Tag: Families

Morning Musing: Psalm 127:3

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“Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord, offspring, a reward.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

As the old saying goes, a broken clock is still right twice a day. For the better part of a generation, Disney has been one of, if not the, primary entertainment-producing companies in the world. But in recent years, they seem to have forgotten that they are in the business of making money, not pushing a particular cultural agenda. As a result, they haven’t been making money quite like they once were. But for all of their cultural tone-deafness, there are some signs they are starting to turn a corner and remember that one of their primary audiences is families. One of the latest such signs came in the recently completed and final season of What If?…

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Morning Musing: Exodus 20:12

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“Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When scholars examine the Ten Commandments, they often group them together in two big sets. The first set has to do with our relationship with God. Those are the first four. The second set has to do with our relationship with people. Those are really the last five. This fifth command sometimes gets grouped with the second set, but it doesn’t really belong there. It definitely does not go with the first set, though. It’s really a transitional command to get from one to the next. Let’s talk today about why honoring parents was a big enough deal to God that He included it on this list.

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Digging in Deeper: Psalm 127:3

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“Don’t you see that children are God’s best gift? The fruit of the womb his generous legacy?” (Msg – Read the chapter)

I love being a dad. My bride adores being a mom. That doesn’t mean every day is easy – they aren’t – but it is without a question a blessing and not a curse. Even on the hardest of days I wouldn’t trade it out for the alternative. Children can be a source of blessing and encouragement for moms and dads in a way few other things can. Today’s culture, though, is making a subtle, but significant shift away from this kind of thinking. An episode of The Good Doctor I watched the other night put this on display in a way that got my attention. Let’s talk today about this shift and what it means for us and for our kids.

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Morning Musing: Amos 3:1-2

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“Listen to this message that the Lord has spoken against you, Israelites, against the entire clan that I brought from the land of Egypt: I have known only you out of all the clans of the earth; therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

If you are a parent, you probably have some rules for your kids. Those rules may be very formalized and strict, or they may be more relaxed and informal. Whatever form they happen to take, though, you have rules. When those rules are violated, there will be some kind of consequences, again, whether formal or informal. Still, though, the bonds of the family hold even when the rules are broken. But what happens if someone in the family starts to assume on those family bonds while living however they please? Let’s consider that for just a minute this morning as we move forward with the prophet Amos.

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Passing the Torch

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Yesterday was Mother’s Day and if you have a mom in your life, I hope you celebrate her with gusto. She deserves it. We celebrated moms in our own way here at First Baptist Oakboro including this conversation about how we can structure our families in such a way as to make the passing on of the faith from one generation to the next a safer bet than it sometimes is. Keep reading to find out how.

Passing the Torch

One of the national highlights when a particular country gets to host the Olympic Games is the Olympic Torch.  Each Olympics, the climax of the opening ceremonies is the lighting of the Olympic Torch.  The main flame is always lit by a smaller torch that has usually been on a journey across the host nation.  It has been passed from runner-to-runner, hand-to-hand, until it arrives at the Opening Ceremony and accomplishes its intended aim.  The journey the torch takes, though, is not one that any single runner could accomplish as a solo venture.  It must be handed off or it will eventually fall to the ground.  Our lives are a little like that.  We can only carry ourselves and the things that are important to us so far before they have to be passed on to someone else.  If we don’t, everything we count as dear will eventually fall to the ground and be left there where it will eventually be trampled and forgotten.  Now, just because we have designs on passing what’s important to us on to the generation that follows doesn’t guarantee a smooth or easy passing, but making no such plans guarantees that nothing will happen.  

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