likely have its own particular view of what is modest, but all families interested in following biblical principles will be concerned about modesty. Modesty, like all other guidelines, must be rooted in biblical soil to effectively point your children to Christ. In I Timothy 2, modesty is tied to a lifestyle that is appropriate for those who worship God. Paul is, in effect, stating that modesty is consistent with moral purity and […]

When to Talk about Sex & Marriage

The theme of this series of posts is talking to your children about sex and marriage. As I indicated in the first post of this series, I deliberately keep sex and marriage linked because that is how the Bible presents them. Sex is not designed or intended for self-pleasure. Sex does bring pleasure, but engaging in sex for the primary purpose of fulfilling personal desires is the gateway to lust. As Ephesians 4:17-19 teaches, sensitivity to others (the biblical motivation for sex) is the opposite of sensuality (the self-serving pursuit of pleasure). Sensuality leads to sexual perversion and to God’s harsh judgment of abandoning people to their own desires, condemning them to the ultimate consequences of their desires (Romans 1:18-32). […]

Talking with Your Children about Marriage & Sex

One of the more dreaded of parental responsibilities is telling children about sex. This conversation is often so awkward that both parent and child wonder what good could come from it. Sometimes, there is no actual conversation. A parent might hand a book to his or her child and say, “Read this and let me know if you have any questions.” There is a degree of irony in this awkwardness. On the one hand, it is almost impossible to avoid being confronted with sex. Movies, billboards, commercials, songs, news reports, casual conversations, TV programs etc., form a cultural bombardment of sexual themes that invade daily life. On the other hand, at least in most Christian households, sex is not talked […]