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Great Questions for Targeting Our Children’s Hearts…

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from Paul Tripp’s Getting To the Heart of Parenting. We’ve been teaching a class of young adults this material. We worked through each of the 10 sessions, now, we are using the rest of the quarter to review the sessions 2 at a time. Last Sunday, we reviewed the sessions entitled “Targeting the Heart.” Here are questions Tripp recommended using to get the heart and motive of your children:

What was going on?
What were you thinking and feeling as it was happening?
What did you do in response?
Why did you do it? or What were you seeking to accomplish?
What was the result?

To encourage younger parents, Tripp said he first used these when his 4 yr. old took a toy from his 2 yr. old brother. This is applicable stuff and can give us a grid to work from in engaging our children’s hearts with the Gospel. Only Jesus can help these to do what is right and honorable to God!

Signs You Are Growing in Grace

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…from Scotty Smith compiled by Tim Brister. Here’s part one:

A sign you’re growing in grace is less bombast about not being a legalist & more humility because you “get” the gospel.

A sign you’re growing in grace is less theological arrogance & greater appreciation for diversity in the Body of Christ.

A sign you’re growing in grace is you work much harder at remembering names and forgetting slights.

A sign you’re growing in grace is that everybody notices it but you.

A sign you’re growing in grace is movement from destructive cynicism towards redemptive engagement. Anybody can spew.

A sign you’re growing in grace is that you’re less like a drive-by-shooting with criticisms & more of a healing presence.

A sign you’re growing in grace is evident when you receive feedback non-defensively and give it clearly & lovingly.

A sign you’re growing in grace is evident when people don’t feel like they have to walk on egg shells around you as much.

A sign you’re growing in grace is when you say, “I’ll be prayin’ for ya”, and you follow through on at least 50%.

A sign you’re growing in grace is committing fewer homicides in your heart of slow drivers.

A sign you’re growing in grace is praying for our government rather than simply being cynical about our government.

A sign you are growing in grace is that you are more disgusted with your critical spirit than offended by others’ sins.

And here’s part two:

Another sign you’re growing in grace. You’ve actually read Nahum and Obadiah.

Another sign you’re growing in grace. You catch people “doing it right” in a 3 to 1 ratio to “doing it wrong”.

Another sign you’re growing in grace. You don’t try to take 23 items through the 10 item speed check out line at Publix.

Another sign you’re growing in grace. You’re in your seat in the worship center 7 minutes early to pray for the service.

Another sign you’re growing in grace. On a 2-lane-becoming-1 road, you don’t speed up just to jet around 3 extra cars.

Another sign you’re growing in grace. Your repentances come quicker with less pouting, excuses and vain promises.

Another sign you’re growing in grace. You throw less pity-parties, because you go to Jesus quicker than to self-contempt.

Another sign you’re growing in grace. You talk about your justification 10 times more than your victimization.

Another sign you’re growing in grace. You quote Jesus more than you quote Tim Keller.

A sign you’re growing in grace is a commitment to give your spouse focused, unrushed attention at the END of the day.

A sign you’re growing in grace is just grabbing a brownie without looking for the biggest or best crust-edged brownie.

A sign you’re growing in grace is when you use less labels to dismiss people or marginalize their comments.

A sign you’re growing in grace is still being gracious to telemarketers when they call your protected phone number.

A sign you’re growing in grace is a commitment to pray for people you’d really rather gossip about.

A sign you’re growing in grace is not texting or reading emails on your pda while driving, with or without kids.

Another sign you’re growing in grace. You no longer simply assume if you can pay for something you really can afford it.

Another sign you’re growing in grace. You recognize the subtle ways you’re living justification by sanctification.

Another sign you’re growing in grace. Your spouse and children are the first to notice the signs.

Another sign you’re growing in grace. You get sucker-punched by condemnation for sin less often, but convicted much more.

A sign you’re growing in grace. You don’t use your car horn to curse bad drivers, but appropriately caution & warn them.

A sign you’re growing in grace. The gospel still astonishes & humbles you. It’s not just cliche or the name of your tribe.

A sign you’re growing in grace. If you USED to be a Dispensationalist, you’re not cynical about those who still are.

A sign you’re growing in grace. If you USED to be a Charismatic, you don’t atrophy into dead or dry orthodoxy.

A sign you’re growing in grace. If you’re “finally” Reformed, you don’t confuse knowledge with spirituality.

A sign you’re growing in grace. You realize that Presbyterian and Reformed types are .07% of the entire Body of Christ.

A sign you’re growing in grace. The more you learn about Jesus & the gospel the more you realize how little YOU know.

I know this is a lengthy post, but if you are like me at all, I sometimes puff myself in self-righteousness thinking that I’ve arrived and I’m altogether doing pretty well spiritually. Of course, I would never admit this publicly, because to do so would be to crucify my self-righteousness. Reading these helps me see the far reaching nature of the Gospel’s influence into my life. I encourage you to allow the gaze of God to extend to even those minute moments. May these signs encourage you to embrace the Gospel again.

How’s your eyes?

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I got my eyes checked this afternoon.  One year ago I gave up all the squinting to get some glasses.  I realized pretty quickly that my sight hadn’t been clear for a while.

How’s your spiritual sight?  We do such a great job noticing other people’s failures and oversight, but give ourselves a very charitable assessment. Hold up God’s Word to your life by asking other people to assess your blind spots.  In doing so your spiritual sight will be clarified.

Prayer and the Gospel

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Great word from Tim Keller on prayer and the Gospel:

One of the most basic things that the gospel does is change prayer from mere petition to fellowship and the praise of his glory. Galatians 4:6-7 teaches us that when we believe the gospel, we not only become God’s children legally, but we receive the Spirit in order to experience our sonship. The Spirit leads us to call out passionately to God as our tender and loving Father. The Spirit calls out ‘Abba’ (4:7). In the very next verse Paul refers to this experience as “knowing God” (4:8). We do not just know and believe that God is holy and loving, but we actually experience contact with his holiness and his love in personal communion with him.

I don’t know if your prayer life reflects this reality or not, but may you look to the Gospel again and find that God loves you in spite of who you are. Run to Him as your Father.

Gospel Centered…

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Here’s a helpful post from Tim Challies answering the question:

I was hoping for some guidance on something. I am looking for books about being ‘Gospel-Centered.’ I know that is a buzzword nowadays and it is really intriguing to me. I am a long-time Christian, but am new to this Gospel-Centered idea. Don’t get me wrong, I love Jesus and Scripture and the Gospel, but I’ve never really heard or really understand the Gospel-Centered.

. Check out the post to read what he wrote about living Gospel-Centered.

Planning in the New Year

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Each year, I try to find a big hairy audacious goal for the large roles I play in life (Husband/Father, Pastor, Christian, Human). My husband/father goals usually relate to serving my wife and children better (obviously). My role as a pastor might include a goal to be more humble or to lead with a different emphasis. My role as a Christian includes specific aims I hope to achieve spiritually. And the human involves physical things like diet and exercise.

Some tools I’ve found helpful over the year(s) are:

Don Whitney’s Questions To Ask At The Start of A Year

A worksheet for Mark Driscoll’s sermon The Biblical Man

Plodding through a Word.doc of brainstorms from the previous year

What emerges after spending time in these things includes clarification as to what are the big areas needing attention which I plan to attack in the coming year. So…there you go. Take it for what it’s worth. But plan so that the Gospel is more deeply rooted in all that you are in the coming year.

Pray for Sudan

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The Africa Inland Mission urges us to Pray for Sudan. Here’s the need:

Sudan – Africa ’s largest nation – needs our prayers. A referendum to decide whether the already semi-autonomous south will secede from the north is scheduled for January 9, 2011. This land has already seen two million die as a result of over two decades of civil war between the north and oil-rich south. Pray that this will not happen again.

We are urged to pray for:

• Please pray for peace and acceptance of the results of the referendum, whatever they may be.
• Pray for those organizing the referendum; that all preparations will be made in time, and that the process would be fair.
• Pray for Sudan ’s leaders: President Salva Kiir in the South, and President Omar al-Bashir in the North.
• Pray that AIM ministries in Sudan will be able to continue, and that God will continue to open doors for more outreach in this nation that so needs the Prince of Peace.
• Pray that the Church in Sudan will play a large part in the reconciliation process in Sudan and that it will take the lead in holistic development.
• Pray for AIM’s team of missionaries who currently serve in southern Sudan and desire to stay.

Will you join others in praying for these needs.

Weekend Recap – Losing Jesus?

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Yesterday’s sermon, Losing Jesus from Luke 2:41-52, is now online. In this sermon, I draw applications from Jesus’ parents losing Jesus to how we so easily lose the Gospel and drift from the core foundational realities that are to define our life. I think it was C.J. Mahaney who urged his listeners (in sermons on the Cross-Centered life from New Attitude 2001) to “tighten our grip on the Gospel — no days off allowed.” Too often we relax and subtly drift from the message of first importance. This was the heart of my sermon: for you to not drift from the Gospel but to hold fast to it.

I know we had a lot of people out visiting family, as well. I hope you had a great weekend and continue to delight in your Savior through these days.